"Hello? Vice Admiral Garp?" Ikki's voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
Garp immediately recognized it. "Ikki! What's this about? Who've you beaten up this time?"
Ikki groaned. "I'm not beating anyone up! I just want to ask—why does Luffy have a bounty on his head?"
Garp paused, stunned. "Luffy? A bounty?" His eyes widened in surprise, and he glanced at Sengoku, who was sitting across from him.
Sengoku, who had overheard the conversation, shrugged. "I don't know. These things are usually handled by the local branches in the Four Seas. They decide who gets a bounty, report it to us, and we handle the printing and distribution."
Before Garp could respond, Tsuru, seated nearby, produced a freshly released stack of wanted posters. "Here it is," she said, handing Luffy's poster to Garp.
The poster featured Luffy's smiling face, with a bold 30,000,000 berries reward printed below. Garp frowned and muttered, "What the hell did he do this time?"
Turning back to the Den Den Mushi, Garp asked Ikki, "What happened before this bounty was issued?"
Ikki explained the entire situation in Cocoyasi Village—how Arlong had terrorized the people for years, how Captain Nezumi colluded with the Arlong Pirates, and how the Straw Hats had ended the reign of the Fish-Man pirate crew.
When Ikki finished, Sengoku stood up abruptly, his expression thunderous. "There was a Marine officer exploiting the people in that way?" he growled. "Disgraceful!"
Without waiting for Garp's response, Sengoku grabbed the report filed by Captain Nezumi. He skimmed through it, his frown deepening with every word. The report painted Luffy as a violent and dangerous pirate who defied the Marines and conspired with Captain Fullbody from the East Blue branch. It was filled with baseless accusations and outright lies.
"This is disgusting," Sengoku muttered. He immediately called the East Blue branch Commodore. "Investigate Cocoyasi Village," he ordered. "I want a full report on Captain Nezumi, Lieutenant Commander Fullbody, and the events surrounding the Arlong Pirates. Now!"
After issuing his commands, Sengoku turned to Garp, who was lounging in his office chair.
"Garp," he said sharply, "what's the story with your grandson?"
"My grandson?" Garp grinned. "He's a great kid! Looks up to me, you know. Wants to be a Marine hero, just like his grandpa! He's even aiming to become the 'King of the Marines.' But he's still young, so I told him to have an adventure first. Gave him a Private Marine identity to make it easier."
Sengoku stared at Garp, his face frozen in disbelief. Finally, he slammed the table. "You idiot, Garp! Your so-called Private Marine flies a skull-and-crossbones flag!"
Garp burst out laughing, clearly unbothered by Sengoku's outrage. "Oh, you mean like this?" He pointed out the window to his personal warship anchored in the harbor. Its mast bore a skull-and-crossbones flag—complete with a dog head in place of the traditional skull.
Sengoku's jaw dropped, and his face turned red with frustration. "That is your Marine flag?"
Garp nodded proudly. "Yep! My Marines fly the skull and crossbones!"
"Bwahaha!" Garp roared with laughter, slapping his knee as Sengoku struggled to maintain his composure.
"Garp… you're… you're…" Sengoku sputtered, his finger trembling as he pointed at Garp.
"Don't get mad, Sengoku," Garp said cheerfully. He pulled out a scrap of paper and began doodling on it. With a few quick strokes, he sketched a skull-and-crossbones flag adorned with a straw hat.
"Look closely! This isn't just a skull-and-crossbones flag," Garp said, his tone suddenly serious.
Sengoku frowned, leaning in to examine the crudely drawn Straw Hat and Skull flag. It looked as abstract as it was amateurish.
After scrutinizing it for a long moment, Sengoku straightened and muttered, "It's ugly, sure, but I don't see anything special about it…"
Garp sighed dramatically, pointing at the straw hat in the design as though Sengoku had missed something obvious. "You don't get it, do you? See this straw hat? There's a hidden sword embedded in it, and the blade pierces the skull! This isn't a pirate flag—it's an anti-piracy flag!"
Sengoku stared at him blankly.
"…You're kidding me, right?"
Garp grinned, but before he could answer, Sengoku slammed the desk. "BASTARD GARP! ARE YOU MESSING WITH ME?!"
Meanwhile, at Crescent Harbor, Marine Headquarters…
Garp's warship was docked, still proudly flying its dog-headed skull-and-crossbones flag alongside the standard Marine flag. Marines passing by stopped to stare at the peculiar sight.
"Hey, isn't that Vice Admiral Garp's ship? Why does it have a pirate flag?"
"Idiot," another Marine replied. "Do you really think Garp would turn pirate? And even if he did, would he park his ship right in front of Marine Headquarters?"
"I've got it!" a third Marine exclaimed. "This must be a strategy! The pirate flag is to lower the pirates' guard. Then, when Garp gets close, he smashes their ship with his giant iron ball!"
The Marines nearby nodded thoughtfully.
"Huh, that does make sense."
"It's sneaky, but it works. To take down pirates, any method is fair game!"
"Yeah… maybe I'll hang a skull-and-crossbones flag on my ship too and see what happens."
Unbeknownst to Sengoku, the idea was spreading among the Marines. Within days, Crescent Harbor might very well be filled with Marine warships sporting skull-and-crossbones flags.
Back in the office, Sengoku sighed deeply. He had no energy left to argue. "Fine, Garp," he said at last. "I'll leave your grandson's bounty alone for now. Once the investigation is complete, if Luffy hasn't done anything wrong, I'll have his bounty rescinded."
"But mark my words," Sengoku added, his tone sharp, "if he does something truly criminal, I won't hesitate to act."
Garp laughed, patting his chest. "Don't worry, Sengoku! If my grandson steps out of line, I'll teach him what an iron fist full of love really means!"
Back on the Going Merry…
"Don't worry about it," Ikki said, trying to calm the group. "It's probably just a mistake by Marine headquarters. I'd bet my money that it's that Nezumi stirring up trouble."
At the mention of Nezumi's name, Nami clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "That scumbag…" she muttered.
"So my bounty will disappear soon, right?" Luffy asked innocently.
"WHAT?!" Nami whacked him over the head, her face red with anger. "You actually want a bounty?"
Luffy rubbed his head sheepishly. "No, no! Of course not!"
Zoro crossed his arms and sighed. "Even if the bounty's canceled, it's not going to solve everything. Bounty hunters don't check for updates. They'll still see Luffy as a walking 30-million-berry prize."
"Oh, really?" Luffy tilted his head, completely unfazed by the idea of being targeted. His stomach growled loudly. "Well, I'm hungry. Let's eat!"
The rest of the crew facepalmed in unison, while Luffy grinned, as carefree as ever.
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