Chapter 7. Your Grandson is a Pirate
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On the other side—
Garp and the other two, led by the grim-faced Mok, took a serious look around Cocoyasi Town.
Their expressions shifted—from initial disdain, to calm neutrality, and finally, to a hint of shock in their eyes.
In front of them...
A vast expanse of stone-paved roads, clean and neat!
Buildings lined the surroundings; the houses looked neat, uniform, and fresh-looking—clearly constructed not too long ago.
It might not compare to the famous tourist spot Sabaody Archipelago on the Grand Line, but they all knew how special Sabaody was. To see such clean, organized, and spacious streets in a small East Blue town—how could they not be shocked?
Especially the people walking along the roads—clean clothes, genuine smiles, eyes full of hope for the future… That wasn't something even the Sabaody Archipelago could offer.
One had to know that Cocoyasi Village was just one of many ordinary villages in the Conomi Islands of East Blue. Its only distinguishing feature was that it fell under the jurisdiction of the 16th Marine Branch.
Garp furrowed his brows and paused the hand that had been shoveling snacks into his mouth.
At this moment, for some reason, a memory surfaced in his mind—of that village on the Goa Kingdom's island… the one that stood outside the kingdom's rule, protected by him. His hometown—Foosha Village.
But even with his protection, Foosha Village could never have developed into something like this.
The next moment, he resumed his easy-going demeanor, chomping snacks again as he laughed heartily, "What an interesting guy, hahahaha~"
Beside him, unlike Garp's brash behavior, Marine Master Chief Petty Officer Tashigi ate in small bites with a serious look on her face. "It looks like we misunderstood Captain Dante. He's a good man!"
Driving out the fish-men and Captain Nezumi, protecting the village as its base commander, and even helping the poor develop alongside him.
He even took in refugees from other islands and gave them new lives.
Thinking of that, Tashigi couldn't help but feel admiration and respect. "It's truly admirable!"
However—
In response to his subordinate's words, Smoker removed the cigar from his lips, tapped the ash, and said coldly, "Stupid. You do realize all of this was built using funds scammed from Marine Headquarters, right? And…"
He swept a glance around at the energetic townsfolk, his eyes flickered slightly, and then he turned to look coldly at Mok.
"That man, as a Marine Captain, colluding with pirates—is an undeniable crime!"
"Hey hey hey, you guy!!! Boss isn't a bad person!" Hearing Smoker insult his boss, Mok, already blaming himself for leading the Marines here by mistake, became even more furious.
"I won't let you slander him! Even if we're pirates, we've never done anything evil. Boss has always kept us in check!"
"Just being a pirate is the greatest evil!"
"Damn it! You bastard Marine scum—"
However—
Before the furious Mok could roll up his sleeves and give Smoker a piece of his mind—
"Captain Smoker, you must be joking. Do you think we don't know what evil is?"
A helpless voice came from behind.
The three of them turned around, along with Mok, and saw—at some point—16th Marine Branch soldier Udo had appeared behind them.
"There are around twenty such villages in the Conomi Islands. Cocoyasi Town might be doing well now, but in the beginning, it was just an ordinary village—maybe even worse off than the others due to it being closer to Arlong Park." Udo walked over with a helpless expression, shaking his head at the three inspectors. "I'm from another village in the Conomi Islands. I watched with my own eyes as this impoverished region, where even getting a meal was difficult, slowly grew into what it is now."
"At the time, under the rule of Captain Nezumi and the fish-men, everyone was struggling just to survive. Adults had to hand over 100,000 Berries every month, even newborns had to pay 50,000. For such small villages… how could anyone gather that much money in a month? I still remember how hopeless it felt. Until Captain Dante arrived… that's when things finally started to change."
His gaze rested on Captain Smoker as he spoke with a tone full of emotion.
"Also, I was the one responsible for applying for military funds from Marine Headquarters. Maybe at first, the Captain did use some of that money to help us eat—but that was just to survive. After that, I can guarantee that every single Berry sent by Headquarters went directly into the development of the Marines. As for the current construction of the Conomi Islands… a single East Blue branch could never ask for so many military funds."
And with that—
This time…
Smoker fell silent. As a fellow East Blue Marine Captain who was demoted, he also knew Udo was telling the truth.
Marine Headquarters's strategic focus had always been on the Grand Line and the New World. A weak sea like East Blue could never get that much funding. But even so—
Smoker's eyes remained cold as he stared at him. "That's still no reason to collude with pirates and scam funds. I'll hold off on arresting your Captain for now, but you must give me an explanation."
Only—
"Huh? We didn't collude with any pirates!" Faced with Smoker's questioning, Udo averted his eyes and spoke vaguely, "Our 16th Branch doesn't even know any Mok Pirates."
"?!"
In that moment, the stunned Mok seemed to become slightly smarter, instantly understanding Udo's intention. He also looked away and whistled up at the sky, "That's right! I don't know any 'Boss' either! I'm the Captain of the Mok Pirates, why would I know a Marine?"
And with that—
"…" ×4
Four people all stood there with dark lines across their faces, staring silently at Mok.
Does this guy even know what he's saying?
Especially Smoker—his thick eyebrows twitched as he glared at Udo and Mok, his face dark as if he'd just been insulted. "Are you two taking me for a fool?"
The evidence was already crystal clear, and yet they still dared to lie to his face?
His gloved right hand gripped his weapon—the custom-made Jitte—ready to show them whether or not he really was an idiot.
But suddenly—
"Calm down, Smoker boy." Garp stopped him, casually patting his snack-covered hands. He didn't seem angry at being fooled just now. Instead, he smiled cheerfully at Udo and said, "We've seen what we needed to see. I have to say, it was a bit beyond my expectations. Next up… it's time we had a proper talk with your Captain."
With a meaningful glint in his eye.
"I want to see how that kid plans to convince me."
As his voice fell—
"…"
Udo sighed inwardly as he met that loaded gaze.
He knew that things had already reached a level he couldn't handle. So he simply stepped aside and gestured politely.
"This way, please. The Captain is already waiting for you."
And so, led by Udo, the three of them, along with the fuming Mok, walked ahead.
Before long—
They arrived in front of a grand, solemn, white building.
Just as Udo was about to go in and announce their arrival—
"Hahaha! Dante boy, I'm here!" Garp strode past him carelessly, leading Smoker and Tashigi straight inside. As he walked, he raised his booming voice and called out, "So, have you thought of how you're going to talk your way out of this?"
With his loud declaration, the three of them entered the building and saw Dante sitting behind the central office desk, dressed in a white Marine uniform with a black fur-lined coat draped over his shoulders, hands clasped under his chin.
Standing beside him was a young girl with orange hair, wearing a white shirt and a black short skirt.
Before Garp could say anything else with his finger still up his nose—
They saw—
Dante sigh, look at him, and then say in a serious tone, "Vice Admiral Garp, we received notice that your grandson has gone to sea as a pirate."
After the words landed—
Udo, Mok: !!!
Smoker, Tashigi: ?!
Garp, mid-nose-pick: …
The smile on his face froze.
Feeling the weird stares around him, Garp immediately darkened his expression and glared at Dante.
This kid… doesn't play by the rules!