"One Piece:The True Codex"Chapter 389: A Lesson
The three steamships, billowing black smoke, slowly docked at the harbor. The gangway of the central ship was the first to be lowered. William, with the Wado Ichimonji and Shusui, one black and one white katana, sheathed at his waist, was the first to disembark.
Standing before Sengoku, Kizaru, and Vice Admiral Tsuru, William first glanced at the pirate ships docked in the distance, then at the numerous Marines stationed at the harbor. Finally, he addressed Sengoku with a faint smile, "While I've been looking forward to meeting you in person, isn't this reception a bit too grand?"
"Spare us your glib remarks," Sengoku replied coldly. "Where are the captured Marines?"
William, unfazed by Sengoku's tone, chuckled lightly and gestured toward the ship behind him. At his signal, two figures emerged from the gangway. Harden was supporting Garp, who had been tidied up but was still restrained with Seastone handcuffs and shackles.
Simultaneously, the gangways of the other two steamships were lowered in unison. Groups of Marines, their uniforms relatively intact but their spirits visibly dampened, shuffled down the gangways in chains, forming a long line as they headed toward the harbor.
Following the Marines were dozens of armed personnel and officers of the Morgan Pirates. Sengoku's sharp eyes briefly scanned the captured Marines before focusing on the pirate officers. He silently compared their appearances to the intelligence reports he had received, matching each face to a name.
As expected, two key figures from William's crew, Dampier and Sherlock, who had gained fame during the East Blue campaign, were notably absent. Even Gin, William's trusted lieutenant and the mastermind behind the heavy Marine casualties in this operation, was nowhere to be seen.
It was clear that William remained cautious of the Marines. According to reports from the East Blue, even after William's appointment as a Warlord, the Big Mom Pirates had not left the Navia Kingdom, and the two factions maintained ambiguous ties.
Sengoku sighed inwardly as he approached Garp. He scrutinized his old comrade, noting Garp's pale complexion. Despite his weakened state, Garp bore no other restraints beyond the Seastone handcuffs and shackles.
Sengoku was well aware of Garp's immense strength. He also knew that Garp's indomitable will, forged through decades of service in the Marines, would never allow him to succumb to despair. It was hard to imagine that such simple restraints could effectively hold someone like Garp.
However, when Sengoku placed his hand on the handcuffs, his body stiffened slightly. As a Devil Fruit user himself, Sengoku immediately recognized the material of the restraints. In an instant, he understood what William had done.
"So this is the 'gift' you mentioned to Strawberry?" Sengoku asked coldly, glaring at William.
"A treasure worth over 100 million Beli—doesn't that qualify as a 'gift'?" William replied with feigned innocence.
Sengoku's face darkened as he withdrew his hand from the handcuffs. "Where's the key?" he demanded.
William smiled and motioned to Harden. Harden reached into his pocket, pulled out a key, and bent down to unlock Garp's shackles and handcuffs.
The moment the restraints fell away, Garp, who had been silent and despondent, erupted with a surge of energy. He turned and threw a powerful punch directly at William.
Though Garp had been weakened by the Seastone restraints, his physical condition had improved considerably compared to his time in the Calm Belt, where he had been sedated daily with tranquilizers and other suppressants. This punch carried tremendous force, creating a gust of wind that blew William's hair wildly before the fist even made contact.
However, Sengoku, well-acquainted with Garp's temperament, had been prepared for this. He intercepted Garp's punch midway, pressing it down with great force. Then, wrapping his arms around Garp's, Sengoku restrained his enraged comrade in place.
"Let me go, Sengoku!" Garp growled through gritted teeth, his furious gaze fixed on William.
Sengoku tightened his grip, holding Garp firmly in place.
The frail and diminutive Vice Admiral Tsuru, who looked like a feeble old woman, slowly stepped between Garp and William. Facing Garp, whose veins bulged with rage, she spoke calmly, "Calm down, Garp. The government and Morgan William have an agreement. The war between us and him is over."
Garp, as if he hadn't heard her, roared, "Get out of the way, Tsuru!"
Sengoku, still restraining Garp, leaned in and whispered sternly, "Morgan William's appointment as a Warlord has already been announced worldwide. There are other Warlords watching from this island. This is about the government's and the Marines' credibility and reputation. You cannot attack him!"
"What did he offer to make you compromise?!" Garp demanded, turning his head to glare at Sengoku.
"A promise to significantly reduce the number of pirates in the first half of the Grand Line and stabilize the region," Sengoku replied, casting a glance at William, whose expression remained calm throughout. "The Five Elders need him. The government needs him. Garp, you're a Marine—you must think of the bigger picture!"
Garp continued to breathe heavily, his expression twisted with rage as he stared at William. But he stopped struggling. After a long silence, he said bitterly, "You'd better put the Seastone cuffs back on me. I can't guarantee I won't do something reckless."
Sengoku sighed, understanding that Garp had been persuaded. Despite his rebellious nature and legendary career, Garp still adhered to the core principles of his Marine identity. When it came to matters of great importance, he wasn't one to act recklessly.
Leaving Kizaru and Vice Admiral Tsuru to oversee the handling of the captives, Sengoku personally escorted Garp back to his office.
After Sengoku and Garp departed, Tsuru turned her attention to William, who had remained silent and composed throughout the encounter. However, her gaze soon shifted downward to William's left hand, which rested naturally on the hilt of Shusui.
Without looking back, Tsuru addressed Kizaru, "I think we should take the soldiers away for now. Don't let them interact with these pirates any further."
It was clear that, like Garp, the captured Marines were unlikely to accept their situation easily. Once their restraints were removed, they might cause trouble. In the fortress's high towers, the other Warlords had already enjoyed watching the drama unfold. They would undoubtedly want to see more, but Tsuru had no intention of giving them that satisfaction.
Kizaru scratched his ear lazily. "The kids have finally come home, but they can't even take off their shackles right away. Treating them like prisoners—it doesn't seem right, does it?"
Tsuru turned to look at Kizaru. "They're safe now that they're home. As for the hardships they've endured, both physical and emotional—it's good for them to bear it a bit longer..."
She then looked back at William. "That way, they'll remember this lesson more deeply."
(End of Chapter)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 BOOK COMPLETED ON PATREON!
📚This story has reached its conclusion on my Patreon!
🔥 Full story available now💎 Exclusive bonus content & early access to new books
👉 Join my Patreon community today![✨patreon.com/GoldenLong]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━