"You old bastard, you can't stand to see me happy, can you!"
"Hahaha, this, how could this be? You're my best comrade-in-arms!"
Garp laughed and said with a grin, "Seeing you happy makes me happy too, so tell me what's making you happy so I can share in your joy!"
Sengoku: "..."
Sengoku looked at Garp speechlessly, but still shook his head with a smile and didn't say anything more. He fell silent, raised his head slightly, looked at the word, Reigning Justice, on the wall, and said, with a smile and emotion, "Garp, I plan to step down from this position."
"Position? Which position?"
Garp asked while munching on snacks as he looked at Sengoku. "Is your chair broken, and you're planning to get a new one?"
"What chair is broken? I'm preparing to retire from the position of Fleet Admiral."
Sengoku said helplessly upon hearing Garp's words, "I've already spoken with the higher-ups."
As he spoke, he maintained that tilted-back posture, as if waiting for something, but after waiting for a long time… there was no reply, only the crunching sound of snacks, which made Sengoku's eyelids, whose face was filled with emotion and complex feelings, droop.
He couldn't hold out any longer and turned to look at Garp. "Garp, who do you think will be the next Fleet Admiral...?"
Before he could finish speaking, Sengoku seemed to notice something and looked at the familiar snacks in Garp's hand with a puzzled expression. "Wait, where did you get these snacks? They look familiar."
"These snacks!"
Garp chuckled, stuffing the rest of the snacks into his mouth, filling it completely, and said with puffed cheeks, "I found them in your drawer! There was half a bag left, and since no one was eating them, I ate them."
Sengoku: "...?"
Upon hearing this, Sengoku froze on the spot. Then, as if regaining his senses, he could no longer contain himself and roared, "You damned bastard! This is what I planned to eat on the road! Give it back to me!"
"I've already finished eating, just buy more on the way."
Garp chuckled while glancing at Sengoku, who had rolled up his sleeves, and quickly changed the subject, "By the way, what did you ask me earlier? Who can become the next Fleet Admiral? I think..."
"What the hell do you think!"
Sengoku interrupted Garp abruptly, his body glowing with golden light, his face contorted in a ferocious grimace, his eyes wide with rage as he glared at Garp. "I'm going to kill you!"
...
At the same time, on a remote island.
"Tell me, how do you want to fight?"
Ian was smiling at Kuzan. "Real mode? Or training mode?"
"Real mode? Training mode?"
Kuzan frowned, but seeing Ian raise his axe, looking eager to try, his lips couldn't help but twitch. "What is real mode? What is training mode?"
Is this guy planning to beat him up?
"In training mode, we will just have a quick spar, and I'll show you some moves."
Ian explained with a smile. "In real mode, we will fight like crazy, just like in the real thing!"
"Then let's go with the real mode! I don't believe that so-called training mode will make me stronger!"
Hearing Ian's words… Kuzan chose the real mode without hesitation and said, "Let's have a good fight! Ian, the God of Sun!"
As soon as those words fell, Ian didn't hesitate any longer. Bathed in sunlight, he unleashed his full power, stomped his right foot, and with a deafening explosion, the ground cracked open. He charged forward, axe in hand, shouting, "As you wish!"
Kuzan: "...?"
Is this how it begins?
Kuzan was stunned as he watched Ian launch an attack, but as an Admiral, he quickly regained his senses. He stomped his foot, and the chill emanating from his body suddenly shot out, instantly freezing the surroundings.
Ice Age!
Kuzan dared not underestimate the opponent in front of him, even the slightest.
Staring intently at Ian, who was charging forward, he couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.
This guy clearly didn't even have the strength to face him head-on back then, but now he has made him... Take him seriously!
"Let me see just how much you've grown!"
After a roar, Kuzan didn't hesitate any longer; he exuded a cold aura as he looked at Ian, who had already rushed in front of him.
A frontal assault?
A chill surged forth again, and just as an ice shield was about to form to defend against the incoming attack, Kuzan's eyes narrowed once more.
No, it's going below!
This guy wants to strike his left foot!
Seeing that Ian had crouched down, Kuzan quickly covered his left foot with ice and lifted it up.
"Bang!"
His foot collided instantly with the golden axe, and a terrifying shockwave shot out from between the axe and his left foot, instantly destroying everything around him.
In that very blink of an eye, Ian quickly took a step back and raised the axe in his hand high.
Despite the sudden change in the attack, Kuzan's expression remained unchanged, and his eyes were still fixed on Ian.
This time it's the real deal... Wait, why is this guy slashing at his left foot again?
Seeing Ian suddenly change his attack method, Kuzan's eyelids twitched, but he still used his ice shield to block the attack.
However, after seeing the location of the third attack… this time, he couldn't hold back any longer and looked at Ian with a dark expression.
Why does this guy keep aiming for his left foot?
…
After the public execution, the sea seemed to return to peaceful days.
The once bustling Marine Headquarters has become quiet recently.
The matter of Rocks' son was not mentioned again; the bounty was simply increased, and no further action was taken.
The Straw Hat Pirates, who had been causing such a ruckus during that time, disappeared after that public execution, and nobody knows where they went.
Perhaps they have entered a New World and begun a new adventure, or perhaps they have encountered some disaster and perished in this sea.
After all, anything can happen at sea; one second you might be enjoying boundless glory, and the next you could be suddenly dead.
No one has absolute certainty that they will make it to the end and become the new King of the Pirates.
No matter who it is, as time goes by, the hype will gradually decrease until a new big event happens again, or eventually... It will completely disappear into the sea and be replaced by something new.
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