"Huh?! Are you kidding?!"
"We are Marines! How could we possibly help a pirate like you build a ship!!"
The Marines cursed loudly, expressing disdain for York's delusion.
However, after a brief moment of thought, Garp took the initiative to walk over and help shoulder the timber.
Seeing this, the Marines were collectively stunned.
Then, the old soldiers who had followed Garp for many years shook their heads helplessly.
"Yare yare~~ This pirate actually has a point. Helping him build the ship sooner means we can arrest him and send him to Impel Down sooner, and we can all go home earlier too. Let's all help out."
Having said that, the veterans followed Garp closely and joined the shipbuilding team.
The new recruits looked at each other in dismay; Garp and the veterans had really confused them with this move.
Since when did Marines and pirates have such a good relationship?!
But thinking back to last night, it seemed they had already drunk alcohol with the pirates.
"Forget it, forget it. Since Vice Admiral Garp is taking the lead, if the higher-ups want to punish anyone, they'll punish Vice Admiral Garp first."
"Brothers, let's go help."
York silently watched the group of Marines, who were protesting verbally but acting honestly physically, come over to help. A friendly smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he spoke to Ivankov and Kaido beside him.
"See? There really aren't that many complicated things between people."
"Buy them a round of drinks, treat them to a meal, and two people can become good friends."
"Perhaps interests and standpoints will eventually lead both sides to clash with weapons again, but as long as there is no conflict at the moment, everyone is actually the same."
"Of course, those old nobles who have expelled themselves from humanity, or trash Marines and trash pirates who slaughter civilians, are not included in this category."
Hearing this, Kaido and Ivankov looked thoughtful.
...
With the help of the Marines, the pirate ship, which was originally estimated to take at least 15 days to build, was perfectly completed in just 8 days.
All that was left was for York to hoist the pirate flag and move the ship into the sea, and they could officially set sail.
"Finally finished..."
A group of Marines, panting from exhaustion, slumped on the ground. Looking up at the behemoth before them, they couldn't help but exclaim.
"It's really huge, this ship..."
"Our standard Marine flagship is only about 70 meters long. This ship is five times the length of our flagship!"
"Hey! Lord of Depravity! How many people are you planning to recruit? Building such a huge ship."
Stussy held a towel, helping York wipe away his sweat.
Hearing the Marines' question, the latter put his hands on his hips and smiled faintly.
"A single ship should hold 3,000 to 5,000 people."
"But the main reason this ship is built so large is that my crew members are very tall!"
York raised his hand and pointed at Kaido.
"Also, I might even be able to recruit giants in the future. If I don't build the ship bigger in advance, when I recruit giants later, am I supposed to let them hunch over all day?"
"That makes sense."
Hearing this, the Marines nodded in agreement.
Because of the policies of Harald, the King of Elbaf, the Marines had absorbed quite a few giant Vice Admirals over the years.
The massive stature of those giant Vice Admirals indeed made it difficult for them to move around on the Marines' conventional warships.
For this reason, headquarters had specially customized larger flagships for these giant Vice Admirals, measuring about 100 meters.
Even the cabin spaces were built exceptionally large; for an ordinary Marine soldier walking on the ship, it was almost like walking inside a moving castle.
"Hey! Brat! Stop talking about giants!!"
"If you set sail today, I'll throw you into Impel Down today. You won't have a future!!"
Garp's voice suddenly rang out, startling the distracted Marine soldiers awake.
"Right! We are Marines! We need to catch pirates!!"
"Helping you build the ship was just so you'd leave Water 7 sooner so we could catch you!!"
"Don't misunderstand! You bastard Lord of Depravity!!"
Hearing this, York laughed loudly on the spot.
"Of course! How could I possibly forget!!"
As his voice fell, he immediately called out.
"Kaido!!"
The towering Kaido grinned ferociously and activated his Devil Fruit transformation on the spot. A massive Azure Dragon soared into the sky.
"Wororororo..."
Thunderous laughter rang from the air as the massive Azure Dragon head, reaching over ten meters in size, slowly lowered.
"You've been helping us build the ship for days; you have no stamina left now, right?! Marines!!"
Kaido's voice was full of malicious mirth.
Although York had paid for the Marines' drinks and food these past few days, it was precisely because of this that the Marines returned the favor and worked extra hard.
Otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to build such a massive pirate ship in just 8 days.
The Marines realized it too late and let out miserable cries on the spot.
"Oh no!! We fell into a trap!!"
They panted as they climbed up from the ground, intending to attack York, only to suddenly discover their guns weren't by their sides.
"Crap! To make working easier, I left my gun at the inn!!"
"Me too! My sword! I left my sword on the warship!!"
"Ah! My bazooka! I didn't bring my bazooka!!"
"Damn Lord of Depravity, he's too cunning! To think he tricked us into working and made us put away our weapons!"
...
Garp's face turned black as he watched this group of Marines acting there.
How could these bastards not know the ship would be roughly finished today? They did it purely on purpose!!
Fortunately, he, Garp, didn't need weapons to fight.
With a loud boom, terrifying Conqueror's Haki lightning exploded from Garp, causing the Marines to be collectively stunned again.
"Vice... Vice Admiral Garp..."
"Wait! Wait a minute! We worked so hard to build this ship; we can't just destroy it like this!!"
"Don't forget our original intention, Vice Admiral Garp!"
"We helped them build the ship so they would leave Water 7 as soon as possible! Don't forget that! Vice Admiral Garp!!"
...
Recovering from their daze, the group of Marines immediately hugged Garp, urging him to calm down.
Garp had his arms and legs pinned down by the group. Although he could easily fling all of them away, he had to admit they had a point.
If he destroyed the ship here, wouldn't all their hard labor these past few days have been in vain?!
Blocked by a large group of subordinates, Garp temporarily extinguished the thought of fighting on the spot.
Taking this opportunity, Kaido directly activated his Flame Clouds ability, supporting the bottom of the pirate ship from below, causing it to leave the ground bit by bit and rise into the high sky.
"Bastards! Let go of me! The ship is flying away!!"
Seeing this, Garp became anxious on the spot, but the Marines still held him back tightly.
"We can't, Vice Admiral Garp! They are flying straight up. If you shoot them down now, they will still crash right here!"
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