"Garp… the World Government and the Marines are an enormous organization. Add in the soldiers from all the affiliated nations, and there are tens of millions of people.
How could anyone possibly keep track of the actions of all those tens of millions? Even if I notice the crazy actions of those at the top, all I can do is turn a blind eye."
As soon as he finished speaking, an all-out brawl erupted inside Garp's house, with Garp swinging his fist straight at Sengoku.
Because of his personality, among Garp's contemporaries in the Marines, Sengoku handled far more of the military affairs. Though his answer hadn't stated it outright, it made it clear that Sengoku knew about this.
"You've always had this problem, you b*stard who only ever want to climb higher!"
"Shut up! What can someone like you, standing at the bottom of the cliff, possibly change?!"
Sengoku didn't hold back either. Neither of them used Haki, and Sengoku didn't use any Devil Fruit ability. Relying solely on their bodies, the two fought until they were battered and bleeding, and in the end they parted on bad terms.
"You idiot son, why didn't you help me beat up that b*stard just now?"
"..."
Dragon said nothing, only looking at the Garp in front of him with the gaze one might give a mentally challenged person.
Though he didn't utter a single word, the meaning was obvious.
[Me, beat up Sengoku? Are you kidding?]
In a few more decades, Dragon might have that ability, but right now it was hard for him to even get involved.
"I'm quitting the Marines."
Ignoring Garp, Dragon calmly stated his decision.
"Mm."
Garp wasn't surprised by Dragon's choice. It was exactly the kind of thing his son would do.
"And you, Dad? Are you going to keep being the Marine Hero?"
"Hero… Dragon, down below this cliff, there's still a whole lot that needs protecting."
"I despise you."
Knowing full well what this organization was like, yet still choosing to bury his head in the sand and work for it. Dragon couldn't understand such a choice.
"Suit yourself. Still, I really didn't know about all this before. Let me warn you, Sengoku once told me that there used to be someone in the Marines who said some similar 'nonsense.'
Later, that person disappeared. No matter what you go on to do, remember that.
And… you'd better not become a pirate."
"I won't. This is… a revolution."
West Blue. After sailing north for several consecutive days, Nereus's group entered the Calm Belt once again, which made quite a few people feel much better.
The sea is rarely calm; even large Marine warships, despite their tonnage, can't be as steady as solid ground.
Those accustomed to sailing were fine, but among the people from God Valley who had never traveled far by sea, some suffered terribly. Seasickness tormented them relentlessly.
"Have we reached land…?"
A pale-faced man looked hopefully toward a Fish-Man on duty nearby.
After several days together, they had come to feel that these Fish-Men weren't frightening.
Though some individuals looked a bit unusual, they bore no hostility toward them and even helped them adapt to life at sea.
"Not yet. We've just entered the Calm Belt. There won't be any wind in this area, and the sea will be much calmer. You should be able to feel comfortable for a while."
"I still feel the ship rocking… I really envy you people who are able to swim from birth. You probably can't understand the pain of seasickness…"
"Hahaha, that's true. Seasick Fish-Men are extremely rare. Once we get past this Calm Belt, we'll be close to our destination. It won't take long."
This wasn't an isolated case. With the barrier of the unknown swept away after the favour of saving their lives, it wasn't difficult for the two races to get along.
Nanamo had already become the leader of the children among the survivors, occasionally taking them to play on the deck.
And on the deck at this moment, there was also a huge figure in a state of self-imposed isolation.
It wasn't Big Pan, but Kaido.
"Kaido, isn't it perfectly normal that you can't beat Dad? You've been losing to him for years. It's already been three days, why are you still hung up on it?"
"Name… name… what should the name be…"
Kaido ignored Nanamo, merely muttering to himself about something else.
A few days earlier, when the ship docked to replenish fresh water—
"Worororo, Nereus, just waiting around is boring. Come fight me! I'm not the same as I used to be!"
Things like this had often happened back on Fullalead Island. Kaido would occasionally challenge others on the island. As for the outcome… that mainly depended on who he was fighting.
When Nereus or Rocks got serious, Kaido would basically get beaten senseless.
Ever since the last time he'd been mercilessly crushed, Kaido hadn't challenged Nereus for quite a while.
Now that he had eaten a Devil Fruit, Kaido felt that he had grown stronger, and so he issued another challenge.
"What, now that you've got a Devil Fruit ability, you think you can beat me?"
"How would I know if I don't try?"
By simple comparison, Nereus's strength was on par with that of Rocks. At God Valley, even after turning into a demon, Rocks still demonstrated absolute dominance.
But Kaido felt that battle didn't count. For one thing, Rocks had inexplicably become stronger, and for another, Kaido had eaten the Devil Fruit less than an hour earlier and hadn't had enough time to get used to it.
The environment back then also wasn't suitable for fighting to one's heart's content, so Kaido wanted to try again.
"Very well. If you want to try, I'll indulge you. It won't take much time anyway."
As he spoke, Nereus rolled his shoulders and walked toward a slightly more open area nearby. Kaido, meanwhile, leapt into the sky, transforming into a gigantic dragon and soaring up into the clouds.
Ever since eating the Devil Fruit, Kaido had fallen in love with the overwhelming pressure brought by this massive physique in Beast Form, and he often fought in this fogm.
"Then I won't hold back! 'Dragon'!"
Kaido suddenly opened his mouth wide, scorching breath rapidly coalescing before a searing Dragon's Breath, imbued with terrifying high temperature, erupted like a torrent of molten lava bursting from a broken dam, spewing toward Nereus below.
[Fish-Man Karate • Secret Art • Water Dragon Thrust!]
The battlefield was right by the sea. With his profound mastery of Fish-Man Karate, Nereus easily commandeered the seawater beside him.
The surface of the sea suddenly boiled. At the same moment Nereus threw his punch, an enormous volume of seawater was blasted out with it, howling as it tore through the air and charged straight toward the searing breath above.
This water dragon itself possessed tremendous destructive power, but it wasn't merely a simple surge of water. At the very front of the waves was a spearhead formed of invisible Haki.
The two attacks collided midair. Kaido's breath was cleanly split in two straight down the middle, with scorching flames and steam scattering off to either side.
Nereus's attack lost none of its momentum, slamming squarely into Kaido's massive dragon head!
The powerful Haki contained within the water was like an invisible sledgehammer, instantly piercing through Kaido's own defenses.
Struck by this heavy blow, Kaido's vision went black, and he plummeted straight from the sky, crashing into a shallow, muddy shoal below, sending turbid water and mud flying in all directions.
At this moment, Big Pan happened to be practicing how to control the waterproof membrane nearby. After Kaido's defeat, he quietly said to Nanamo, who was sparring with him, "Princess Nanamo, look at him, his move's name isn't even as good as the ones I come up with. Bushishishi…"
Of course, this "quietly" was only quiet in Big Pan's own mind. In reality, his voice was quite loud, and plenty of people heard it.
Nereus had ultimately restrained his strength, so Kaido didn't pass out on the spot, but for Kaido right now, maybe it would have been better if he had.
Being mocked in this regard made Kaido think back to God Valley. Everyone else's techniques had names like "Chalk Hakua," "Kamusari," or "Pandemonium," while he himself had just casually shouted "Dragon."
So after that challenge, Kaido began to solve the problem of "culture," intending to create a perfect set of names for his techniques.
Judging by the situation, until Kaido devised a complete naming scheme, he wouldn't be able to escape from this state.
"Princess Nanamo! Lord Nereus! Something's happening!"
Just as Kaido was still brooding over the naming issue, a cloud on the horizon was rapidly rushing toward them…
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