Chapter 299 - 157

Chapter 157Chapter 229: Garp: No One Understands My Grandson Better Than Me"Last night..." Luffy began to speak."I don't know anything! You didn't remember anything!"Vivi, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, immediately stood up and interrupted him in a rapid-fire manner, the tips of her ears glowing a translucent red in the morning sunlight.Her obvious attempt at a cover-up only made Luffymore confused.Why is she so agitated? Did something else happen after I fell asleep?Luffy looked at Vivi's current appearance—still dressed in last night's suggestive outfit: stockings, high heels, shorts, and a large white shirt. The morning light outlined her slender figure. She really did look good.But more than that, Luffy's gaze fell on Vivi's lips, and he couldn't help but ask:"Why does your mouth look a bit swollen?"Her lips did indeed look fuller than usual, with a hint of unnatural redness and puffiness.Hearing this, Vivi, like a startled rabbit, hurriedly covered her mouth. Her eyes darted around, and her voice, muffled by her fingers, carried a mix of embarrassment and annoyance:"You're seeing things! It's a mosquito bite from last night! Yes, a mosquito!"Luffy: "..."That excuse was terrible. What kind of mosquito could bite someone like that?Meanwhile, in a stretch of sea not far from Water 7, a Dog-headed Warship, complete with a bone in its mouth, was slowly sailing across the calm sea.A small white round table was placed in the center of the deck. Garp was munching on rice crackers while answering a transponder snail.The transponder snail mimicked the furious expression of Fleet Admiral Sengoku, seemingly spraying spittle:"Garp! You old bastard, acting on your own again! Do you even know what kind of situation your grandson is in now?! A 660 million berry bounty, plus destroying Enies Lobby and openly declaring war on the World Government... You must now..."*Click.*The transponder snail was decisively hung up. Garp patted the cracker crumbs from his hands, stood up, and dug in his ear as if he hadn't heard a thing."Puhahaha, that bastard Sengoku is such a worrywart. Don't I know that brat Luffy?"Garp let out a hearty laugh and casually tossed the transponder snail onto the table. "I said he was in Water 7, why didn't he believe me? He definitely snuck back there, Bogard."He called over the hawk-nosed man who had been standing by his side and shouted, "Change course for Water 7, ignore Headquarters' orders!""Please don't shout so loudly, Vice Admiral Garp."Bogard's hat was pulled low, shading half his face. His voice was calm and even. "Disobeying orders... it's not good for the soldiers to hear such things.""Doesn't matter, hahaha!"Garp laughed heartily and gave Bogard's shoulder a powerful slap. "If they hear, just tell everyone to forget about it!""You old geezer are still as unreliable as ever."A steady voice sounded from the side.Amidst a swirl of smoke, Smoker leaned against the ship's railing, two cigars in his mouth, his face etched with an expression of utter familiarity with Garp's antics.Garp glanced over, a corner of his mouth quirking up in amusement. "Really now, did HQ send you to keep an eye on me? Hmph, I won't go easy on that brat Luffy."He said that, but there wasn't much determination to capture anyone in his eyes.Smoker curled his lip and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. "Don't kid yourself, old man. I can't control what you do. I just want another fight with the Straw Hat."He had been brooding over his defeat by Luffy back in Loguetown....After tidying themselves up a bit, Luffy and Vivisneaked back to the scrapyard where the going merry was docked like thieves. They planned to return to the Merry first so Vivi could change into completely normal clothes before heading back to Dock 1.Mainly, Luffy had Vivi swap the high heels and sheer stockings for more everyday shoes and socks, though the resentful little look Vivi gave him while changing shoes was almost too much for him to handle.As soon as they returned to Dock 1, they saw Namistanding at the entrance with her arms crossed, giving them, especially Luffy, a sharp, disapproving look."Well, look who's back?"Nami asked with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Where did you two play last night?"Luffy's heart skipped a beat, but he tried to maintain a calm face, declaring righteously, "Training."He even symbolically waved his fist a few times, showing off non-existent sweat."And Vivi?"Nami's gaze shifted to Vivi, whose cheeks were still slightly flushed.Vivi took a deep breath, trying to make her expression look natural and calm, her voice as steady as possible. "I watched Luffy train."She didn't dare look Nami in the eye, afraid of giving anything away.Their obvious, rehearsed alibi made Nami grit her teeth in frustration, but she couldn't pin anything concrete on them.Even if she suspected these two had gone off alone in the middle of the night for some improper business, if they insisted it was training, she couldn't do much about it for the moment.Training in the middle of the night? Do you think I'd believe that?But then she remembered that Luffy had often trained late at night before... Nami fell silent.In contrast, Robin, standing a few steps behind Nami, kept watching the two with a knowing, faintly amused smile, as if she saw right through everything.Her gaze made Luffy and Vivi's scalps tingle, feeling as if all their secrets had been laid bare.Luffy quickly changed the subject, looking around and asking, "Where is everyone? Where did they all go?"Nami snorted in annoyance, temporarily letting them off the hook. "They're all busy. Everyone has things to do."Usopp went with Franky to supervise the work on the new ship. Usopp was, after all, something of a half-baked shipwright.Zoro said he was going to wander around. Chopper, worried, went with him to avoid the absurd situation of Zoro getting lost.Merry seemed to have been dragged into the city by Nika to play.Sanji took quite a bit of money from Nami to replenish supplies. Water 7, with its developed commerce and trade, was a good place to stock up.Speaking of money, Nami felt another pang of heartache and couldn't help but glare at Luffy. "Since the new ship is bigger, we can store a lot more supplies. We won't have to worry about starving after just a few days at sea like before."Luffy wholeheartedly agreed with this point."That's great. We can stockpile a lot of meat.""And who do you think is to blame for that?! Your bottomless pit of a stomach! Do you know how much extra money we have to spend?!"Nami couldn't resist stepping forward and pulling on his extremely elastic cheeks.Luffy could only mumble a plea for mercy.Meanwhile, the area outside Dock 1 was completely blocked by a large crowd, mostly reporters carrying cameras and holding microphones."Hey, you reporters, stop interfering with our work!""Is the Straw Hat Crew here? There are eyewitness reports of seeing their ship!""And I say the Pirate King is here," Bally growled around the cigar in his mouth, furious. "Where are you getting all this nonsense news from?!"Chapter 230: Garp's Silence Was DeafeningThat's what he said, but Bally truly had to admire these guys' noses for news.The Straw Hats had returned so discreetly. How could they still catch the scent?"It's bad, Foreman Bally, look!"A shipwright hurried up from behind, pointing at a large group of figures approaching in the distance. His voice was tense:"The Marines are here!"The reporters' eyes lit up."So the Straw Hat Crew really is here!""The Marines are mobilizing on a large scale. This is a big event!""Quick, take pictures! This is big news!"What troublesome people. Bally hated these reporters the most."Look at that man!"A sharp-eyed reporter stared at the person leading the Marine contingent and suddenly gasped in disbelief.The man had gray and white hair, yet his posture was as straight as a mountain, his stride powerful and imposing, radiating an aura that looked down upon the world.The reporter's face was full of disbelief. He then looked toward the edge of the distant port and, sure enough, saw a massive warship quietly docked. Its prow was adorned with a huge dog head statue, a bone in its mouth."It's Navy Headquarters Vice Admiral, Garp the Fist!""The Hero!""The legendary Marine who chased the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, all over the world twenty years ago, during the Roger Era!""Puhahaha, we've been spotted."Garp grinned and laughed heartily, looking up at the sky. He said to Smoker beside him, "Smoker, learn from this. This is the aura of a seasoned veteran.""Shameless old man. You're just an old soldier from ages ago. What does that have to do with popularity?"Smoker, two cigars clenched in his teeth, walked half a step behind Garp, a look of disdain on his face.Seeing these two arrive together, Bally's brow instantly furrowed tightly, his heart sinking."White Hunter, Navy Headquarters Rear Admiral Smoker the White Hunter, rumored to have thwarted a Shichibukai. And now a legendary figure, the Navy Hero Garp... This is trouble."Bally instinctively wanted to turn around and rush to warn the Straw Hats inside. With the new ship still under construction, Garp showing up at this critical juncture was definitely not good news."What do you think you're doing?"A deep, heavy voice, carrying a sense of tangible pressure, suddenly sounded right by Bally's ear.Bally instantly broke out in a cold sweat. His whole body stiffened like a machine as he slowly turned his head.He saw Garp, who had somehow crossed the crowd and was now standing right behind him, grinning."Ahahahaha!"Garp let out a loud laugh and slapped Bally's shoulder heavily—the force nearly knocking Ballyapart. "Are you that brat Luffy's informant? Trying to sneak off and warn him?""N-no, I'm not."Bally was sweating bullets, under immense pressure. "I'm just an ordinary shipwright.""Are you ordinary? I seem to remember you guys causing a ruckus at Enies Lobby."Garp narrowed his eyes."You must be joking, Mr. Garp. We're all honest folks.""Is that so? Must be my mistake then.""Yes! That happens when you get older!"However, the next second, Bally's pupils contracted sharply. A fist the size of a sandbag instantly filled his vision."I'm not so old that my eyes are failing yet, you little punk trying to fool me!"Garp's punch sent Bally flying. The latter crashed like a broken kite into a pile of timber in a corner, sending up a cloud of dust.Garp then retracted his fist, put back on his carefree grin, and strode with a swagger that acknowledged no one, heading straight into the depths of Dock 1."Foreman Bally!""I'm fine. Go warn the Straw Hats."Several loyal shipwrights immediately rushed over, pulling the dazed Bally out of the timber pile, and then made to charge inside to deliver the warning.But they were immediately intercepted by a squad of elite Marine soldiers, led by Bogard."This area is now under military control."Bogard's hat was pulled even lower. His voice was steady but carried an undeniable authority. "No one is permitted to enter."The Marines were one thing.They were all Garp's men. Couldn't stop your own people.But they couldn't let these nosy reporters see what was happening inside.The details of this operation were not for public disclosure.