At Marine Headquarters, Marineford, a massive warship adorned with dog head decorations slowly docked into the harbor. From the ship jumped a man wearing a gray-white suit, his body solid and muscur, with short, messy hair and a scar running down the er of his eye. His carefree and bold demeanor radiated authority.

  This man, dressed in the iic Marine cloak of justice, bore the epaulets of a Vice Admiral was her than the Marine hero, Monkey D. Garp. He was the man who, along with Roger, defeated the infamous Rocks Pirates during the "God Valley I" a few years back, a feat that had earned him the title of hero across the world.

  " Vice Admiral Garp, wele back!" A Marine officer quickly approached him, holding out a stack of dots for him to sign.

  Ihis was the legendary Garp, who, despite w alongside Roger to take down Rocks, was given sole credit by the Wover. They vely erased the existence er's involvement to portray a er narrative. Garp, however, detested being hailed as a hero for that i and rarely spoke about it. Most Marines didn't even know the full truth, with only the highest-ranking officers privy to such secrets.

  With a casual gesture, Garp took the dots and scrawled his signature without even gng at them. This was a standard procedure for officers returning from missions, a formality that served as a "sign-in" of sorts.

  "Vice Admiral Garp, Admiral Sengoku has asked that you head to the Marshal's office as soon as you arrive," the Marine officer said.

  Garp hahe papers bad grumbled, "'t eve a guy catch his breath, huh? Every time I get back, there's aask waiting."

  Though Garp could grumble all he liked, no Marine officer dared to pin alongside him. The young officer could only smile awkwardly, knowing full well he didn't have the same privilege to criticize their superiors.

  After giving the officer a few words of encement, Garp made his way toward the fortress, his powerful frame drawing the eyes of the lower-ranked Marines.

  Ihe office of the Marine Marshal, a serious versation was taking pce. The iron-blooded Marshal Kong, with his t physique, was reviewing a set of reports while Zephyr and Sengoku, two of Marine's most esteemed Admirals, sat nearby.

  "The situation in the New World is getting worse," Kong said, shaking his head. "Shiki's arroganows no bounds. He seems hell-bent on wiping out all of his former rades."

  Zephyr nodded. "Shiki is out of trol. If this tinues, it could spark a much rger fli the New World."

  Marine had unmatched power across the seas, but they had to tread carefully. The New World was home to powerful pirate crews, and even though Marine had the upper hand in individual strength, a full-blown flict could cause these pirates to band together, which would be disastrous. The bance of power in the New World was fragile, and Marine had to maintain stability.

  "Let them fight each other," Sengoku said, sipping his tea. "Shiki's currently focused on Ochoku. If they wear each other down, we might find an opportunity to up the mess."

  Ochoku, like Shiki, had once been a member of the Rocks Pirates. Now, he was the ruler of the Kano try and had signifit influen the New World. However, Shiki had retly marked him as a target, and a major csh between them seemed iable.

  Marine's strategy had always been to maintain bance. Let the pirates fight among themselves, and as long as Marine didn't press too hard, the pirates would never unite. But if Maried things too much, it could trigger a rea that would bring the worst out of these criminals.

  "Shiki's reckless, but we 't uimate the impact of these internal flicts on the overall stability of the seas," Zephyr ented. "What we o focus on is reinf Marine's strength. It's been nearly ten years, aill haven't solidified the positions of the three Admirals. This dey is starting to affect the morale of our forces."

  Sengoku and Kong exged uneasy looks. The subjearihree Admirals had been a sore point for years. There were plenty of capable didates, but none had risen to the top. Marine hree powerful figures to inspire fiden the ranks and solidify the anization's strength.

  Among the senior officers, there were several who were qualified, including Vice Admiral Tsuru, who had the skills and experienecessary to take on the role of Admiral. But Tsuru had no i in the position, and with Garp looming over her as the obvious but unwilling choice for promotion, no one else was willing to step up either. No one wao be seen as Garp's sed choice.

  And Garp, the perfect didate, had repeatedly refused the position of Admiral. His defiance had left the upper echelons of Marine HQ frustrated, as they couldn't force him into the role.

  Kong sighed, his eye twitg in frustration. "Zephyr, since you're bringing it up, maybe you vince Garp to take the position. He should be back by now."

  Sengoku, frowning, said, "His pursuit er's crew in South Blue was a bust. Roger's pirates are gettier at slipping through our s. I have a feeling they'll be an even bigger problem than Shiki iure."

  That was Garp's mission. He had spent months chasing Roger's crew through South Blue but ultimately came up empty-hahe pirates had vanished without a trace, leaving Garp with little choice but to return to base.

  "Trouble iure..." Kong muttered, his face grim. For a moment, the room was steeped in silence as the weight of Sengoku's words sank in.

  Suddenly, the door to the office was banged on a few times before swinging open. Without waiting for permission to enter, Garp casually strolled into the room, one hand digging into his nose while the other closed the door behind him.

  "'t a guy get a break? First thing after I get back, you all want t me into another meeting!" Garp pined loudly.

  Sengoku shot him a gre. "Garp, you at least try to maintain some level of de?"

  Garp ughed heartily. "Hahahaha! e on, Sengoku, we're all friends here. What's the point of ag all formal?"

  He flicked the piece of snot he had been pying with, and though the others caught a glimpse of it flying through the air, none of them ented on it. Garp's irreverent attitude was well known among his rades.

  Plopping down in a chair beside Zephyr, Garp waved aretense of formality. "Anyway, it was a bust. Ther Pirates are too slippery. No matter how hard we chase them, they mao vanish. We really ought to upgrade our warships they're just not fast enough."

  Zephyr cpped a hand on Garp's shoulder and said, "We'll look into the speed of the ships ter. But first, we o talk about something important strengthening Marine from within. Specifically, we o fill the position of Admiral. What do you say, Garp?"

  Garp didn't eve him finish. "Ahahahaha! No way! You know I don't want to be Admiral. Sure, it's a prestigious title, but all that red tape and dealing with the Wover? No thanks."

  The room went quiet for a moment befarp added with a grin, "By the way, I heard about your little mission with the Celestial Dragons while I was in South Blue. Zephyr, how'd that go? Bet it was a real headache."

  Sengoku groaned, knowing that Garp wasn't going to be swayed. This stubbornness art of what made him a great Mari also what made him an infuriating colleague at times. Zephyr, too, shook his head. He khat ving Garp was a lost cause.

  "Actually," Zephyr said, "the missio smoother than expected. I met an iiial Dragon. Do you know Donquixote Cudius?"

  Garp scratched his , thinking. "Cudius...? Oh! Is that the Celestial Dragon who actally ate a Devil Fruit? Heh, I remember hearing about that. Bit of a joke, isn't he?"

  Indeed, Cudius wasn't well-known outside of Mariejois. His most memorable cim to fame was the i where he actally ed a Devil Fruit, something that had caused quite a stir ao jokes among the higher ranks of the Marines.

  Zephyr smiled. "That's the one. But he's different from the other Celestial Dragons. There's something about him... I get the feeling we'll be dealing with him again iure."

  Sengoku and Garp exged looks. When Zephyr spoke about someone's potential, it was worth paying attention.

  "Iing," Garp mused, filing the name away in his mind. "We'll see what happens."