In just a few casual words, Michael and Garp had Sandersonia and Marigold's futures neatly arranged.
The two girls racked their brains but couldn't understand why their father always reached agreents so quickly with an old coot like Garp.
After pondering for a while, they suddenly had an epiphany.
"Dad... are you also an old cot like this old man?"
"Pfft!" Michael spat out his drink mid-sip, giving Marigold an exasperated look.
"Tell , how did you arrive at that conclusion?"
"Ahahahaha! Michael, just accept your fate!" Garp laughed uproariously, tears forming in his eyes.
"Honestly, whether it's your social circle or your way of handling things... you really do seem like one of us old-tirs!"
"...Shut up, you old coot." Michael rolled his eyes. "Just wait until I finish my business here. I'll go back and beco a teacher for your grandsons... Let's see how well that turns out for you!"
"Teach whatever you want." Garp dug his nose with fingers thick as rolling pins, his shaless deanor utterly infuriating.
"As if those three brats respect much now anyway."
Garp knew his own temperant too well - revered elder? Not a chance.
"Fine, fine. Just you wait."
After delivering this threat, Michael fell silent.
After traversing several streets, the group arrived at Tom's Shipbuilding Company.
As the largest shipbuilding enterprise in Water 7, the area outside Tom's company was packed to the brim.
Beyond job seekers, the majority were investors waving stacks of Berries.
Everyone knew one successful Sea Train route had already been completed, connecting Water 7 to Enies Lobby.
With three more planned Sea Train routes in the works... only a complete idiot wouldn't invest now.
"Is this Sea Train really that profitable?" Garp scratched his head in confusion.
"Co to think of it, many Marines were present during Tom's Judgent... Did none of them recognize its potential back then?"
"Even if the Marines had realized, they wouldn't have gone against the World Governnt's wishes, would they?" Michael said with a laugh.
"And this is actually affected by Enies Lobby's influence. Otherwise, there'd be even more job seekers and investors here."
As he spoke, Michael began making his way toward Tom's Shipbuilding Company's entrance.
Though the crowds of job seekers and investors were massive, they naturally ford two separate streams, leaving a clear path in the middle for entry and exit.
At a glance, it was clear that this large-scale job-seeking and investnt activity had been going on for a long ti, even forming this unwritten queuing norm.
"Hello... Are you here for a job or investnt? Job seekers line up on the left for registration, investors on the right," a woman in professional attire stopped Michael and said.
"Please follow the rules..."
"Marines, here to see Tom." Michael nodded at the secretary. "My na is Michael... I should be quite famous recently, right?"
"Michael... the Marine Grand Inspector!" The secretary jolted, looking up to carefully examine Michael's face, then glancing at Garp beside him.
"M-M-Marine Hero!"
"Ahahaha, Michael, so what if you're handso? Seems my old face still carries more recognition!"
Garp's hands, larger than pot lids, slapped Michael's shoulders with loud 'thwacks'.
"Alright, I get it. Your Marine Hero title is world-famous." Michael rolled his eyes at Garp, then smiled at the secretary.
"Please lead the way."
"Ah... Yes! This way!"
The secretary finally snapped out of it, quickly stepping forward to guide Michael and the others.
Upon reaching the top floor, even Michael had to marvel at how absurdly this world constructed buildings.
Who in their right mind would design company floors with such towering ceilings?
Even Jack could walk in without ducking.
"Mr. Tom's office is at the end of the hallway... You can go straight in."
The secretary bowed slightly at the stairway before leaving.
Without further ado, Michael walked to the end of the corridor and pushed open the massive office door.
Inside, a huge model of the Sea Train and a three-dinsional track blueprint dominated the view.
"Yohohoho, Marine Grand Inspector Michael and Marine Hero Garp—what distinguished guests."
A portly horned fish-man erged from the depths of the office, still dressed in his simple open cardigan.
"Mr. Tom, I've long admired your reputation." Michael stepped forward with a genuine smile, shaking Tom's hand.
"Back when you were first sentenced, you were practically driven to live in the scrapyard... Yet just a few years after completing the Sea Train, Tom Shipbuilding Company has made a miraculous coback."
"All of this is thanks to Enies Lobby—specifically, the two Marine pillars, Rear Admiral 'Ship Cutter' and Commodore 'Rust Tide,' who've been protecting Water 7. That's how the Sea Train was completed smoothly and Tom Shipbuilding revived." Tom sighed nostalgically.
"They ntioned they were your subordinates."
"That's true." Michael admitted without hesitation. "I did instruct them to keep an eye on Water 7 while stationed at Enies Lobby."
"Now, everyone, please have a seat." Tom nodded, guiding them to a round table and oversized chairs beside the Sea Train model.
"This young man... must also be a fish-man?"
"Correct! I'm a giant grouper fish-man!" Jack declared proudly. "Currently Vice Admiral Michael's direct subordinate!"
"A fishman joining the Marines... That was completely unimaginable in our ti," Tom said with a laugh.
"Vice Admiral Michael, you've truly set an extraordinary precedent."
"Extraordinary? I think it was just a natural progression," Michael nodded.
"Just like how you, Mr. Tom, are about to be fully exonerated—it's all coming together naturally."
"The CP organization has been interfering for two years now, trying to use this to force my hand... It's all about the Pluton Design Schematics," Tom sighed bitterly.
"I assu that's also why Vice Admiral Michael is here?"
"Hah? The Pluton schematics? That crap has nothing to do with ."
Michael waved his hand dismissively, smiling.
"The CP's obsession with Pluton just shows how shortsighted they are."
"In my eyes, the sea train you developed is a hundred tis more valuable than Pluton."
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