Arton's Sylvan and the Marine warship were sailing in opposite directions, and both ships were moving at their fastest speed. Before long, the distance between the two ships was only a few ters.
"Captain Fullbody, there's a pirate ship ahead. Should we capture them?" A Marine ran up to the ship's leader, seeking instructions.
"Pirates? Kreek's n?" Fullbody's face showed an expression of extre fear.
"No, it's an unfamiliar pirate flag. It seems to be a rookie crew," the Marine responded.
"A rookie crew? That's great! If we capture them, it should make up for letting Kreek's commander escape," Fullbody exclaid excitedly as he rushed to the side of the warship, directly facing the Sylvan.
But just as he was about to order his soldiers to seize the pirates, he caught sight of the Fla Blade Pirates' flag.
"Wait... is that the Fla Blade Pirates' flag?!"
"Stop, don't engage!" Fullbody's eyes widened in terror as he ordered the Marines around him to halt their preparations to load the cannons.
"Oh? You recognize my pirate flag?" Arton leaned on the ship's railing, watching Fullbody's reaction on the Marine warship with great interest.
His hearing was excellent, and he had overheard the earlier conversation between the Marine and Fullbody. Because of this, he confird that the Fullbody across from them was indeed the man in the Marines who had the sa "Iron Fist" title as Garp.
"A rookie pirate, not afraid of the Marines? That's too arrogant!"
"Captain Fullbody, we should still take them down," a Marine suggested, seeing Arton's calm expression and recalling the humiliation they suffered at the hands of the Kreek Pirates.
"Idiot, if you want to die, don't drag down with you," Fullbody turned and punched the Marine in the head. He then quickly looked back at Arton, only to find that Arton was no longer on the Sylvan.
"Are you looking for ?" Arton's voice ca from behind Fullbody.
"When... did you?!" Fullbody turned around and saw Arton standing behind him, leaving him completely frozen in place.
"You know about my pirate crew, so tell , how did you find out?" Arton asked with a bemused expression as he looked at Fullbody.
Fullbody swallowed hard. Although Arton was smiling, Fullbody had the overwhelming feeling that if he refused to answer, Arton would kill him. Rembering the information the higher-ups had provided about Arton, Fullbody finally spoke.
"You defeated Shiki. The Marine Headquarters inford us about you."
"I see! So the Marines know about . But then, why haven't you issued a bounty for ?"
"I... I don't know."
"You don't know? Shiki was a big deal, and I defeated him, yet you haven't issued a bounty for , but you still seem interested in tracking my movents? Can you tell why?"
"I really don't know. Honestly, the higher-ups just instructed us to keep an eye on you!"
"Alright, I'll take your word for it! So, what's the purpose of monitoring ? Now that we've encountered each other, what are you planning to do?"
Arton was genuinely curious about the lack of a bounty. He couldn't quite understand why the Marines hadn't issued one. So, now that he had run into a Marine who seed to know sothing, he naturally wanted to ask.
However, this ti, Fullbody remained silent in response to Arton's question.
"I think... the Marines want to know your location and are probably waiting for another opportunity to invite you to join the Marines," Fullbody finally admitted.
Carina leaned against the ship's railing, smiling.
Arton didn't know that the Marine won could see his diary, so Carina fully understood Arton's current thoughts. She also realized that the orders Fullbody received from above were likely to report Arton's location to the higher-ups, enabling Gion and Garp, who might still be in the East Blue, to find him.
"Invite to join the Marines?" Arton raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, rember when Garp and Gion invited you?" Carina replied.
"But I've already ford a pirate crew and even defeated Shiki," Arton pointed out.
"Maybe they think there's still a chance to bring you back onto the 'right path'," Carina suggested.
"Heh, if that's the case, they really have high hopes for ," Arton shook his head, finally accepting Carina's explanation.
"Never mind, it's not a big deal if the bounty cos a little later," Arton continued. "They'll have to issue one eventually."
"Speaking of which, if I were to kill you all right now, the Marines would have to issue a bounty, wouldn't they?" Arton said, turning his gaze toward Fullbody and the Marines behind him.
"Wa—" Fullbody could only get out one word before he felt a powerful aura emanating from Arton, which instantly shattered his ntal defenses. The next mont, Fullbody's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground. The Marines behind him suffered the sa fate.
"Conqueror's Haki, it's always so convenient to see it in action," Carina remarked. "But are you just going to leave them like this? What if they wake up and report our location to other Marines?"
Carina asked, looking at Arton, who had returned to the Sylvan with a puzzled and concerned expression.
"They're just small fry, no need to kill them all," Arton replied. "As for reporting our location... Heh, they're too weak. After being hit by my Conqueror's Haki, they won't wake up for a while. By the ti they report our location, we'll already be long gone from the Baratie."
Arton chuckled and signaled everyone to continue sailing forward.
"That makes sense," Carina nodded, agreeing with Arton's words.
However, just as she was about to continue her work, the new content appearing in the journal forced her to divide her attention between working with Nami and the others and keeping an eye on the journal.
["Encountered Marine Headquarters Lieutenant 'Iron Fist' Fullbody. He knows about , but clamd up when I asked why the Marines haven't issued a bounty for ."]
["Carina suggests that it's because the Marines still hope to recruit ."]
["Maybe that's the case. but if that's true, they're likely to be disappointed."]
["Once I kill the Celestial Dragons, they'll probably be very upset."]
["Speaking of which, I ran into those two Celestial Dragons in the East Blue earlier. I wonder if they've left the East Blue yet. It would be great if I could encounter them again."]
Gion: "..."
Ain: "..."
Hina: "..."
["Speaking of which, this Fullbody guy is pretty amusing. He actually shares the 'Iron Fist' title with Marine hero Garp."]
["How does he even dare? Garp is the man who hunted down the Pirate King!"]
["With such a weak punch, he dares to call himself Iron Fist?"]
["I rember that this guy doesn't amount to much in the future, just trailing after Hina and trying to curry favor."]
["Compared to Shiki, Garp is truly formidable."]
["Even at his advanced age, he can still shake an entire island with a single 'Fist of Love' at Beehive Island in the future."]
["Co to think of it, this move resembles Roger's 'Divine Departure' a bit. No wonder he was able to chase Roger for so long."]
[Image: Garp's Fist of Love!]
Yamato: "Is this Garp's move? It's incredible, almost like Kaido's Thunder Bagua... or maybe even more powerful?"
Domino: "If Vice Admiral Garp were willing to step in more often, it would be enough to intimidate most pirates."
Whitey Bay: "Is there really soone in the Marines with the sa Iron Fist title as Garp?"
Smoothie: "A Marine lieutenant? That's a bit laughable."
Black Maria: "Arton holds Garp in high regard. It seems Garp's strength hasn't declined with age, unlike Shiki..."
Kujaku: "Beehive Island? Isn't that the forr territory of the Rocks Pirates? Why would Vice Admiral Garp go there in the future?"
["The 'Fist of Love' perfectly embodies Garp's Iron Fist na. But if we're talking about truly impressive moves, it's Garp's Blue Hole that stands out."]
[Even the elental Marine Admiral Aokiji would be shattered by this 'Blue Hole.'"]
...
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