Claudius had initially planned to visit Prehistoric Island to catch so pets, but unforeseen circumstances forced him to abandon that plan. While on the edge of Prehistoric Island, he made a call to Dragon via a Den Den Mushi, arranging to et up later.
He instructed Dragon to contact him once he was done with his matters.
Dragon didn't push back on this. While it was an urgent matter, it wasn't imdiate. The delay wasn't significant, and, as Claudius ntioned, he knew Dragon wanted to learn ancient scripts from the books.
It was almost absurd, but there was no alternative; even if it seed foolish, one had to give it their best shot. Better that than doing nothing at all, right? Who knows, maybe there'd be a miracle?
Although Claudius didn't share the details of what had happened, Dragon could guess that whatever it was that caused him to miss the eting must have been significant. He'd just have to wait for the latest papers to find out more.
The Protheus, once at full speed, was incredibly fast. The ship was self-sufficient, with enough provisions to last a year without needing to resupply.
With the vessel running at maximum power, Claudius quickly made his way back to Mariejois.
Vice Admiral Garp seed to have been waiting for Claudius at the harbor. When he saw the Protheus docking, he stepped forward to greet them.
Claudius and his crew disembarked quickly. Stussy stood beside him, while Nia held little Ace. Enel, carrying his fishing rod, already looked like part of the group.
According to their arrangent, Claudius would let Enel set out on his own in a year's ti, similar to how he had let Crocodile go off on his own.
The young girl Robin showed no intention of disembarking, still holed up in the library. Nothing much to add there.
The mont Garp laid eyes on Ace, his face lit up. Without a word, he grabbed Ace and rubbed the boy's cheeks with his bearded face.
"Grandpa, that tickles! You're so annoying," Ace complained, trying to push Garp away with a look of mock disgust.
"Hahahaha! Ace, it's been a while. Did you miss Grandpa?" Garp asked with a hearty laugh.
"No, not at all," Ace replied rcilessly.
Garp's grin faltered slightly, and he shot a disapproving look at Claudius. "What kind of upbringing is this? Haven't you taught him to respect his elders?"
Claudius returned the look, sowhat exasperated. "What does that have to do with ? Ace is a bright and well-mannered kid. If there's an issue, it's on you."
True enough, Claudius had trained Ace well. The boy had received an excellent education and inherited Claudius's love for reading. Though his personality remained a bit "untad," likely due to Roger's adventurous blood running through him, he exuded a natural aura of adventure.
Still, he was far better behaved than his original wild-child self. Now that he was growing older, Claudius had even started developing his strength.
Garp knew better than to argue with Claudius, so he just let out a grumble, showing a hint of dissatisfaction. "Alright, ti's ticking. Let's not waste any more ti. Are you ready to go?" he said.
Claudius nodded and turned to Stussy. "You have your own business to handle here, right? Go take care of it."
"Of course, Your Highness. I wish you success in your endeavors," Stussy said with a smile.
Claudius acknowledged her and then turned to the head steward, Nia. "Nia, stay in Mariejois and take care of Ace until we return."
"Yes, Your Highness. I'll look after the young master," Nia said with a nod.
Next, Claudius looked at Enel and smiled. "A year from now, you'll set off on your own. Think of this as an opportunity to prove yourself."
Enel grinned, his eyes filled with excitent. "Your Highness, the standards you set for are really high. But don't worry, I won't let you down."
With that settled, Claudius and Enel departed with Garp.
They didn't take the Protheus this ti. With ti being short, taking the Protheus, which would have to pass through Fish-Man Island, would take at least a week for preparation and transit. By then, they might as well be laying flowers on Douglas Bullet's grave.
Crossing Mariejois, they arrived at the port on the New World side, where a Marine warship was already waiting.
Wasting no ti, Claudius and Garp boarded the ship together, a peculiar vessel with a dog-head design. Claudius could never quite figure out where Garp's strange sense of humor ca from.
Once on board, Garp, in a ceremonious fashion, took a dog-head cap from an aide and placed it on his head, leaving Claudius montarily stunned.
"What're you looking at? Jealous? I've got extras if you want one," Garp said, adjusting his hat.
Claudius quickly waved his hands. "No thanks. I'm just... surprised at your unique taste."
"You just don't get it. This is called personality. Do you even know what fashion is? Marines shouldn't be so dull," Garp said, pulling out a bag of senbei and munching on it.
Soon, the dog-headed warship set sail toward the New World.
After a few bites, Garp spoke up again. "Sengoku and the others set off two days ago. But my ship's been modified; we should be able to catch up."
"Yeah, I can tell. This thing looks like it's got the speed of a racing hound," Claudius joked, eyeing the dog-head bow.
"Is that a hint of sarcasm I'm hearing?" Garp asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You're imagining things. I'm genuinely complinting your ship," Claudius replied, not entirely sincerely.
Garp scratched his neck but didn't press the issue. Claudius then asked, "I heard from Fleet Admiral Kong that you're using a Buster Call for this mission. Seems like you've been triggering those more often these past few years."
Garp nodded, letting out a sigh. "Yeah, the increase in Buster Calls just shows one thing, the threats out at sea are getting worse."
"So what's the lineup for this one? I'm guessing Kong wants to make sure everything goes smoothly. He's not coming along, is he?" Claudius asked.
"No, Kong is staying back at Mariejois. Sengoku and I are leading the operation, with CP units participating as well. And of course, you've got your CP-X involved. On the Marine side, we've got , Sengoku, Tsuru, Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, Gion, plus the likes of Vice Admirals like the Momonga and Doberman."
Claudius's eyes widened at this. "A lineup like that? What do you even need CP-X for? With that kind of force, you could take on the Whitebeard Pirates!"
He ntally tallied the power: while Sengoku was the only official Admiral, Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, and Gion were all Admiral-level in strength. Not to ntion, Tsuru's strategic brilliance and Garp's unmatched battle prowess were also part of the mix.
More than half of the Marine's high command was deployed. Seven Admiral-level powers in one mission, it seed overkill for handling Douglas Bullet and Byrnndi World.
"Well, better safe than sorry. This is a big deal, and we can't afford any slip-ups. If even one of them gets away, it'll be chaos later on," Garp said matter-of-factly.
***
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