July, 28, 2020
READ THE WHOLE STORY AGAIN! This story had been majorly revised, all the past chapters (six) had sections in them that were changed or rewritten. With the recent chapters (last ch 985) a lot of new things had been revealed in the manga. Thus, I had to make a decision either to ignore all the new information and go on with what I had previously planned OR make some big revisions to the story and the plots that I had planned. As you understood, I chose the latter. Special thanks to Black' Victor Cachat for his enormous help with reversion. I wouldn't have made it without his insight and encouragement.
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Read again! Waiting to hear your thoughts.
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This chapter was beta'd by the wonderful Gerbilfriend and Black' Victor Cachat who both helped me a lot with grammar, paraphrasing, ideas and especially with their endless encouragement :D (*Ace's deep bow*)
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Warnings:
English is my fourth language. Spoilers to Chapter 985. Warning may change in the future.
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Guest's reviewers' answers:
Whitefang001
Thank you for your review and support:)
I rewrote the story; I still hope you would enjoy it!
Hope you enjoy the new chapter! Looking forward to reading your thoughts!
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Guest (please choose a name/nickname)
Thank you for your review and support:)
Letting you know I rewrote the story. So, read it again! ;)
I stopped updating in Ao3, I will write something there. Thanks!
I wanted to read WB back in time, so I ended up writing it, and then rewriting it. LOL
I also really like Shanks, that's why I wrote other stories about him! Yo can check Shanks's Choice, if you are interested! :D
Also, hope you enjoy the new chapter! Looking forward to reading your thoughts!
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Riverway14
Thank you for your review and support:)
Letting you know I rewrote the story. So, read it again! ;)
Also, hope you enjoy the new chapter! Looking forward to reading your thoughts!
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READ NOTES AT THE END!
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"What got your knickers in a bunch?"
Sengoku looked up from the maps and papers he was busy examining for the last hour.
"Garp," he said as a greeting, returning his gaze back to the papers with a grim demeanor and frown lines between his eyebrows.
"You're already back... I thought you had something urgent to take care of."
There was no answer forthcoming to his remark. Sengoku paused and looked back up at his longtime friend, his eyes scrutinizing him intently. Garp in his full uniform, even wearing his dog cap, was still standing near the entrance to his office in the Marine HQ.
He hesitantly prompted, "Anything wrong?"
Garp had a faraway look in his eyes that looked out of place on his face, even a bit alarming.
"Nahhh," Garp said out loud, he turned his gaze back to him. His eyes were clear, noted Sengoku, a bit sad.
"It doesn't matter anymore," Garp muttered under his breath.
Sengoku heard his quiet remark but didn't comment. He merely raised an eyebrow and returned to examine the papers in front of him. He had known Garp for years, and one thing he had learned pretty quickly about the carefree loose-lips loud idiot was that when he did not wish to talk about something then nothing could make him do it. The Fleet Admiral just wished the Vice-Admiral was this tight-lipped about the Marine's secrets.
"Why did you come here?"
"Ahh… My rice crackers!" exclaimed Garp as if struck to the core with sudden enlightenment. He frantically looked around the office.
"Yours?!," snorted the Fleet Admiral in exasperation.
"Yes, where did you hide them? I heard they finally released the new brand. I know you have them. You're the goody-two-shoes type that always pre-orders."
Sengoku had a lot to say about this. First, being ready and pre-ordering didn't make someone a goody-two-shoes. It was just a good sense. Secondly, the… . The Fleet Admiral sighed mentally and pressed his lips together. Why bother, it wasn't like Garp would pay attention. After all, he was busy ransacking The Fleet Admiral's Office, again.
Sengoku contemplated the wisdom of letting Garp continue in his quest for chaos, or just telling him where he had hidden it.
"Right cabinet by the wall near the window," he said after a beat. Even though he wasn't the one that was going to do the cleaning or even oversee it. He still deeply sympathized with his staff. They were overworked and stressed as it was.
Garp perked up and went straight to it.
"Wait, here is the k…." he trailed off.
His mistake.
He should have begun with 'here is the key', then the location.
Too late, his sea-stone cabinet was busted wide open, and Garp had already opened one of the XL bags of rice-crackers (they were all in the biggest size). The other bags in the cabinet were now safely tucked under one of his arms.
"Only one," Sengoku told him threateningly.
Sengoku had taken the necessary precautions to avoid such scenarios. He, of course, had hidden the bags of rice crackers in a few other places inside and outside the office. But that didn't mean he would let Garp run loose with his rice crackers.
Garp as usual ignored him and moved closer to stand by him. Both of them looking at the papers spread on his large desk. Garp munching all the while on his rice crackers.
"What are you look… oi, this Whitebeard's movement. Why are you looking at the old man?"
Sengoku kept quiet. He eyed the crumbs falling from his Vice-Admiral's mouth on the papers with disdain as he spoke.
"I didn't hear about anything unusual happening," Garp added. It was half question, half statement. Has something happened that I am unaware of? Was his unspoken question.
"Wait, is that about Fisher Tiger's death?"
"Maybe," Sengoku paused for a moment's reflection and then went on, "No, I don't think so, the Whitebeard Pirates unusual movements began before his death."
"Is he really dead?" Sengoku noted the low, almost stifled tone of Garp's voice.
"Yes, Rear-Admiral Strawberry laid an ambush to capture or kill Fisher Tiger, and he was critically injured, but the Sun Pirates were able to rescue him..." Garp interpreted with a shout of, "That doesn't mean he is dead!"
Sengoku, Tsuru, and maybe Kuzan knew that Garp admired Fisher Tiger. After all, the man's actions fit Garp's own moral code. Garp was never subtle with his thoughts and actions, it was a good thing that his crew was loyal and used to his weird antics. Alright, maybe 'used to' was a bit of a strong word to use. Maybe it's better to say they adapted to the reality of nothing ever making any sense, where their best chances of surviving were to roll with his Fists of Love (surviving mentally was another matter entirely). Whatever happened in Garp's vicinity, was just an unexplained illusion, to never be spoken about or, even remembered.
In one of his drunken stupors, Garp had admitted to him and Tsuru that he hated the word hero whenever someone said it regarding him, a true hero was someone like Fisher Tiger who freed those really in need, like slaves. Sengoku wasn't sure if Garp remembered what he had said in his drunken daze. But it was an unspoken agreement to never speak about that night.
"A few hours later, Vice-Admiral Borsalino interrupted some of the Sun pirates trying to mount an attack to avenge their dead captain. Borsalino caught them and sent them to G-2 for interrogation. It was confirmed that he died from blood loss and the fact that now there seems to be a new captain for the Sun Pirates all but confirm it."
"The blasted nobles are probably having a blasted celebration," mumbled Garp as he crushed, and ground his teeth even after there were no crackers in his mouth.
"Garp," he rebuked sharply.
Sengoku tried to be honest with himself in the very privacy of his inner mind, it kept his sanity somehow intact. It never needed to be said between them. It never sat right with either of them that Nobels could and were keeping slaves. It was the ultimate hypocrisy. The government abolished slavery, yet the rulers -the one who introduced the law- practiced acquiring slaves whenever suited them.
It was with good reason he never assigned Garp with anything to do with Nobles. Even if twenty-five years ago he had fought to the death alongside the future Pirate King to protect some World Nobles and their slaves in the God Valley against the Rocks Pirates. The Fight that made him known as the Hero of the Marines but that was an isolated incident.
Back in the day, as a new recruit, Sengoku had complained naively about the slaves' issue to his superiors. Climbing the ranks, he learned not to mention it. He didn't have the power or the authority to do anything about it -even as Fleet Admiral- and those who had didn't intend to do anything to change the status quo.
As a Marine, you learned fast that the justice you preached didn't include the World Nobles.
He didn't like it or approve of it, but he learned to live with it. To turn a blind eye.
In the end, no matter how hard or gut-wrenching it was, he would always choose duty over ideals and beliefs. Duty always came first.
"Who was caught? There were no names mentioned in the papers," Garp was still busy stuffing his face with more of his crackers.
"None of them even had a bounty. Just small fries. Someone named Arlong was the one who led the charge trying to get revenge against the marines. The ones that survived are on their way to Impel Down and should arrive tomorrow I think," he said dismissively.
The Sun Pirates were a thorn to the World Government's side, one which they intended to take care of before it got worse again.
"How are you planning to squash them? Before they regroup and go about freeing slaves again. Have you already sent someone?"
Sengoku ignored the mocking tone, and answered evenly.
"Not yet, Kong wants us to do something and fast. But they are staying low at the moment, we have no new intel about their whereabouts."
"Of course, he does. Those scoundrels don't care how it's done, they just wanted to be over with and quickly, without a care for how much blood is spilled. Including ours. I'll never understand how it is okay for Warlords to exist and be funded by the World Government, but for people such as Tiger trying to save his people not to be."
One of the things he admired about Garp was his unshaken moral code. Of course, except when it infuriated him. This was such a case.
A surge of rage poured through him - a typical occurrence when dealing for a long stretch of times with Garp- Sengoku gradually straightened himself up, turned to face him directly, and opened his mouth to shout then paused, closing his mouth.
A thought had come unbidden into his mind. He involuntarily ran a hand through his long, braided goatee as he turned to face the desk. The more he thought about it, the more he believed it could work. Yes, it just might be brilliant, and actually fix the whole mess. It was all thanks to Garp. He might just let him take another bag of rice crackers.
"How about sending the new captain of the Sun Pirates an offer to join the Warlords?"
Playing the devil's advocate came naturally to Garp. He loved arguing back and had some surprisingly good points. While he was an idiot, he had good instincts, and lots of hard-earned experience. So Sengoku had learned long ago the benefits of bouncing some of his ideas off of him before speaking to Kong.
The question had surprised Garp, for second his jaw hung limp, the crackers in his open mouth almost falling out, before his jaw resumed its work vigorously.
"HUH? You just took out their Captain! Sure, they would gladly accept and say thank you too! Absolute bollocks! And you just said that you stopped a revenge plot by some of them!. And few of their comrades died in your care! They are going to be sooooo happy to hear from you. They would embrace you so hard, life would be choked out of you. Or whoever poor bastard you send. Cause they are so delighted and thankful! Honored even!"
Sengoku focused on the spoken words and nothing else (like the tone).
A good point. Better wait a bit before sending the offer. Let tempers cool. How long was appropriate to wait in such cases. Few months? He didn't want to miss the right timing.
Garp huffed and puffed at him, muttering about idiotic, unfeeling people and unreasonable stupid offers, but out loud he asked.
"Who is the new captain anyway?"
"According to the intelligence division, it will probably be Jinbe. He certainly holds the highest bounty after Fisher Tiger, and has some charisma and leadership qualities."
"He is not as notorious as the current Warlord crop. Plus no openings. IS this the farts idea or yours?"
"Mine, thanks to you."
Sengoku enjoyed watching the emotion changing on Garp's face. His displeasure was showing at the mere idea of him being any help to the Fleet Admiral.
Sengoku pondered Garp's short comment.
The 'no Warlord opening' wasn't a real problem.
They usually let the new Warlord take care of it. A way to prove his strength. A rite of passage, he mused.
Yes, Jinbe wasn't yet what they usually go for Warlord. But he wasn't that far from it either. His first bounty was 76,000,000 Beli -the numbers still fresh in his mind- which was a very impressive one, pointing to an impressive strength.
He was also a Fishman, which could partly explain the higher bounty. Being a Fishman in itself was a bonus point. In general, Humans feared and hated what was different from them. Fishmen were not only different in their appearance and their ability to swim underwater. They were stronger physically too. Others would fear him just by hearing he was a Fishman, and it would send his infamy soaring.
Jinbe was also the one that saved Fisher Tiger despite being surrounded by marines, even if his efforts were in vain at the end. The reports he read from the still recovering Rear-Admiral Strawberry suggested that in their brief exchange both of them had used Haki, the clash sent marines flying around. In the end, Jinbe had defeated Strawberry but instead of delivering the finishing blow, he had left to take care of his wounded captain.
Yes, he preferred to have him working with the marines. Or else the Fishman had the potential to be a real thorn to their side, once he got the hang of leading his crew. Hopefully, after he became Warlord, they would send him to take care of a few 'notorious' pirates, again to prove himself, but also to spread his fame.
They never had a Fishman before as one of the Warlords, maybe it was time.
The more he considered it, the more convinced he was that it was the best solution. Instead of explaining his logic behind the suggestion to Vice-Admiral Airhead here, who had just let the empty bag fall on the ground and was about to open a new bag of crackers with glee. He would allow just another bag. Garp did help him come up with a good idea. Even if he didn't intend it as such, and it was in a very roundabout way.
Sengoku said out loud, "The World Government doesn't want to deal with the World Nobles complaints about slaves going missing, and the Sun Pirates can get funds and the Government protection, and anyone that joins his crew will be protected even if he or she was a slave." His voice trailed off when he saw the comical expression on Garp's face (Yes, he does appreciate the irony here).
He ignored Garp's loud muttering about insane hypocrisy, and bloody corrupt system, and added, thoughtfully, "Maybe return the captured Fishmen to sweeten the deal, pity that more of them did not survive." He would have someone call Magellan. Or maybe he would call him himself to check on the prison status and order the warden to keep the Fishmen on one of the easiest levels in Impel Down, and keep an extra eye on them. He can't have them die, or be too broken, before he has used them.
Garp grunted with mouth fall of crackers, spreading even more crumbs in his office, but didn't comment.
Hmmmm… He could also sell the whole thing to Kong and the elders as tokenism to try to ease relations between their two species.
"With a fishman as Warlord we could gradually improve the relationship between the species," Sengoku explained and asked him directly, "What do you think?"
Garp was still frowning, but the expression was now thoughtful instead of… appalled. He promptly and bluntly answered.
"You know what I think about the Warlords, the whole bloody thing, but that sounds like a good use for that system. I hope he takes the offer."
Garp didn't like any kind of discrimination, and the discrimination against the Fishmen and merpeople was rampaging everywhere. The fact that they were not part of the World Government made them more of a target, but that was out of his jurisdiction. If the new captain took the offer, things could change for the better.
"We will see," he shrugged. He would think about it some more before he would take it to the higher-ups.
"So Whitebeard?" Garp said as he moved over to the couch near the entrance, tossed the bags on it, and sat comfortably with his newly opened bag of rice crackers.
"Kong," was all needed to be said. The former Fleet Admiral and the current Commander-in-Chief for the World Government was what had his knickers in a bunch - as Garp had eloquently put it-.
Garp snorted loudly, "What the five old farts want now?" His mouth both chomping and producing words at the same time.
Sengoku was about to automatically admonish him as always whenever he disrespected the World Nobles. Instead, he let out a frustrated sigh, adding a mental note to have the place vacuumed thoroughly after Garp left.
"They are worried about his unusual movements these few months."
"Is it about his meeting with that Shitty Red-Haired brat then? They meet again or something?"
Sengoku found the use of profanity here amusing. A few months back, Garp had stormed the intelligence division and demanded everything on one Red-Hair Shanks.
Sengoku knew about it because of all the complaints he received from said division. When he confronted him about it, Garp had murmured about evil pirates corrupting innocent children, and demanded to be told at once when any sighting of him was reported.
Sengoku was still unable to get him to tell him where they had met. Garp had insisted that they hadn't, because if they had, the brat would be following his Captain's steps on the stairway to heaven (or hell, whatever). His crew and Bogard had said the same thing and they didn't seem to be covering one of Garp's screwups. All the while Garp was shouting in the background something about him being rusty and wanting someone to practice his Meteor Fist Shower on. Only Garp would consider throwing with all his might one thousand iron cannonballs at someone, a training.
With Garp actively searching for him -for whatever reason- Sengoku had ordered all reports about Red-Hair to be forwarded directly to Garp.
Let Garp deal with him, he had always done whatever suited his fancy, anyway; and the Fleet Admiral could reassign the allocated resources to get rid of Red Hair before he became an even bigger headache to dealing with other headaches. Even if the world thought so - especially the elders sometimes- they didn't have infinite resources.
The problem was that Garp couldn't seem to catch up to him. Mind you, it wasn't that long since the chase had begun, but still. Whenever there was a sighting of him, Garp would rush over, for Red Hair to disappear, leaving no clue to where he went next. At one point, Garp had come close, when he had been called unexpectedly away by a personal emergency back at East Blue. Someone had been injured or seriously sick, Garp had shouted something like that, and cut the communication line and sailed away. He would try to find out later what it was about, except if he asked now this conversation could easily go south.
"No, as far as our spies found there was no more communication of any kind between them."
"So what's the problem? It isn't like this was a meeting between two Sankos? Why the hell all the fuss? Sure, the Red Hair brat is pretty strong … Is it because he was a former Roger's pirate?" Garp snorted unimpressed. He carelessly wiped crumbs from his mustache, scattering them over the couch.
His body language was screaming; 'The obsession of the World Government with anything to do with Pirate King even more than twelve years after his death was approaching criminal'.
"None of our ships saw the actual meeting, there was some kind of storm before, and our ships lost sight of the Moby Dick, we found about it afterward from one of our undercover agents in a pirate crew allied with Whitebeard," Sengoku said and carried on explaining.
"A few of our ships that were somewhere in the vicinity said that the sky split into two for a few minutes. Basically, the weather changed drastically from one end to the other, and then back again. This corresponded to the time the two met. So it was most likely not a typical New World weather, but that the two had a… fight."
"Are you saying the young brat came to the Moby to challenge Whitebeard, trying to overthrow the old man? To do what his former Captain couldn't achieve?"
"Maybe," Sengoku allowed.
"How serious was the fight? I only get a report that they met. Is the damn brat even alive?"
Sengoku raised an eyebrow at the tone Garp used. He sounded almost concerned. Didn't he want to beat the guy?
"As far as we know, yes. It seemed to be … one hell of a fight, to quote the Vice-Admiral. He said that he never saw anything like it before. It was like there were two skies existing near each other at the same time. And the clashing Haki he felt was gigantic. So, gigantic, that they used it to pinpoint where the Moby had disappeared to."
"He is alive?" demanded Garp again. He had stopped eating. His eyes gleaming with a challenge.
"As far as we know yes, but there were reports that Red Hair had lost his hand, his dominant hand at that, in the fight but we don't have confirmation yet. There are some conflicting reports, others said he had already lost it before the meeting. One report said he had already lost it when he was seen in Sabaody, a few months ago."
Garp had suddenly gone still and quiet… still as a marble statue. Sengoku frowned and tried to make eye contact, but Garp stared stoically ahead.
"Garp, do you know something?" Sengoku asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
Garp was startled. He blinked, looked at him, blurted out loudly "Huh, about what?" And returned to shoveling back quantities of crackers into his mouth, and loudly crunching on them.
"Never mind," Sengoku muttered under his breath. He didn't have the patience for this. He had a lot on his head, without dealing with Garp and his endless, boundless problems. He left this honor to Garp's right hand. Bogard. The man was due to another pay rise. He earned each and every one of them from dealing with Garp as much as he did.
"Anything else happened between those two to make them so uptight?" Garp asked loudly, it felt like he was trying to change the subject.
"No, nothing had happened since then." They had been keeping even a closer eye at these two. Certainly, nothing to explain the following activities of Whitebeard.
"Is he planning an attack on Red Hair?"
"Then why stop the fight and not finish him off then and there? And if he was planning an attack it would have happened by now. A few months have already gone by," Sengoku countered calmly.
"So the Red Hair brat fought a Sanko at full power if the reports to be believed and lived to tell the tale, impressive."
"No comment on Whitebeard becoming weak, getting old? Losing his touch?"
"Sheesh, if Whitebeard got old, what about us? Are you saying you are ready to retire?"
Sengoku growled, slamming his hand on the desk, scattering some of the papers. "Trying to pick a fight with me? You remember who handed whose ass to whom last time."
"You are still going on and on about that, let's do it here and now goat-head!" Garp barked. The hand holding the cracker bag, clenched into an enormous fist and slammed into the other, half-open hand, as he stood up to his full height, his aura intensifying.
"Why you empty-headed cracker stealing moron," Sengoku left his desk and took a few wide steps, clutching his dangling hands into fists, coming face to face with Garp.
They were standing so close to each other that their foreheads were nearly touching. He could clearly see his reflection in Garp's eyes. His angry eyes and gritted teeth mirrored in the Vice-Admiral face. He glared fiercely at Garp, who glared back just as menacingly.
"Emmm… if you are going to fight? Could you… please take it to one of the designated training areas? We still hadn't finished paying the damages from the last time. Thank you," a shivering voice said from the doorway. The face of a young marine in the secretarial staff appeared and disappeared just as fast when he finished saying his piece.
Both of them were emitting alarming amounts of Haki that even the ones blind to it, yet knew the symptoms, had noticed.
"Tchah," they both exclaimed in annoyance, turning their back to each other.
He could hear Garp sitting back, and the munching sound followed.
Sengoku took a calming breath and reproached himself for getting easily riled up -once again- by Garp. He was the Fleet Admiral for Justice's Sake. He took another one.
"This meeting got them worried," he muttered loudly enough for Garp's to hear over his noisy chomping.
The Five elders had wanted to know everything about this fight and meeting. It was probably the main reason why they wanted to keep a closer eye on both of them.
Garp had already calmed down completely. As quickly as he flared up, he flared down.
"What? Are they thinking that the old man is aiming for the One Piece now? And that's why he met him? And they fought because the scoundrel Red Hair refused to divulge any information?" Garp's voice was colored with a touch of mockery. His lips pulled back into a sneer as he let out a loud laugh at the ridiculous notion.
"It was one of the options that were discussed in my meeting with them," Sengoku said tightly. Garp's nonstop sniggering gritted on his nerves.
The Fleet Admiral heaved a deep sigh mixed with exasperation and exhaustion. In truth, he agreed with Garp's reaction. Whitebeard had never shown any kind of interest in searching for One Piece or the last island, Raftel, for the last twelve years. He was the one that had the best chance to achieve the title and find the 'treasure', yet to their utter relief, he never made any move for it. He seemed to be satisfied with 'ruling' the seas by the empty throne left by the Pirate King's execution.
On the other hand, the other two Sankos were searching for the last island actively, each one of them was rumored to have in their possession a Road Poneglyph each, and were actively seeking the others. If for some unfathomable reason Whitebeard decided he wanted to seek Raftel, the chatter of a Sanko's crew and allies searching for the 'clues' would have been brought to their attention. They wouldn't even need their spies to find out about it. This kind of news would be yelled out from every roof.
"Now, I am curious what other great options were considered?" Garp asked, wiping away tears of laughter with the back of his hand, grabbing a handful of crackers and popping them into his mouth.
Sengoku didn't answer. Why would he give the cannon obsessed madman more ammo (cannonball kind of ammo?). So, the cracker-obsessed-fool could throw them at him?
None of their theories or ideas had seemed probable. They needed more information, including a better sense of context.
They only had a few pieces of information, and they couldn't yet piece them together in a way that would make any sense.
"The fight itself between the two pirates was the main concern," he repeated, evading the issue.
"It should be, 'cause that means Red Hair has the potential to become an Emperor…depends on how he become one…in the worst case scenario the Sanko may become Yonko. I am sure this would not please them. Are they going to try to crush him before he becomes a problem later or maybe try to recruit him as Warlord? Open an eighth spot or get rid of someone." It was said with a mocking tone, again. The Fleet Admiral forced himself to stay calm. He was a big boy with big boy pants, unlike the small-headed fool with tiny panties. He smirked mentally at the image.
Red Hair had refused them before. The Elders wanted to keep him under their sight and control so they sent him an 'invitation' early on, which he ignored.
"Are you volunteering?"
"Tell me when and where, and I will take care of him!"
Yes, along with one thousand iron cannonballs. He almost felt sorry for the pirate. Garp held grudges like no one business. The problem was that Red Hair was cunning enough to always vanish before they get too close. Red-Hair Shanks had a small but strong crew, handpicked by him and a fast ship, just like his former captain.
Garp was busy munching on his crackers and cursing the evil scoundrel, swearing up and down that he would catch him soon. Sengoku tuned out his Vice-Admiral's ramblings and concentrated on what was on his own mind.
As tempting as that solution sounded, they couldn't afford to keep letting someone as valuable as Garp run around without results. While he might be a mere 'Vice-Admiral' in title, he was a powerhouse, who could easily tip the balance in any kind of emergency. For a moment, he had entertained the idea of sending an Admiral, in addition to Garp, it was clearly an overkill, but it just might take care of the problem quickly. But that meant they would have the same problem, the HQ would be missing two powerhouses for who knows how long, while chasing off Red Hair to who-knows-where. The Elders would never allow it, especially with Whitebeard's recent unexplained movements. He shot down the idea immediately.
But maybe they should increase his bounty instead. They had delayed this so far as not to have such an increase garnering too much attention, and raising unwanted questions for the reasons for such an increase. The fight was still under wraps mostly, but only for now. Unfortunately, it would need to be a massive increase, he would discuss it later today when he met Kong and the elders.
Garp was still in the middle of explaining his detailed plan of just how he would take care of the swine that dared corrupt children!
The Fleet Admiral shook his head at Garp's eagerness and returned to stare at the papers in front of him. His eyes were unable to focus as his mind raced.
If he wanted to be brutally blunt about it, of the three Sankos, Whitebeard worried him the least. Whitebeard had never gone out of his way to antagonize the marines or the World Government. He didn't rock the boat (pun (not) intended). If the marines did not strike one of his allies or territories then they were like air to him. If confronted with a marine ship he preferred to outsail it instead of attacking it, unlike the other two. He would never say this out loud, but Whitebeard and his allies had kept better order than the marine could ever do in their New World territories.
The fact that those three ex-crewmates were at odds was a blessing, especially for keeping the balance between the three great powers. Marines. Warlords. And Sankos. He refused to dwell on the possibility of the Sanko becoming a Yonko, and what that meant for the balance of power. He had enough to worry about without a farfetched idea, that may not happen. Even if the Red Hair was to become another Emperor, it would most likely take the killing of another Emperor for the 'world' to see him as such, and with that, the power equilibrium wouldn't change.
On the outside, it seemed that the World Government had the upper hand with both the Marines and the Warlords under its complete control. But the Warlords followed orders whenever it suited their whims, and their action and schemes could easily disturb the balance.
While the Yonkos were not as orderly and composed as the marines, each one of them had his own plans and way of doing things. It was a chaotic rule, to say the least. But their chaotic strength, even separate, was that equivalent to both the Marines and the Warlords. If the three Yonkos were to ally...No, even an alliance between two of the three would surely tip the balance squarely against the World Government. If this balance got disrupted, the world itself could descend into anarchy and absolute chaos.
This must never happen.
Hence the need to keep figuring out why Whitebeard was acting so out of character.
Sengoku let out a shaky breath, which seemed loud in his ears, and forced himself to focus.
While less urgent, figuring Red Hair Shanks latest moves may help shed light -indirectly- on Whitebeard's unexplained movement and what to expect in general in the New World.
These last few years, Red Hair's name has become more notorious. Sengoku had spent late nights reading detailed reports each time Red Hair and Hawkeyes, the World's Strongest Swordsman and one of the Warlords, dueled. Or 'clashed,' as anxious and/or over-dramatic marines preferred to describe it. On top of that, the latest reports of his fight with THE Sanko, was inferring that the man possessed even more frightening potential than previously thought. And the mere possibility of him taking out another Sanko, and replacing him, or worse becoming a fourth Emperor, was very alarming.
Maybe sending an admiral on top of Garp wasn't overkill, except he just couldn't afford the risk. Even letting Garp roam free for this long was taking its toll.
Twelve years had passed since Gold Roger's death, most of the public had forgotten that Red Hair Shanks was once part of the Pirate King's crew (with lots of help from the World Government). Although, the fact he was part of the former Pirate King crew was always gnawing on them. They had been keeping an eye on him since he reappeared as captain of his own crew.
But, his sudden disappearance from the New World and then his return had his intelligence division climbing the walls. Where had he been? And Why? The major problem was to know when he had disappeared and for how long. The intelligence division had estimated at least half a year. Their ship had been sighted all over the blues and all the agents they sent for follow up investigations had just found lots of purchases for different kinds of sake, but never the man himself. It seemed the young pirate was obsessed with drinking as much as Garp was obsessed with different flavors of rice crackers. He should keep this in mind if the need ever arose to ambush him or trick him. Any kind of information could be exploited under the right circumstances.
"The unexplained meeting with Red Hair and their fight, and on top of that Whitebeard had been meeting more with his allies, and his ships are slipping away more and more often from the battleships that are assigned to follow him. A few reports suggested that there were major renovations happening on their main ship."
The last bit caught Garp's attention. With his mouth full he asked, "What kind of ….renovations?" He said the last word with relish. As if he just learned a new funny word.
"Some reports say he added a deck to the ship, others say that some of the weaponry, especially that the cannons were upgraded… things like that," Sengoku hid his unease with a simple shrug. He wasn't sure he deceived Garp's sharp eyes.
While the idea that a Sanko's already powerful -dare he say legendary - ship was getting some kind of upgrade was really worrying, what was more concerning was that none of their ships or spies could get close enough to confirm what kind of upgrades they were. None of the reports they received were conclusive.
"So, they think he's planning something?"
"It seems so, even though we don't know what."
"Why the farts worried? They don't think he is planning something against the marines?"
"No, even Kong didn't say this bluntly. I think the sudden movement of the Strongest Man in the World made them a bit uneasy especially when they don't know why."
It had also made him uneasy, a move by Whitebeard even if it wasn't aimed at the marines, would send waves all over the world. The consequences might take years to appear and the extent of the effect was unknown. Whitebeard was cunning and knowledgeable enough to know that any move by him would gain attention and may have lasting effects. So the Sanko knew they knew he was up to something. Except they still had no explanation as to why the man had suddenly stopped 'hibernating' in his own part of the world. What had happened to stir him up?
Garp grumbled at the mention of Kong, just like every other time his name was mentioned so far. Yet he continued munching on the rice crackers, spreading crumbs all over his couch.
"You met him again, didn't you?" Sengoku asked knowingly.
"Who? Kong, yeah. A few weeks back," Garp swallowed huge mouthfuls of rice crackers, and added, "The usual blah blah about becoming an admiral blah blah marine hero blah blah blah more recruits blah blah. Tchahhh!"
It was the Fleet Admiral turn to snort loudly. Garp had had this conversation with Kong a few dozen times by now. He still refused any kind of promotion. He always complained that it would hinder his movement, and drop his efficiency. And there was the fact that as an Admiral he would be under the direct thumb of the World Noble and answer directly to them, which was against Garp's moral code. But, he and Tsuru knew the truth. Garp was running away from all the paperwork.
Really, if someone had told him about the quantity of the paperwork he would have to deal with as Fleet Admiral, he might have become a pirate instead (well, maybe just stayed as an Admiral instead).
"So what do they want you to do?"
"Spy."
"We do have some spies already with few of his allies."
"Not close enough to his inner circle."
"Well, yeah, if it was this easy, we would have done it years ago. Do they want us to pull another Byrnndi World!"
Sengoku gave out an amused snort. Byrnndi World had been a powerful pirate known as 'Destroyer of the World' because of his devastating Devil Fruit Powers, but he was very... ignorant of how the world actually worked.
He had attacked World Nobles which made him a threat to the World Government. In turn, the World Government used other pirates' grudges against him to try to take him down. In the end, it only took for agents who infiltrated his crew to convince some of the lower subordinates to betray him, and the Cipher Pol to finish the job of capturing him. He was now frozen in the sixth level in Impel Down.
While Whitebeard had many enemies, and they might even be able to gather them and convince them to attack him, with enforcement from the marines and the Cipher Pol. He doubted it would work. Re-using that trick would never fool someone as cunning and powerful as Whitebeard, especially with the amount of loyalty he inspired with his crew and followers.
Sengoku nodded to himself. Whitebeard's pirates and also his allies were known to be a very tight knotted group. His chosen commanders were not just powerful but also resourceful and cunning and unquestionably loyal to their so-called 'father'. They were the core of his crew. Planting a spy among his inner group would take years of planning and patience. And was most probably to fail.
The other alternative was, "They want us to try to find someone, in the know, who we could turn."
"From his inner circle? Even with World, the Cipher Pol was only able to threaten and turn the low ranked ones; the ones new to the crew. Never one of his core subordinates. Have the farts finally lost it? Those senile about to kick the buckets?"
Sengoku chose not to deign this with a response.
"Why not give this to their pets CP0?"
"I am not sure that they didn't," that made Garp stop with his munching for a few seconds before asking with clear interest. "What are you going to do?"
Sengoku moved swiftly near the couth and snatched one of the rice crackers bags on the coach, returned to his spot near the desk as he opened the bag.
"If I find what he is planning then I don't have to deal with the spy thing. If that doesn't work I will put Sakazuki in charge of the spy thing. He does enjoy his mind games after all, and I will leave it to him." Sengoku explained his logic to his friend, who grunted with what may have been amusement when the new Admiral name was mentioned, or it could have been gas for all he knew.
Sengoku put the open bag on his desk, a bit far from the papers. He picked out a few crackers, and popped them into his mouth and munched away. This was good for his stress levels. He wondered if he could use his mental health as an excuse to charge the expense of buying the rice-crackers to one of their budgets instead of his personal account.
Garp stood up as he brushed himself down, a huge amount of crumbs fell to the carpeted floor. He moved closer to the desk, on his face was an all-teeth smile, that felt a bit unnatural. Sengoku focused on his face trying to figure what the fool was up to now.
"Good luck ... on your endeavor Bwahaha... you will need it... Bwahahahahhahhaha!"
Garp swiftly turned around and strode hurriedly out of room.
His bloody annoying laughter rang out long after he had left, clearly enjoying his boss's plight.
Sengoku sighed in frustration, his shoulders slumped in weariness.
Life as a pirate didn't seem so bad right now. Maybe the Fleet Admiral should defect and join Whitebeard himself. He can sell it as him volunteering to be the spy. It was so farfetched that it could even work better than any other scheme the CP0 could ever come up with.
Sengoku reached for a cracker.
He found air. Air and a single crumb.
...
"GARP! DAMN YOU! BRING ME BACK MY CRACKERS!"
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XXXXX
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Purupuru purupuru purupuru
Gacha
"Rayleigh?"
"Shanks, I see you finally received the Den Den Mushi. I was waiting for your call."
"I just finished calling Whitebeard, and called you right after."
"Oh?"
"He wasn't happy with all of my questions."
Rayleigh snorted a laugh.
"But on the bright side, I can tell Benny!"
"He agreed to that?" Was it that easy?
"He said and I am quoting 'of course you can tell him, someone with functioning brain should be in charge'"
"Well, he is not wrong," Rayleigh murmured between bouts of laughter.
"Hey!" Shanks said playfully offended. "Just so you know, I am going to call him again after we finish!"
"Of course you are!"
It was one of his endearing qualities, Shanks never knew when to stop. Well, he called it endearing now! Once it used to make him want to jump into the sea taking him and Buggy with him.
Having him 'nagging' Whitebeard can be his little revenge for what his old rival put him through in their last meeting. Maybe he should give a little nudge. A very tiny one.
"Where are you?" Shanks asked in an apparent happy mood. Rayleigh almost felt bad for what he was about to do. Almost.
"Funny that you asked. I am about to arrive at the harbor of the small village you told me about."
A slight pause was needed for Shanks to grasp what Rayleigh was implying.
"You are in East Blue? GOA? Near LUFFY? WHAT? WHYYYYYYY?"
"I met Crocus on the way, and he also heard the question."
"Wh..wait, what? When? He did too! It's fishy as fuc... Nooooo...Why are you there? What happened? What are you…? You met Whitebeard, right? He mentioned that you did…You planned something together..."
Rayleigh could almost see Shanks's fretting on the other side. His nonsensical mumbling and muttering highlighted his panic.
He asked in a light casual tone, "Oh, right. Do you know what Luffy's crew name was in the future?"
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"NO ONE TELL ME ANYTHING! I AM GOING TO CALL THAT SENILE OLD MAN! JUST YOU WAIT!"
Clank.
Rayleigh returned the receiver to its place, and calmly and methodically paddled his small boat in the direction of the small harbor.
All the while, there wasn't an evil self-satisfied smile on his face.
Really.
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XXXXX
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Purupuru purupuru purupuru
Gacha
"What does the Strongest Man in the World want with me?"
Good, at least it wasn't the annoying Red Hair brat calling him again. The man gave new meaning to the word 'persistent leech'.
"Well, as the ones named as the most dangerous men in the world by the World Government, I thought it was time we had a chat."
"Oh?"
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Your thoughts? ;)
Author's notes:
Yo! It's been a while. Hope you all are safe, wearing mask and social distancing, and using your time wisely AKA reading fanfiction and leaving lonnnnnnnnnnnngggggg reviews *wink, wink *.
With the recent chapters of the manga, we had learned a lot about WB history and his crew, also about Roger and Oden. Importantly Shanks wasn't a Yonko when he met Luffy, he became one six years after he left the East Blue, and there is not much known about how it happened. As such, I had revised my story accordingly. If you read (as you should have) the story from the beginning, you would have noticed all the changes. I would try to stick to canon facts when it comes to the history of each character, but this is a Time Travel story, things are going to be different for the 'future', how different, you would have to read to find out. ;)
Would love what your thoughts about the new version of the story too!
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I answer reviewers when I post a new chapter, so check your PM :).
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I crave your reviews (and M&Ms) more than Garp craves rice crackers.
Leave me a review and sate my endless hunger :D