Garp arrives to Marine HQ and learns what happened to Luffy, and Luffy attempts a plan to escape Barrels...

Garp had his eyes focused on Marine HQ as his ship began to dock at the port. Soon, he'd be able to get a lift to the North Blue where he'd help Sengoku track down Rosinante and figure out what was happening with him. If Doflamingo would really kill him soon, then his life had to be saved!

It was at that moment that one of his subordinates ran up to him, holding the receiver of a transponder snail, exclaiming, "Vice Admiral Garp! You got a call from Makino from Foosha Village!"

Garp's brows rose, "Makino?" Why was she calling so suddenly? Was it about Luffy? He looked at the face of the snail to see that it was in tears. Not a good sign…

He took the receiver and spoke into it, "Makino, did something happen at home? Is Luffy okay?"

Makino's voice cracked as she spoke, "I have no idea, Garp!"

Garp frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Luffy's not here! She ran away not long after you left!" Makino cried.

Garp tensed up. Luffy ran away?! Did she do it because he chose to leave so suddenly? Maybe he should've just left Rosinante's situation for only Sengoku to worry about…

"She left a note," Makino stated, prompting Garp to raise his brow.

"What'd it say?" he asked.

"It said she was going to the North Blue to save two people named Corazon and Law, and to tell you to tell Sengoku to not trust someone named Vergo, because he's a spy for someone named Doflamingo. I have no idea what it means, but it must be important enough if she wants you to tell Sengoku about it," Makino explained.

Garp furrowed his brow. Vergo? Who was he, and what did Sengoku have to do with him? Well, if it was an associate of Doflamingo, then maybe it was good that he came all the way to HQ. He had a chance to give a warning about him.

"I'm at HQ right now, Makino," he said into the phone. "But I'll get right to work on bringing Luffy home, since I'll be heading to the North Blue anyway. Don't worry about anything."

Makino sniffed, "I'll try…Luffy's been acting so odd lately, I'm worried about her."

Garp smiled, "It's just Luffy trying to be a hero, just like her old grandpa! But she's a good kid, I doubt she could get into any serious trouble!"

Once Garp hung up, he leapt off his ship and went straight into the HQ, where he went up to Sengoku's private office. There, he found his friend looking over some sort of paperwork with his usual serious frown.

Garp grinned and greeted, "Hey Sengoku! Hard at work or hardly working?"

Sengoku sighed and looked up from the documents, "So, you really were serious about wanting to help find Rosinante. I hate to say it, but you're a little late to help."

Garp's smile fell away, "He's already dead?"

Sengoku shook his head, "No. I just heard from him not too long ago. He told me that Doflamingo was going after the Op-Op fruit, which is currently in the possession of the Barrels pirates on Minion Island. I have already arranged to have Tsuru and her crew be ready to capture the Donquixote Family at Swallow Island, while G-5 is sent to capture Barrels and his crew and take the devil fruit. I told Rosinante to stay away from the island while it was all going down. Hopefully that'll prevent his death."

Garp sighed, his smile returning, "Yeah, that does sound like a good plan. I remember Barrels when he was still one of us. He was such a great guy, so I shocked me that he became a pirate."

Sengoku nodded, and his brow furrowed, "He took his young son, Drake, with him when he set out to be a pirate. I wonder what's become of the boy…"

Garp winced, "Oh right, Drake. I nearly forgot about him. He was such a good kid. He really looked up to his old man back in the day. Hopefully he's still alive when the crew's apprehended, and he didn't become like his father."

Sengoku nodded and he looked back at his papers, "So, since it turns out you're not needed, I suppose you'll take your leave."

Garp furrowed his brow, "Actually, I have some distressing news; apparently, not long after I left Foosha Village, Luffy ran away."

Sengoku's head shot up from his work, his eyes wide. "Ran away?! You're kidding?! That's an extreme reaction to you leaving, Garp! What's gotten into the girl's head?!"

Garp shrugged, "I'm not sure, except that she left a note stating that she was going to save Corazon and Law. Corazon was Rosinante's alias, right?"

Sengoku nodded, "Yes, it was. But there's no way for Luffy to get to the North Blue in time to help him. The Goa Kingdom is so far from the North Blue. It'd take her weeks to make it to the Red Line!"

Garp nodded, "Yeah, I know. I was pretty baffled by the concept too. And not only that, but she also wanted me to pass along a warning to you."

Sengoku frowned, "A warning?"

Garp stood tall and stated, "She says that a man named Vergo is working as a spy for Doflamingo. Do you know who he is?"

Sengoku's jaw dropped, letting out a slight gasp. That likely meant yes.

Garp furrowed his brow, "Who is he, Sengoku? Is he someone dangerous?"

Sengoku clenched his teeth for a moment, before saying, "Vergo is a Marine that had been climbing up the ranks at an impressive rate. I had just transferred him to G-5. In fact, he's part of the group that's supposed to go to Minion Island to get the Op-Op fruit!"

Garp's jaw dropped. Oh. Crap.

He immediately slammed his hands on Sengoku's desk, shouting, "We need to get to that ship, pronto! Maybe Vergo's the reason why Rosinante dies! Maybe he found out he was a spy, somehow!"

Sengoku frowned, "Only I had the knowledge of Rosinante's mission. Well, I and you. There's no way Vergo would ever find out. Also, at this point, that crew is probably close to the island by now."

"But still! If Luffy wants us to watch out for him, then maybe we need to go after him and stop him before he does any harm!" Garp shouted. "So, let's get on my ship and go!"

Before Sengoku could respond to that, a Marine officer of a lower rank barged into the room. "Vice Admiral Sengoku!" he shouted, with extreme urgency in his voice. When he noticed Garp in the room, his face became pale. "Oh…Vice Admiral Garp…I had no idea you'd be here."

Garp frowned, "Is it a problem that I'm here?"

Sengoku looked at the officer and asked, "What's the trouble?"

The Marine took a breath before stating, "We just got a message from the Barrels Pirates, sir. They want to change the deal!"

Sengoku frowned, "So suddenly? What do they want for the Op-Op fruit now?"

The Marine gulped, "It's not just the Op-Op fruit they have now…they recently got a hostage."

Garp's brows rose, thinking, "A hostage?! No…it couldn't be…"

The officer looked at him, sweat beading down his forehead as he spoke, "For an extra billion Berries…they'll give us Monkey D Luffy along with the devil fruit!"

Both Vice Admirals' jaws dropped.

"You have got to be kidding! How did that child make it there so fast?!" Sengoku shouted.

Garp clutched the sides of his head and looked up towards the ceiling, where he cried out, "LUFFY, NOOOOO!"

Most children in hostage situations would be in tears, crying for their captors to let them go home to their mom and dad, scared of being in their dangerous clutches. Some kids would be very angry, struggling to break out of their restraints while shouting at their captors, until they were made to shut up.

Luffy was doing neither of those things, and, needless to say, Drake was impressed. He thought for sure that once Luffy became conscious after suffering that blow from his father, she'd be freaked out at being tied up and stuffed into a cage. But instead, she was incredibly calm, not saying a word about her situation. She was a stranger child than Drake initially pinned her for.

He stood at the far side of the room, away from her cage and his father, who sat by it drinking grog and admiring the Op-Op fruit in his hands. He was already talking about the money they'd get for their catches, but Drake had a sinking feeling getting the money wouldn't be possible.

If Garp the Hero heard about Luffy's situation, there was no doubt he'd lead the charge to get her back, and once he arrived, it'd be over for everyone. Especially his father. And maybe even Drake, too.

He sighed. When he was younger, he idolized Garp. He was the Marine who captured the Pirate King Gold Roger after all. Every Marine across the sea admired him for it. He had hoped to become a hero just like that one day…but those dreams were dashed once his father turned to piracy and dragged him along with him. There was no way Drake would be able to become a Marine now, not after what he had helped commit...

"Dory!" his father shouted. "More grog!"

Drake looked towards his father and said, "Yes, sir", and walked to the doors. If only he was stronger and braver, then Luffy wouldn't be in this trouble right now. He gave her a glance before stepping outside, where he mumbled, "I'm sorry."

Once Drake had left the building, Luffy looked around the room at all the men gathered. She doubted this was Barrels' entire crew, but it seemed to be a good number of them. Enough of them so that if they were all knocked out at once, she and Drake wouldn't be in any trouble right away.

"You wouldn't be in this trouble in the first place if you had struck Barrels first," Umi stated. "Why did you let him take that blow, Luffy?"

Luffy winced, "To be honest, I have no idea. A part of me thought he'd turn tail and run if he knew who Grandpa was, but…maybe that was a little wishful, huh?"

"Yes, very," Umi replied with a slight chuckle. "Now you're tied up and trapped in a cage, with no escape. Well, at least until Corazon arrives."

Luffy shook her head, "No. I have Drake here. He's a good guy. He'd help me escape if he had the chance. I just have to wipe out his dad and his men."

Umi seemed to smile, "Oh, I see. So, this is all just to ensure Drake doesn't get tied up into trouble with his abusive father and Doflamingo. But he avoided that trouble in your old timeline. What'll your actions do to make things different."

Luffy smiled, "Instead of fleeing alone, he'll be fleeing with a friend, and he'll make two more! Corazon and Law a pretty nice, so they'll like Drake. I bet Law thinks dinosaurs are cool! And I'm sure Corazon could get Drake into the Marines, too. He's nice enough!"

Before Umi could reply, Barrels' voice snarled, "What're you grinning about, Lucy? You up to something."

Luffy looked over to see the Marine-turned-pirate glaring at her with a raised brow, where she stared back at him just as intensely. "My name's LUFFY. L-U-F-F-Y. And you should know I'm a lot more skilled than I seem!"

At that instance, Luffy activated her Conqueror's Haki, and immediately, all of Barrels' men collapsed to the floor, unconscious. Just what Luffy had hoped for. What she DIDN'T hope for was Barrels still being conscious despite this!

The captain hopped to his feet, looking around the room wide-eyed. "What the hell did you do?!" he questioned.

Luffy winced, "Aw, crap. He had stronger will than I thought…"

Barrels immediately yanked open Luffy's cage and grabbed the girl by the throat, where he proceeded to shake her. "You little brat! You ruined everything! The Marines will just arrest us once they arrive! And Garp will have my head for taking you captive! You ruined EVERYTHING!"

Luffy glared at him and rasped out, "If I didn't ruin everything…someone else would've…"

Barrels ground his teeth before dropping Luffy to the floor and proceeding to stomp his foot onto her back, cursing her as he did so. "YOU LITTLE BITCH! YOU BRAT! IF YOU THINK I'M GOING TO LET MYSELF GET ARRESTED BY YOUR GRANDFATHER, YOU THOUGHT WRONG! AND IF YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING TO GET OUT OF THIS ALIVE, YOU THOUGHT WRONG AGAIN! I'LL KILL YOU HERE AND NOW!"

Luffy cried out from the hard weight of Barrels' foot on her back. Without her fruit powers, blunt attacks were pretty painful. She had almost forgotten about that.

"Father!" Drake's voice called out from outside, before the young man barged into the building. "All the men standing guard outside had suddenly collapsed! I can't wake-WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO LUFFY?!"

Barrels looked over at Drake and pointed down at Luffy, "This girl was the one who did it! She has that rare Haki technique that causes people to pass out! She used it in the hopes of knocking us all out and getting us all arrested!"

Luffy glared at Barrels and said, "Actually, I only wanted everyone EXCEPT Drake to pass out. I don't want Drake to get arrested!"

Barrels slammed his foot down on her back, causing a severe ache to run through her spine. "Oh really?! And why would you do that? Dory's a weak coward who only obeys me! Did you really think he'd turn against me and help a little brat!"

"He would if he realizes what an asshole you are!" Luffy snapped, resulting in Barrels grinding his foot into her back.

"Shut up, brat!" he snarled, before bringing out his gun.

Drake gasped, "Father, you're not really-."

"I have to, Dory!" Barrels snapped. "She's ruined our chances of getting rich! We have to get off this island with the Op-Op fruit now! And we can't have her live to tell where we went!"

Drake winced, "But…she's Garp the Hero's granddaughter…if we kill her, he'll be enraged!"

"Who cares! It's just one brat! Whose grandfather is getting over the hill, anyway! I bet Garp isn't as agile as he used to be, so maybe we'll be fine if we run!" Barrels shouted.

He stared at the Op-Op fruit left on the crate on the floor. "If only you hadn't already eaten a devil fruit, Dory, then I could've gotten a lot of use out of that fruit's power and the Marines, especially Garp, wouldn't be an issue at all! Maybe I could've gotten the best benefit of it, too…"

Luffy frowned, "You'd make your own son kill himself to give you immortality, that's low…" but then, something dawned on her; Barrels said Drake had already eaten a Devil fruit! Drake had his Zoan powers! That meant he could fight back against Barrels easy!

Barrels glared down at her as he readied his gun, "Shut up. Your opinions aren't going to matter in a few minutes…"

Luffy looked at Drake and shouted, "Drake! Listen to me! You're stronger than your father says you are! You're stronger than you THINK you are! You ate a devil fruit, right? That means you're stronger than your dad! Use your power to break free of him and help me get out of here to help my friend! He needs the Op-Op fruit more than Barrels does! Do you really think a guy like this will turn his life around anytime soon? Personally, I don't think so!"

Drake stared down at Luffy wide-eyed and slack-jawed, standing very stiff.

"Stop trying to convince my son to join your side, Lucy!" Barrels snapped, stomping on her back even harder than before, causing her to cry out. "I already told you Dory was loyal to me! He's not going to turn on me for the sake of some child he barely knows!"

But Luffy managed to go on, "Drake, my friend is REALLY sick! The Op-Op fruit could save his life! If you help me steal the fruit from your dad, you could help save his life, and maybe many others too!"

"I said shut up!" Barrels hollered, before looking at Drake. "Don't listen to a damn word she's saying, Dory! It's nonsense! You're nothing without me! Think of all I've ever done for you, Dory! Would you really turn against me despite all that!?"

"He's beaten you to hell most of your life, Drake!" Luffy argued. "You don't owe him anything! And you're not going to be nothing without your dad; you can be EVERYTHING without him! The reason he's trying to tell you otherwise is cause he's SCARED of you, Drake! You have a powerful devil fruit, and he KNOWS it! You can take him out so easily! So please, help me! I believe in you!"

Barrels pressed his foot even harder into Luffy's back, causing the girl to scream out from the pain. "You think you know so much, don't you?! Well, you don't know anything! You're nothing but a stupid kid! You don't know me or my son, so nothing you say is going to save your life! Right, Dory?!"

Drake didn't respond.

Barrels looked over at his son with a raised brow, "Dory?"

Luffy looked up at Drake too, to see he had his fists tightly clenched, his teeth bared and his eyes staring with extreme ferocity at his father…which were now glowing yellow with slitted pupils.

Umi chuckled in Luffy's head, "It seems your motivation has worked."

Looks like Luffy's managed to find her own way out of trouble! But what'll happen next? And what'll happen once Corazon arrives to the scene?

Find out in the next chapter!

Please Follow, Favorite, and/or Review!