Two weeks after Dressrosa
It was official.
Kuzan was part of the Black Beard pirates.
When he had first heard the rumors, Garp had raged and screamed, destroying a good part of his office in the process. It had taken some time -and a lot of Sengoku's patience- for him to calm down enough to think about it rationally.
At first, he had imagined his old pupil joining the Yonko's crew to hurt him. To make him pay for… What? Abandoning him? Failing him? Garp had not even been sure. But his old friend had reminded him that beside Tsuru and Sengoku himself, Kuzan had been the only one who offered him some compassion after Ace's death. So it was unthinkable that he would willingly join his murderer.
But he had probably been lost, wandering around the world without a goal in mind. He had taken the first hand extended to him. Or maybe he had seen an opportunity to spy on one of the most dangerous pirates in the world. On his own, without backup.
And it was their fault. None of them had even tried to hold him back after Punk Hazard. None of them had tried to listen to him. They had just thought that he would simply manage to get back on his feet -foot- and keep going. Like he always did. Like he did after Ohara.
Except this time, he had not. This time he had stayed down, unwilling to keep fighting. Or maybe for him the Marines were worth fighting for anymore. What a shame. And it had taken Smoker to barge into his office and ranting about the ex-admiral for Garp to finally admit it.
Smoker was sitting on the chair on the other side of Garp's massive desk. As usual, he had two of those disgusting cigars in his mouth while he described his latest encounter with Kuzan. He too had heard the rumors about his old friend joining Black Beard's crew.
"He told me that no matter what I hear about him, I need to remember that he is still the same man. Now I guess it makes sense." But Garp snorted inelegantly, clearly not of the same opinion.
"Or maybe this is bullshit and he just really enjoys the company he is keeping now."
"You did not see him, Garp! You did not see his eyes! He has given up!" There was desperation in his tone, but also anger. As if Garp was the one responsible for his old pupil's situation. And if he was being honest with himself, Garp would admit he was at least part of the problem.
"And what do you want me to do about it?" But being honest with himself had never been in Garp's nature. This only seemed to add fuel to Smoker's anger.
"Something!" Such a simple and reasonable request. But the older vice-admiral only shook his head stubbornly.
"He has made his choice." At this moment, something shifted Smoker's face. Without another word, he slowly stood up and made his way toward the door. Just as he was about to exit the office, he threw a last glance toward the desk. Now there was only pity and disgust in his eyes.
"The Hero of the Marine. I never took you for a coward." Garp was left speechless as he watched the other vice-admiral exit angrily his office, slamming the door shut behind him.
Garp hated himself for what he was about to do, but he could not give up now. He was not a coward, despite what the little brat had dared to say the day before. However, he knew there was nothing he could do to help his old pupil on his own. So he would have to find someone else to do it for him.
The Warlords meeting should end soon, and Garp could not let this opportunity pass. After all, needed someone strong enough to knock some sense into Kuzan, but also with enough restraint to not hurt him badly. And since Dragon would never endanger his Revolutionary Army for a former Admiral, it only left…
"Hawk-Eye, wait!" Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Or at least the messenger that would deliver his request to the devil himself.
The swordsman was elegantly dressed as usual, and wore a haughty expression. When he heard his name being called, he simply stopped and turned around, an eyebrow lifted in a silent interrogation. Arrogant asshole.
"What can I do for you, vice-admiral?" Immediately his bored tone irked Garp. But the vice-admiral forced himself to remain calm, focusing on his mission instead.
"I have an information you want, if you are willing to pay the price." The aura around the Warlord suddenly shifted, going from casually bored to deadly in an instant.
"And what is your price exactly?" There was also something menacing now in his tone. Garp almost scoffed.
The swordsman probably thought Garp was going to ask him for the head of his 'rival'. Or maybe information about his whereabouts. After all, the vice-admiral had never been blind to their relationship. They had pinned after each other since they were nothing but brats.
But as it was none of his business, Garp had never felt the need to reveal it to anyone. And he suspected Sengoku also knew. But since Hawk-Eye was one of the least problematic Warlords, he was willing to let it pass.
"I want you to retrieve someone." It did nothing to calm the other's suspicions.
"Don't you have someone… less qualified than me for such a meaningless task?" Fair enough. But still, Garp was pretty confident in his ability to catch his interest.
"Do you really think an ex-admiral is so much below your standards?" Hook, line, and sinker. As expected, this caused the swordsman to become curious. What the older man had not anticipated was the smirk finding its place on the warlords' lips.
"Did the higher ups finally decide to do something about it? Or do you resent him so much that you would be willing to bargain with me to secure his capture? Or maybe even his death?" Garp gritted his teeth. The brat was really pushing his buttons and -even worse- he seemed to enjoy it.
"First, I want him alive and unharmed. Second, I don't want you to bring him back here."
"So, if you don't want him to be executed -or even imprisoned- for his crimes, why do you want me to extract him from his current crew."There was disgust in the other man's tone when he pronounced the word 'crew'. Obviously, his views on the Emperor's entourage were no better than Garp's.
"I want him to besafe. He will get himself killed if he stays where he is. He..." Garp almost went to add something, but hesitated.
Should he tell the swordsman the whole truth about Kuzan's situation? He didn't want to, especially since it could be used against the ex-admiral in the future. But if Hawk-Eye was going to help, he should have all the information.
"We broke him. We drove him to the breaking point, and now he is the one paying the price for it." He sighed. "You understand why I am askingyouto do this, right?"
The other man seemed to consider his words carefully. He had certainly guessed by now the real reason behind Garp seeking him out. And he was also probably wary at the idea of involving his lover, not wanting to put him nor his crew in danger. Yet he understood that Garp was sure of the importance of his information, if he was willing to make such a demand as its price.
"Do you have a location to give me?" He asked after a while.
"No." After all, tracking someone traveling with a penguin was almost impossible. "But vice-admiral Smoker met him on Punk Hazard barely a week ago. "The warlord took some more time to think this over, but in the end he agreed.
"Very well. You have my word that if the information you give me is worth it, I will whisk your lost Admiral away to safety." Well, now was the moment of truth. There was no turning back, and the older man truly hoped this was not going to come back to bite him in the ass.
"The Warlords system is about to be cancelled." If there was one good thing Garp would take from this discussion, it was the shocked face he received. It was not every day you could take this man by surprise. "It should be official in a couple of weeks."
It did not take too long for the swordsman to process the information. Finally, the vice-admiral let out a breath he did not know he was holding when the swordsman finally nodded.
"Give me a month to pay my debt." And with that Hawk-Eye turned around, his cape flying behind him. Garp was then left alone with his thoughts in the corridor. He just hoped he had not thrown his ex-pupil in an even greater danger than he was now.
Retiring had never sounded so appealing.
