Chapter 264: Discussion About Charlotte
"Kuzan! This is the teacher I've arranged for you—Admiral Zephyr. From now on, you'll be learning under his guidance!"
Garp pointed at Zephyr and spoke to Kuzan.
The moment Kuzan saw Zephyr, his eyes lit up with excitement.
"You are Admiral Zephyr! I grew up hearing stories about you. Please take care of me from now on!"
Kuzan immediately bowed deeply in respect.
Seeing the polite, humble, and eager young man before him, Zephyr smiled with satisfaction.
"Hahaha! Kid, since Garp has recommended you, I'll take you in. But don't expect any special treatment just because you're Garp's recruit—I won't go easy on you!"
Zephyr laughed.
"Thank you very much!"
Kuzan bowed once more.
The surrounding officers observed the interaction, even Fleet Admiral Kong cast an interested glance in their direction.
For someone to be personally brought in by Garp—it was enough to warrant attention.
Sitting nearby, Tsuru watched the newly graduated elite recruits, then looked at Garp's new recruit.
She considered something for a moment.
"Admiral Zephyr, I have a younger sister. Would it be possible for her to join your elite training camp?"
Tsuru asked, thinking of her younger sister, Gion, who had been eager to join the Marines.
Zephyr turned to look at her.
"Of course! As long as she can pass my trials, she can enter the elite training camp."
Zephyr agreed without hesitation.
Tsuru understood his meaning immediately.
"Thank you very much! I'll have her register for the next recruit selection."
With that, the meeting concluded under Fleet Admiral Kong's leadership.
As the high-ranking Marine officers headed toward the Fleet Admiral's office, Dragon followed closely behind.
It was clear that he was receiving special attention from Kong.
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office, the officers took their seats.
Boom!
A loud thud echoed as Kong slammed his fist onto the table, his eyes burning with anger as he glared at Garp.
"Garp! What did you promise me? Didn't you say that as long as you were here, the Roger Pirates would never return to the New World? Look at this intelligence report!"
Kong threw a newspaper at Garp, his furious voice reverberating through the office.
His frustration was evident.
For two years, the Marines had been hunting Roger's crew, repeatedly deploying Garp and Sengoku to corner them—following the orders of the Five Elders.
Yet, time and time again, Roger's crew had escaped.
Now, they had returned to the New World, making it far more difficult to capture them.
"Ah! Let me take a look!"
Garp, startled by Kong's outburst, dropped his rice crackers and grabbed the newspaper.
"That damn Roger! He sneaked back in while I was on leave!"
Garp shouted, slamming his fist onto the desk.
However, his expression and tone lacked real anger—it was more of an excuse.
The other Marine officers all rolled their eyes.
They had long since given up on taking Garp's antics seriously.
"Garp, you bastard!"
Kong's fury grew as he prepared to throw a punch at Garp.
"Relax, Fleet Admiral! I'll capture Roger for sure!"
Garp quickly stood up, donned his Marine coat, and made his way toward the exit.
"Garp! You idiot! The meeting isn't over yet!"
Kong shouted after him.
"Hahaha! The meeting might not be over, but I've heard everything I need to. I'm off to capture Roger!"
"Stand still, Garp!"
Boom!
Garp hurried out of the office, ignoring Kong's enraged shouts.
The other officers remained silent, their expressions unreadable.
Zephyr twitched slightly at the scene.
Among all the Marines, only Garp could speak to the Fleet Admiral this way.
As Garp stepped outside, Kuzan approached him excitedly.
"Mr. Garp, you made the Fleet Admiral furious again! That was amazing!"
Kuzan's eyes sparkled with admiration.
"Hahahaha! If you want freedom, you don't need high rank! Come on, prepare a ship—I'm heading to the New World!"
Garp said, laughing.
"Yes, sir!"
At the harbor, the Marine warship with the dog-head figurehead was ready.
"Set sail! I will capture the Roger Pirates this time!"
Garp declared as he stood aboard the ship.
"Mr. Garp! I haven't boarded yet!"
Kuzan shouted from the dock.
"Hahaha! Kuzan! Stay with Zephyr and train properly—the New World isn't for you yet!"
Garp laughed as his ship sailed away.
"Mr. Garp!"
Kuzan stood at the dock, watching the ship disappear into the distance.
He clenched his fist.
"I'll train under Zephyr-sensei and become strong enough to help capture the Roger Pirates!"
Meanwhile, back in the Fleet Admiral's office, Kong sat down heavily in his chair, fuming.
"That damn Garp! He's getting more and more reckless!"
Tsuru glanced at him.
"Fleet Admiral, there's no need to be so angry. You know Garp's personality—he's always been like this. Just beat him up next time you see him."
She said, trying to calm the situation.
Kong took a deep breath before refocusing.
"Let's discuss recent developments in the New World. The Rockefeller Pirates have killed Kaido and taken over Wano. What should our response be?"
Kong asked.
As soon as he finished speaking, the hawkish faction of the Marines spoke up immediately.
"We must dispatch a fleet to the New World and capture Charlotte Rockefeller! We can't allow him to continue running unchecked!"
"That's right! We should send at least two admirals to deal with him!"
The Marine officers voiced their agreement.
Zephyr, who had been silent, finally spoke.
"I no longer involve myself in frontline operations. My focus is on training new recruits. I have no interest in the New World's affairs."
Hearing this, the hawkish faction visibly deflated.
They had been hoping for someone with their ideology to step up and support them.
Kong glanced at Zephyr.
"If direct action is off the table, then we'll raise his bounty. We can't just pretend nothing happened."
Tsuru and Zephyr both nodded.
"Let's decide on the new bounty."
Kong threw the issue back to the room.
Zephyr immediately closed his eyes, making it clear he had no intention of getting involved.
The other officers remained silent—this was a task typically handled by admirals and administrative officials.
With no other options, Kong turned to Tsuru.
She didn't refuse. Instead, she pulled out the bounties of Whitebeard, Shiki, and Roger, then compared them to Charlotte's previous bounty.
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