"The Pride of the Navy and Family Secrets"
"Oh, hello. You guys were here," Kara said after the exchange, looking at the others.
"Well, this is where we were staying. You guys were the ones who barged in," Nami quickly replied with a sarcastic tone.
Meanwhile, Kara casually walked between them and sat next to Nico Robin without showing any concern.
"Is it really okay for you to wear a vice admiral's cape? Won't you get into trouble? Marines respect ranks a lot," Sanji asked quickly as he served her a glass of juice.
"Mmm… Of course not. After all, I have the same rank as that old man," Kara said with complete ease.
Everyone was shocked once again, looking at Kara and then at Garp.
"Hahaha! Kara is the pride of the Marines, after all," Garp said, laughing proudly. "She's one of the greatest geniuses, breaking records at a young age, even surpassing the current admirals. That's why she's one of the candidates for admiral if any of the three rookies fall… Oh, and also, that's why they gave her the nickname Shironeko."
"What!?" Everyone was even more shocked to hear that Kara could become an admiral.
"Hey, you rotten old man! I never accepted that stupid name those idiots chose!" Kara protested angrily. That nickname had been picked by the vice admirals in a meeting just to tease her, since she always wore black… though her personality was indeed quite cat-like.
"Why? That name suits you," Garp replied carelessly as he picked his nose.
"Does that mean you'd be just like Aokiji?" Luffy asked curiously.
"Ice Head is my direct superior… He's also kind of like the old man's student," Kara said while drinking the juice Sanji had served her.
The others were shocked once again.
"So… are you as strong as him?" Franky asked, a bit nervous.
"Of course not, I still have a long way to go… But I could fight him for a couple of days," Kara replied with an arrogant smile.
"First learn to control your Armament Haki, rookie," Garp quickly interjected.
"You're so noisy, old man," Kara huffed in annoyance. "Why don't we just have a death match right here and now?" she said as she stood up and threw off the cape she had just received.
"Nah, that'd be boring," Garp replied with total ease.
"Tsk…" Kara frowned, picked up her cape from the ground, and put it back on before sitting down again. "Someday, I'm going to beat you up…" she muttered under her breath.
At that moment, Chopper and Zoro entered with curious expressions. They had been outside, listening to the commotion, and now that things had calmed down, they decided to come in.
"You! Damn seaweed head!" Sanji exclaimed, glaring at Zoro in anger. Back in Enies Lobby, he hadn't been able to say anything because they were in disguise to help them, but now he remembered their first encounter, and the rage reignited.
"Hm… Swirly Brow, you're here too. I thought you'd died from a cannon blast or something… After all, you're so weak," Zoro said calmly.
"What did you just say, you bastard?!" Sanji fumed even more.
Meanwhile, Chopper approached Rab as if they were old friends. After all, they had fought together, risking their lives as comrades, and besides, they were both doctors… and of similar height.
"Huh? You guys know them?" Luffy asked, confused.
Everyone sighed and facepalmed.
"Yeah… something like that," they answered in unison, already resigned.
At that moment, Garp's gaze changed as he focused on Luffy, remembering what they had been discussing before they were interrupted.
"Tell me something… Do you even know what kind of pirate that red-haired guy you want to defeat is?" he asked seriously.
"Do you know where he is!?" Luffy asked with the same level of seriousness.
"Do I know where he is? Among the countless pirates in the sea, he's one of the few at the same level as Whitebeard. He's one of the Four Emperors… They rule over the second half of the Grand Line, and no one dares to challenge them. The only ones who can stand against them are the Marines and the Shichibukai. They are such powerful existences that if even one of them falls, the world's balance would be seriously affected," Garp explained in a grave tone.
"I didn't understand any of that… but to defeat him, I have to reach the other half, right?" Luffy said as he took off his straw hat and looked at it with a serious, even angry, expression.
Meanwhile, Kara had a displeased look on her face upon hearing Shanks' name and started tapping her finger against the table.
Robin, noticing her reaction, looked at her with interest and asked, "Does your brother know the red-haired man?"
"We both had the misfortune of meeting him. That hat represents a promise of battle. He's a damn swindler, a schemer, and a manipulator. When I arrived, he was pretending to be a role model for Luffy, but when I saw through him, he showed his true colors. He used a bet against Luffy to push him into becoming a pirate at all costs just so he could eventually fight him," Kara said angrily, remembering her first true defeat in this world.
"Well, enough talking. Let's bring the kid in so he can meet you all," Garp said quickly, noticing Kara's growing anger. Then, he called out to someone among the Marines.
"Hey, Luffy, Kara, Zoro! It's great to see all three of you again!" greeted a young man with pink hair, dressed in a Marine uniform, with glasses on his head and a scarf covering a scar.
"Wow, Koby! You look… really different," Kara quickly said.
Both Luffy and Zoro widened their eyes in surprise.
"Koby? I have a friend named Koby, but he's much smaller and chubbier," Luffy said, staring at the young man.
"I am that Koby…"
"WHAAAT?! IS THAT YOU?!" Luffy exclaimed with an exaggerated reaction.
Meanwhile, a blond man with strange glasses stood with his arms crossed, waiting to be recognized. However, everyone invited Koby inside, completely ignoring him.
"What about me?!" the blond shouted in frustration. "What about me?! Am I invisible or what?!"
"And who are you?" Zoro asked, confused.
"Oh, I remember now," Kara said quickly.
"Finally!" Helmeppo responded with a proud smile.
"You're the little clown. I thought you got beheaded or something," Kara commented casually, staring at Helmeppo.
"Oh, it's you…" Zoro said without interest, turning around to keep walking.
Meanwhile, Garp stood in front of his marines with a serious expression.
"Recruits, attention!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Fix the wall," he ordered calmly, pointing at the massive destruction he had caused himself.
"WHAAAT?!" they all complained in unison.
"Why us?"
"Why did you break it?! We're not builders!"
"Because I wanted to make a grand entrance," Garp replied naturally.
"Sir, that's not a good reason to destroy it!" a marine protested.
"Of course, it is! It's awesome!" Kara exclaimed, her eyes shining with excitement.
The marines looked at her in horror.
"Just watch," she said before smashing through the wall"right next to the hole her grandfather had made.
She dusted herself off and crossed her arms proudly.
"See?"
"OF COURSE NOT!!!" all the marines shouted in anger.
"Now you also have to help, Miss Kara," one of them quickly said.
"Shut up, idiot!" his companion whispered, covering his mouth. "If she helps, she'll destroy more than she fixes! Don't you remember when she was part of Vice Admiral Garp's squad when she was younger?!"
"Sir Garp, you also have to help repair the destruction your granddaughter caused," another marine said with resignation.
"Huh? Well, what can I do…" Garp sighed as he picked up some tools, already used to Sengoku making him fix Kara's messes.
As the marines and Garp worked, he casually asked:
"By the way, Luffy, did you see your father?"
"What? I have a father?" Luffy asked, blinking in surprise.
"Kara didn't tell you? Back in Loguetown, I found out she had to fight his followers so he could see you without her trying to kill him," Garp answered nonchalantly as he picked his nose.
Everyone slowly turned to look at Kara, who was in a corner playing cards with Chopper and Rab.
"Hey, I didn't want to kill him… I just wanted to arrest him so he could rot in jail like the good daughter I am," Kara said quickly before returning to her game.
"Arrest him? What kind of person is he?" Luffy asked, now even more confused.
"For a vice admiral to want to arrest him"even if he's her father… and for her to fail…" Nami said with curiosity.
"He's Revolutionary Monkey D. Dragon," Garp stated bluntly.
"WHAAAT?!!!" everyone shouted, completely in shock.
"What kind of family is this?!" Helmeppo screamed in horror.
"I've never heard Dragon's full name before…" a marine murmured.
"Now what's wrong with you all?" Luffy asked, looking at his friends in confusion.
"Idiot! Have you never heard Dragon's name?!" Sanji exclaimed.
"So your father…" Nami held a hand to her forehead. "No wonder Kara wanted to capture him…"
Still not understanding, Luffy turned to Robin.
"Hey, Robin…"
"Let me think of a way to explain it," she said, touching her chin.
"In general, pirates don't attack the World Government or the Marines, but there's a group called the Revolutionary Army that opposes the Government. And the person leading it is Dragon. His ideology has spread so much that it has sparked rebellions, and people have overthrown their kings. He's been labeled the world's worst criminal, and he's wanted because of it… but until now, no one knew who he really was, until""
As everyone remained in shock, Garp kept hammering as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, Kara took advantage of the general confusion to peek at Rab and Chopper's cards. With a sly smile, she quickly swapped hers.
"Ah… Maybe I shouldn't have said that… Hahahaha!" Garp laughed. "Well, just pretend I didn't say anything."
Silence filled the air.
"I won!" Kara suddenly exclaimed, breaking the tension.
"Aaah, you cheater!" Chopper shouted when he saw his cards had changed.
"The Marine hero, the Marine genius, a pirate… and the world's most wanted man…" Nami murmured, still trying to process it. "Their family is… terrifying."
"And there's also Ace, who's a Shichibukai," Gin suddenly added.
The others stared at him in disbelief.
"…Forget it. I don't want to know anymore."
...…..
"So, since you're my grandson, I decided not to capture you. I'll just tell Sengoku that. You guys just relax," Garp said confidently.
"Why don't we just say they escaped and be done with it?" Bogard calmly suggested.
"I only came to look after those two, but now I'll leave them alone for a while," Garp added as he stood up. "I'm out."
"Alright, see ya," Luffy responded casually"right before Garp's fist sent him flying.
"Show some respect!" Garp snapped in annoyance. "Is that how you say goodbye to me?!"
"What do you want me to say?! No matter what I do, you'll hit me anyway!" Luffy complained, rubbing his sore head.
"But I still want my grandson's love, you blockhead!"
From the window, everyone else watched the scene in silence.
"They're definitely family," they commented in unison.
"Hahahaha, they're both idiots!" Kara laughed openly at Luffy's suffering.
The others stared at her seriously but ultimately decided to say nothing.