One Piece Shadow Army - Chapter 63
The impending great battle of the East Blue took a dramatic turn with the arrival of Vice Admiral Garp.
On the dog-headed warship, dozens of Marines Headquarters soldiers stood solemnly. Their bearing alone distinguished them from the East Blue Marines.
As they waited, a series of heavy footsteps echoed.
From the ship’s cabin emerged an exceptionally burly old man dressed in a standard Marines coat with a blue tie around his neck.
Even just half of his silhouette gave off a powerful aura.
But as Vice Admiral Garp’s full figure came into view, that feeling of power suddenly vanished.
The reason was that Vice Admiral Garp wore a brown dog-headed hat.
This was entirely different from what they had imagined, leading to a significant psychological gap!
When the old man, wearing the justice cape with red honorary epaulets, appeared, Smoker immediately saluted.
“Vice Admiral Garp.”
“Vice Admiral Garp.”
Similarly, other Marines personnel also saluted, expressing their respect.
Garp, wearing his dog-headed hat, suddenly turned and spat to the side.
“Bitter! Too bitter!”
After spitting, Garp complained to the Marines major beside him.
“I thought Sengoku had some good tea in his collection, but it’s so bitter!”
The Marines major beside him was speechless, “Vice Admiral Garp, you’ve been drinking tea for four days and nights, totaling 124 cups. Even the best tea would taste bitter by now!”
Garp took out the tea leaves he had swiped from Sengoku, now reduced to a small pinch from a once-full bag.
“Ah! I see.”
Smoker was speechless.
Helplessly, he asked, “Vice Admiral Garp, why did you suddenly come to Loguetown?”
Garp recalled the past few days and began to explain.
“Oh, this started a few days ago.”
…
Time rewound to five days ago.
Marines Headquarters, Fleet Admiral’s office.
A painting of “Justice Reigning Over the World” hung on the wall. Sengoku, wearing a seagull hat, was handling paperwork in his office.
He was in a bad mood recently because a powerful pirate named “Portgas D. Ace” had emerged in the Grand Line.
The Marines wanted to invite this strong pirate to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea to balance the situation, but he refused.
“Another ‘D’, huh?”
Sengoku couldn’t help but rub his forehead, closing his eyes in thought, but he couldn’t think of a good solution.
Helplessly, Sengoku set aside the matter of Portgas D. Ace and turned to other affairs.
After all, as the Fleet Admiral of Marines Headquarters, he had many matters to handle daily and couldn’t waste too much time on one issue.
Little did Sengoku know that his failure to delve deeply into this matter would lead to significant changes in the future.
As he processed the documents, their stacked thickness gradually exceeded two steps.
By 4 p.m., Sengoku asked his subordinate to bring his treasured tea leaves and brewed a pot of fine tea.
He sipped the tea while handling two linked documents.
After reading the first document, Sengoku’s anger flared, his face turning red, and his arm slammed heavily on the desk.
“What is the Internal Affairs Department doing?!”
Bang!
The heavy force made the desk emit a dull sound, shaking the teapot and spilling some tea on the table.
The Marines guarding outside felt a jolt, not knowing why the Fleet Admiral was so furious.
Sengoku gradually calmed down and re-examined the inspection report.
The report detailed how Captain Nezumi of the 16th Branch in the East Blue had accepted bribes and colluded with the Arlong Pirates, allowing them to oppress civilians for five years.
For five years, the 16th Branch of the East Blue Marines had turned a blind eye to the exploitation of civilians by the Arlong Pirates, doing nothing.
This infuriated Sengoku.
Captain Nezumi must be dismissed and thoroughly investigated, and his subordinates at the branch must be reviewed and punished!
After signing this order, Sengoku calmed down. He didn’t doubt the integrity of the entire Marines because of this incident, knowing that the majority of the Marines stood for justice and corrupt officers like Captain Nezumi were rare.
Captain Nezumi had hidden his actions for so long due to some connections at Headquarters and, more significantly, due to the relaxed control over the remote East Blue by Marines Headquarters.
This allowed Captain Nezumi to dominate the 16th Marines Branch in the East Blue, behaving arrogantly.
However, this was inevitable. Compared to the relative peace of the Four Seas, the Grand Line and New World were the gathering places of powerful pirates.
If the pirates in the Grand Line weren’t dealt with first, the world would face massive upheaval and chaos.
Sengoku then turned his attention from Captain Nezumi’s report to the connected document.
It was a promotion application.
Because it was related to Captain Nezumi’s case, the processing institution included it with Nezumi’s report for Sengoku’s review.
Sengoku had some impression of this young Marines officer, Charlotte Curls.
Due to Curls’ outstanding performance at the end of his recruit period, Sengoku had considered transferring him to Marines Headquarters for training.
But due to some evaluations, Sengoku temporarily stationed him in the East Blue, though he was scheduled for next year’s elite training camp.
Sengoku picked up the promotion application and reviewed Charlotte Curls’ military achievements.
“Achievement 1: Following orders from Headquarters, he investigated corrupt officers at the 16th Branch and successfully captured the Marines traitor Captain Nezumi.
Achievement 2: Eliminated many members of the Arlong Pirates, killed the ringleader Arlong with a 20 million Berries bounty, and liberated twenty villages oppressed by pirates for five years.
Achievement 3: On the return journey, he captured the 18 million Berries bounty pirate Don Krieg and single-handedly destroyed Krieg’s 3,000-member pirate fleet.”
Such achievements left Sengoku slightly surprised. At just 17, Curls had single-handedly destroyed a 3,000-member fleet, a rare feat even in the Grand Line.
If he maintained such brilliance in the elite training camp, he would undoubtedly become a high-ranking force in the Marines.
Sengoku couldn’t help but feel gratified that a new strength was emerging in the Marines.
He then looked at the latest rank application from the processing institution.
“Charlotte Curls, originally a Marines Headquarters Ensign, merits approved, recommended promotion to Marines Headquarters Major!”
Perhaps because Curls exposed the Marines traitor Captain Nezumi or due to his impressive achievements, Sengoku stamped the application with a red approval mark.
Thus, Charlotte Curls would officially become a Marines Headquarters Major!
Click!
The burly Garp pushed open the wooden door, smiling as he asked, “What, I heard you yelling in the hallway, and now you’re all smiles?”
Perfect timing!
Sengoku felt a trace of slyness and handed Garp the two documents. “Garp, you’ve been too idle lately. Here’s an assignment, take this to the East Blue.”
Garp took the documents and read them with approval.
“Charlotte Curls, a 17-year-old Marines Headquarters Major, not bad!”
He understood that it was another task of escorting criminals to Enies Lobby.
Garp grabbed the treasured tea leaves from Sengoku’s desk, laughing as he left.
“This will be my reward!”
Sengoku pounded the desk in a fury.
“Damn it, Garp, give it back! Those are my treasured tea leaves from years ago!”
“Ha-ha, no way!” Garp refused.
“At least leave me some!” Sengoku helplessly compromised.
“No chance!” Garp quickly left the office, even closing the door behind him.
…
Back to the present.
Garp removed his dog-headed hat and casually said, “This time, I’m in Loguetown to escort criminals to Enies Lobby. Besides, where is Charlotte Curls?”
Instantly, all Marines eyes turned to the far-right corner of the port, where Curls stood.
Easily identifiable!
With a leap, Garp landed in front of Curls.
“You are Charlotte Curls?”
“Yes.”
Curls responded, but he was puzzled, not knowing why Vice Admiral Garp was looking for him.
The atmosphere grew tense again.
Amidst the Marines soldiers and a large group of tense spectators, Garp’s stern face broke into a smile. He took out the promotion notice and patted Curls’ shoulder, announcing.
“Congratulations, Charlotte Curls.”
“Your Marines rank, based on accumulated merits and Headquarters’ review, is promoted from Marines Headquarters Ensign to Marines Headquarters Major!”
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