Marineford – Naval Headquarters
The Den Den Mushi crackled to life on Garp's desk.
"Garp," came the weary voice of the village chief.
Garp frowned, scratching the back of his head. "Eh? Chief? What's wrong, old man?"
The chief took a deep breath and began recounting everything—Lakeman's sudden arrival, the unconscious villagers, Shanks's attack, and finally, Makino's words. He spoke carefully, afraid yet desperate to make himself understood.
As the story unfolded, Garp's drowsy expression hardened. The more he listened, the darker his face became.
When the call ended, the Den Den Mushi barely had time to blink before—
Bang!
Garp slammed the receiver down, teeth grinding. "That damned brat Lakeman!" he bellowed, his voice shaking the walls.
He paced back and forth, fists clenching. He knew the name all too well—Saint Lakeman, one of the few Celestial Dragons who actually had a decent reputation.
Compared to most of those pampered monsters, Lakeman was almost… admirable. He'd reformed regions, ended wars, rebuilt nations. But Garp also knew the darker truth that the Marines pretended not to see.
The man's so-called kindness came with chains. His "harem" was filled with fallen royalty—queens, princesses, nobles—each stripped of pride and remade into loyal playthings.
Tsuru's words echoed in his memory.
"After King Cobra's death, the Alabasta case was closed too cleanly. Lakeman restored the kingdom's water supply. The people praise him like a savior, but the truth? Princess Vivi is his fiancée, and Queen Titi is his slave. CP0 manages the kingdom now, but they all serve him, not the World Government."
And Alabasta wasn't the only one. One by one, kingdoms with queens and princesses sent to Lakeman had slowly fallen under his control. Cipher Pol, through Stussy and Shakky's shadow network, had eroded their independence—all in the name of "administration."
Garp's jaw tightened. "Makino would never go willingly. That bastard must've forced her!"
He threw on his Marine coat, the large Justice emblem flaring behind him as he stormed out of his quarters. "Get the ship ready! We're sailing to East Blue immediately!"
His adjutant flinched. "V-Vice Admiral Garp, sir? East Blue?"
"Don't ask questions!" Garp barked, tightening his gloves. "That damned Celestial bastard thinks he can lay hands on Makino of all people?! I'll show him what an iron fist of justice looks like!"
As he stormed toward the docks, the adjutant watched with growing dread. Garp's anger was legendary—but so were the consequences of defying a Celestial Dragon.
Wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead, the man grabbed his own Den Den Mushi and whispered urgently, "Fleet Admiral Sengoku… we have a problem. It's Garp. He's about to confront Saint Lakeman."
––
Minutes later, as Garp strode down the long marble corridor toward the exit, a familiar voice called out sharply from behind.
"Garp!"
The old Marine stopped, recognizing that commanding tone.
Sengoku appeared from around the corner, his cape flowing behind him, face grim. "Don't tell me you're actually going through with this madness."
Garp turned slowly, eyes blazing. "That so-called Saint laid hands on Makino. You expect me to sit here and do nothing?"
Sengoku exhaled heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. "If you attack a Celestial Dragon, even you won't be spared. The Admirals will be ordered to stop you. Do you want to start another incident like God Valley?"
Garp's fists trembled at his sides, veins bulging. "If I don't go, I'll never forgive myself."
Sengoku stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Then think carefully, old friend. This isn't about justice anymore—it's about survival. Lakeman isn't like the others. He's not just a Celestial Dragon. He's something else entirely."
Garp glared at him, breathing heavily, then muttered, "Then I'll just have to test that for myself."
Sengoku didn't wait for an argument. "First, come with me to the office. We'll talk this through, then you can decide if you still want to go."
He seized Garp's arm and hauled him toward the Marshal's conference room, barking to an adjutant as he moved, "Call Tsuru. Call the Admirals. Now."
The waiting room filled one by one. Tsuru arrived first, silent and composed.
Kizaru drifted in a breath later, blinking blearily as if he had been roused from a pleasant sleep. "Marshal," he drawled in that lazy, lopsided voice, "it's already midnight. Must you keep us up. You really should raise our pay if you plan on stealing our dreams."
Sengoku's glare shut him up at once. Minutes later Kuzan stood in the doorway, measured and cool. Akainu followed, his presence like a blade. The room hummed with tension.
Garp planted himself in the center and said nothing for a long beat. Then he snapped, impatient. "All right, Sengoku. Say what you must. I still intend to sail back to East Blue and beat that bastard to a pulp."
Kizaru, leaning against the wall with his usual insolent grin, piped up, "Ooh. Is Mr. Garp going to teach his grandson another lesson? The kid's unlucky, isn't he."
A hand slammed the table. Sengoku's voice cut through the quips like a bell. "Enough." He forced the room to calm. When the silence returned, he spoke deliberately. "You all know Saint Lakeman. Some of you have met him, some of you have worked with him."
Kizaru's face softened with something like nostalgia. "A few years back, I escorted him. He was barely 11 or 12 years old? Still, his power then was near Admiral level. He treated me well. I was fed world-class delicacies every day." He allowed himself a small, fond smile.
Kuzan nodded once. "We worked together in Alabasta. He helped resolve the water crisis. Watching him use Devil Fruit power to create rather than only to destroy changed my view as well." His rare praise landed with weight in the room.
Sengoku recounted the Windmill Village incident slowly and plainly. The Admirals listened with pale faces, but none exploded.
Kizaru even tried to lighten the mood. "Garp, don't worry. Miss Makino will live a more luxurious, colorful life with Saint Lakeman than she ever did here. He treats his women well. Additionally, my salary is provided by the World Government. I don't plan on picking fights with a Celestial Dragon."
Kuzan's tone was neutral but frank. "I don't know whether Miss Makino went willingly. I admit, sometimes I envy the life of those women. It may be better for her than a tiny village."
Garp's jaw tightened. He opened his mouth, but Akainu spoke over him, his words packed with furnace heat.
"Shanks was a scum pirate. He was dealt with, and Saint Lakeman did what he deemed necessary. And Garp, you stand there with indignation when countless women are enslaved, tortured, and killed by Celestial Dragons each year. Where were your actions then? Where were your reports? Now, one girl in your village is taken, and you want to attack a Celestial Dragon. Do you forget our duty?"
He stepped closer, voice low and iron. "We protect the dignity of this government and the celestial dragons who hold it together. If you intend to go after Saint Lakeman, you will have to pass by the three Admirals first."
The room went colder. Sengoku met Garp's furious stare with something like pity. "This is not a simple matter of personal justice," he said. "A direct clash with a Celestial Dragon will bring consequences none of us can ignore. The chain of command, the balance of politics — you know that as well as I do."
Garp's hands balled into fists. His breath came like a storm. "Then tell me this, Sengoku. If she was forced, and if we let this stand, how do we call ourselves Marines?"
Sengoku did not answer at once. He looked around at the Admirals, at Garp, weighing law against loyalty.
Outside, the night kept its secrets. Inside, men who had built their lives around justice argued over the line between the letter of duty and the heart of it.
Tsuru finally broke the silence.
"It doesn't matter, Garp — whether she was willing or not means nothing. What matters is whether Saint Lakeman wanted it. Don't forget what Akainu said: where was your justice when others suffered the same fate as Makino? We are Marines. We do not go against the World Government or the Celestial Dragons."
Garp clenched his fists, but before he could speak, Tsuru continued coldly, "Did you forget what I told you before? Saint Lakeman isn't like the other Celestial Dragons — aside from his fondness for beautiful women. He is far more powerful, cunning, and ruthless than any of them."
She then turned toward Kuzan. "Don't think he's good just because he treats people kindly."
Her eyes darkened. "And don't think he's evil just because he enslaved a few beauties. During the five years he was missing, we secretly conducted an investigation — hidden from the eyes of the CP, the Marines, and even the World Government — after Sengoku returned from Mariejois when the world was nearly destroyed."
"Don't misunderstand, Garp," Tsuru said gravely. "We're not protecting him. We're protecting you. Only Sengoku and I know the truth of that incident six years ago. But now… It's time you learn."
Sengoku nodded solemnly. "The world was nearly destroyed because two beings of unimaginable power fought for only a few seconds. One of them was Saint Lakeman. The other was the King of the Celestial Dragons—Imu."
"What?!" The room erupted in disbelief, each officer reacting differently—especially Kuzan and Borsalino, who had met Saint Lakeman before and thought they understood him.
"Marshal, are you serious?" Kizaru asked, his usual lazy tone gone. "How could any human possess such power? And the King of the Celestial Dragons—wasn't the Void Throne always empty?"
"Humph," Garp grunted, crossing his arms. "Are you making this up, Sengoku, just to protect that brat from me?"
Sengoku shook his head. "No. The Five Elders themselves told me. King Imu has ruled the World Government from the shadows for the past eight hundred years, ever since its founding.
The day Lakeman challenged him for his throne, their battle nearly brought the world to an end. Natural disasters, global annihilation—it all began when their powers clashed.
They fought for only seconds before realizing the destruction they were causing, and stopped to preserve what was left. Otherwise, not a single living being would have survived.
You all must have felt that overwhelming pressure that day."
He then turned sharply toward Garp. "And as for you, you're not leaving Marineford for at least a year. Otherwise, we'll have to beat you half to death ourselves, just to stop you from provoking that disaster star and getting crushed like an ant.
Didn't you hear from the village chief's report? Shanks and his entire crew were killed, yet the village remained untouched. That's the level of his power. He now rules the world alongside Imu. We don't even have the qualification to challenge him."
Sengoku's tone darkened even further. "And I won't let that cunning and ruthless man bring another disaster to the Marines. Our investigation revealed the truth behind Alabasta—and many other nations—secretly ruled by him through the Cipher Pol network."
"Isn't Alabasta ruled by Queen Titi, the mother of his fiancée Vivi and the wife of the late King Cobra?" Kuzan asked, his tone laced with confusion.
"Yes, it is ruled by Queen Titi—Saint Lakeman's mother-in-law and the current queen of Alabasta," Tsuru replied calmly. "But she is also his lover and toy. Their affair began the moment Saint Lakeman first landed in Alabasta for his engagement to the newborn Princess Vivi.
At that time, King Cobra was perfectly healthy. Unlike when you arrived a month later to collaborate on the project meant to bring prosperity to Alabasta's citizens." She paused, then asked, "When you got there, did you ever see King Cobra yourself, Kuzan?"
"No," Kuzan answered, shaking his head slightly. "By that time, King Cobra was already ill. But from what I observed, the people of the kingdom adored Queen Titi deeply."
"Indeed," Tsuru said slowly. "That's what makes Saint Lakeman so terrifying. He made Cobra ill while indulging in debauchery with Titi.
Because of the king's declining health, the ministers proposed that Titi lead the project you and Saint Lakeman completed. Her reputation soared, and no one suspected anything.
Cobra's health seemed to improve for a few months, then worsened again—this cycle continued for three or four years until he finally died.
During that time, she ruled in his name, but after his death, she became the true queen—loved by the entire nation. Even Vivi, who will one day ascend as queen, remains bound to him as his fiancée."
Kuzan frowned slightly. "So… are the people of Alabasta living worse lives now than under Cobra's rule?"
Tsuru shook her head. "No. On the contrary, they're living a hundred times better than before. Even across the other kingdoms under his influence, the corrupt nobles have been purged.
Kings have fallen—whether through illness, abdication, or death—and in their place, princesses, queens, or dowager queens—Lakeman's women—now rule. And they govern far better than the men who came before them, with support from Cipher Pol. That's why I said—he's both good and bad."
"That's fine by me," Kuzan replied in a tone of quiet relief. "I don't care how many women Saint Lakeman has. As long as he brings peace and prosperity under his command, he's the best ruler we could ask for. A hundred Cobras could die for such progress."
Sengoku sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Alright, all of you are dismissed. And Garp—don't even think about leaving Marineford for a year. No vacations, understood?"
The room fell silent as he waved his hand, dismissing them all.
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