Garp looked away and turned toward Luffy, still on the ground rubbing his head, face full of grievance, ready to set him straight about wanting to be the Pirate King.
Just then, the treetops overhead rustled and a few startled birds flapped skyward.
A figure dropped silently from on high, using Geppo. In a crisp suit and a cold, stern face, it was Garp's aide Bogard.
He landed steadily at Garp's side, cradling a Den Den Mushi that was going "buru-buru," the snail mimicking an anxious face.
"Vice-Admiral Garp, Fleet-Admiral Sengoku has called every day for three days, urging you to return to Marineford."
Bogard's voice stayed flat and level, relaying the order word for word.
"Hmph."
Garp dug at his nose, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"Damn that Sengoku. I'm busy educating my grandson—no time."
Before he finished, Bogard pressed the answer button.
The snail's mouth gaped wide and an image of Sengoku's furious face appeared, followed by a deafening roar.
"Garp, you bastard! Don't try to dodge! I never approved any leave! Get back here right now!"
The Den Den Mushi copied Sengoku's sputtering fury, the shout nearly lifting the forest.
Garp jumped, finger still in his nose. He switched to scratching his ringing ear and muttered, "Yeah, yeah, got it."
He yanked the receiver from Bogard and slammed it down—silence restored.
Bogard, used to it, calmly put the snail away.
Only then did Garp breathe out, step forward, and grab the collar of the still-rubbing Luffy.
"Let's go, brat. Training's over."
"Eh? But I'm gonna be the Pirate King, Gramps!"
"Shut it! Say 'pirate' again and I'll feed you to a Sea King."
Their warm family moment ended.
Garp dragged Luffy by the ear, cursing all the way back to Dadan's house, then boarded his Warship.
The ship eased out of the Goa Kingdom's waters. On deck, Garp sat cross-legged, crunching rice crackers noisily, and mumbled around a mouthful to Bogard.
"By the way, anything on that kid Ryoma?"
Bogard bowed slightly, pulled a file from his coat, and answered tersely, "Per Branch 77's latest report, days ago the Arlong Pirates entrenched at Cocoyasi Village were wiped out by a single youth—name: Ryoma. Description matches the one we met."
"Oh?"
Garp's chewing paused and he grinned wide, flashing white teeth in a hearty laugh.
"Not bad, making waves already. The kid's got promise."
…
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
After drifting days on a giant plank, the Marines under Nezumi were finally picked up by a patrol Warship. Back at their branch, they reported the nightmare in full.
Naval Intelligence worked fast, matching their testimonies with Branch 77's vague report and the Arlong Pirates' annihilation.
A complete dossier landed on the high command's conference table.
Annihilated the East Blue's highest-bounty Arlong Pirates.
Single-handedly crippled the Marine 16th Branch's standard Warship and killed Captain Nezumi on the spot.
Can conjure ice from thin air—suspected Logia-type user of the Snow-Snow Fruit.
The conference room's air turned heavy.
The officers cared little about Arlong's fall—just a small-time East Blue crew.
But killing a Marine captain and destroying a Warship was a naked slap at the World Government and the Marines' authority.
"He must be punished! Such contempt for justice cannot stand!" A hawkish officer slammed the table, shouting in outrage.
"Exactly. Issue a huge bounty at once, let the world know how dangerous he is."
After brief debate, consensus came swiftly.
Whatever the young man called Ryoma intended, he had crossed the Marines' bottom line. To save face and deter future challengers, a colossal bounty was drafted without delay.
Before long, countless News Coo took off from Marineford and flew across the world, carrying a brand-new bounty poster to every sea.
[Fairy Pirates, Captain "Frost Fairy" Ryoma, bounty: 80,000,000 Berries!]
On the poster was Ryoma's slightly languid profile, and in one corner of the background, a peculiar crest shaped like fairy wings, formed of ice crystals, could be faintly seen.
That crest was the flag Ryoma had conjured on his skiff with magic. The Marines' intelligence division mistook it for his pirate ensign.
Thus his identity as a pirate was formally recorded by the Marines and the World Government.
At the same time, on a certain stretch of the East Blue, a tiny single-person sailboat bobbed gently with the waves.
Ryoma sat cross-legged on the deck, eyes closed, every ounce of his focus gathered. He was recalling the strange sensation when Garp's fist had knocked his head—that condensed, hard, devastating invisible force.
Armament Haki.
He tried to draw on his mental strength to imitate and gather that feeling, but for the moment the results were slim.
"Sure enough, it's not that easy."
Ryoma opened his eyes in frustration and rubbed his temples.
This power system was a completely new field to him. To gain entry, he would need time and proper guidance—fumbling alone was far too inefficient.
Just then a chorus of "coo-coo" sounded overhead. A News Coo spiralled down, clutching the latest newspaper in its beak.
Ryoma casually flipped fifty Berries into the pouch on the bird's leg and took a copy of the paper.
He unfolded the newspaper and skimmed it, then froze.
Among the bounty posters tucked inside was one with a very familiar face—his own.
"Fairy Pirates? Frost Fairy?"
Staring at the title, Ryoma blinked, then let out a short, sardonic laugh.
Quite the honor—slapping an entire pirate-crew label on him when it's just one guy.
He found the Marines Headquarters' slapdash arrogance amusing. To protect their fragile pride, they hadn't bothered investigating, simply branding him a pirate outright. Yet he himself couldn't be bothered to argue.
Pirate it is, then.
A name is only a name, it won't change what he intends to do.
"Fairy Pirates... that sounds awful. Might as well call it Fairy Tail."
He muttered the complaint, though the epithet "Frost Fairy" struck him as rather nice.
Far away in Cocoyasi Village, when Nami, Nojiko and Genzo saw the bounty poster in the newspaper, everyone was stunned.
"Eighty million Berries! Is this real?"
"Ryoma... actually has a bounty that high!"
The villagers buzzed with chatter, both deeply worried for Ryoma's safety and awed by his terrifying strength.
Nami clutched the paper. After living with Ryoma for more than three months, she knew the man. He seemed lazy but he was gentle and powerful at heart. She refused to believe he was the vicious pirate described on the poster.
"The Marines must be slandering him!" Nojiko declared indignantly,
"Ryoma wiped out the Arlong Pirates and saved us. How could they treat him like this!"
Genzo held a cigarette between his lips, silently studying the bounty poster, and finally exhaled a long stream of smoke.
"Sometimes the Marines' justice is just about saving their own face."
The sudden appearance of "Frost Fairy" Ryoma and the sky-high bounty crashed like a boulder into calm water, sending up a thousand waves.
It likewise drew the covetous eyes of countless pirates, the attention of schemers, and the greed of bounty hunters.
On another stretch of the East Blue, a huge fleet of thirty vessels advanced slowly, their sails bearing ferocious emblems, their manner menacing.
On the flagship's deck stood a man in golden armor with a pale-purple headscarf—Krieg, overlord of the East Blue.
A crewman ran over in a fluster, voice trembling with excitement.
"Admiral! A small single-masted sailboat spotted ahead!"
Krieg lowered his telescope and grunted irritably, "Just a tiny boat—ram and sink it. Why report such rubbish?"
The crewman gulped, voice quavering with excitement. "Admiral! According to the lookout, the man aboard appears to be the rumored eighty-million Berries Bounty 'Frost Fairy'!"