After listening to Rowan, Zoro didn't ask any more questions. He set the newspaper aside and went back to his "self-torture" training.
Marine Headquarters.
"How many ships now?"
Sengoku sat with a grim expression, questioning the Marine officer delivering the report. Beside him, Garp acted as if he didn't have a care in the world, noisily ripping open a bag of senbei crackers and beginning to feast.
"The..." The young Marine stammered, clearly terrified to report the number. "The twenty-eighth ship, sir. All of them vanished in the Florian Triangle. This includes the warships of two Rear Admirals and four Captains. It has been happening for over a month now."
Over a month?!
BAM!
Sengoku slammed his hand onto the desk!
In a single month, nearly thirty warships had mysteriously vanished in the first half of the Grand Line! This rankled Sengoku to his core.
"Why is this only being reported now?! What have you all been doing?! Have you searched the Calm Belt? Even the Rear Admirals' ships are gone?"
Sengoku interrogated the soldier fiercely, causing the young man to tremble from head to toe.
"Hey! You're being too scary!" Garp interjected mockingly from the side. "Learn from the Old Man—be a bit more 'amiable,' Bwahaha!"
At the mention of the Old Man, Sengoku's fury subsided significantly.
"Dismissed. I will send a Vice Admiral to handle this," Sengoku said, his eyes drifting toward Garp.
The soldier fled the room as if escaping for his life. Garp closed his eyes and continued chewing his crackers, pointedly ignoring Sengoku's gaze.
The first half of the Grand Line? You want these old bones to run an errand down there? Not happening. Absolutely not. Send those new Vice Admiral brats!
Just as Garp was silently protesting Sengoku's unspoken request, footsteps echoed from the corridor...
The office door was pushed open. A white-haired, white-bearded old man walked in, followed by the beautiful and tall Momousagi.
"Lord Rowan is back!"
Sengoku and Garp immediately dropped what they were doing and stood up to welcome him.
Rowan walked in and saw Sengoku's dark expression directed at Garp. Coupled with the young Marine who had nearly collided with him while running out, he guessed something had happened.
"Old Man! How did that sand-crocodile feel in your hands? Hahahaha!" Garp asked with a loud laugh.
While Sengoku was still processing the diplomatic headache of another dead Warlord, Garp was just enjoying the spectacle. Sengoku, however, would always support Rowan unconditionally, regardless of how difficult it was to explain to the higher-ups.
"Not bad. Just lacked a bit of stamina. Success came a bit too easily..." Rowan sat down next to Garp and answered seriously.
If anyone else had said those words, they would have been met with a sea of eye-rolls. Taking down a second Shichibukai and complaining it was "too easy"?
But coming from Rowan's mouth, no one thought he was boasting. Rowan had the strength to treat a Warlord like a mere toy.
"Sengoku, you look troubled. Is something wrong?" Rowan asked.
Sengoku nodded helplessly and relayed the full story of the missing warships.
The Florian Triangle? Others might be baffled, but how could Rowan not know what was happening?
That was the work of Gekko Moria. What Rowan hadn't expected was that Moria—arguably one of the weaker Warlords—usually limited his "haunting" to ordinary pirate crews. Using the mystery of the Triangle to bolster his zombie army was one thing, but daring to lay a hand on Marine warships...
Did he think that with Doflamingo dead, he could act with total impunity? With the Marine Godfather right here, Moria's actions were a direct slight to Rowan's presence.
Rowan hadn't originally planned to make the "weakest link" a priority target, but since Moria had come looking for trouble, he would oblige.
"What's this, Old Man? You interested again?" Garp asked, watching Rowan's thoughtful expression. "But this is just a small squabble in the first half of the Grand Line. It'd be a waste for someone of your level to go!"
Rowan naturally didn't plan to go himself. He had a few "brats" on hand who needed a opponent of Moria's caliber to sharpen their skills.
"You want me to go with Luffy? Master, that unreliable kid will definitely screw everything up." Zoro crossed his arms and frowned, highly skeptical of Rowan's decision.
"Huh? Is there meat there?" Luffy, who had been dozing off, perked up at the only thing that mattered to him.
If there was meat, he'd consider it. Otherwise, going back to the first half of the Grand Line felt like a step away from his path to becoming Pirate King.
"Luffy."
Rowan's face was a mask of calm. "If you go and solve this, when you return, I'll take you to the Old Eight Tavern at Sabaody Archipelago. All. You. Can. Eat."
Old Eight Tavern? All-you-can-eat?
Luffy's eyes instantly turned into shining beacons of motivation!
"Let's go!"
"Master, I still think this is a bad idea. I should just go alone," Zoro insisted.
"..."
Zoro going alone?
Rowan delivered a swift "Iron Fist of Love" to the top of Zoro's head!
"Go alone? You'd take half a lifetime just to find the ocean, you lost-demon!"
Of course, even if the two of them went together, they'd likely never find the destination. Rowan knew this well, which was why he needed a third person...
A warship was docked at the Marineford pier. The person Rowan had chosen to lead Zoro and Luffy to the Florian Triangle was Kameji.
A Marine Headquarters Elite Rear Admiral. Back when Rowan first reclaimed his rank, Kameji had been foolish enough to challenge him, only to be sent flying in a single move.
Since that day, Kameji had pushed himself harder than ever, making Rowan his ultimate goal—even if the gap between them was millions of miles. Seeing Rowan repel Kaido and slay two Warlords had only deepened his awe... and his embarrassment over his own headstrong challenge.
"Vice Admiral Rowan! Vice Admiral Garp! Everything is prepared! We are ready to depart!" Kameji stood at the bow and saluted respectfully.
Behind him... Zoro was lifting a barbell several times his own size in self-torture, while Luffy was focused entirely on gnawing a giant hunk of meat.
"Set sail," Rowan commanded.
These two brats... their first mission out, and they don't even know how to say goodbye...
As the warship drifted into the distance, Garp ripped open another bag of senbei.
"Old Man, letting those two go... if they mess it up, am I going to have to be the one to go and clean up their mess?" Garp asked.
He had no objections to Rowan's choice; in fact, he was pleased. It was high time Luffy went out to gain some real experience. If he pulled off a major achievement, perhaps Garp's dream of making Luffy a Marine might actually come true...