Monkey D. Garp hung up the Den Den Mushi, straightened his clothes, and casually grabbed a pack of snacks from the drawer.
After instructing the navigator to set a course back, he headed over to inform Madara Uchiha and the others.
"What? You're saying Is has already returned to Mary Geoise???" Acnologia asked, half in disbelief.
They had waited here an entire afternoon and night—
Only to be told that the man they were waiting for had already gone back.
"No way. Where did you hear that from?" Tornado stared at Garp and asked.
"No reason to lie. He contacted me just now through a Den Den Mushi. Told me to return and bring you all back to Mary Geoise," Garp replied calmly.
Hearing this, Tornado leaned against the railing, puffing her cheeks in annoyance.
"That guy Is… we waited so long, and he just went back without a word!"
"Maybe something delayed him," Retsu Unohana said gently with a soft smile.
"Well… something did happen on his side," Garp added.
As he spoke, he opened his snack pack and casually offered it toward Madara.
"Want some, Madara?"
"No."
But the moment Garp said that—
Everyone turned toward him at once.
Their expressions were serious.
"What happened??"
Seeing their intense stares, Garp quickly swallowed his food and explained:
"Relax, it's nothing serious. He just got lost. Later, the Marines sent him back to Mary Geoise, so he didn't make it to meet you."
"…Lost?"
"…Lost??"
"…"
The group exchanged glances.
Then—
"Hahahahaha—!"
Acnologia and the others burst out laughing.
"I thought something serious happened… turns out he just got lost," Unohana chuckled softly, covering her mouth.
"That guy always finds a way to surprise us!"
"I was worried something went wrong… and it turns out he couldn't find his way back…"
"Well, you can't really blame him," Garp added. "The New World's magnetic fields, weather, currents, and airflow are all chaotic. He went chasing after Shiki without anything—it's normal he couldn't find his way back."
"Alright then. Since everything's clear, I'm going back to sleep."
Madara stretched lazily, about to jump onto the ship's roof—
But Garp stopped him.
"What is it?" Madara asked, slightly puzzled.
"Is told me to pass you a message—an old friend of yours is waiting for you in Mary Geoise."
"An old friend?"
That immediately confused Madara.
He hadn't been in this world long—
How could he possibly have an "old friend" here?
"I don't remember having any old friends in this world. You sure you heard right, Garp?"
"Of course I did! I heard it clearly."
"What's his name?"
"He didn't say. Just that an old friend is waiting for you."
Garp shrugged. Having delivered the message, he had nothing else to do. Munching on snacks, he walked away.
After Garp left—
The atmosphere around Madara shifted.
"An old friend… perhaps not from this world, but from your original one," Yoriichi Tsugikuni speculated.
"That makes sense," Unohana added. "We were all summoned by Is. It's entirely possible he summoned someone from your world too."
At that moment—
Madara understood.
He had been thinking only about this world—
Forgetting that Is possessed the ability to summon.
With their reasoning, the answer became obvious.
"An old friend…"
There was only one person who fit that description.
"Could it be… him?"
Madara gazed out at the vast ocean.
"…Who else could it be?"
For the first time—
Even he felt a hint of anticipation to return to Mary Geoise.
Meanwhile, on a distant island—
The fruit vendor held a freshly printed newspaper, staring intently at a picture.
To confirm his suspicion, he rushed inside.
"Hey, take a look—doesn't this young man look like the one who came yesterday and dug out a brick from our house?"
The woman glanced at it and nodded.
"Yes, it's him. I remember clearly—his behavior was too strange to forget. But… what did he do to end up in the newspaper?"
As she spoke, her gaze moved from the picture to the headline.
"Celestial Dragon Aurelius D. Virel ·Is leads Marines to successfully annihilate the Rocks Pirates, capturing multiple key officers."
Her face turned pale instantly.
"Th-that young man yesterday… was a Celestial Dragon?! How did you dare take his money?!"
"I… he didn't give me any."
"Mom… what's a Celestial Dragon?" the little girl asked innocently.
The woman looked at her and replied softly:
"Celestial Dragons… are the most noble people in this world. Great figures that only a very small number of people ever get to see."
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