As soon as the merchant ship docked, both groups noticed each other.
The other side was the Marines, the same Marines who had come to investigate them not long ago, which made the people on the merchant ship a bit uneasy.
Only Ryuen remained calm. He knew there was no way to avoid this. Not to mention Garp, his mysterious adjutant Bogart was also not an easy character. Being Garp's adjutant for so many years, he must be very capable. Even Aokiji was promoted from being Garp's adjutant.
"Captain Gulachi, when they come over, you handle the negotiations. The rest of us should avoid too much contact with them," Ryuen whispered to Captain Gulachi.
"I know, don't worry Ryuen, I'm a businessman, I'm good at this kind of thing," Captain Gulachi reassured Ryuen.
The other crew members were also confident. They had been in business for many years and understood human nature well. They had their own ways of dealing with straightforward Marines like Garp.
Ryuen slapped his forehead, almost forgetting that if Captain Gulachi didn't have some skills, he would have been eaten alive by those outside long ago. So he didn't say more and went to play with Nami and the other girls.
They were still kids, so they naturally needed to be lively and cute.
The surging waves were still hitting the shore, making it impossible to set sail again anytime soon. So everyone started setting up camp on the island.
After sailing for most of the day, everyone hadn't eaten much, so the cook began preparing a sumptuous meal.
While everyone was enjoying the food, Garp and his adjutant Bogart swaggered over, looking like they wanted to join the meal!
"Vice Admiral Garp, it's you! Please have a seat..." Captain Gulachi warmly invited them.
Garp was a bit taken aback by Captain Gulachi's enthusiasm. Bogart whispered something in Garp's ear, and Garp finally remembered who Captain Gulachi was.
"Ha ha ha~ So it's Captain Gulachi, I still remember you..." Garp said without changing his expression and sat down at the main seat at Captain Gulachi's invitation.
Captain Gulachi knew that Vice Admiral Garp didn't remember his identity, but he didn't care. He started chatting warmly with Garp, not giving him a chance to notice the kids.
"Vice Admiral Garp has such thick skin..." Daisy whispered to Nami, looking at Garp's shameless behavior.
Nami agreed. She didn't expect the great Marine hero Vice Admiral Garp to be like this in private.
Seeing this, Ryuen could only think that this was the effect of reputation.
"Captain Gulachi, I didn't see you with kids before. Why are you bringing kids now?" Garp asked loudly.
Hearing Garp suddenly mention them, Nami and the others started to get a bit nervous.
"Hey! Old man Garp, I heard you used to chase the Pirate King. Is that true? It can't be a lie, right?" Ryuen asked loudly, sounding very straightforward.
"You brat! Of course, it's true!"
"Roger could never beat me, so I kept chasing him and beating him up!" Garp shouted back, immediately starting to argue with Ryuen.
Ryuen didn't back down and kept arguing with Garp.
For a moment, the people on the merchant ship were a bit scared, afraid that Garp would really get angry.
Only Ryuen knew that Garp wouldn't mind them, especially since Ryuen was still young, being a kid had its advantages. Although for Garp, it didn't make much difference whether someone was an adult or a child.
After the banquet, Vice Admiral Garp finally left, full and satisfied. At this moment, Captain Gulachi and his crew finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wow, Ryuen, you were actually arguing with Vice Admiral Garp just now..." Little Nami's eyes widened even more, her face full of disbelief.
The girls suddenly admired Ryuen a lot, after all, not many people could argue with Vice Admiral Garp, right?
Captain Gulachi and a few merchants knew that Ryuen was just diverting Vice Admiral Garp's attention so he wouldn't have time to ask about them.
On the other side.
Vice Admiral Garp, chewing on senbei, happily said, "Those kids are not simple, they have great courage, especially that boy and the girl with the big sword, they are good seedlings, wahahaha!"
"Vice Admiral Garp, do you want to invite them to join the Marines?" Bogart asked curiously, seeing how much Vice Admiral Garp admired those kids.
"I have that idea, but they probably wouldn't want to... Bogart, keep an eye on those kids in the future..." Garp said calmly. It was his intuition, so he didn't directly invite them just now.
"Okay, Vice Admiral Garp." Bogart remained silent. Since Vice Admiral Garp didn't take direct action, he wouldn't do anything extra now, just keep an eye on them in the future.
Ryuen and the others didn't know that they had already caught Garp's attention. At this moment, the kids crawled into the tent.
Nami took out a lot of food from another space and started eating heartily. They hadn't had enough at the banquet just now.
The storm lasted for a day and a night before it stopped. After the wind and waves stopped, the two teams continued their journey.
Since Garp and his crew were going to Loguetown, the merchant ship and Garp's warship shared part of the route.
But Captain Gulachi didn't mind. With a warship nearby, they didn't have to be afraid even if they encountered pirates.
"Wait, Captain Gulachi, didn't they say there was a mountain god on Rare Beast Island? Why didn't we see it?" Daisy suddenly asked.
Everyone then realized, yeah, they had been on Rare Beast Island for so long and hadn't noticed anything unusual.
"Isn't it better that way? It means the rumors about Rare Beast Island are false. Besides, with Vice Admiral Garp there, even if there was a mountain god, it wouldn't dare to come out." Captain Gulachi said indifferently.
Everyone thought so too. It was best if there was no mountain god curse.
Only Ryuen knew that with Vice Admiral Garp and so many Marines there, the pirate stuck in the box wouldn't dare to come out and cause trouble.
After the storm, the return journey was smooth, and they didn't even encounter any pirates.
"Vice Admiral Garp, thank you for escorting us all the way!" Captain Gulachi thanked him. Near the waters of Love Island, the merchant ship and the warship finally had to part ways.
Love Island and Loguetown
"Wahahahaha!"
"Old man didn't escort you on purpose, it was just on the way. Let's go, Bogart!" Garp laughed loudly, not admitting it.
Watching the dog-headed warship leave, Captain Gulachi then ordered to return to Cocoyasi Village.
They were not far from Cocoyasi Village now.
----
You can read 10 Chapters ahead on my
pat reon.com/GMadman