At Marine Headquarters, Marineford, inside Kong's office, Garp was currently enduring one of his lectures.
"The intelligence has been confirmed: The Golden Lion Shiki ambushed the Roger Pirates near the waters of Edd War. Given the timeline, they're probably already fighting as we speak. This isn't the time to sit around talking. We need to head to the New World immediately. That's all."
Garp, who was picking at his ear, responded uncomfortably.
"The Roger Pirates and Shiki's Flying Pirates don't get along. The two groups are bound to wear each other down. While it's unlikely the Marines can intervene in the middle of their battle, we still need to make our way to the New World. We don't know how this fight will end. Shiki may be powerful, but Roger is no pushover. If Shiki loses, we might be able to swoop in and deal with the aftermath, just like we did with the last major pirates Ochoku and John."
Kong understood the rationale and didn't argue further on the topic. Instead, he switched gears and said, "Sengoku has already been dispatched to deal with Shiki and Roger. Garp, we need to talk about you."
Garp immediately began to zone out.
"Zephyr has stepped down as Marine Admiral, leaving Sengoku as the sole Admiral. This has left a significant gap in our top command structure. You need to step up, Garp. The Marines need the full power of all three Admirals. When will you take responsibility and accept the promotion to Admiral?"
Before Kong could finish his sentence, Garp stood up, waved dismissively, and walked out of the office, grinning carelessly. "I didn't make Zephyr step down, so why are you telling me all this? I'm not going to be an Admiral."
"Hey! Garp! You bastard, get back here! I haven't finished talking!" Kong shouted angrily, but Garp just laughed as he shut the door behind him.
"Hahaha! Even though you didn't finish, I already heard enough!" Garp yelled back with a big smile.
"That damn bastard…" Kong cursed under his breath before laughing helplessly. There was nothing he could do about Garp. The man was just too stubborn. Hitting him wouldn't work—he was too strong. And scolding him? Garp's skin was thicker than the walls of Marineford.
After leaving the office, Garp began preparing to head for the New World to see what would happen at Edd War. Kuzan and the others, who had been waiting outside, followed him. Kuzan, smiling, said, "Hey, Mr. Garp, that was pretty cool of you to reject Fleet Admiral Kong's promotion order like that."
"Hahaha! Becoming an Admiral would just tie me down. I don't want to lose my freedom. Besides, we don't have time for that nonsense right now. If we don't hurry, Sengoku will have already taken care of everything!" Garp laughed.
At the same time, Vice Admiral Saul, a giant of Marine Headquarters, yawned. "Can't this sea take a break? I just got back from a mission."
Kuzan looked over at Saul, asking curiously, "By the way, I heard you've been working with CP-9 lately. Is that true?"
Saul nodded. "Yeah, I caught a group of scholars. Those guys had nothing better to do than study ancient texts. Don't they realize that's a crime punishable by death? It's hard to understand why they'd risk their lives over something like that."
At this point in time, Saul had not yet met Robin's mother, Nico Olvia, so he hadn't begun to question the justice of the World Government. He simply followed orders, believing in their righteousness. After all, the World Government had repeatedly emphasized the prohibition of studying ancient texts. From a legal standpoint, these scholars were criminals, and it was Marine's duty to arrest criminals. Saul didn't think twice about it.
As they chatted, Garp and the others arrived at the port. There, they saw Sengoku already on board a warship with Borsalino and the rest of his unit, ready to set sail.
Leaning against the railing on the deck, Sengoku noticed Garp and his crew approaching. His casual expression shifted into a frown. "Garp, wasn't Kong talking to you? Shiki's already my responsibility. Don't meddle."
Garp waved dismissively. "Ah, don't worry. I'm just here to join the fun. I'll leave the credit to you."
"Damn it, Garp, you know that's not what I meant!" Sengoku grumbled.
The two of them often bantered like this. If Vice Admiral Tsuru were present, Garp would have probably hitched a ride on her ship, but since she wasn't around, he boarded his own ship with Kuzan and the others, setting off to join Sengoku's fleet in the New World.
Meanwhile, in the waters of Edd War, the Oro Jackson, flagship of the Roger Pirates, found itself surrounded by Shiki's fleet of flying ships.
"This is really bad. Shiki isn't someone who can be reasoned with, and now we're blocked right when we got a lead on the Poneglyphs," Rayleigh said with a sigh, standing on the deck as he looked up at the massive flying ships overhead.
Over ten years ago, Roger's crew had discovered the pseudo-final island, Lodestar Island, where they learned that another island Raftel was the true final destination. To reach Raftel, they needed four Road Poneglyphs. Ever since, Roger's crew had been scouring the world for the Road Poneglyphs, but most of what they found were only historical Poneglyphs, which, while valuable, didn't help in their quest.
This time, they had learned that Charlotte Linlin Big Mom possessed one of the Road Poneglyphs, and Roger was planning to steal it. Yes, steal it, not fight for it. It wasn't that Roger was afraid of Big Mom; he just didn't see the point in wasting time. Time, for Roger, was incredibly precious. His plan was to sneak in, steal the Poneglyph, and get out.
But before they could even set sail for Totto Land, Shiki had shown up with his fleet. The timing couldn't have been worse. If they couldn't avoid this fight, they might not survive to continue their quest for Raftel.
Shiki's reasons for confronting Roger were simple. Since the Battle of God Valley, Shiki had admired Roger, believing him to be someone capable of achieving great things. For years, Shiki had persistently tried to persuade Roger to join forces with him. Despite Shiki's pride, he was willing to lower himself, not to ask for Roger's surrender, but to propose an equal partnership.
But Roger was as elusive as ever. The Marines couldn't catch him, and neither could Shiki. This time, however, Shiki had Roger cornered, and he wasn't planning to leave without an answer. If Roger refused to cooperate, Shiki intended to eliminate him once and for all.
Shiki had also recently learned something crucial: the Roger Pirates had uncovered the whereabouts of an Ancient Weapon. This information wasn't false. Over the years, the Roger Pirates had gathered countless historical texts, even visiting Sky Island. They had come across many hidden secrets from the Void Century, including information about the Ancient Weapons.
Roger, however, had no interest in using the Ancient Weapons. His only goal was to explore the world and find Raftel before his time ran out. But Shiki wasn't so passive. He was a conqueror with grand ambitions. If he knew the location of an Ancient Weapon, he'd seize it and use it to dominate the world.
Shiki wrongly assumed that Roger's scattered, small crew meant they were after the Ancient Weapons. He believed Roger was quietly gathering power. So when he stopped Roger's ship this time, he had two plans in mind.
Plan A: Roger would agree to cooperate. With Roger's knowledge of the Ancient Weapons and Shiki's military might, they would conquer the world together. Shiki was even willing to share power equally with Roger no tricks, no deception. He admired Roger that much.
Plan B: If Roger refused, Shiki would bury the Roger Pirates at Edd War, eliminating the one man who could stand in his way.
As Shiki looked at the Roger Pirates, surrounded by his fleet, he let out a hearty laugh. "Jihahahaha! Roger, it's been a while. Finally, I've caught up with you!"
Roger, unfazed, laughed back. "Ahahahaha! Shiki! Good to see you. What happened to your face? Don't tell me you let a Celestial Dragon take you down."
Shiki's expression darkened at the mention of his old wound. The incident had been a stain on his pride, and he didn't appreciate Roger bringing it up.
With a snort, Shiki responded, "Enough with the jokes, Roger. You know why I'm here."
"Yeah, it's about your ridiculous ambitions, isn't it?" Roger said bluntly.
"That's right," Shiki confirmed. "I know you have the knowledge of the Ancient Weapons. So, I'm going to ask you one last time: Will you join forces with me? With your brains and my military power, the world will be ours in no time. I swear on my name, Golden Lion, that I'll share the world equally with you!"
Shiki's offer was made with absolute sincerity.
But before Roger could respond, Shiki's tone shifted, becoming cold and threatening. "Of course, if you refuse… then Edd War will become the graveyard of the Roger Pirates. What do you say, Roger?"