"Ryu!" Luffy and the others called out excitedly.
Indeed, it was Ryu who had just returned from the cabin.
"Oh, hey there, beautiful! We meet again!" Ryu greeted Robin with a smile before turning to Luffy. "Didn't expect you'd be the one to save me. What's that supposed to mean?"
"Don't worry about it!" Luffy grinned, thinking Ryu was thanking him.
Ryu chuckled, walked over, gave Luffy a light knock on the head, and shook his head. "I'm not thanking you. You've landed me in a huge mess!"
"What? I save you, and it's a problem?" Luffy grumbled, not pleased.
"Is it because of Crocodile?" Nami guessed after a moment's thought.
She assumed Luffy must have stirred up trouble with Crocodile, and that, as a Marine, Ryu would naturally find it troublesome to be at odds with a Warlord of the Sea.
"Killing the Sand Croc is just a minor issue. The real problem is your father! Headquarters might assume I'm dead after not reporting back for so long. That blame will fall on him!" Ryu pointed at Luffy, looking somewhat exasperated.
Originally, he had planned to use the opportunity in Loguetown to make contact with Dragon. There were quite a few parts of his plan that would require help from the Revolutionary Army. But now, it looked like he'd have to find another opportunity.
Everyone was shocked. How did this suddenly involve Luffy's father?
"My father? What about him? Do I even have a father?" Luffy asked, bewildered.
"What? You've never met him?" Ryu shook his head, laughing. "Your family's way of doing things really is something else!"
Sanji, Nami, and the others exchanged thoughtful glances. If Luffy's family all had his personality, they could absolutely see them being the type to disappear without a trace after a child was born.
"The person I fought in Loguetown, the one who injured me—that was your father. He was there to see you off to sea. Otherwise, do you think it'd be so easy to slip away from Smoker?" Ryu explained, seeing Luffy's confusion.
(TL: Dude is revealing secrets like he's part of it lmao.)
"What?" Luffy's eyes widened in surprise.
"Forget it, it's in the past now. Anyway, looks like you've got quite a few new crewmates! Aren't you going to introduce them?" Ryu found himself a chair and sat down.
"Oh, right!" Only then did everyone remember they had an intruder on the ship, and all eyes turned to Robin.
"So your name is Ryu, huh? The Marine prodigy who's been making waves at Headquarters? Who'd have thought you'd get defeated in the East Blue! And now you're recovering on a pirate ship. If the Marines knew, it'd be quite the scandal!" Robin said with a sly smile.
Now that she knew Ryu's identity, she seemed slightly more at ease.
"So, what's your business with Luffy? As you can see, I'm under his care, so don't go planning anything underhanded." Ryu smiled, looking at Robin.
"With you on board, I don't need to do anything. Here, take this—it's Alabasta's Eternal Pose." Robin tossed a Log Pose to Luffy before climbing back onto her turtle companion.
"What's this?" Luffy asked, examining the Eternal Pose with curiosity.
"You know how islands on the Grand Line are connected by magnetic fields, right? You need a Log Pose to navigate from one island to the next. The one you're holding is an Eternal Pose, which will always point to a specific island," Ryu explained with a smile.
"Got it!" Luffy nodded and immediately crushed the Eternal Pose.
"What are you doing?!" Nami nearly exploded. After finally obtaining a valuable Eternal Pose, this idiot had destroyed it just like that.
"I'm the captain of this ship, and I decide where we go!" Luffy declared confidently.
But what greeted him was Nami's "loving" punch. "You didn't have to break it! That thing was probably expensive!"
Ryu then turned to Vivi with a polite bow. "So, you must be Princess Vivi of Alabasta?"
Vivi nodded, a bit curious. "Yes, that's me."
She was intrigued by the apparent camaraderie between this Marine and Luffy's crew. If she could gain the Marines' support, perhaps the situation in Alabasta would improve.
"By the way, Ryu, Vivi's kingdom is facing a rebellion. Can't you help her out?" Nami asked, realizing the potential value of Ryu's aid.
"That's complicated. First, Crocodile is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Although I oppose the Warlord system, as a Marine, I don't have the authority to go after him. And without evidence, I can't just act on your word and take down a Warlord," Ryu explained, shaking his head.
"Oh, I see…" Nami and Vivi looked disappointed.
"But you don't need to worry too much. Besides Crocodile, his underlings don't enjoy the same protections, so I can clear out some of the riffraff and buy you some time. I'll also head to Alabasta and have the local Marines assist your royal family in suppressing the rebellion. However, my support is for Vivi, not for you, Luffy," Ryu added with a smile.
"Heh, that's fine. I don't need any help. Just helping Vivi is enough!" Luffy replied cheerfully.
"Alright, I've taken up enough time on your ship. Drop me off at the nearest island so I can contact Headquarters. Otherwise, your father might end up taking the blame for my 'death'!" Ryu chuckled, glancing at Luffy.
"Oh, Ryu, are you really leaving?" Nami asked with a tinge of reluctance.
What a powerful ally—leaving without even doing much! Nami's heart was filled with regret.
Ryu nodded. "Your next destination is Little Garden, right? It's better if I don't go there. There are a couple of tough guys on that island, and I might be tempted to pick a fight with them. Best if I skip it."
"Little Garden? Sounds more and more exciting!" Luffy grinned.
When they reached a deserted island nearby, Ryu bid farewell to Luffy and his crew. Using some wood from the island, he crafted a small raft and headed toward the nearest Marine base. Part of the reason for not continuing with Luffy was to avoid interfering with his growth, and the other part was that he had to report back to Headquarters. Otherwise, they'd start treating him as a missing person, which would be a hassle.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford
"No word from Commander Ryu yet?" Fleet Admiral Sengoku asked the Marine communications officer in front of him.
"Reporting, sir! We haven't received any information on Rear Admiral Ryu. Rear Admiral Smoker has been searching the nearby waters for several days now!" The Marine officer saluted as he reported.
Sengoku shot a fierce glare at Garp. It was all that old man's fault for leaving Ryu alone in the East Blue, where he ran into Garp's son—someone who would definitely not go easy on Marines.
"Ahahaha, relax, Sengoku! Ryu isn't the kind of person who'd die so easily!" Garp said carelessly.
A few days later, Ryu finally reached a Marine base and contacted Headquarters.
Since he was already on the Grand Line, Fleet Admiral Sengoku ordered him to continue patrolling the first half of the Grand Line before returning to Marine Headquarters. As for his warship and subordinates, Sengoku had already sent them to meet him at the base.
During his time at the base, Ryu dedicated himself to training. His fight with Dragon had revealed several areas for improvement, primarily in stamina. When facing a tough opponent, if he couldn't finish the fight with his "Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palm," he'd be at a disadvantage. Right now, his technique was powerful but had too many limitations—his internal energy was his greatest obstacle.
Unfortunately, his current cultivation manual, the "Purple Mist Divine Art," was already at an intermediate level. The next level required a manual he didn't have access to.
The good news was that he was close to leveling up. If he hadn't promised Vivi to help in Alabasta, he'd have gone off hunting pirates to gain experience.
One day, a female Marine officer arrived at Ryu's training ground, saluted, and called out excitedly, "Rear Admiral!"
"Oh, Lena, you're here already!" Ryu opened his eyes, snapping out of his meditation.
The woman, called Lena by Ryu, was his lieutenant—a talented orphan he'd rescued during a mission. With nowhere else to go, she had followed him back to Headquarters, where her exceptional swordsmanship talent was discovered. Ryu had then arranged for Gion, the best swordswoman he knew, to teach her.
"Everyone was really worried about you, sir. When we heard you were alright, we came as fast as we could!" Lena said, her eyes sparkling.
"Alright, alright! I'm not that easy to get rid of!" Ryu laughed, waving her concern away.
When Lena had still been at Headquarters, she'd heard how Garp had left Ryu in the East Blue, where he'd ended up fighting Dragon. She hadn't held back in giving Garp the cold shoulder over it.
"Come on, it's time to get moving!" Ryu said, standing up and heading for the door.
Lena immediately followed, helping Ryu into his Marine coat.
When they arrived at the port, Ryu saw his warship, the Huaxia, docked and ready. The Marines onboard looked up at him with excitement.
"Haha, let's go! Time to set sail!" Ryu announced from the ship's dragon-headed prow.
The Huaxia was a custom-made warship, almost entirely funded by Ryu's accumulated merits. The figurehead was a dragon's head, not a simplistic dragon like on Shanks' Red Force, but intricately carved to match the dragon form from Ryu's "Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palm." It radiated a fierce, majestic presence.
......
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