Drip, drip.
Water was seeping bit by bit from the ceiling, falling into the cage below.
"Water..."
Arlong's previously vacant gaze began to change, quickly regaining its sharpness of old.
He raised his head to look at the ceiling—not only was it leaking, but cracks visible to the naked eye had also appeared.
'What happened to this warship? Is someone fighting that monstrous vice admiral?'
Arlong didn't have the time to think deeply. He simply stretched his hand beyond the cage.
Arlong was a sawtooth shark Fish-Man, and his five fingers were fully webbed without any gaps, resembling the fins of a fish.
The droplet from the ceiling fell precisely onto the webbing of his palm.
His webbed hand clenched and then suddenly spread open, launching the droplet like a bullet. With a sharp ding, the droplet struck the chains of the cage, creating a small crack.
"Not enough..."
He stretched his hand again, waiting for the next droplet from the ceiling.
Arlong's gaze became even sharper. He saw the possibility of escape.
'That damn old Vice Admiral! Once I escape from here, I'll...'
'I'll leave this dangerous East Blue! Return to the Grand Line!'
At the same time.
Above Sig's pirate ship, cannonballs exploded, and smoke engulfed the air.
Once the smoke cleared, two figures had appeared on the deck.
One of them was Vice Admiral Garp. The expression on his face was a bit strange—his previous anger had entirely turned into astonishment.
Sig stood roughly ten paces away from Garp—close enough that, for someone like Garp, it was practically within arm's reach.
But at this moment, Garp completely ignored Sig. His gaze fell on the other figure.
"Dragon, why are you here?"
Garp asked in a deep voice.
He didn't understand how this situation had once again dragged in his son, the leader of the Revolutionary Army.
Dragon didn't reply. With his feet stepping on Geppo (Moonwalk), he took two or three steps and quickly ascended into the sky. At the same time, his eyes swept briefly over Sig without making it obvious.
He noticed Sig was still standing where he was, his stance hardly changed, though his eyes showed faint surprise.
Dragon exhaled a breath of relief.
'It seems Sig doesn't intend to make a move for now.'
The plan Dragon had intended to propose to the Revolutionary Army officers earlier was for him to directly prevent Sig and Garp from meeting, thus stopping Sig's grand plan.
After Sig attacked the Celestial Dragon, Dragon had regarded Sig as a potential ally of the Revolutionary Army and even thought about recruiting Sig into their ranks.
For this potential ally to fight against his father—no matter who won or lost—it was not an outcome Dragon wished to see.
However, Garp arrived too quickly, leaving him no choice but to improvise and prevent a fight between the two.
Fortunately, it was Garp who came.
If it had been one of the Marine Admirals instead, Dragon would not have entertained the naïve thought of intervening to stop them.
"Dragon, I asked you a question!"
Garp's face darkened further as he stepped into Geppo (Moonwalk) to chase Dragon into the sky.
The two of them gradually left the air above the pirate ship and landed on the Revolutionary Army ship, whose hull was decorated with coiling dragon patterns.
"Don't tell me that Sig guy is connected to the Revolutionary Army as well?"
"Dragon, answer me!"
Garp landed on the deck, his anger steadily rising as he shouted sternly:
"Do you know that just a few days ago, I entrusted Luffy to Sig? And now, only a few days later, he's stirred up such a mess!"
"Where is Luffy? Did Sig bring him aboard his ship?"
"That's my grandson we're talking about!"
Garp roared, his fist crashing forward with tremendous force and howling wind.
Dragon, who had been ready to continue escaping, suddenly paused, his face darkening.
Even now, Dragon still couldn't understand why Garp would entrust Luffy to Sig.
"Luffy is my son! Sig entrusted him back to Dadan. He didn't follow us here."
Dragon said in a low voice, suddenly turning around, his fist now covered in Armament Haki.
"More importantly, you, as his grandfather—why would you so casually entrust Luffy to a mountain bandit you yourself want to capture?"
Garp's previously ferocious aura slightly faltered.
Bang!
The two fists collided, and the deck beneath their feet cracked apart.
"Let's put Luffy's situation aside for now," Garp shifted the topic, his anger subsiding slightly.
Half of his purpose in pursuing Sig was, in fact, related to his grandson.
"But why are you stopping me from chasing Sig? Is he one of your Revolutionary Army people?"
"No. However, he did something that even we in the Revolutionary Army haven't done."
"He protected the refugees and attacked the Celestial Dragons who bombarded the refugee ship."
Amidst the clash, Dragon once again stepped on Geppo and soared into the air, pointing at the refugee fleet with one hand:
"Because of this one act, the refugees from the Gray Terminal all call him the hero who resisted the Celestial Dragons."
Dragon looked at Garp deeply.
Hero?
This word immediately struck Garp, halting the fist he was about to swing toward Dragon.
Who in this world didn't know that Vice Admiral Garp held the title of "Hero of the Marines"?
But even within the Marines, there were few who remembered why Garp had originally been called a hero.
The title of "Marine Hero" originated decades ago, from the God Valley Incident that ended the Rocks era.
In that war, beyond defeating Rocks, Garp had also protected the Celestial Dragons and their slaves, which was something he hadn't wanted to bring up for many years.
"A mountain bandit hero protects refugees and strikes out against the scum of the Celestial Dragons."
"And the Marine hero… protects the Celestial Dragons and their slaves?"
Garp was silent for a moment.
In the span of a few words, his son had pulled him back into memories.
His fighting spirit and hostility toward Sig faded by more than half.
Watching Garp, who had suddenly fallen into contemplation, Dragon temporarily halted his attacks as well.
Because Dragon knew his father inside and out, he had planned to stop Garp from pursuing Sig.
If he really had to fight Garp head-on with sheer strength, even as his son, he wouldn't be able to endure it.
But now, it seemed the plan was successfully underway.
...…
From afar, Sig watched the father and son who had been clashing earlier, still a little baffled.
The situation had changed so quickly—suddenly Garp had shown up, and just as suddenly, Garp had been led away by Dragon.
'Sig-boy! Vice Admiral Garp has been left to Dragon to cover our retreat. It's time for us to leave.'
At some point, Ivankov's big face had appeared right in front of Sig, speaking earnestly.
Before Dragon had rushed out, he had already informed Ivankov about his plan to stop the two from fighting.
Sig's heart surged with joy.
Garp was not an inflexible man. At this point, it seemed that Dragon was the only one capable of stopping him and, for the most part, ensuring the safety of the refugee fleet.
Facing Garp, this was already the best outcome possible.
'How could I be so shameless to leave…'
Sig almost laughed out loud in his heart but remained outwardly composed.
However, his modest pretense fell into Ivankov's eyes, who interpreted it differently.
'Sig-boy truly isn't willing to let his big plan be hindered…'
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Titles of the upcoming chapters
Chapter 63 The second card type
Chapter 64: Garp, the Undefeated, Falls!
Chapter 65 Leaving