At a restaurant in Loguetown.
"So, you dealt with the Golden Lion?"
Zephyr looked at Luffy, who was busy feasting, and asked.
Luffy nodded, briefly recounting what had happened.
Upon hearing this, Tashigi seemed surprised and asked:
"Luffy, did you really return from the New World to East Blue just to protect East Blue and this city?"
Who was the pirate, and who was the marine in this situation?
"Hey, glasses girl, why did you leave the Marines too? And how's your old captain, Smoker?" Luffy asked, clearly curious.
"My name is not Glasses Girl, it's Tashigi! Can't you call someone by their proper name?" Tashigi pushed her glasses up angrily.
"Hahaha, Luffy, little Tashigi is my disciple."
Garp laughed and said, "She knew she was leaving the Marines, so she followed me. As for Smoker… he doesn't know how to use Haki, and he suffered badly during the Summit War."
Disciple?
Luffy suddenly thought of Koby.
Speaking of which, he hadn't seen Koby at Marineford. Was that kid still in Shells Town?
"This world needs young people. The Neo Marines can't rely only on our old bones," Garp smiled. "I'm going to train her to be an Admiral!"
Pffft!
Luffy had just taken a sip of water and couldn't help but spray it onto Tashigi's face when he heard Garp's words.
"Admiral?"
Tashigi silently removed her glasses to wipe them, embarrassed by Garp's declaration.
"What? Are you dissatisfied? To reclaim the famous swords scattered in the hands of villains, I'll work ten times harder than the average person!" Tashigi couldn't stop herself from retorting.
Luffy sighed, handed her a tissue, and said: "Sorry, I was just too shocked by that news."
It was true, but still irritating.
Tashigi accepted the tissue but didn't intend to argue further.
Luffy smiled and asked: "Grandpa, what will you do after you get the money?"
"What will I do? To put it simply, we'll build a few warships first," Garp replied bluntly.
"So basically, you don't have a real plan."
He was never the type to think ahead anyway. After all, Garp solved problems with his fists.
Zephyr cut in: "There is a plan, Luffy."
"Tell me the story," Luffy said.
"We want to protect the people the Marines failed to protect in the past," Zephyr sighed. "In this world, there are still many countries that can't pay and therefore cannot become members of the World Government.
The World Government has over 170 affiliated islands.
Behind that seemingly beautiful number, there are still almost half of the kingdoms unaligned, receiving no protection at all.
Of course, you only get protection if you pay money.
Even justice comes with a price."
"So where's your money going to come from?" Luffy couldn't help but ask.
At that moment, all eyes turned to him.
Luffy fell silent.
Being their sponsor sounded like a bottomless pit. Was he supposed to just keep paying?
Even with more than a thousand tons of usable gold, he wouldn't be able to sustain that kind of expense.
"I think what you need right now isn't an Admiral, but a solution to your money problem. Justice needs funding too," Luffy said.
Speaking of money, Luffy suddenly thought of someone.
The casino king.
The Goru Goru no Mi user.
The owner of Gran Tesoro, the largest floating entertainment city in the world.
Rumor had it that this man controlled 20% of the world's circulating currency.
Garp smiled: "Luffy, what do you think?"
"For now, it looks like the money problem is solved. We can talk more about it later. Either way, you don't need that much right away."
Luffy shook his head and continued: "So what then? That's not really a plan—it's more like a long-term goal. I want details. Don't treat me like a stranger. I'm your investor, and don't even think about deceiving me."
Zephyr was at a loss for words.
He and Garp had left the Marines out of dissatisfaction with the World Government, not because they had thought through a clear plan.
At that moment, Zephyr finally spoke more softly:
"Luffy, with your financial support, we'll build a few warships first and then head into the New World. While eliminating pirates, we'll seize the treasure they've stolen and develop gradually."
Feeding war with war?
Of course, most pirates in the New World served under the Four Emperors.
Still, it was better than having no plan at all.
Choosing the New World was an act of innocence, but also determination.
Paradise was firmly under the World Government's influence. Only in the New World could they hope to grow.
In the original history, Zephyr deserted the Marines and founded the Neo Marines purely out of vengeance.
Now, likely because of Garp's presence, Zephyr hadn't completely lost himself in his pursuit of justice.
Thinking about this, Luffy devoured the food on the table and then calmly drank a glass of orange juice:
"Very well. I'll give you the money!"
Upon hearing this, Ain and Tashigi both sighed in relief.
Without those 10 tons of gold, they truly had no idea how they would fund the construction of even a single warship.
Tashigi glanced at Luffy with mixed feelings.
Though his words were irritating, the way he threw money around was shocking.
"But…"
A sudden twist made the two of them nervous again.
Luffy grinned: "The 10 tons of gold are on the Sunny. Right now, my navigator is dealing with the rest of the Golden Lion's crew."
Zephyr's voice grew serious: "You've already dealt with the Golden Lion. Leave the rest to us."
---
(End of Chapter)