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"Give her some clothes." Turning around, Garp spoke to the Marines behind him.
Immediately, a female Marine stepped forward and entered the house with Rouge. The door closed behind them.
Garp and the others stood silently outside, waiting. Five minutes later, the door opened again, and Garp's group swiftly departed.
This time, however, their group included one more person, a female Marine with her hat pulled low, dressed in a standard Marine uniform. Her rank was Staff Sergeant.
Their departure was much faster than their arrival.
By the time the Marines from Headquarters reached the location and finished discussions with the King in Alubarna's royal palace, and dispatched a large force of Marines to the site, Garp's group was already gone.
Along the way, no one dared to stop a Vice Admiral's unit, so they traveled unhindered.
Three days later, Garp's warship had already left Alabasta without anyone realizing.
"Change course, head to East Blue through the Calm Belt!" At the bow of the ship, beneath his signature dog hat, Garp gave the order in a deep voice.
"Vice Admiral, sir!" That single command made everyone's expression change dramatically.
"Just follow orders!" Garp barked coldly, offering no explanation.
"But… the Headquarters…" Some officers hesitated.
They were currently on an important mission, heading to Marine Headquarters to assist with reinforcement duties.
A massive storm was brewing. While the world still appeared peaceful on the surface, undercurrents were surging violently behind the scenes.
"There's no time," Garp replied calmly, his gaze fixed on the sea ahead. A powerful, overwhelming aura emanated from his body.
The sea breeze whipped around them. With his silly dog hat and disheveled appearance, Garp might have looked a bit comical, but at this moment, draped in his Justice cloak, muscles taut, and standing tall, he radiated a commanding presence so fierce that it felt like even the sea itself would bow before him.
The officers had no choice but to comply. The warship changed course and picked up speed.
An hour later, something unexpected appeared in the distance.
A bicycle was slowly making its way across the surface of the sea, causing all the Marines onboard to gape in shock.
"Is that… someone riding a bike on the sea? Who is that!?"
Hearing the cries of surprise from his subordinates, Garp's expression changed slightly, and a smile crept across his face.
The bike steadily approached until it reached the side of the warship. Its rider then lightly leapt aboard.
"Mind giving me a lift?" The man's voice was lazy and unhurried, as if he could barely muster the energy to speak.
"K-Kuzan… Rear Admiral Kuzan!!"
The Marines were stunned.
This was one of the legendary figures of the Marines, a top-tier powerhouse among the younger generation, said to possess the strength to hold an entire era at bay. Though he didn't hold the Admiral title officially yet, rumors within the Marines whispered that his power already surpassed that threshold.
Encountering someone like him in the open sea was an incredible and surreal experience for any Marine.
"Kuzan." Just then, Garp called out.
"Hmm? Garp-sensei?" Kuzan opened his eyes in surprise.
"Since you're here, come along with us." Garp let out a hearty laugh.
"Eh?" Kuzan looked puzzled.
The warship, now carrying two Admiral-level powerhouses, headed through the Calm Belt with astonishing speed. No one dared stand in their way.
…
At the same time, aboard the Logan, the crew was frowning in deep thought.
"What should we name our pirate crew?"
"Honestly, I'm more curious about what our pirate flag will look like."
"Ugh, these are tough questions."
"What if I become famous later? What should my nickname be?"
"So frustrating!"
The crew, including Jason and the others, were all seriously pondering the question.
Rojen, at that moment, adopted the attitude of an arm-flinging shopkeeper, casually tossing responsibilities aside, and leapt up, cross-legged, onto the bow of the ship.
"Rojen."
Unnoticed, Sanbes had already approached behind him. His expression was complicated as he called out.
"Hm? Sanbes, something on your mind?" Rojen turned back and smiled.
"I'm curious about something…" As he brought it up, Sanbes looked visibly troubled and full of confusion.
"Ask away," Rojen said, still smiling.
"Well… Roger, according to what I know, he's already 53, right?"
"That's right." Rojen paused briefly, then nodded.
"Then… your parents must be really something," Sanbes said awkwardly, with a gleam of gossipy fire in his eyes.
A 53-year-old elder brother, while Rojen himself was around 17. A bit of subtraction would suggest Roger was 36 when Rojen was born, meaning their parents had him when they were at least 52 years old.
That was practically the definition of "old but vigorous!"
Hearing that, Rojen instantly understood what Sanbes meant. His face went dark with visible black lines.
"My parents were 56 when they had me. Got a problem with that?"
His voice sank as he spoke, his eyes fixed on Sanbes as a dangerous aura began to rise from his body.
"Cough cough, no no, not at all! Are your parents still alive? I'd love to meet them sometime…" Sanbes chuckled nervously.
"Sanbes, come over here. I swear I won't kill you." Rojen growled through gritted teeth.
"Hahahaha, have mercy, Captain!" Sanbes laughed shamelessly and ran for it.
Meanwhile, Jason and the others, though busy discussing the new pirate crew's name, had overheard the exchange. They stifled their laughter and pretended like they'd heard nothing at all.
"Cough cough, that whole family… Rojen's parents and even Roger… they're really something."
"Yeah, having kids in their 50s? Sharp as ever, old but vigorous!"
"I wish I had kidneys like that. I'm genuinely jealous."
No sooner had the crew finished commenting than Sanbes's pig-squealing scream rang out, chilling everyone into silence.
They exchanged wary glances and dared not speak further.
Cough cough… Captain's dignity is not to be trifled with.
As evening approached, Rojen gathered the crew.
"Alright, first thing, we need to decide our pirate crew's name!"
He looked seriously at everyone.
"Dream Pirates!"
"Let's just go with Rojen Pirates!"
"I think 'Strongest Pirates' sounds cool!"
"Hope Pirates!"
"Brotherhood Pirates!"
One by one, they offered suggestions, making Rojen's expression darken again.
'These guys... could they take it seriously for once?'
Finally, he sighed heavily, rubbed his forehead, and decided, relying on others really was hopeless. He cut everyone off and closed his eyes to think.
"My power comes from the Possession System, from all the departed souls who gave me the strength to overturn fate."
"The realm of the dead is called the Nether, and the beings who dwell there, souls."
Opening his eyes, Rojen spoke in a low, solemn voice.
"Our pirate crew will be called,
Nether Soul!
The dead still remain. The fallen live on. That… is Nether Soul!"
(End Of This Chapter)