Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, several months had passed. On this particular morning, in the office of the Fleet Admiral of the Navy Headquarters, Kong had just arrived for work. He poured himself a glass of hot water and leisurely picked up a newspaper from his desk to read.
The front page featured a photo. Kong recognized the person in the photo—actually, by now, there were few people in the world who didn't. But when Kong saw the bounty notice printed beneath the photo, his expression drastically changed. It was a wanted poster.
"Harvis D. Villa Qingcheng – Bounty: 130,000,000 Berries. Note: Criminal, but only to be captured alive."
"What the hell? Since when did the Navy put a bounty on Qingcheng?" Admiral Kong roared in anger once he snapped out of his shock.
"Buru buru! Buru buru!"
"Who is it?" Kong barked into the ringing Den Den Mushi.
"A voice that could make even the Fleet Admiral so angry?" a calm voice responded.
"The Five Elders?" Kong's heart skipped a beat. His expression darkened. He hadn't expected the highest authority in the world to contact him directly—something serious must have happened.
Before Kong could ask anything, the calm voice spoke again."You've seen today's newspaper, haven't you?"
"The newspaper?" Kong hesitated, then cautiously asked, "Was the bounty on Harvis D. Villa Qingcheng issued by the World Nobles?"
"That's correct."
"What!?" Kong froze, then exploded. "What crime did he commit?! Why wasn't I informed?! How can you do this? What if people inside or outside the organization ask questions—how do you expect me to respond? How can I continue being Fleet Admiral if—"
"Are you questioning me?" the voice turned cold. "Don't give me that Fleet Admiral attitude. Your pride means nothing. If it weren't for the fact that you assigned a Vice Admiral and a unit to protect him, I wouldn't even be speaking to you. The purpose of this call is simple: withdraw your naval forces immediately. As for the crime he committed, you don't need to know. If the world asks questions, it's your problem. Also, stay out of Harvis D. Villa Qingcheng's affairs from now on. We've already dispatched someone to capture him."
After a pause, the voice added,"Remember, this is an order. If your people interfere, you can forget about staying Fleet Admiral."
Click.The office returned to silence.
Creak, creak…"Those damn bastards again..." Kong muttered through clenched teeth, his fists trembling in fury.
Buru buru!! Buru buru!!
On Starfish Island, Morikita Town, in an office at a Navy branch base, the Den Den Mushi rang loudly.
"Who the hell is it?!" Garp shouted, awakened by the noise.
"It's me." The voice of Admiral Kong came through the Den Den Mushi.
Hearing Kong's voice, Garp instantly straightened up. "Oh, it's you, Brother Kong. What can I do for you?"
"According to reliable intel from CP9, the Roger Pirates have arrived in North Blue, at Terran Town. Their target is obviously Dr. Qingcheng. To prevent any contact between Qingcheng and Roger's crew, I want you to head over and capture them immediately."
Garp laughed. "That Roger guy? Didn't he catch the incurable Lokas disease? Why isn't he dead yet?"
"He's still alive, though probably not for long," Kong replied. "Normally, someone like him wouldn't warrant our attention anymore. But since he's in the North Blue, it's obvious he's after Qingcheng. Even though Qingcheng hasn't published anything on the Lokas virus, we can't be careless. Roger is someone who knows the location of the Ancient Weapons. If he captures Qingcheng, with Qingcheng's genius, even if he can't cure him, he could probably extend his life."
Garp scoffed. "He's just a sickly pirate. I'm not going. And don't worry about them meeting Qingcheng—as long as I'm here, I'll make sure that never happens. If they try, I'll show them what it means to lose life instead of gain it."
"Cut the nonsense," Kong snapped. "You're going, and don't underestimate them. Roger himself might not be a threat now, but his first mate, the Dark King Rayleigh, has Conqueror's Haki. Also, once this mission is over, you'll get a one-month vacation."
Garp's eyes lit up. "A whole month? You serious?"
"Completely."
"No problem! Consider it done!" Garp shouted before hanging up and dashing out of the office.
Back in the Navy HQ, Admiral Kong was rubbing his temples, muttering bitterly,"Finally tricked that fool Garp into going. Otherwise, with his temper, he'd probably start a fight with the agents they're sending. That would've been real trouble…"
Meanwhile, at the port of Water 7 on the Grand Line, a tall figure holding a massive naginata was stepping onto a newly-built whale-headed ship, followed by over a hundred children around the age of fifteen.
That figure was none other than Whitebeard, Newgate, and the ship was the newly commissioned Moby Dick.
"Dad, this ship is huge! I love it!" a child exclaimed.
"Gurararara! As long as you like it. Assign your own rooms," Whitebeard laughed heartily.
"Yes, Pops!" the child replied and ran off happily.
"Pops, bad news! Qingcheng Pops has been given a bounty!" A punk-haired blond kid ran over with a newspaper.
"What? A bounty?!" Whitebeard's face darkened immediately. He grabbed the paper and relaxed slightly when he saw the note "only to be captured alive"—but his expression was still grim.
"Why? Why would big brother be given a bounty?" Whitebeard muttered. "Did they find out he's my brother?"
"Now's not the time to guess!" a chubby boy said anxiously. "If he's got a bounty, he's in danger. We need to go to Starfish Island in North Blue and get him right away!"
"You idiot, Jozu," said a curly-haired blonde girl. "If the Navy already posted his bounty in the news, that means he's already escaped. Why would he still be on an island guarded by Marines?"
"Then what do we do?" Jozu asked, clearly panicked.
"We'll have to return to North Blue and hope we find him," the girl said.
"Kids! Back to North Blue—we're going to pick up your Qingcheng Pops!" Whitebeard shouted grimly.
"Yay! We're going to get Qingcheng Pops!"
"Awesome! Once we have him, we won't have to fear getting sick anymore!"
"Yeah! Pops, you should've picked him up earlier. Then he wouldn't be in such danger!"
"Ugh…" Whitebeard stood at the bow, staring at the endless sea. "You're right… If I had known he'd be targeted, I would've gone sooner. My selfishness put him in danger. I made him wait in loneliness all these years…"
Whoosh.All the children turned their eyes toward the guilty-looking Jozu.
"S-sorry! I didn't mean to!" Jozu lowered his head, unable to meet their eyes.
At that moment, the blonde girl walked up and said, "Pops, being a pirate isn't all bad, you know? Look at us—going wherever we want, living freely. Maybe this is the kind of life Qingcheng Pops likes."
"She's right," added a blonde boy. "And everything you've done was for Qingcheng Pops. Even if you are his younger brother, putting your crimes on him was the Navy's fault, not yours."
Whitebeard had never expected to be comforted by his children like this. But somehow, their words eased the burden in his heart.
"Hey Pops, do you think Qingcheng Pops will accept us? He's a world-famous doctor, after all!" Lina asked, shifting the topic.
Whitebeard blinked, then laughed. "Gurarara! Silly kids—we're family. Of course he'll accept you."
"Pops! Is it true Qingcheng Pops is 59? The paper says so, but he looks so young and handsome!"
"Of course it's true," Whitebeard chuckled. "He ate a Devil Fruit, just like me."
"So that's why he looks so young?"
"That's right."
And so, after being comforted by the children, Whitebeard finally returned to his usual self, laughing and chatting as they sailed toward North Blue…