"It's all because you and Red Hair fought a while ago, causing this old man to be thrown into the New World by Fleet Admiral Sengoku to suppress pirates!" Garp's tone was full of resentment, his brows tightly furrowed, and a hint of helplessness in his eyes.
If he hadn't been so busy, he would have been 'intimately' with his adorable grandson right now.
Thinking of this, a trace of tenderness flashed in Garp's eyes; it had been too long since he had seen that adorable little grandson!
"You can't blame me entirely for that! Fleet Admiral Sengoku played dirty tricks behind the scenes; otherwise, how could Red Hair have found my route so easily?" Yun Lie spread his hands, defending himself with an innocent expression.
During that battle, Red Hair turned into Green Hair, an unexpected turn that made Shanks a laughingstock on the sea.
Although Shanks himself might not care, his companions couldn't swallow that insult.
Thus, in the New World, the Four Emperors Green Hair Pirate Group stirred up a bloody storm, and wherever they went, pirates trembled in fear.
Many pirates adventuring in the New World began to retreat, only wanting to return to the first half of the Grand Line to avoid the brunt of the conflict.
As a result, all the pressure fell on the Marine side. In desperation, Sengoku had no choice but to send Garp out to stabilize the situation.
"Exactly! Ever since that Sengoku guy put on the Fleet Admiral's hat, even his heart has hardened!" Garp's beard trembled with anger, and his fan-sized palm made to throw a punch, "I really want to give his head a loving Iron Fist to make him sober up!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Marine soldiers on the dog-head warship behind him all turned their faces away. Some pretended to wipe their binoculars, some lowered their heads to tidy the ropes, and even the snarling dog-head statue at the bow of the ship seemed to be avoiding the awkward scene.
"Ah ha… This can't be said, and it can't really be done! Pretend I didn't say anything, just let it go in one ear and out the other!" Garp seemed to suddenly realize, chuckling awkwardly to smooth things over, his appearance making people unable to help but laugh.
"H-how can that be?" The girls present widened their eyes, their faces full of astonishment, muttering to themselves: Can words like that really be retracted?
Yun Lie helplessly covered his forehead; Garp's personality was indeed exactly like in the original work, a true old rascal.
"Vice Admiral Garp, may I have a word?" Yun Lie really didn't want to continue messing around with Garp and spoke directly.
"Alright! You go first, I'll Moonwalk over to find you in a bit!" Garp readily agreed, then turned to instruct the soldiers behind him.
The soldiers trusted Garp implicitly and immediately took action, the dog-head warship slowly sailing away from the Infinite Space.
When Garp arrived on the deck, Yun Lie directly sat down on a chair and gestured for Garp to sit as well: "Vice Admiral Garp, you're here for more than just senbei, right? If you have any requests, just say them?"
Kalifa was very clever; seeing the situation, she immediately went into the ship's cabin, brought out a pot of hot tea, and elegantly poured for both of them.
"I like how straightforward you are, young man, I have high hopes for you!"
Garp picked up the teacup, drank it all in one gulp like a buffalo drinking water, his Adam's apple bobbing violently, "My eldest grandson, Ace, has joined Whitebeard's crew."
His voice suddenly deepened, as if dragged down by heavy lead, sinking to the bottom of the sea.
"Ace? Fire Fist Ace? He's actually your grandson, Vice Admiral Garp?" Yun Lie, knowing Ace's true identity, still feigned shock, his tone full of surprise.
"That's right, it's him." Garp caressed the rim of the cup, where the finger marks he had made from squeezing it hard were still visible.
"I know you hate pirates, but Ace is a good kid, so I hope that for my sake, if you encounter Ace, you can let him off the hook.
If he commits evil, as long as you don't kill him, I hope you can imprison him in Impel Down, where he can spend the rest of his life."
Garp put down his teacup, a subtle plea in his aged voice.
He had already studied Yun Lie's information; almost no pirate who fell into Yun Lie's hands managed to escape unscathed.
Although Ace was powerful, against Yun Lie's unpredictable spatial abilities, he had almost no chance of winning.
This time, he could only set aside his dignity as a Marine Vice Admiral and use his old reputation to gain a favor.
"No problem, I agree." Yun Lie replied straightforwardly.
"I know you don't… You, you agreed?"
Garp had already prepared a speech, intending to appeal to Yun Lie's emotions and reason, but he didn't expect Yun Lie to agree so readily, and for a moment, he was stunned.
"I agreed, but just as you said, I can be lenient, but if he doesn't know what's good for him and insists on causing me trouble, then I can only cripple him and let him live the rest of his life as a cripple," Yun Lie added with a serious expression.
Speaking of Ace's background, it was truly pitiful, a tragedy.
As the son of the Pirate King Gol D. Roger, Ace was regarded as a "demon's bloodline" by the World Government from birth.
His mother, Portgas D. Rouge, to protect him, extended her pregnancy to twenty months with all her might, ultimately exhausting her life after giving birth to him.
The world believed Ace's existence was a sin, but how could he have had the right to choose?
All Ace wanted was for his family to live happily together; if he could choose, he would probably rather never have come into this world.
The source of all this tragedy pointed to his father—Gol D. Roger.
If Roger hadn't acted so recklessly, unable to control his ambition and his younger brother, how could a series of tragedies have been triggered?
To eradicate Roger's bloodline, the World Government extensively imprisoned pregnant women of childbearing age, and given their "better to kill by mistake than to let go" approach, the fate of those pregnant women was imaginable.
Roger also exploited Garp's inner kindness, deliberately entrusting the unborn Ace to him, confident that Garp would not take his anger out on the child but would protect him wholeheartedly.
And his wife, Portgas D. Rouge, also paid the price of her life to protect Ace.
In Yun Lie's view, Gol D. Roger was by no means a good husband or father, let alone a good person.
He started the Great Pirate Era, and for the sake of a so-called prophecy, he caused countless families to be shattered and displaced.
The World Government called him a demon, and to some extent, it wasn't an unfair accusation; what difference was there between his actions and those of a demon?
"Hahahaha, I truly didn't misjudge you, you're not someone like Akainu who only knows how to kill!"
Garp's hearty laughter echoed on the deck, the wrinkles on his face crinkling together with joy.
He didn't think too deeply about whether Yun Lie, with his Conqueror's Haki that could contend with the Four Emperors, would deceive him over such a small matter.
"This is the complete version of the Naval Six Styles, and my insights on the seventh style, Life Return, it's yours."
Before Garp finished speaking, he reached into the lining of his faded Marine coat, pulled out a leather manual with a shiny cover, and slapped it heavily on the wicker table, making the tea in the cup ripple slightly.
Yun Lie looked at the yellowed pages peeking out from the edge of the manual, the ink blurred, clearly indicating years of accumulated effort.
Before he could speak, Garp waved his large hand and said gruffly, "Take it! Don't be polite with this old man!"
"Since you insist, then I won't be polite." Yun Lie smiled as he took the manual and casually put it into his embrace.
He sighed inwardly, who said Garp only had brute strength?
The way he handled this exchange of favors was perfectly balanced, both making Yun Lie indebted to him and ensuring Ace's entrustment was smoothly settled; this method was truly flawless.