1509, the year of the Haiyuan calendar.
Two years have passed since my last trip to Zou.
Wolf had arrived in Piltover during this period and resumed his research, which, while leading to a significant increase in the frequency of explosions, also resulted in many meaningful inventions.
As the second Mink on the island, Bepo immediately began training in fighting styles suitable for the Minks under Kate's guidance. Sometimes, Uta and the others would also drag him along to play, since Bepo is still a child.
His fluffy polar bear image was quickly welcomed, and Kumai almost fell out of favor. The mechanical bear was still somewhat different from a real bear.
However, Perona didn't like the fact that Bepo could talk, and in the end, Kumaie was the one she liked more.
The Great Pirate Era, sparked by Roger, intensified, keeping the Navy extremely busy, but the Five Elders remained calmly seated in their offices.
For them, not doing anything means they won't make a mistake, and having someone else do something gives them room to maneuver.
Even if this task is not done well, it's just that the subordinates are incompetent. But if I do it myself and it causes serious consequences, then it could be a real disaster.
For example, a while ago, a ship being escorted by CP9 was hijacked by pirates.
"That fruit is lost again."
"There's nothing we can do about it. After all, it's a Devil Fruit with its own thoughts, one that will actively try to escape. We've been searching for it for so many years, and we still haven't been able to get our hands on it."
Not long ago, CP9 member Who's Who, nicknamed Foz-Foz, was described as a genius comparable to Rob Lucci, was tasked with escorting the Gum-Gum Fruit to an agency of the World Government.
Under normal circumstances, in the first half of the Grand Line, it is enough for an elite CP9 member to escort a "normal" Devil Fruit.
Unfortunately, the person who stole this fruit was Shanks, a great pirate who has risen to prominence in recent years, whose strength is beyond doubt.
"No matter what, the fruit was still lost in his hands."
He must be punished.
Because of an uncontrollable enemy, Foz-Foe, a promising agent, ended up in prison, and his life was changed as a result.
Although they knew who had stolen the fruit, they didn't take any significant action, as if they had ignored it.
Meanwhile, also in Mary Geoise, Sengoku was sitting around a round table.
Nowadays, it can be said that Kong has further delegated power to Sengoku. Except for not being the Fleet Admiral in name, everything Sengoku does is something that only the Fleet Admiral should be responsible for.
This meeting was a new one targeting the Seven Warlords of the Sea, specifically regarding changes to their composition.
"Well, Moria's absence and Hanafza's absence are to be expected. Doctor, these are the nominees for the new Seven Warlords of the Sea. Do you have any opinions?"
Oran wasn't the only one who came to the conference room; Crocodile was also there.
During this period, he was also cracking down on pirates who had just entered the Grand Line, using pirates to earn bounties. It could be said that he was doing the same thing as Oran, and he also had the title of national hero. However, this did not change the Navy's opinion of him.
At least in the meeting room, Sengoku would still treat Crocodile as if he didn't exist.
"There are two candidates for the Seven Warlords of the Sea this time. One of them is this man, Hawkeye Dracule Mihawk, who has been frequently fighting with Shanks recently, and his swordsmanship is on par with Shanks'."
"Admiral Sengoku, if I remember correctly, your bounty poster refers to him as the Marine Hunter. The scope of the Seven Warlords of the Sea is quite broad."
"This is an order from the World Government, and the Navy is just carrying out orders."
The nicknames on the bounty posters have an accuracy rate of up to 99%. Hawkeye, the Navy hunter, is a title he earned by killing Navy soldiers.
Due to certain events, Hawkeye no longer trusts others, becoming a lone wolf while also carrying out some kind of retaliatory activity against the Navy.
In addition, Hawkeye was also a hot topic that Morgans kept in touch with during this period.
Every year, the turbulent sea gives rise to some strongmen and heroes, and Hawkeye has gradually earned the title of the world's greatest swordsman on this cruel sea, with countless swordsmen who challenged him falling under his blade.
Given his deterrent power, even though he rose to power by stepping on the Navy's reputation, the World Government still issued a summons to him, and Hawkeye himself accepted the summons.
Even right now, right here in the venue.
Directly opposite Sengoku, the man wearing a hat and sitting with his legs crossed on the table is Hawkeye himself.
"Hahaha, so this is the Navy. In the end, they're nothing more than knives that carry out the World Government's orders."
Crocodile took a puff of his cigar, the gold hook on his wrist clinking on the table. His eyes occasionally swept around, lost in thought, but the atmosphere around the round table was thick with tension.
Hawkeye's distinctive pupils met Crocodile's gaze.
Do you have a problem with that?
"I'm just looking at my future colleagues. I have no interest in taking action against someone as weak as you."
"Are you looking down on me, you bastard?"
"Quite smart."
Although they had never fought, Hawkeye didn't think Crocodile was any strong fighter at the moment. In addition, Crocodile wasn't a swordsman at all, which made Hawkeye have no desire to fight.
"Enough! This is Mary Geoise! What do you want?!"
Before things could escalate further, Sengoku started slamming his fist on the table. Of course, the Seven Warlords of the Sea didn't really give him any face, but they just didn't actually start fighting.
Crocodile is trying to establish a persona, while Hawkeye simply has no romantic feelings for Crocodile.
Rather, he would rather fight Oran.
"Doctor, there are rumors that you are a great swordsman who wields two swords. How about we have a spar?"
"Where did you hear such rumors? I'm just a weak doctor. If you really want to spar, my bodyguard is happy to oblige. He's a very skilled dual-wielder."
"Frail? Interesting."
Hawkeye didn't believe a word Oran said, but Oran was also thinking about a question: not many people knew that he could use two swords, so where did Hawkeye hear this news from?
No one made a move, but the Warring States period was in a real bind.
Oran is different from the others. If Oran also joins in their nonsense, things will get complicated.
With Hawkeye here, his status as a Shichibukai is naturally confirmed.
After the routine meeting, these people were sent away without any mercy, except for Oran and Sengoku, who returned to the Marine Headquarters together.
"Doctor, why are you joining in the fun with these guys?"
"Just kidding, don't worry about the details. I don't like fighting. Anything else?"
"Indeed, there is another one. Regarding the selection of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the World Government has another nomination: Boa Hancock, a pirate from Kuja."
"Boa Hancock, the new captain of the Kuja Pirates and the new emperor of Amazon Lily, displayed unimaginable destructive power on her first voyage. Her bounty is 80 million Berries."
The amount of a pirate's initial bounty usually signifies a lot. It is extremely rare for a pirate to have a bounty exceeding 100 million. Even for figures like Charlotte Linlin and Kaido, their bounties gradually increased from tens of millions.
"So she's your target?"
"That's right, it was a target provided by the government. However, Amazon Lily's location is special, and they haven't responded to the World Government's messenger bats."
The Navy is still sending people to communicate with them. By the way, Doctor, didn't you say you rarely attend these kinds of meetings because you find them troublesome?
Crocodile has always been the most cooperative in attending the Shichibukai meetings, while Oran has avoided attending in previous years because he felt it was a waste of time.
"This isn't just some progress on the project; I have good news for you: the first prototype of the Pacifista has been successfully developed."
"Oh? That's wonderful."
"Don't get too excited yet. The World Government's requirement is that we need weapons that can be mass-produced and have controllable costs."
Therefore, the manufacturing process is much more complicated. Moreover, according to your navy's requirements, some new weapons need to be installed on it, and it will take time to adapt them.
Therefore, this machine is currently a learning machine that absorbs more experience. It is not yet ready to be directly put into actual combat. It needs to spend time absorbing more experience before it can become a complete combat machine.
The mass-producible mechs are still under research, but Kuzan mentioned a while ago that you were very interested in this progress, so I brought them along first.
PX0!
At Oran's shout, a box he brought was opened from the inside, and a silver-white Garp walked out, looking almost exactly like Garp.
"Vice Admiral Garp's combat mode has already been partially recorded, but he still needs more growth, data entry, and material changes. In a few years, he will be a true pacifist."
"Doctor, can you add color?"
Oran explained the details of the item, but Sengoku's focus was on something else entirely.
"The bionic skin hasn't been installed yet; after all, it's just a test model, and it's still a long way from being used in actual combat."
"It's okay, let's put the bionic skin on him first, otherwise it looks really awkward. By the way, please make it according to this photo, it has to look as similar as possible."
At Sengoku's repeated requests, Oran used materials from the Navy Headquarters to give it a makeover, added some permissions, and then gave it a lot of instructions before leaving.
"PX0, go and clean up!"
"PX0, go and get the file!"
"PX0, the rice cracker is in the drawer, hand it to me!"
After Oran left, Sengoku kept ordering PX0 to do small things to "test the machine's operating logic." Seeing how obedient Garp was, Sengoku smiled with satisfaction.
Although, according to Oran, PX0 is currently only a skeleton and needs to absorb more data to be further strengthened, its agility has already been tested, and it can even fight a regular supernova in terms of strength.
But it has the same figure as Garp, and that's enough.
Unfortunately, the good days of the Warring States period lasted only a few hours.
In the evening, Garp himself broke down the door.
"Warring States! I heard that the research on that thing was successful! Where did you put it?"
"Garp! Knock before you come in! How many times have I told you?!"
Garp ignored Sengoku's roar; he had already seen the PX0 who looked exactly like him, still holding a bag of senbei.
"Hahaha, it really does look like it. It even replicates the scars and wrinkles. It's just that the expression isn't quite right. But whatever, Sengoku, I'll take the PX0 with me first."
Garp seemed quite satisfied with his robot appearance, but his decision drew criticism from Sengoku.
"Take it away? Where do you want to take it?"
"I met Siddiel on the way. He said that this thing still needs to learn. A robot modeled after me should of course learn from me. Is there a problem with that?"
[I forgot to tell the Doctor not to tell Garp yet.]
Sengoku did not respond directly, but Garp's words were undoubtedly very reasonable. No one, whether Sengoku or any other Marine, understood Garp better than Garp himself; this was an undeniable fact.
But for some reason, Sengoku just felt that it was unreliable to entrust this thing to Garp.
"PX0, come with me, I'll take you to a new place."
Garp didn't give Sengoku a chance to answer and took PX0 away on his own. Oran had also told Garp that because Garp was involved in the manufacturing process, Garp also had the highest authority in terms of permission settings.
"Karp, it can't handle high-intensity combat yet, don't do anything reckless."
"I know, leave it to me, I know how to handle it."
With Sengoku's tacit approval, PX0 left with Garp, which meant that someone's misfortune had begun.
East Blue, Windmill Village, where six-year-old Luffy now lives, cared for by Windmill Village Chief Up Slab and Tavern Owner Makino.
Yes, Luffy wasn't initially taken care of by bandits. It was only after Luffy was influenced by Shanks that Garp entrusted him to Dadan. Now, Luffy is just an ordinary child living in a village.
"Luffy! Your grandpa's back for you!"
That day, Luffy heard news he didn't want to hear again: that devilish grandpa had returned.
In order to make Luffy the strongest Marine, Garp began to subject him to Spartan-style devilish training when he was very young, which made Luffy not want to see Garp come back at all.
"Puhahaha! Luffy! Grandpa's back! Are you ready to embark on a new training regimen with the goal of becoming the strongest Marine!"
Whoosh!
When Luffy saw Garp appear on the beach, he started running away without saying a word.
Under Garp's tutelage, Luffy, only six years old, had good stamina and quickly ran along the village road into the distance.
When Luffy looked back, Garp was still standing at the village entrance, which relieved Luffy, but he didn't notice that someone had blocked his way.
Thump!
With a muffled thud, Luffy landed hard on his backside.
"Hey Uncle, who are you? Get out of my way!"
Luffy stood up, clutching his head, looking very unhappy at the big man in the cloak in front of him.
The next moment, the unhappiness turned into terror, because the cloaked man had taken off his hood.
"Two or three grandfathers?!"
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