Garp didn't stop after punching Dragon. His sturdy body, like that of a wild bull, crashed through the shattered wall, and he chased after him. Dragon hadn't rolled far; he was only a couple of meters away in the rubble outside. Garp pounced on him, pinning him down as he struggled to get up, and started raining punches down on him without a word.
With a series of loud thuds, Dragon yelled, "If you keep this up, I'll fight back!"
"You dare fight back?! Go on, try! A father beating his son, especially an unfilial one like you, is what's right in the world!" Garp roared, then landed another punch directly on Dragon's eye socket.
"You got a tattoo? On your face?! Who do you think you are?!" Garp grabbed Dragon's wrist and flung him away like a piece of trash, sending him crashing back to the ground.
Diarmuid watched from a distance, muttering, "Wow."
"The Revolutionary Army, huh?!" Garp snarled, winding up for a massive slap. Dragon, who had some dignity, quickly raised his hand to block.
"You dare block me?!" The fury in Garp's eyes intensified. He grabbed Dragon by the collar with one hand and took off his slipper with the other. Since he was on vacation, Garp wasn't wearing his Marine uniform or coat. The shoe on his foot was a slipper.
"You had a good life as a Marine, but you had to go and become the world's most wanted criminal…" Garp ranted as he wildly swung his slipper, beating Dragon mercilessly.
Dragon was on the verge of a breakdown. He was grateful he had come alone and didn't have any subordinates with him. If they had seen this, his authority would have been completely gone, and he would have had to seriously consider murdering them to keep it a secret.
Garp was like an enraged bull, swinging his slipper and forcing Dragon to roll around on the ground, a sight of utter defeat.
"Hey! Diarmuid!!" Dragon yelled, writhing on the ground and dodging Garp's slipper.
But Diarmuid acted as if he didn't hear him and just kept clapping.
"Nice! What a clever angle!"
"You almost had him! Hit him right in the face!"
"Yes, yes, just like that! Use the sole of the shoe to rub out that tattoo!"
Gion and Hina, standing nearby, were stunned. Belle-mère, a former Marine Lieutenant, was completely speechless.
Holy crap, the world's most dangerous criminal…
I used to think he was scary, but now… he doesn't seem so bad?
"Gion, do you have a video Den Den Mushi?" Diarmuid asked without looking away, still cheering.
Gion wanted to say yes, she had brought one to record some good times with Diarmuid on their trip. But seeing how pathetic Dragon was, and remembering their decent friendship back at Marine Headquarters, she couldn't bring herself to satisfy Diarmuid's morbid curiosity. She shook her head and said, "It's on the warship. I didn't bring it."
"What a shame. How about you, Hina?" Diarmuid asked.
Hina also shook her head quickly. "Hina doesn't have one either."
Just then, Dragon covered his head with both hands and roared, "Diarmuid, are you even a person?! Help me out here!"
Diarmuid clicked his tongue in displeasure, then reluctantly said, "Vice Admiral Garp, I think that's enough. He's not a child anymore."
But Garp completely ignored Diarmuid, still panting heavily and beating Dragon fiercely.
"Stop fighting, stop fighting! You can't kill a person like this!" Diarmuid shouted, gleefully adding fuel to the fire.
Perhaps it was because the beating felt so good that he was releasing so many years of pent-up anger. Or maybe Diarmuid's loud encouragement was starting to annoy him. In any case, after a few more yells from Diarmuid, Garp slowly stopped, threw his slipper on the ground, and stepped back into it.
"It's been a long time since I felt this good," Garp said, flexing his wrist.
Dragon twitched on the ground for a bit, then scrambled to stand up, leaning on the collapsed wall. His expression was dark, filled with frustration and rage, but in the end, there was nothing he could do. Garp was not only his father, but even if he wasn't, he couldn't beat him. This frustration had no outlet and he just had to deal with it himself.
Dragon patted the shoe prints off his clothes, rubbed his swollen and bruised eye socket, then looked at Garp and Diarmuid. He asked with a touch of sadness, "Why are you here?"
Garp just snorted, as if he couldn't be bothered to talk to his prodigal son.
Diarmuid, however, answered with a smile. "We're on vacation. I didn't expect to run into you here. What are you doing here?"
Hearing this, Dragon's furious expression softened, his eyes filled with immense sadness and grief. Diarmuid's heart sank as he remembered the baby in Makino's mother's arms. He softened his tone and quietly asked, "Is the child in Wenna-san's arms… yours?"
Dragon was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."
Garp, who had been listening, was completely dumbfounded.
What? I have another grandson?
A sudden joy filled Garp's face, and he even looked at Dragon a little more favorably. But before he could speak, he also realized something. Seeing the sadness in Dragon's eyes, Garp asked in a serious voice, "What about the mother of the child?"
Dragon opened his mouth, his eyes welling up. His voice was laced with a sense of loneliness and sorrow as he slowly said, "Died… in childbirth."
Diarmuid sighed inwardly. I knew it.
Garp froze, the joy on his face instantly vanishing. He would never get to meet the daughter-in-law he never knew. Gion, Hina, and Belle-mère all felt a wave of sadness as well.
"Let's go inside first," Diarmuid said, gesturing toward the collapsed wall. Dragon didn't object, just nodded and walked inside without a word. Garp sighed and followed, his mood no longer bright.
Diarmuid took a wad of berries from his wallet and walked to the bar, saying to the dumbfounded owner, Wenna-san, "I'm sorry for the trouble. This is for the damages. I'll have some people come and fix the wall and window for you later."
Wenna finally came to her senses and smiled. "Oh, it's no problem."
The bar mostly served locals from the village, so no one would care if the wall was broken. It wouldn't affect business much, and since Diarmuid had paid for the damages and promised to arrange for repairs, it was really no problem at all.
Seeing she didn't mind, Diarmuid smiled and then looked at the baby in her arms, smacking his lips. "He's so ugly, like a hairless monkey."
"That's what all newborn babies look like," Wenna said with a laugh, holding the baby.
Meanwhile, Garp and Dragon sat at the bar, each grabbing a bottle of alcohol and pouring themselves a drink. Mayor Woop Slap sat down next to Diarmuid and sighed. "That's the whole story."
"Every family has its own hardships," Diarmuid said softly.
Time seemed to fly by. The year 1504, in Diarmuid's memory, passed in the blink of an eye. He remembered soaking in a hot spring with Dragon in the New World not long ago, but looking back, it was a year ago. And in that year, Dragon had a child.
They all gathered around, drinking, while three or four Marine soldiers fixed the wall and window not far away.
Dragon took a sip of his drink and suddenly said, "This was never supposed to be your business. I was originally going to have Luffy live with his mother, but I didn't expect… sigh…"
"So, what did you come to Foosha Village to do?" Diarmuid asked, taking a sip of his drink.
Dragon was silent for a moment, then said, "I was planning to have Wenna-san raise Luffy. I was just talking to her about it when you guys happened to show up."
"…Luffy… Is that the child's name?" Garp suddenly asked.
Dragon seemed to want to ignore him, but after a moment of silence, he nodded. "Yes. Monkey D. Luffy. His mother gave him the name."
"I see," Garp murmured softly. "It's a name full of love."
The incident with Portgas D. Rouge had made Garp particularly sentimental about these kinds of issues. Even Dragon looked at him strangely.
But just then, Garp suddenly said, "If the Fleet Admiral hadn't told us to turn a blind eye to you, you scoundrel, I would've dragged you to Impel Down today!"
Dragon glanced at his father, took a sip from his cup, and said nothing. But as he put the cup down, he looked at Diarmuid. Diarmuid nodded, and Dragon seemed to understand. It looked like the Marines hadn't given him a direct answer at the hot springs, but they were indeed willing to leave the Revolutionary Army alone.
"Since his grandfather is here, there's no need to trouble Wenna-san. I'll leave Luffy for you to raise," Dragon suddenly said.
Gion, standing nearby, immediately said in a very displeased tone, "Is that what you call being a father?"
Dragon was stunned for a moment, then shook his head. "No."
His shameless, open admission left Gion speechless. But she was still very annoyed by Dragon's irresponsible attitude.
"I want to take him with me, but you know how dangerous it would be for Luffy to be by my side. Do you think those dogs from the Cipher Pol would spare him just because he's a child?" Dragon said, his voice quiet.
His words made sense, especially since the Reverie had ended just over half a year ago, and many plans and arrangements against the Revolutionary Army were now in motion. These next two years were probably the most dangerous time for Dragon.
"Hmph," Gion snorted again but said no more.
Garp, who was listening, pointed to himself. "I raise him?"
"Is there a problem?" Dragon frowned.
"I gave my other grandson, Ace, to Dadan! Do you really think I can raise a kid?" Garp grumbled.
Dragon's face was blank. Other grandson? Who? Ace? Who is that? I don't remember having a firstborn son!
"He's Garp-san's adoptive grandson. He was so disappointed in you that he's not counting on you to take care of him when he's old. So he's raising a new grandson to replace you," Diarmuid said with a laugh.
Hina stared at Diarmuid with a look of disbelief. Are you even a human being?
Dragon glanced at Diarmuid, knowing this scoundrel was just trying to stir up trouble. He didn't bother to respond and just nodded. "I understand."
Just then, Wenna placed a new barrel of alcohol next to Diarmuid and the others, patting the barrel. "You don't have to be so conflicted. If you trust me, it's no problem for me to raise the child for a few years. Of course, the fees have to be enough. I am a small business owner, after all."
Dragon finally managed a slight smile and said to Wenna, "Thank you very much, Wenna-san."