None of the three were pushovers, and all three were a pain to deal with.
Until Marine Headquarters' main force and warships arrived, Garp and Sengoku were at a clear disadvantage.
They had only one admiral-class combatant left on the field alongside four vice admirals. Garp might wear a vice admiral's coat, but his strength far outstripped the rank. Even most admirals would rather not eat his fist. That still did nothing to solve the Rakuya problem.
Rakuya alone could tie down Sengoku and Garp.
But if both Sengoku and Garp focused on Rakuya, who would fight Roger and Rayleigh?
Send three vice admirals at them?
They would get carved apart in a single stroke.
"Buy time."
Sengoku and Garp met eyes and understood each other instantly.
"Hahaha. Roger, I've chased you this long. Aren't you curious why I never let up?" Garp rolled his eyes and burst into a hearty laugh.
"Why?" Roger raised his western blade, interest piqued.
This Marine vice admiral had chased him from East Blue to West Blue, from Sabaody to the New World. For years, Garp hounded him across the map. Even Roger found it exhausting.
Mention the name of one of the era's three great pirates and people would immediately think of his nemesis Garp. Now that Garp had brought it up out of nowhere, Roger's attention was hooked.
Sengoku shot Garp a look of approval. For once the man had asked a question with some finesse.
Heaven help them, Garp had only thrown out a random topic to stall for time. He never expected it to work so well.
Rakuya was listening too. As a pirate nerd at heart, he had also wondered why Garp dogged Roger so relentlessly.
"Why, huh? Heh, take a guess." Garp scratched his head. Having asked, he realized he had no answer. But a good staller never breaks character, so he kept stringing Roger along.
"Take a guess?" Roger blinked and walked right into the trap, twirling his iconic mustache as he thought.
Sengoku's approving look deepened, as if to say, Good one, blockhead. Grab Roger and Rakuya and I'll buy you senbei when we get home.
Rakuya's lips quirked. "Garp, the way you keep chasing Roger. Did you fall for him?"
"Pffft."
Garp's laugh died in his throat. His eyes nearly popped. Then he remembered they were stalling and forced out a dry chuckle, cheeks a little red. "W-who knows. Maybe, possibly, could be I just like him. Hahaha. Ha. Ha."
Even a man with Garp's hide felt like crawling into a hole.
"Vice Admiral Garp, that's why you kept up the chase?" Bastille gaped.
"What? No way. Marine hero Garp harboring unspeakable feelings for Roger?"
"Is Garp a…"
"Give me back my righteous Vice Admiral Garp."
Marines and pirates alike stared, stunned. Even Roger's crew looked rattled. The answer had blindsided everyone.
Roger's face darkened as the whispers swelled.
"Garp, tell me what you like and I'll change."
"Hahaha. Roger, I like your manly grit. If you turned into a sissy I wouldn't be interested at all."
"Pfft." Rakuya nearly spit.
Both Marines and pirates went numb from the lightning strike of Garp's nonsense.
"Breaking news. Garp himself admits to a special relationship with Roger."
"He's bent. He's bent."
"Vice Admiral Garp."
The uproar boiled over. Sengoku's face went ink-black. He had only wanted Garp to stall. Instead, the man had spawned a scandal to shake the seas. Sengoku knew Garp was joking, but no one else did. If this spread, Marine HQ's dignity would be in the gutter. This was not how one stalled for time.
"Garp." Sengoku shot him a killing glare, telling him to shut it.
"What are you glaring at me for? I'm stalling like you asked." Garp blurted everything in a moment of heat.
"Stalling?" Roger snapped back to himself. Observation Haki swept outward. Warships had already berthed at the Marine inlet around Grove 69.
Leading the landing force was Marine Headquarters' most respected Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Tsuru.
"Not good. Most of HQ's vice admirals are massing at the Sabaody base in Grove 69. Breaking out just got a lot harder." Roger's face tightened. He had not expected Headquarters to move this fast.
"Heh. Roger, HQ's here. If you try to run, you will drown in blood. Lay down your arms and bow to justice. I might plead for you with the Fleet Admiral." Sengoku switched to persuasion, hoping to end this without losing men.
"In your dreams." Roger's voice was calm. "As long as I draw breath, your so-called World Government will never know peace. Cloaked in justice as you commit evil, you are not worthy of my surrender."
"Fine. When all of Marine Headquarters arrives, keep that same tone."
Sengoku's voice was even. His confidence was back.
The stalling had paid off. With Marines landing across the archipelago, even Roger would find no sky to fly to and no earth to burrow into.
"Brat, hand over the Celestial Dragon."
"The Celestial Dragon? One moment."
At Sengoku's demand, Rakuya smiled wickedly and lifted a finger.
"Universal Pull. Black Hole."
Hum.
A dense ripple blossomed and a circle of midnight opened in the air.
"Out."
Rakuya murmured, and Saint Charlos was wrenched from the darkness and dumped onto the ground.
"Mercy. Spare me."
Reduced to a wreck by the black hole's torments, Saint Charlos collapsed, clutching at Rakuya's trouser leg like a beaten cur.
"Sengoku, the man you want is right here. Do you want him?"
"Rakuya, I warn you. Marine Headquarters has the whole island surrounded. You will not escape. If you so much as scratch the Celestial Dragon, I will not forgive you."
"Oh." Rakuya lifted his eyelids and punted Charlos in the face. "What was that you just said, Sengoku?"
"Awooo." Saint Charlos curled up on the dirt, squealing like a hog at slaughter.
"Rakuya." Flames danced in Sengoku's eyes. In that instant he wanted nothing more than to tear the man limb from limb.
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