Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Inside Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office, he was in the middle of a Den Den Mushi call.
"It's been lifted. The blockade has been lifted. Vice Admiral Momonga has already issued an announcement explaining why the New World gateway waters were sealed off…"
"Yes, it was to deal with San Juan Wolf."
"Our forces in the New World received intelligence that this bastard intended to attack the royal delegations heading to Mary Geoise for the conference near the gateway waters. To ensure their safety, we had no choice but to impose a temporary blockade. The matter has now been resolved."
"No problems. Everything is back on track. The escort fleets of the various royal families have resumed their journeys and should reach Mary Geoise soon."
"The earlier secrecy was also for the sake of operational security."
After a long round of explanations, Sengoku finally hung up the Den Den Mushi. He raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his temple, then picked up the teacup on his desk and took a sip.
"That Ortoren brat really knows how to cause trouble…"
At that moment, Chief of Staff Tsuru was seated on the sofa in the office.
Cradling her teacup leisurely, she looked at Sengoku with a smile.
"You should've been mentally prepared for this the moment you sent that kid to the New World."
Sengoku shook his head helplessly but didn't complain any further.
They didn't linger on the topic of Ortoren for long, quickly shifting the conversation to the upcoming World Conference.
"Has Garp come back yet?" Sengoku asked.
"He's currently serving as the overall commander for the escort fleets protecting the East Blue royal families. Several groups have already arrived. Garp said he'll return together with the final escort, when he's accompanying the Goa Kingdom," Tsuru replied.
"Leaving the Goa Kingdom for last…" Sengoku chuckled. "That guy just wants an excuse to swing by and see his precious grandson, doesn't he?"
"When he left, his expression was awful," Tsuru recalled after thinking for a moment. "It looked like something happened with his grandson. I asked him what was wrong, but he just hemmed and hawed and wouldn't say anything."
Sengoku froze for a moment. Then his brows furrowed.
"Dragon?"
"Most likely…" Tsuru sighed softly.
The matter of Garp's grandson was known among only a handful of Marine higher-ups. Precisely because so few people knew, there was no need for Garp to hide anything from them. In the past, whenever Tsuru asked, he would explain it openly. Sometimes, he even went to her on his own to vent or ask for advice.
But this time, Tsuru had asked, and Garp said nothing, wearing a deeply troubled expression instead.
With just a little thought, Sengoku and Tsuru could both guess the truth. The only thing Garp would be unwilling to talk about like that almost certainly involved Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army.
And as it turned out, their guess was correct.
The reason Garp was so irritable and distressed was simple.
Dragon had interfered in Luffy's affairs again.
They had agreed long ago that once Luffy was handed over to Garp, Dragon would no longer get involved. For a long time, Dragon had indeed kept that promise, and Garp had gradually lowered his guard.
But then, not long ago, Dragon secretly went to Foosha Village.
By the time Garp received the news, damn it all—his precious grandson had already become a Devil Fruit user.
That alone was enough to make Garp furious.
And when he learned that Luffy had eaten the so-called Gomu Gomu no Mi, his hatred for Dragon reached another level entirely.
Garp had heard about that fruit some time ago. It was a Devil Fruit discovered by the World Government in the East Blue. Although its true nature was unclear, the World Government clearly valued it highly, to the point of assigning CP agents to escort it. And yet, it had been intercepted midway by the Revolutionary Army.
Now that very fruit had ended up in his grandson's body.
The situation was beyond awkward.
Garp had always hoped to bring Luffy into the Marines. With no Red-Haired Shanks and no Ace influencing him, Luffy had no particular attachment to pirates and wasn't opposed to joining the Marines at all.
That had given Garp a great sense of relief.
But now, Luffy had eaten a Devil Fruit the World Government placed immense importance on, and on top of that, he was the son of the Revolutionary Army's leader.
It was nothing short of adding fuel to the fire.
How could Garp not be furious?
Of course, for now, Garp was merely angry. For someone like him, things hadn't reached the point of no return. As a hero of the Marines, both his influence and strength were undeniable.
The Gomu Gomu no Mi was certainly annoying, but as long as he worked things behind the scenes, there shouldn't be any real problem with Luffy entering the Marines and developing normally. The World Government wouldn't go so far as to deliberately oppose him over this alone.
In the original story, even after Luffy ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi, Garp still hoped to drag him into the Marines.
Not dwelling further on Garp's grandson, Chief of Staff Tsuru continued,
"Speaking of which, this time Doflamingo will be attending the World Conference as the King of Dressrosa. Just imagining that scene makes it rather… interesting."
Sengoku found the thought amusing as well.
Doflamingo's identity was like a set of nested dolls, layer upon layer of complexity. He was a legitimate Celestial Dragon from Mary Geoise, cast down to the lower world. In the North Blue, he wrapped himself in the identity of a crime family boss. When the Great Pirate Era began, he added the identity of a pirate, then swiftly became one of the Shichibukai and rose to king-like status in the underworld. Now, he was even officially registered as a Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral under Ortoren's command.
And that still wasn't the end of it.
He then turned around and attended the World Conference in Mary Geoise as the ruler of an affiliated kingdom.
Honestly, when Sengoku carefully thought through all of Doflamingo's identities and experiences, even he couldn't help but feel a bit impressed. That kind of life was simply too flashy.
Every stage of it was legendary in its own way.
After a self-mocking chuckle, Sengoku seemed to recall something else. His expression dimmed slightly.
"Doflamingo is thriving, while Rosinante is locked away in Impel Down. Sometimes I think… I really failed as a father."
"You didn't do anything wrong when it came to Rosinante, Sengoku," Tsuru said gently.
Sengoku sighed and went on,
"Ortoren won't be attending this World Conference. Garp probably won't either. Looks like it'll only be the four of us this time…"
Naturally, that meant Sengoku himself, along with Kuzan and Sakazuki, and Tsuru.
As for everyone else, those who were qualified didn't want to go, and those who wanted to go weren't qualified.
"I originally thought Ortoren would take this opportunity to attend the conference and expand his political influence on such a grand stage," Tsuru said. "I didn't expect him to have no interest at all."
She wasn't wrong. The World Conference in Mary Geoise was indeed a massive platform for political influence.
"I mentioned it to him as well, but he genuinely doesn't seem interested," Sengoku said with a hint of resignation.
No sooner had he finished speaking than the Den Den Mushi on his desk began to ring.
Glancing at it, Sengoku laughed.
"We were just talking about him, and now he's calling. What, did he change his mind and decide to attend the conference after all?"
With that bit of teasing, Sengoku picked up the Den Den Mushi.
"Ortoren? What is it? Don't tell me you've decided to attend the World Conference?"
On the other end, Ortoren looked down at the Den Den Mushi in mild confusion.
"What World Conference? Didn't I already say I don't have the time?"
"I thought you might've had a change of heart," Sengoku joked.
"Oh, not at all," Ortoren laughed. "Not only did I not change my mind, I've got something even more troublesome on my hands now. I really have zero time for any World Conference."
"Oh?" Sengoku asked, a bit curious. "Now I'm interested. What could possibly be more important than attending the World Conference?"
As he spoke, he picked up his teacup and brought it to his lips, preparing to take a sip.
But before the tea even went down, Ortoren's steady voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
"Fleet Admiral, I'm preparing to go to war with the Whitebeard Pirates."
Sengoku instantly sprayed tea all over his desk.
After coughing violently for a moment, he shouted in disbelief,
"What did you just say? You're going to fight Whitebeard?"
"That's right," Ortoren replied confidently. "I've already begun preparations. I intend to wipe him out in a single battle and sweep through the New World."
Hearing this, Sengoku felt his head start to ache.
Tsuru, sitting nearby, was just as stunned.