When Dragon called Garp "Father," Zoro, Sanji, Nami, and the others just stared, completely dumbfounded.
'Wait, Garp's son? That means he's Luffy's father?!'
But with the man himself standing right there, radiating an intimidating aura, everyone kept their thoughts to themselves.
The shocked looks on their faces said it all, though.
Only one person couldn't keep his mouth shut.
Buggy started splitting apart and reassembling, then splitting again, over and over, clearly freaking out.
He looked at the man in the dark green cloak and yelled, "You must be Luffy's father, right?! State your name! Let me see if you're worthy of being compared to Captain Roger!"
Dragon just glanced sideways at Buggy, looking a little puzzled.
'Why would I compare myself to Roger?'
But he still replied politely, "The Pirate King was a man worthy of great respect."
Ray knew exactly why Buggy was acting so crazy.
He'd been convinced Luffy was Roger's son and had probably already planned out Luffy's entire life in his head, transferring all his old feelings for Roger onto him.
Finding out the truth, and now seeing Luffy's real dad, had short-circuited his brain.
It was only natural he'd start making comparisons.
But Ray also knew Dragon wasn't the type to just reveal his identity to some random clown.
…
Just as Buggy was about to press further, Garp's voice boomed out.
"Dragon! As my son, are you actually planning to fight your own father?"
Dragon removed his hood, showing his face as a sign of respect.
"Father," he said calmly, "Luffy has the right to pursue his own freedom."
Veins bulged on Garp's forehead. "So I should just let him be a pirate?! Don't be ridiculous, Dragon!"
"This world is sick," Dragon continued, not arguing directly. "Allegiances are just a matter of perspective. As long as Luffy is searching for answers, whether he's a pirate or a Marine, I will support him."
Garp frowned.
He knew exactly what Dragon meant—it was the same reason Garp himself had never accepted a promotion to Admiral.
He didn't want to be tied to the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.
"Then why not have Luffy join your Revolutionary Army, Dragon?"
As soon as Garp said that name, the reactions started.
"Dragon? You mean... the leader of the Revolutionary Army?!"
"Oh my god! That's Luffy's father?!"
"The Revolutionary Army leader is Garp's son?!"
At this point, not just the pirates, but even the captured Marines in Buggy's pit were trembling.
Some of the more knowledgeable ones looked absolutely terrified.
'Knowing secrets like this... are they going to silence us?'
…
Listening to the father and son talk, Ray found himself thinking about the weird structure of this one piece world.
It was basically like a giant farm run by the Celestial Dragons.
The Marines were the sheepdogs, protecting the "livestock" (regular people) from the "wolves" (mostly pirates).
But the sheepdogs still worked for the farm owner, who could slaughter the livestock whenever they wanted.
Garp, unwilling to get his hands dirty with the slaughtering, chose to stay a sheepdog, protecting the people as best he could, even though he couldn't stop the owners.
Pirates like Luffy were more like... wild animals just trying to live freely, occasionally trading with the livestock.
The World Government saw them as a nuisance.
And then there was the Revolutionary Army led by Dragon—they were the ones trying to burn the whole farm down and start over.
That's why Dragon was considered "The World's Worst Criminal."
…
It was the first time Ray had really thought about it all so deeply.
Dragon was a guy who could actually change everything.
A warrior daring to fight the evil dragon.
Ray wasn't the self-sacrificing type himself, but he admired people who were.
He was actually pretty interested to see just how strong this guy, who hadn't seen his own son in years while trying to change the world, really was.
As for Buggy, the second he realized who Dragon was, he broke out in a cold sweat and started bowing and scraping, apologizing profusely for his earlier rudeness and hoping "Dragon-san" wouldn't take offense.
(He called it "knowing when to yield," Ray called it "being a coward.")
…
Dragon turned back to Garp.
"Father, let Luffy go. The world needs young people like them."
Garp just burst out laughing.
"WAHAHAHA! You're asking me, a Marine, to let a pirate go?! Don't be naive!"
Dragon smiled faintly. "Father, I only need to hold you back for a moment. Without you here... can your Marines handle the silver-haired young man beside me?" His expression turned almost sinister.
"If we really fight, these Marines will all die. Think twice before you act."
The threat made Garp roar about Dragon being an unfilial son, but then he just grinned confidently.
"Gion! You should be able to hold Ray off for five minutes! In ten minutes, I'll bring Dragon's head back as an offering!"
With that, Garp launched himself off the ship while Dragon simply levitated, the father and son flying off towards a distant island almost in perfect sync.
They left Gion and several hundred Marines just staring blankly at Ray and the pirates.
Gion glanced down at the unconscious Luffy in her arms, took a deep breath, and started cursing in the direction Garp had flown.
"You old bastard! Shameless! If you've got any guts, don't you dare come back!"
Down below, Ray's expression remained calm, but inwardly, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
'The amount of favoritism he's showing is just absurd.'
He looked up at Gion on the battleship, drew his sword, and sighed.
It felt a bit like bullying the injured, but they had to wrap this up and get out of here quickly.