Kai held the swaddled newborn Luffy quietly in his arms, standing in the corner of the room.
At the table, Dragon finally broke the silence. His sharp eyes flickered as he looked across at Garp, his tone calm yet carrying weight:
"Old man, I want to discuss something with you."
"Oh?"
Garp raised an eyebrow, a faint surprise showing on his rugged face.
"You actually have something to ask of me? Now that's rare. Almost unbelievable, even."
If memory served, this was the first time his son Dragon had ever come to him with a request.
Dragon smiled faintly.
"I want to borrow Kai for a while. Don't worry—I'll train him well. I'll raise him into a top-tier powerhouse on the seas. And I'll guarantee his safety."
"What do you think?"
"Borrow him?"
Garp's pupils shrank. His expression shifted instantly, and in the next heartbeat his voice boomed like a cannon.
"You bastard! You dare set your sights on Kai?!"
"Don't even think about it!"
"I'll make this clear right now—Kai will become a Marine! He will carry the banner of justice! He will inherit my mantle and become a new hero of the Navy!"
"No matter what excuses you give, you'll never take him!"
If it had been any other request, Garp might have wavered. After all, Dragon was his son.
But this?
Kai was his reverse scale. His bottom line.
No one—absolutely no one—was allowed to steer Kai away from the Navy!
Dragon's eyes didn't waver.
"Old man, a child who awakened the Conqueror's Haki at three years old—you should know what that means. A monster like that… how can you chain him to the Marines?"
"With me, with the Revolutionary Army, he'd find his true calling. He'd fight for the world itself. Isn't that the proper stage for such a prodigy?"
Garp's face darkened.
"So, you really do know about it."
His voice turned cold as iron.
"Seems your Revolutionary Army has its claws everywhere—even inside Marine Headquarters."
It wasn't hard to guess.
The fact Dragon knew about Kai awakening Conqueror's Haki could only mean one thing—Revolutionary spies were already buried deep within the Marines.
For the hero of the Navy, that thought was infuriating.
"But let me warn you," Garp growled. His aura pressed down like a mountain, filling the room with suffocating weight.
"Whatever schemes you're plotting—keep Kai out of it."
"I don't care what ideals you chase. I don't care what cause you fight for. I've never tried to stop you, Dragon—in fact, I've even felt proud of you at times. But touch Kai… and you'll truly anger me."
"Kai is not someone your Revolutionaries can lay a hand on."
"If you try, don't blame me for what happens."
The room fell into dead silence.
The pressure in the air was suffocating, like a storm about to break.
Dragon didn't flinch, but he said nothing.
Garp snorted coldly.
"Four years ago, you handed me a swaddled infant and asked me to raise him."
"At that time, did you ever imagine this day would come?"
"Did you ever dream your son, my grandson, would be a once-in-a-century prodigy? A child who awakened the Conqueror's Haki at three years old?"
"And more than that—let me tell you something that'll really shake you, Dragon."
"Kai mastered that Haki… in one month. On his own. No teachers. No guidance. Pure self-discovery."
"What?!"
For once, Dragon's composure cracked. He sucked in a cold breath.
He had thought his son's talent was already remarkable. But hearing Garp's words, he realized he had underestimated him.
"To master Conqueror's Haki in a single month… through nothing but self-training?"
Such monstrous talent was beyond imagination.
Dragon's desire to take Kai grew fiercer. He could hardly hold himself back from snatching the boy away immediately.
If not for Garp's watchful glare, he might already have done it.
Kai's talent was too terrifying. Too irresistible.
For the Revolutionary Army, which was still in its infancy, a genius like Kai would change everything. He could become the keystone of their future.
But Garp's voice thundered again:
"I knew you'd be scheming. But you'd better give up now. Kai is coming with me to Marineford."
"To become a Marine hero—not some rat hiding in the shadows with your Revolutionaries."
The words were sharp and merciless.
The dragon's jaw tightened. He wanted to argue—but in the end, he fell silent.
Because he knew.
He was strong, yes. Strong enough to stand at the top of the seas.
But he was not yet his father's equal.
Against Garp the Hero, he still came up short.
The oppressive atmosphere thickened.
The father and son glared at one another, neither yielding.
And then—
The silence was broken.
From the corner of the room, Kai stepped forward.
He held baby Luffy gently in his arms, his eyes calm but firm as he looked at the two men who had nearly come to blows over him.
"I…" he said slowly, his voice steady.
"…want to be a Marine."
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