On the coast of Foosha Village in the East Blue.
The azure sky was cloudless, and the sea breeze, carrying a salty scent, caressed the golden sand.
White Night leaned lazily on a beach chair, holding a delicate fishing rod, its line still and motionless in the calm sea.
On a large reef beside him, Marine Hero Garp was roaring with laughter, his wide mouth open.
In stark contrast to the empty fishing basket at White Night's feet, Garp's large basket was almost overflowing with lively, jumping fish.
"Puhahaha! White Night, you're no good!"
Garp effortlessly lifted his fishing rod again, and a plump sea fish was flung up and accurately landed in his basket.
White Night looked at his fishing line, as still as a dead pool, then at the smug old man beside him. The expression on his handsome face was visibly darkening.
He squinted, glancing at Garp.
"You definitely cheated."
White Night said expressionlessly.
"You used Observation Haki to directly sense the location of the fish underwater. Otherwise, you couldn't have such good luck."
"Puhahaha! Slander! This is pure slander!"
Garp laughed even louder, patting his chest as he righteously retorted.
"This old man fishes with skill and patience! It's you, kid, who lacks sincerity!"
With that, he pointed to White Night's clean fishing basket, which could be used as a mirror, and loudly mocked him with a newly learned vocabulary word.
"You're a blank! Understand! A blank!"
"Puhahaha! This old man finally knows why the World Government has never had an air force! It turns out the air force is fishing here!"
White Night's eye twitched fiercely.
He realized that this bushy-browed old man, after spending time with him, had also learned to be mischievous.
He was no longer the brute who only reasoned with his fists; now he even knew how to use trash talk to destabilize his opponent.
White Night looked at Garp meaningfully.
"Vice Admiral Garp."
He spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but it clearly reached Garp's ears.
"In light of your malicious taunting just now, I hereby solemnly inform you."
"From now on, the ticket price for all instances you purchase from me will be permanently doubled."
"Puhahahaha...ha...huh?"
Garp's laughter, like a duck whose neck was squeezed, abruptly stopped.
The wild laugh on his face instantly froze, then, within a second, switched to an extremely fawning, ingratiating smile.
"Cough cough! Boss Bai Ye!"
Garp nimbly scooped a large pile of fish from his basket and poured them all into White Night's empty basket, instantly filling it halfway.
"Just now... just now, I spoke without thinking! I'm just an old fool!"
"You are a magnanimous person! Please don't hold it against an old man like me!"
Watching the marine hero, who had been so arrogant a second ago, now bowing and scraping, White Night's lips curved into a smile.
As the two bantered, White Night's gaze inadvertently drifted towards the Goa Kingdom.
At the end of that coastline, faint black smoke was curling upwards, particularly striking against the azure sky.
He asked, seemingly casually.
"Hey, old man."
"Leaving such a big matter as burning the garbage mountain to those three little brats to handle, aren't you, as a Grandfather, a bit too carefree?"
Garp was busy throwing a freshly caught fish into White Night's basket, and upon hearing the question, he burst into righteous laughter.
"Puhahaha! Those are my Grandson of Monkey D. Garp!"
"They're not just ordinary brats!"
"Their path must be walked by themselves!"
Garp's laughter was filled with undisguised pride and absolute trust.
White Night smiled noncommittally.
That was true.
One was a man who would become the Pirate King, another was the future commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' second division, and another was even more significant, becoming the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army.
None of these three little rascals were easy to deal with.
However... looking at the old man's carefree and relaxed demeanor, White Night felt a strange discomfort in his heart.
He had to find something for him to do.
White Night's thoughts sank into the system, and he quickly scrolled through the instance list.
A moment later, he saw the name of a newly refreshed instance, and an involuntarily pleased, mischievous smile appeared on his face.
Garp, who was happily chuckling nearby, suddenly shivered for no reason, feeling a chill down his spine.
"Hey, Garp."
White Night's voice sounded again.
"I just happen to have a instance here that's very suitable for you. Want to go in and take a look?"
"This time, I won't charge you."
"I won't charge you."
White Night's light words were like dropping a piece of ice into a calm pot of oil.
Garp's wild laughing face instantly froze.
His eyes, wide as copper bells, stared intently at White Night, his vigilance almost overflowing.
Free?
Could this kid actually say those two words?
Had the sun risen in the west?
Garp's mind raced, and all the words White Night had intentionally or unintentionally whispered in his ear these past few days came flooding back, word for word.
"Oh, Kuzan is still too young. If you went, that guy named Uchiha Madara definitely wouldn't last a single round."
"Vice Admiral Garp, how can a man say he can't do it? It's just an intermediate instance, I believe you can definitely reclaim the Marines' honor!"
"This level of difficulty is nothing for you, right? The main thing is the experience, a full experience!"
That kid's face, with its innocent smile, perfectly overlapped with his current face.
Garp instantly understood.
What a load of rubbish about benefits and relaxation!
This kid was just holding a grudge, wanting to see him, the marine hero, get beaten up in the instance!
Garp admitted that his strength was indeed a notch above that greenhorn Kuzan.
But the problem was, to beat Admiral-level Kuzan into exiting the instance within three minutes, without even the power to fight back, that was no longer a problem that being a notch stronger could solve!
The enemy's ability, according to Kuzan's description, was simply unheard of, extremely bizarre!
If he went in, the best outcome would be to last a few minutes longer than Kuzan.
And then what?
Then be kicked out, humiliated, to become new material for this kid to mock him with later?
"Free?"
Garp's eyes, wide as copper bells, stared intently at White Night, his vigilance almost overflowing.
He scrutinized White Night from head to toe, his gaze like that of someone examining a master con artist.
"You, kid, can be that kind-hearted?"