When Dragon learned that he had been assigned to participate in escorting the heavenly tribute, his reaction surprised Garp.
He showed no anger, no confusion, and no resistance. He merely nodded once and replied calmly,
"Alright, I understand."
The more composed Dragon appeared, the more uneasy Garp became. That quiet acceptance made Garp feel far more uncomfortable than open rebellion ever could. Yet he had no way to deal with his son.
After all, when he thought about it carefully, the Monkey family had always been filled with rebels. The fact that he himself had managed to serve the Navy honestly for so many years was already an exception. Expecting him to control the next generation was probably asking too much.
Time passed quickly, and soon a full month had gone by.
As scheduled, the ship responsible for collecting the heavenly tribute for the World Government arrived. Lloyd boarded the vessel alongside Lucia and Ginny, his presence immediately stabilizing the atmosphere on deck.
The representative dispatched by the World Government this time was also an old acquaintance, Lloyd's most loyal subordinate, Spandine.
The moment Spandine saw Lloyd, his eyes lit up. He rushed forward eagerly, his face filled with excitement.
"Admiral Lloyd, the Black Dragon of the Navy," he said loudly. "It's truly an honor to see you again."
Under the watchful gazes of Navy officers and men in formal suits, Lloyd smiled faintly and shook Spandine's hand. That simple gesture alone triggered a new wave of excessive flattery from Spandine, who only quieted down when Garp and Dragon arrived on deck.
However, when facing Garp, Spandine's enthusiasm vanished completely. He offered only a shallow greeting before immediately retreating back to Lloyd's side, resuming his shameless attempts to curry favor.
Garp naturally noticed the stark difference in attitude, but he could not be bothered to care. Instead, he turned to Dragon and spoke casually.
"See that, Dragon? This is the true face of World Government officials. Take this chance to get used to it. You'll be dealing with people like this sooner or later."
Dragon responded with a quiet hum. A trace of disgust flickered in his eyes.
Unwilling to look at Spandine any longer, Dragon turned toward the open sea. As he stared at the endless horizon, a thought silently surfaced in his mind.
"Does a World Government like this truly deserve to exist?"
…
Throughout the voyage, the overall atmosphere aboard the ship remained relatively peaceful, with the sole exception being Garp and his son.
Aside from occasionally stepping onto the deck, the two spent most of their time inside their cabin, keeping to themselves and causing no disturbances.
Along the way, several pirate crews attempted to intercept the ship, all of them foolish enough to rush headlong toward destruction.
The existence of the heavenly tribute was no secret, but this year, the World Government had deliberately publicized the ship's military strength, emphasizing the presence of Admiral Lloyd and Vice Admiral Garp.
Any pirate with even a shred of common sense knew that this year's tribute was untouchable.
Those who still dared to attack were either newly formed crews blinded by ambition or reckless fools who vastly overestimated their strength. Their endings were uniformly tragic.
The stronger groups fared no better. Their ships were shattered, and their crews wiped out.
During these encounters, Lloyd did not lift a finger.
Instead, Lucia and Ginny handled the engagements almost entirely on their own. Lloyd treated these battles as opportunities for them to accumulate real combat achievements.
As for Lucia and Ginny themselves, Spandine did not dare harbor any inappropriate thoughts. Each time the two women annihilated a pirate crew, he would immediately rush forward, showering them with exaggerated praise. He carefully recorded their accomplishments, patting his chest and promising that he would personally request commendations for them upon returning to Mary Geoise.
Neither Lucia nor Ginny paid him much attention.
Whenever they had free time, they remained close to Lloyd's side. For Lucia in particular, this was somewhat torturous. Unlike before, she could not slip into Lloyd's room at night under the current circumstances.
The ship continued to follow its predetermined route across the sea. The nations along the way voluntarily handed over vast quantities of rare treasures. Among the offerings were even two Devil Fruits.
However, their quality was unremarkable.
Specialists on board were responsible for appraising Devil Fruits, and after examination, both were identified as ordinary Zoan type fruits.
With over one hundred and seventy member nations paying the heavenly tribute, receiving a few Devil Fruits each year was nothing unusual.
Lloyd instructed Spandine to deliver the two Devil Fruits directly to Dr. Vegapunk upon their return to Mary Geoise, leaving them for research purposes.
In less than a month, the enormous cargo hold constructed specifically for collecting the heavenly tribute was already filled to nearly one third of its capacity.
This allowed Lloyd to clearly observe the disparity in wealth among nations.
The tribute provided by Dressrosa alone matched that of nearly ten other countries combined. One of the two Devil Fruits had come from Dressrosa as well.
There were also several nations that simply could not afford to pay the tribute.
Lloyd was neither benevolent nor cruel by nature. Whenever such situations arose, he left the matter entirely to Spandine's discretion.
Unfortunately, Spandine's methods were abhorrent in Dragon's eyes. Each incident only deepened Dragon's resentment toward the World Government.
On several occasions, Dragon nearly stepped forward to intervene personally, only to be stopped by Garp each time.
Lloyd saw all of this clearly, yet remained outwardly indifferent. He continued to command the ship's course calmly until they entered the waters of the East Blue.
The East Blue was the homeland of both Garp and Dragon.
Yet upon returning, neither of them felt even a hint of warmth or nostalgia. This time, they had come to assist the Celestial Dragons in accumulating wealth, a reality that filled them with quiet shame.
From the moment the ship entered East Blue waters, the father and son vanished from public view. They remained secluded in their cabin day after day, choosing avoidance over confrontation.
Lloyd, however, had no intention of allowing them to hide indefinitely.
On that day, Garp and Dragon were once again in their room. With nothing else to do, the two had begun playing military chess.
Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door.
Dragon rose and opened it.
Standing outside was the person he despised the most, Spandine.
Without saying a word, Dragon turned around and returned to his bed.
Garp also showed no interest in acknowledging Spandine. Picking his nose lazily, he asked in a casual tone,
"Dragon, who's standing outside the door?"
Dragon continued moving his chess pieces and replied flatly,
"I didn't see a person. I only saw a dog."
"Huh?" Garp said. "There's a dog on the ship?"
The father and son exchanged words effortlessly, their mockery directed squarely at Spandine.
A shadow of malice crept into Spandine's eyes.
He knew very well that before the Celestial Dragons, especially before Lloyd, he was nothing more than a loyal dog. But outside of that, even kings had to address him with respect.
What right did these two have to insult him?
Clenching his fists, Spandine spoke through gritted teeth.
"How dare you insult me? Do you have any idea who stands behind me?"
To Garp and Dragon, his fury was laughable.
Garp flicked a booger toward Spandine. It landed squarely on the pristine white collar of his suit.
Dragon finally looked up. His gaze was calm, devoid of emotion as he met Spandine's ashen face.
"I don't know," Dragon said evenly. "All I know is that if you say one more useless word, I'll throw you into the sea."
___
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