"Your grandson?"
Garp froze for a moment before saying, "Sengoku, haven’t you been a bachelor your entire life? This isn’t some kind of bluff, is it? I’ve never heard of you having an illegitimate son, let alone a grandson who suddenly popped out of a rock."
"Still, as unreliable as that brat Lucas may seem, he’s never done anything without being confident in it. If he told you this in advance, there should be some truth to it."
"I know how this works. Judging from his tone, he probably wants to ask how much of a bounty you’ve prepared to ransom the person, right?"
"Shut up!"
Sengoku slapped Garp across the back of the head and angrily said, "Don’t lump me together with someone like you, who’s just as bad as Whitebeard and likes making connections with people all over the sea."
"If that brat dares grab some random person off the sea and come asking me for a bounty, he’ll get nothing from me."
Looking at Sengoku’s serious expression, Garp’s face stiffened slightly.
As his longtime companion, Garp knew all too well that when Sengoku said something, he meant it.
Over all these years, he had personally watched Sengoku remain single. At most, Sengoku had only had his "golden left hand" to keep him company.
Forget having a grandson—even finding a son would probably be difficult.
"No, Sengoku. Your grandson might really have fallen into Lucas’s hands."
Tsuru suddenly spoke.
Garp and Sengoku were both stunned.
Garp could casually spout nonsense, and Sengoku could believe that.
But Tsuru was the Marines’ Vice Admiral and chief strategist. Sengoku absolutely did not believe she would make something up.
"Sengoku, you don’t believe me?" Tsuru sighed deeply.
"To be honest, I didn’t believe it either at first. But after I read the intelligence summary Hina sent me, I remembered something."
"You don’t merely have a grandson, Sengoku. You also have a son."
"I’m sure you still remember Rosinante, who infiltrated the Donquixote Pirates back then."
"He was your adopted son!"
Rosinante?
Sengoku’s expression froze, then changed dramatically.
He hurriedly asked, "Tsuru, are you saying that the child with Amber Lead Syndrome whom Rosinante was willing to sacrifice his life to save has been found?"
"And he’s in Lucas’s hands?"
"Tell me! Who is he?"
Sengoku grabbed Tsuru by the arm.
The intensity of his reaction was completely beyond what either Tsuru or Garp had expected.
But both Tsuru and Garp knew exactly why.
After remaining a bachelor for all those years, Sengoku had poured much of his heart into raising Rosinante.
Just as Garp had sworn to cultivate outstanding talents for Marine Headquarters, Sengoku had spared no effort in doing the same.
Unfortunately, when Sengoku discovered that his adopted son Rosinante had lied to him for the first time, he had already lost the opportunity to confront him about it.
Rosinante had truly died all those years ago.
Yet Sengoku had never given up searching for the child Rosinante had frequently mentioned through the Den Den Mushi.
What Sengoku had never expected was that, after all these years, he would finally hear news of that child—and that the child would now be in Lucas’s hands.
"Sengoku, you need to prepare yourself mentally."
"That man is a pirate now. If I’m not mistaken, he’s the rising star who has recently made a name for himself across the sea and is regarded as one of the Worst Generation—the captain of the Heart Pirates, Trafalgar Law, with a bounty of two hundred million Beli."
"Not only does he bear the title of the ’Surgeon of Death,’ he is also the current wielder of the Op-Op Fruit—the Devil Fruit that was lost back then."
Tsuru fell silent for a moment before continuing.
But she deliberately stopped there.
She understood the situation very clearly.
One was a Marine.
The other was a pirate.
If Sengoku were still merely a Vice Admiral like her and Garp, there were certain things they could turn a blind eye to.
But Sengoku now occupied the position of Fleet Admiral.
If even the Fleet Admiral could not uphold the law by example, it would surely become a stain on Marine Headquarters in the future.
Sengoku’s face turned grim, and his fists slowly tightened.
Garp also put away his usual carefree smile.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly laughed loudly.
"Hahaha, Sengoku, Tsuru and I are getting a little tired. We’re going back to get some rest."
"We’ll leave this place to you."
With that, Garp turned around and prepared to leave.
Tsuru clearly understood what Garp meant. Without saying anything more, she also turned and prepared to depart.
"Garp, enough."
Sengoku sighed and stopped the two of them.
"Don’t worry. I know where I stand."
"One is a Marine, and the other is a pirate. If I asked you two to turn a blind eye, then I’d truly be letting you down."
"I’ll still meet him. As for what happens afterward... we’ll deal with it according to the rules."
Tsuru and Garp fell silent.
There was still nothing they could say to refute Sengoku.
After all, the matter concerning Portgas D. Ace was right there in front of them.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku! Admiral Lucas’s warship is back!"
An adjutant came running from a distance and hurriedly reported the news.
The oppressive atmosphere on the deck was slightly broken.
Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru immediately looked in that direction.
The first thing that entered their sight was a massive warship slicing rapidly through the waves.
As soon as Sengoku saw Lucas still standing at the front of the deck, casually drinking a little liquor, his heart tightened.
Especially as the warship drew closer, his fists clenched harder and harder.
Five thousand meters.
Three thousand meters.
One thousand meters.
One hundred meters!
The warship was still dozens of meters away and had yet to come to a complete stop.
Sengoku finally couldn’t restrain himself.
He leaped forward and landed directly on the massive warship.
"Lucas, I want to see my grandson!"
"No, I want to see Trafalgar Law!"
"How much ransom do you want?"
"A bounty! I mean, how much bounty do you want?!"
Tsuru and Garp were both stunned.
This was the first time they had ever seen Sengoku become so tongue-tied.
But when they thought about the fact that, after so many years, he had finally found the child his adopted son had once been willing to sacrifice his life to save, they understood that such emotions were impossible to describe.
Smoker and the others were equally dumbfounded.
When Lucas had first mentioned this matter, they had assumed he was simply making things up to get a bounty.
They had never expected Sengoku to arrive and immediately blurt out such a question.
Feeling the change in the atmosphere and the gazes surrounding him, Sengoku froze slightly.
He finally realized how badly he had lost his composure.
He had countless thoughts running through his mind.
But when he remembered his position as Fleet Admiral, he ultimately gritted his teeth and let out a faint sigh.
"Don’t worry. I only want to see him."
"I absolutely won’t ask you to release him."
"After all, I’m the Fleet Admiral of the Marines."
Tsuru and Garp fell silent.
After serving in the Marines for so many years, they understood all too well what it meant to be powerless against one’s circumstances.
They also knew exactly how painful it must have been for Sengoku to make such a decision.
But, as Sengoku had said, this was the only thing he could do.
"How much ransom do I want?"
Lucas was also somewhat surprised.
He took a small sip of his liquor before giving an awkward laugh.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, considering our relationship, why are we talking about money?"
"Don’t worry. I’ve already made a deal with him, and I’ve already let him go."
"As for the bounty, just give me whatever you think is appropriate."
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