Chapter 21: Dragon Defects from the Navy?!

“Hahahaha! Fleet Admiral Kong, I just got back and haven't even had time to go home before you summon me! What's going on?!”

At Navy Headquarters, Marineford, inside the Fleet Admiral's office, Garp's boisterous laughter echoed through the room before the door had even been opened or a single shadow seen.

Then, with a loud *bang*, the office door was violently shoved open. Garp walked in clutching a bag of rice crackers and plopped himself down on the sofa.

“Yo, Sengoku, what are you doing here too?” Garp looked at his old friend sitting opposite him and smiled. “Shouldn't you be busy in your own office at this hour?”

However, he noticed that Sengoku's expression was off—he looked very serious. He also noted that Fleet Admiral Kong, sitting behind the desk, was watching him with an expressionless face.

Garp paused his hand, which was about to grab a rice cracker, and asked in surprise, “What’s happened? I already dealt with that brat Barrett; I just sent him off to Impel Down!”

“Garp, your son, Monkey D. Dragon, is actually planning to defect from the Navy. He is truly audacious!”

With a face full of fury, Fleet Admiral Kong slammed a report onto the desk and shouted, “Look for yourself! This message was sent by CP0 just ten minutes ago!”

“What?!”

Garp was stunned, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. He bolted upright as if his seat had caught fire, and with a speed invisible to the naked eye, he snatched the intelligence and began reading it word by word.

The report briefly stated that CP0 had intercepted Rear Admiral Dragon—who had just cast off his Justice coat and was preparing to leave the G-3 branch—and was escorting him to Marineford.

“This... this...”

Garp's mouth hung open, momentarily speechless. Despite the gravity of the situation, his thick-skinned nature left him feeling as though there were too many things to complain about, leaving him powerless to even react.

First, why did Dragon suddenly want to leave the Navy?

Second, how did the World Government know in advance? They had even sent people to perform a prepared interception, and they sent CP0 of all people!

He knew exactly what CP0 was.

They were the Director Department of the entire CIPHER POL, known as the strongest shield of the Celestial Dragons. It could be said that only the Five Elders were qualified to command them.

Was such a powerful department really necessary to target his own son?

The most astonishing thing was that they were actually preparing—no, were currently—bringing Dragon to Navy Headquarters. What was the meaning of this?

Logically, shouldn't they be transporting him directly to Enies Lobby for trial and then throwing him into Impel Down?

He didn't believe the CP0 agents would care about his status as a Navy Hero, so it could only mean the Five Elders had ordered them to do this!

*“Could it be that the person I saved back then is helping?”*

Garp pondered inwardly, thinking it was quite possible, given that the person was now one of the Five Elders.

Regardless, the fact that CP0 was willing to bring Dragon here was a stroke of luck in a bad situation; his own status and seniority here in Marineford would still be useful.

“We'll wait. Even if they come directly through Mary Geoise, it will take a few hours to get from the 'New World' to here. We'll ask the kid what on earth he was thinking when they arrive!”

Sengoku appeared very angry. He had watched Dragon grow up; after joining the Navy, Dragon had initially performed exceptionally well, claiming he wanted to become a Navy Hero who surpassed his father.

But in recent years, he had become increasingly passive and taciturn. The passion in his eyes had long since died out, and the enthusiastic smile had vanished from his face.

He had also maintained a lack of initiative regarding various missions, which caused his rank to remain stuck at Rear Admiral. However, because he was Garp's son, no one in the Navy criticized him for it.

In Sengoku's view, with Dragon's strength, even if he couldn't become an Admiral, he would have more than enough capability to serve as a base commander for a G-branch!

The reason he said he might not become an Admiral was that the Navy currently had three top-tier Logia-type Admiral candidates; there was no room for a fourth.

About five hours later, Fleet Admiral Kong received a report from the warships stationed near the Headquarters' port. After listening, he placed the receiver back on the Den Den Mushi and found Garp staring at him.

As for Sengoku, he had already returned to his own office; after all, he was quite busy and couldn't just sit on the sofa wasting time.

“The CP0 ship has arrived. However, they requested that we do not go out to meet them to avoid drawing too much attention. They will be responsible for delivering the person here.”

Having said that, Kong ignored Garp again, picked up the receiver, and called Sengoku to tell him to come over so they could meet together.

Not long after, Sengoku walked into the office again, as his office was on the same floor.

*Knock, knock, knock.*

Less than two minutes after Sengoku sat down, there was a soft knock on the door.

“Enter!”

Fleet Admiral Kong called out. The door was slowly pushed open, and Dragon, dressed in a green suit and wearing a Justice coat, walked in first with his hands behind his back, his expression blank.

Following closely behind was a tall figure wearing a white mask, a white suit, a white coat draped over his shoulders, and white leather boots.

With a soft *thud*, the latter closed the door.

“You damn brat!”

The moment Garp saw his son, he lashed out, “What the hell is going on in that head of yours?!”

But Dragon kept his head down in silence, seemingly having no interest in communicating with his father. One had to remember that just a few years ago, he had looked up to the man immensely.

This year, he was thirty-four years old, the same age as Borsalino, aka Kizaru.

“Garp, calm down first.”

Sengoku stood up with a serious face, but he noticed something strange: Dragon's hands, which were behind his back, seemed to be in handcuffs.

What was the situation? Ordinary handcuffs would be useless against Dragon; the physical combat skills he had honed since childhood were no joke.

At that moment, the CP0 agent spoke. His voice was somewhat raspy, sounding harsh and devoid of emotion.

“Rear Admiral Dragon is a Devil Fruit user. Based on the abilities used during combat, it is a Logia-type: the Hurricane-Hurricane Fruit. Therefore, we had to use Sea Prism Stone handcuffs on him.”

“A Devil Fruit user?!”

The three heavyweights in the office—the Navy Fleet Admiral, the Navy Admiral, and the Navy Hero—were startled once again. Their gazes converged on Dragon, especially the first two, who looked at him as if he were a rare treasure.

Since Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan appeared in the Navy, they had studied the Devil Fruit encyclopedias several times, focusing primarily on the Logia types.

The Hurricane-Hurricane Fruit... good heavens, this was another top-tier Logia fruit, no less than Magma, Light, or Ice!

“No wonder you CP0 were deployed. Otherwise, with this kid's physical combat and Haki levels combined with the Hurricane-Hurricane Fruit, even CP9 wouldn't have been able to stop him,” Fleet Admiral Kong realized.

Yet, the same doubt lingered in his and Sengoku's minds: How did the World Government know?

In fact, this was the question Dragon wanted to know most; he was completely in the dark.

He had clearly left the G-3 base without any prior plan and without telling anyone. The matter of the Hurricane-Hurricane Fruit was the same.

Yet, just as he had cast off his Justice coat and transformed into a gust of wind to leave the base, he was intercepted within two kilometers by three CP0 agents wearing white masks.

He had tried to escape, but even though he was significantly stronger than an ordinary Rear Admiral, he was no match for three CP0 agents, especially since he had only recently eaten the Hurricane-Hurricane Fruit.