After Garen's dramatic and info-packed description, Arlong instantly became, in everyone's eyes, a veteran criminal who only someone like Garp himself could handle.
Then, when Garp had his subordinate pull out the bounty catalog to check—Arlong's bounty was only 20 million.
"Just as I thought."
Garp gave Garen a knowing look. "You were talking nonsense just now, weren't you?"
"Ahem..."
Garen's eyes darted away as he awkwardly replied, "Everything I said was technically true."
"Fisher Tiger's right-hand man?"
Garp's gaze became increasingly intense.
"Well... he was part of the Sun Pirates."
Garen continued introducing Arlong's so-called "impressive résumé."
It was true that Arlong had been a cadre in the Sun Pirates, but compared to the captain Fisher Tiger, Arlong was basically just one of the lackeys shouting "You're the best, captain!" from the back.
"And he's close friends with Jinbei, and survived an encounter with Kizaru?"
Garp asked again.
"That's also true," Garen said through gritted teeth. "However…"
Arlong did survive a fight with Kizaru—because after Kizaru gave him a brutal beating, he couldn't be bothered to kill off a small fry like that. Later, the ever-kind Jinbei bargained to save Arlong's life by accepting a position as a Warlord of the Sea.
As a seasoned Marine veteran who knew all the behind-the-scenes details, Garp wasn't about to be fooled by a few flashy words.
He instantly saw through Arlong's real level.
After thinking for a moment, Garp turned to his subordinate and asked, "Where's Cocoyashi Village?!"
"I—I know!"
The first voice to speak wasn't a Marine, but Nami's, trembling with excitement.
Facing the legendary hero of the Marines, Nami's eyes sparkled with a hope she had never felt before.
"If we follow the circular East Blue current westward, we can use the natural sea flow to reach Cocoyashi Village in three days!"
"Follow the circular East Blue current westward?"
Garp muttered, "That's completely out of the way…"
His destination was the Goa Kingdom. According to the plan, once he arrived in East Blue from the Calm Belt, he was supposed to part ways with Smoker and take a completely different route back home.
That one offhand comment instantly crushed Nami's high hopes.
From her years adrift at sea, the Navy, in her mind, was synonymous with hypocrisy, incompetence, and greed.
They ignored petty crimes, avoided big ones, and as a law enforcement organization, their credibility was nearly nonexistent.
So even after boarding the giant Marine warship, Nami had never truly considered asking them for help. Compared to the legendary Marine hero Garp, she'd rather pin her hopes on Garen—a man she barely knew, with limited strength.
Because she'd tried asking the Navy for help too many times before.
That one careless line from Garp brought back all those memories—those countless times she'd been turned away by the Marines, leaving her in despair and helplessness.
"Smoker?"
But Garp suddenly turned to Smoker, who was silently puffing on a cigar.
"You're headed to Loguetown for your reassignment, right? That should be on this current too, yeah?"
"Correct."
Smoker had already reviewed the sailing route for his deployment.
"Loguetown is also on the circular East Blue current—roughly midway between here and Cocoyashi Village."
"Perfect, then."
A glint of anticipation appeared in Garp's smile.
"Smoker, I'll leave the Arlong Pirates to you!"
"Your first battle in East Blue—make it count!"
Smoker was briefly stunned, but quickly returned to his usual calm and stern demeanor.
"No problem."
This massive warship was, after all, under Vice Admiral Garp's command.
Smoker, who had traveled from Marine HQ, and Garen, who had only recently boarded, were technically just hitching a ride.
And since Garp was heading back to his hometown, the Goa Kingdom—on a completely different route from Loguetown and Cocoyashi—he and Smoker would soon part ways.
So, after sailing for a bit longer, Smoker would leave the ship to continue toward Loguetown for his reassignment. Garen and the others would also transfer to a smaller boat to continue along the East Blue current.
Smoker's bandit-suppression plan was as follows:
First, arrive at Loguetown to complete the handover with the current stationed Marines. Then, regroup the local Marine forces at the Loguetown base, and finally lead a full-scale assault on the Arlong Pirates.
With some time before Smoker and Garp part ways, the Marines arranged for Garen and his group to rest temporarily in the ship's living quarters.
As they walked down the long corridor, Nami's face was full of happiness and contentment.
For the first time in years, she could see real hope.
"Thank you," Nami suddenly said softly to Garen, who was walking beside her.
"It was nothing," Garen replied casually. "I just…"
His voice trailed off.
Because Nami had stepped in front of him, slowly turned to face him, and looked directly into his eyes.
From this angle, Garen saw an indecipherable mix of emotions in her sparkling eyes.
"You…"
Nami paused for a long time before speaking again.
"How do you know so much about me?"
"Ah…"
Garen responded smoothly with the excuse he'd prepared long ago.
"I'm a knight undergoing training in East Blue. I gathered intel on various evildoers beforehand."
"And the Arlong Pirates were one of my targets."
"So that means…"
Nami's expression became complicated.
"You knew my identity from the start?"
"Yep."
Garen answered honestly.
"An officer of the Arlong Pirates, and the infamous 'Cat Burglar' of East Blue."
To avoid raising too many questions, Garen didn't mention any deeper details—just her known, public identities.
But those identities alone weren't exactly "good guy" labels...
So Nami asked curiously,
"In that case, why did you still help me?"
"Hmm…"
Garen thought for a moment, then answered seriously,
"Didn't I tell you yesterday? You're my ideal knight's wife!"
"In your dreams!"
Nami huffed and playfully spat at him, though her fair cheeks had already turned a lovely shade of red.
The group continued walking under the escort of the Marine soldier.
"Garen?"
Nami strolled beside him and casually asked,
"Do you think those Marines can really defeat Arlong?"
Although the topic was still heavy, Nami herself was much more relaxed and lively now—
Like a normal young woman, excitedly asking questions about the new life ahead.
"Of course they can."
Garen noticed her improved mood and played along.
"Smoker is a Marine HQ captain and a Logia-type Devil Fruit user. Taking down small fry like Arlong will be no problem."
"Hmph!"
Nami snorted and said with a hint of sarcasm,
"That guy couldn't even beat you."
"Hey, he managed to last three rounds with me. Isn't that strong enough?"
Garen exclaimed dramatically, then shamelessly bragged,
"During that sparring match earlier, Garp sent me flying, and I sent him flying too!"
"You know what that means?"
"I'm on par with Garp!"
"Pfft!"
Miss Nami scoffed in disbelief, but was clearly amused by Garen's exaggerated antics.
"Everyone, your rooms are just ahead!"
The Marine leading them suddenly stopped and respectfully turned to Garen.
"Please rest well."
No matter what Garen's true strength was, his "glorious feats" of defeating a Marine HQ captain and exchanging blows with Garp had already earned him deep respect—practically reverence—from the Marines aboard.
After leading them to their rooms, the soldier turned to leave.
"Wait."
Nami called out to him with a sweet smile.
"Could you bring me a few sets of clothes?"
"All of mine were lost in the sea during the previous battles."
After being blasted into the water twice by cannon fire, Nami's clothes had long been soaked and ruined.
"No problem."
The Marine agreed readily.
"Please get me a set too, thank you."
Wallace also made the same request.
"Uh…"
Garen suddenly thought of something and his face turned weird.
"Could you get me a set too?"
The Marine agreed again and left to gather clothes for all three.
"Huh?"
Nami suddenly noticed something odd and asked,
"Garen, come to think of it…"
"Since the moment I met you in that restaurant yesterday, you've been wearing that heavy armor nonstop. I've never seen you take it off."
"Don't you feel hot?"
Of course, Garen could take off his armor and greatsword—he just needed to deactivate his digitized battle mode.
But—
"Uhh…"
Garen's expression darkened as he replied,
"Let's… not talk about that."
(End of Chapter)