Chapter 26

I look at the ongoing project in front of me.

"That was fast. It was not even three months since the first construction and it was already almost finished."

"The HQ wants this construction to be finished as fast as possible and sent a large number of people here. This will be the first trade hub in the South Blue after the last one was destroyed by Kaido."

"Wait. Kaidou?"

"Aye. Kaidou came here because he heard of some new pirate with the potential power to kill him."

"Sadly, he cannot kill the Beast."

"Aye. In his disappointment, Kaidou went on a rampage. The marine tried to stop or at least tried to make sure he did not kill too many civilians. In the end the Kaidou kill all the marines who try to stop him and destroy all the marine base in here. From then on, the people in South Blue lose their trust in us and reject the idea of building another marine base on their island."

Vice-Admiral Garp looks at me and says.

"It is all thanks to you that the people in South Blue are willing to open up once more. Hell, even the nobles in this part of the sea are singing praises at you. Sengoku will not say this but thank you. Thank you for shaping the Marine image to what it should be."

"Don't mention it, Garp. I do what any other marine will do."

"*snort* Ha! That is a good one. Nah, too many Marines join up to get fame and wealth. Hell, some of the merchants with many connections manage to place their child into our rank and use their money to get the promotion they want."

"Ah, speaking of promotion, as a Commodore can I ask for more crew? It looks like sixty-seven men is not enough for us."

"Oh? Truly?"

"Yes. There are too many sick people on the larger island. We also need someone to take care of our garden."

"Garden?"

"Ah, yeah. I decided to make our own garden full of herbs that we can use to make medicine and some of them to grow some rice for emergency use."

"That is smart. I guess it was the place at the back? I can see a bunch of trees on it."

"Yes. The one planted on the outside is the one that grows larger than the room like a tangerine fruit and some grapes."

"I see. I think I should tell my men to do the same."

"If you want to do that, you need them to know the right method for gardening. My men need to learn for a month before they can take care of the plant."

"Urgh. Really? That is too bothersome."

Garp takes a bite of his rice cracker and says.

"So, Yuuji, what will you do from now on?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"You are a Commodore. You have more freedom than when you are a captain. You have already finished your assignment given to you by Sengoku. You can go wherever you want before the next assignment given to you by either the Admiral or the Fleet Admiral."

"Not Vice-Admiral?"

"Well, they can but as a Commodore as long as you have a good excuse you can deny their order. However, you still need to obey the order from the rank above you in time of war or when you are fighting."

"I see."

"So, where do you want to go?"

I think about it for a few seconds before saying.

"I think I want to explore the Grand Line."

"Grandline, huh? I suggest you don't go to the New World just yet. Stay in Paradise for the time being."

"Is the New World that chaotic in the time being?"

"Aye. The Four Emperors are busy claiming island after island and they are fighting each other for it. Just last week, Kaidou and Whitebeard fought each other and destroyed one island from their fight."

"Who is the winner?"

"Whitebeard is the winner in this fight. While Kaidou has the title of Strongest Creature in the world, Whitebeard holds the title of Strongest Man in the world and do you know the old saying 'The only one who can kill a beast is a man'."

"How many people died?"

"Lucky for us, Whitebeard is not a ruthless pirate. He and his crew evacuate the people on the island before the fight. As for the casualties, two hundred people died in this battle. A hundred and twenty-five is from the Beast Pirate and the rest is from the Whitebeard pirate."

"Hmmm, I see. Well, I guess I can explore Paradise for now."

"Bwahahahaha! Maybe you can invite other islands to join the Marines. That will make Sengoku leave me for a while to have more vacation! Bwahahahaha!"

I chuckle a little at his behavior. Garp is like a child in an adult body. A child with a power that can destroy a massive boulder with his fist and kill a normal human with his hug. Ah, yeah, now I know the reason why Fleet Admiral Sengoku has a hard time facing this man.

After a few seconds of chuckling, I look at him and say.

"Do you know which island we should visit? There are a lot of islands in the Grandline after all."

"Hmmm, I have a few places you can visit. The Alabasta Kingdom is a great place to visit if you don't mind the heat. You can visit Jaya and maybe visit the legendary and mythical island of Skye."

"The way you said it, it is as if you already visited that place."

"Who knows. Anyway, the next place you can visit is the Water 7 where you can fix or even upgrade your ship if you want."

Ah, Water 7. The place where it gets hit by massive tsunamis every now and then. The slowly sinking island. Also the place for its famous shipwright. I wonder if they can upgrade my ship.

"Can I really do that? Upgrade my ship I mean."

"Sure. When we tell you that we give you that ship, we mean it. A captain and his ship is like a man and his penis. They cannot be separated unless they want to be something else. There is a reason why Okama pirates always sacrifice their ship in battle. Those penis-less creatures!"

I can only awkwardly smile at that declaration. I wonder if he had a bad experience with the Okama pirates.