Dr Vegapunk

Sengoku can be seen holding his little white goat as he stands in the reflection of a window in one of the rooms at the highest peak of an ancient Japanese-themed building in the middle of the Marine Headquarters.

Alongside Sengoku was Garp, who had not stopped nibbling on sunflower seeds the entire time. In addition, he carelessly tossed the sunflower seeds skin around, which caused Sengoku, who saw it, to furrow his brows in annoyance.

"I know you're nervous, but can you not litter in my room!"

Garp didn't seem concerned as he continued eating his snacks. His gaze also remained directed forward, and soon he replied, "Who's nervous... don't worry, your goat will clean it later..."

"What do you think my goat is! Don't talk bullshit! Why are you still here? Don't you want to see your grandson off?"

*bleat

His pet, the goat, suddenly decided that he wanted to get down, and what the goat did next rendered Sengoku speechless as the goat began eating the sunflower seed shells that were still around Garp's feet.

"hmph, that brat was too busy training that he forgot about me... it doesn't mean he's going to Yonko territory anyway... look, I can even see his annoying smile from here..."

Sengoku and Garp were looking at the harbor, which was quite a distance away from where they were standing. Considering the fact that the two of them were two strong men who could stand side by side with the pirate king, of course, their eyesight was very sharp.

While crossing his arms, Sengoku said, "I heard the last report from Gion about the three of them, especially your grandson, and I think they're doing quite well."

"It's impressive that my grandson and Shanks' adopted daughter can use Armament Haki at such a young age, but it's not enough because there are still many people who can do it even younger than them."

Sengoku couldn't help but crack a wry smile upon seeing his friend's lack of enthusiasm, but what Garp just said was also not wrong, 'I know why his own grandson is lazy to meet him.'

"Oh, yeah, what do you think about the woman with them? I heard she was just a waitress at a bar before."

Garp muttered, "They've already left," as he turned and walked towards the exit, dropping his snack packs on the ground as he did so, and before he left, he said:

"Makino, right? She is a kind woman, and together the three of them will make a strong team that will look out for one another in the vast sea over there."

-

"Something just doesn't seem right with Vice Admiral Gion's behavior. What happened to her?"

Asked the woman with pink hair standing next to me when we were both looking at the view of a giant sea gate that opened and closed very magnificently. Warships much larger than the one I was on right now was also moving in and out before docking at the Marine Headquarters.

I heaved a sigh, turned around, and faced this lovely lady before saying, "I didn't expect to be on your ship."

"What a lie. When you saw me, you weren't surprised at all. It seems like you already know about it, right?"

Before answering, I just laughed at myself and said, "This is all because of Gion, who isn't good at hiding things. She's been leaking it from the start without even knowing it herself."

The only thing this woman did was nod her head without saying anything else, but after that, both of our attentions were diverted once more as the strong wind abruptly subsided, and our ship also became silent in the middle of the sea, which now looked very calm and deserted.

Hina seemed to have gotten used to this situation as she immediately shouted loudly to order her crew, "Quickly use the propellers! Keep your eyes peeled if any Sea Kings get in the way of the ship!"

After that, the crew aboard Hina's ship made a hasty effort to lower the ship's sails before activating the self-propelled engines that were attached to the ship's stern. Although slower, soon, the ship was back on track even without any wind to push it.

"Did you just say Sea Kings?" asked Uta. Since she had been a crew member of the red-haired pirates for a considerable amount of time, she was very knowledgeable about this sea.

Makino, who had been inside when she heard the commotion, bolted out the door and looked at the environment outside with quite a bit of surprise on her face. After that, Hina responded while beaming with pride and saying:

"Yeah, thanks to Dr Vegapunk's brilliant invention from a few years ago, we Marines figured out a way to safely pass through this Calm Belt."

This is the first time I've heard someone directly mention Dr Vegapunk, and immediately I became interested because that person is really mysterious. I didn't even find much useful information about him at Marine Headquarters other than his amazing discoveries.

"Did you protect yourself from the Sea Kings by utilizing Seastones?" When Hina heard what I had just said, she immediately gave me a look with raised eyebrows, followed by a smile and a nod.

"yup, in Dr Vegapunk's discovery, we came to know that Sea Kings and most of the other sea monsters are greatly affected by the existence of Seastone too, so he came up with a brilliant idea-"

"coated Seastone on the bottom of your ship to trick those Sea Kings," Uta added after interrupting Hina, and she then gave me a glare as if not to be outdone.

"Alright then, you are free to stay in here. I need to catch up on all of the work that I've been putting off. You are welcome to come to my room anytime if you need anything.

After that, Hina went away, and Uta and I were left alone with Makino. Before Uta could say anything, Makino, who was still worried, asked:

"What is the Calm Belt? Is this place dangerous? Why did the wind suddenly disappear?"

When I saw Uta walking to the edge of the ship to take a look at the water's surface, I knew she didn't want to be bothered answering Makino's question, so I took a moment to gather my composure before start explaining.