When the news that Luffy had become a pirate reached back to the Marine Headquarters, Marshal Sengoku was stunned at first, his face full of disbelief, but after he confirmed the news again and again, Sengoku became very angry, and his chest was filled with rage.
After a phone call brought the newly returned brothers Ace and Sabo to the office, Zhan Guo pointed at the brothers and started scolding them:
"How do you two brothers act like brothers?"
"Such a big living person got lost right under your noses?!"
"A colonel and a lieutenant colonel can't even take care of a child. How can I expect you two to become the pillars of our Marine Headquarters in the future?!"
"Asshole! Idiot!"
"Do you two know where Luffy is right now?!"
Sengoku wasn't a fool. On the contrary, known as a wise general, he actually had a very good brain. How could a kid like Luffy have the guts to escape from the care of Ace and Sabo? How could such a thing happen?
To say that Luffy was kidnapped is impossible.
Now Luffy has appeared in the East China Sea. According to the information he received, Luffy became a pirate completely of his own volition and was not coerced by anyone at all.
Considering Luffy's past behavior, it seems that Luffy has simply left on his own, unwilling to stay at the Marine Headquarters. After all, this guy has been clamoring to become the Pirate King since he was a child, and this is no secret within the Marine Headquarters.
Judging from the current situation, there is a high probability that Ace and Sabo are accomplices who covered Luffy's escape!
Therefore, after calling the two people, Sengoku did not tell them the eyewitness information of Luffy immediately, but asked about Luffy's whereabouts. At the same time, while waiting for Liangren's answer, Sengoku stared at the two of them, observing the expressions of the two boys.
Sabo's face showed a look of shame, as if he was very guilty about Luffy's "lost". When he heard the question from Sengoku, Sabo did not directly answer the other party's question:
"I'm sorry, Marshal, this is all my fault. I was negligent when I took him out shopping."
"I will definitely take responsibility for this!"
"I will definitely find a way to find Luffy, no matter where he is!"
Zhan Guo carefully observed Sabo's expression, and seeing the sincerity on his face, he couldn't help but sneer:
"drink!"
Sabo's acting was pretty good, and from a performance perspective alone, Zhan Guo didn't actually see any flaws, but the emotional state of the two brothers at this moment betrayed them.
Everyone knows that these three brothers grew up together since childhood. They are not blood brothers but are more like blood brothers. It goes without saying how deep their emotional bond is.
But now Luffy is lost, his life or death is unknown, and his whereabouts are unknown. Not only are Sabo and Ace not anxious at all, they can actually return to the Marine Headquarters on time. This also makes Sengoku completely confirm that it was indeed these two guys who helped Luffy escape from the control of the Marine Headquarters.
If Luffy was really in danger, these two brothers would not need orders from the Marine Headquarters at all. They would have turned the East China Sea upside down on their own initiative!
Realizing this, Zhan Guo didn't want to continue asking Ace about his thoughts. He knew that he wouldn't get anything out of him.
Since they were the ones who covered Luffy's escape, there is no need to expect Ace and Sabo to betray Luffy.
Thinking of this, Zhan Guo grabbed the information at hand and threw it directly at Ace, saying angrily:
"You don't know where Luffy is, do you?!"
"Then let me tell you!"
"This guy is still in the East China Sea! He even injured a colonel in the branch, Monka!"
"This guy calls himself a pirate, but due to your negligence and indulgence, he has become a pirate!!!"
Sengoku was furious. However, Ace was stunned for a moment after hearing the news that Luffy had become a pirate, and then a smile appeared on his face. Although Ace quickly realized that something was wrong and immediately controlled his emotions, this moment of true emotion was seen by Sengoku.
This made Zhan Guo even angrier, but soon, Zhan Guo himself realized that at this point in the situation, there was no point in being angry. He only felt bitter and helpless in his heart.
He didn't know how he would explain to Garp if one day he also went underground.
Garp had only a few wishes in his life, hoping that his son would become an excellent navy, but his hope was shattered...
Then he hoped that his grandson would become an excellent navy, but now it seems that Garp's wish is likely to be dashed.
Luffy is an extremely self-centered kid, and Red-Haired Shanks plays an extremely important role in his life. He almost fills the role of Luffy's father. His influence on Luffy is unmatched. Even Garp's last wish could not change Luffy's idea of becoming the Pirate King.
"You have your own pirate group so soon?!"
Ace muttered something quietly, picked up the battle report and began to read it himself. Sabo came over and rested his chin on Ace's shoulder, his eyes scanning the battle report.
There is actually not much information about Luffy in the battle report. On the contrary, information about Colonel Monka, who was seriously injured by Luffy, occupies the vast majority of the battle report.
As a colonel of the naval branch, Monka turned the branch's lower-level navy and the people in the town into his servants. Relying on the power in his hands, he acted tyrannically in the local area and became a local tyrant.
People were just angry but dared not speak out against him, and there was no way to resist him at all.
As a colonel, he holds the power to appoint personnel for the branch, and therefore, he can easily manipulate his subordinates without any restrictions. As for the townspeople, how could they, as ordinary people, resist a navy branch colonel who wields swords and guns?!
After Monka was seriously injured, the headquarters also sent officials to the scene, intending to calm Monka's emotions. However, what the headquarters did not expect was that after the officials arrived, they received countless anonymous reports about Monka.
The commodore who had left the headquarters happened to be a subordinate of Sakaski's faction. Although these hawkish marines were cruel and cold-blooded towards pirates and did not care about the lives of ordinary people when carrying out their missions, they supported the various regulations of the Marine Headquarters.
Conservatives like them naturally couldn't tolerate someone like Monka who didn't take the navy's rules to heart.
Related incidents broke out immediately and Monka was arrested directly.
This incident actually had a very bad impact on the Navy Headquarters. In a place like Shikai, a colonel is almost the highest local commander. But then again, people with the rank of branch colonel can only be regarded as "little people" in their Navy Headquarters.
Such a small figure actually became a local tyrant after going to the local area, which had a huge impact on the young officers in the headquarters.
Zhan Guo is not like those young officers in the headquarters who follow suit. Therefore, he has made up his mind to deal with the matter of Monka seriously. Only in this way can he deter people.
From a public service perspective, what Monka did is naturally more noteworthy.
But from a personal emotional point of view, Luffy's whereabouts are naturally what Ace and Sabo are most concerned about.
"Is it just Luffy?"
"It seems that he hasn't formed his own pirate group yet."
After quickly reviewing the battle report, Ace tilted his head slightly and spoke to Sabo beside him.
Sabo had already read the entire message by now. When he heard what Ace said, he nodded in approval, but a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.
Luffy has not yet formed his own pirate group, but he is already traveling on the sea as a pirate. This is not necessarily a good thing.
Going to sea is not playing house, sailing will bring dangers.
The role of partners is that when facing difficulties, everyone can exchange ideas with each other, support and help each other, and rely on collective strength to overcome difficulties together.
But Luffy has put on the pirate's coat in a hurry without any help, which may put him in danger.
"What?! You two look a little disappointed that Luffy doesn't have his own pirate crew?!"
"Would you two like to go out to sea and help your brother?"
Sengoku was somewhat dissatisfied with the recent statements made by Ace and Sabo. After seeing Luffy's battle report, these two guys didn't even bother to act, which made Sengoku's anger, which he had suppressed with great difficulty, rise rapidly.
"No, how could we be disappointed? We are grateful."
"Luffy doesn't have his own pirate group yet, and the Monka he injured wasn't a good person himself."
"Well, I think there's still a chance to redeem myself!"
"Marshal, please send us to the East China Sea. We promise to bring that kid back to you!"
Ace was smart, how could he not hear the anger in Zhan Guo's tone? He quickly spoke to comfort him.
He and Sabo can be said to have grown up in the Marine Headquarters since childhood, and they have deep feelings for this place. What's more, they are a little different from Yoriichi Tsugikuni. They have witnessed all kinds of things in the Marine Headquarters before their values are fully established, and their ties with the Marine Headquarters are deeper.
If they both once admired Tsugakuni Yoriichi's strength and justice, and hoped that they could become navy officers like Tsugakuni Yoriichi in the future.
Now they have a more ambitious goal. They hope to put the Naval Headquarters, a place they have deep feelings for, on the "right path" in the true sense.
To this end, they can, like Sengoku and Crane today, take on the dark side of the navy and lead the headquarters of the navy to truly embark on the path of self-reliance.
Ace doesn't want to leave the Marine Headquarters before his dream comes true.
He is the son of Pirate King Roger and a direct descendant of a great criminal, but Ace has no good feelings towards his father who opened the era of pirates. He hopes that he can do something to make up for the mistakes his father made.
He did not feel inferior or cowardly because of his criminal blood. On the contrary, Ace felt that it was precisely because he was Roger's child that he had a greater responsibility to bring the world back on track!
Although Ace's belief is firm, he has different ideas about Luffy.
He has watched Luffy grow up since he was a child. He knows very well that Luffy will not do anything extremely evil. Luffy's vision of the pirate group is very pure and romantic. In his eyes, all pirates should be like Shanks.
Ace hopes that his younger brother can happily choose the life he wants. If Luffy thinks that becoming a pirate like Shanks is cool and handsome, then he will not object.
He asked for permission to capture Luffy in front of Sengoku just to protect his younger brother.
Luffy is very talented and his strength has improved rapidly over the years, but if the lieutenant admirals or major generals of the headquarters take action, Luffy may not be their match.
It would be different if Ace went, after all, he is Luffy's brother.
But how could Ace and Sabo possibly deceive Zhan Guo with their tricks?
"Sending you? If you can't even take care of one person, what's the point of sending you?!"
"Stop causing me trouble!"
"And there's no way to salvage what happened to Luffy."
"The internal military reports have already been released. As a marshal, how can I be partial and corrupt?!"
"I've decided to issue a wanted order for Luffy. The bounty is 2 million berries!"
Zhan Guo slammed the table and said angrily.
Ace and Sabo were stunned at first, but then their faces didn't show any nervousness. Instead, they started discussing with a smile:
"Two million berries?! Luffy is on the wanted list so soon?!"
Sabo also had a smile on his face, but he seemed a little dissatisfied with Luffy's bounty, and asked Sengoku:
"Marshal, isn't two million baileys too low? He injured a branch colonel."
"Such a low bounty will cause his colleagues in the branch to misjudge his strength. I think eight million berries wouldn't be too much, right?"
The two brothers' words echoed each other, causing Zhan Guo's face to tremble:
“Get out, get out, get out!”
"Get out of here, both of you bastards!"
Amidst Sengoku's roar, Ace and Sabo ran out of the office holding the battle report. Neither of them had any intention of returning the report to Sengoku. They just walked away happily, arm in arm, chatting about Luffy.
After the two left, Zhan Guo in the office sat down on his seat somewhat weakly, sighed heavily, leaned against the backrest, and stared at the ceiling in a daze.
After a long while, Zhan Guo opened the drawer of his desk and took out a photo album. He gently wiped off the dust that didn't exist in the first place, looked at the figure in the photo, shook his head and murmured:
"I wonder what kind of decision you would make if you were here, a bastard."
"But I think the most likely scenario is that we won't do anything."
"Everyone has their own chosen path. It's yours, your son's, and your grandson's."
"No one in your family is worry-free."
As he spoke, Zhan Guo placed the photo album on the desk, stared at it for a long time, then adjusted his mood and devoted himself to work again.
The photo album was taken when Zhan Guo was young. It was a photo of him and Garp when they were still non-commissioned officers. The two of them were arm in arm, with bright smiles on their faces, exuding the breath of youth.
The relationship between the two of them is similar to that between Ace and Sabo who just left.
(End of this chapter)
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