Chapter 168: Garp: I am the Revolutionary Army's Old Man!

"Of course it's me, unless you joined the Whitebeard Pirates and became someone else's son!"

The corners of Garp's eyes were slightly moist, but he quickly reined in that flicker of emotion upon seeing his son and adjusted his stance.

The man he was now,

was a Marine Vice Admiral tasked with capturing a criminal wanted by the World Government, an irreconcilable enemy to the Revolutionary Army Leader before him.

"Still the same hot temper as always, Old Man."

Dragon looked speechless,

as he was the Revolutionary Army Leader; how could he possibly run off to a pirate crew and become someone else's son?

His old man had always been like this—extremely tolerant and magnanimous toward outsiders, yet whenever he taught his own kin, he always struck a pose of fighting to the death; that he had survived until now to become the Revolutionary Army Leader was entirely due to his own stubborn resilience.

"Did I hear that right?"

"Did the Revolutionary Army Leader just call him... 'Old Man'?"

Whether it was the Navy, the slaves, or even the ranks of the Revolutionary Army, a wave of uproar erupted, and everyone looked at the two of them in disbelief.

Even Sengoku, who had turned the Image Den Den Mushi to this location after capturing the figure of the Revolutionary Army Leader, felt his mouth twitch.

If he hadn't wanted to see Dragon captured by the Navy with his own eyes, he would have wanted to cut the live broadcast of the Den Den Mushi himself.

"Damn you, Garp, you're really acting recklessly!"

Sengoku clutched his head, feeling a severe headache.

The son of Marine Hero Garp was actually the Leader of the Revolutionary Army; having such a thing exposed in full view of everyone would cause immense damage to the Navy's reputation.

"Breaking news: Revolutionary Army Leader Dragon is actually the biological son of the Marine Hero!"

The albatrosses began to fly about in a frenzy.

Hanging from their necks were the images of the family reunion broadcast from the Den Den Mushi, soon to be delivered to newspaper offices for the front-page headline of the next issue.

In the Pirate World, not every region could use Den Den Mushi.

Economically developed towns had giant Den Den Mushi for live projections, and Nobles had private Den Den Mushi, but in some economically underdeveloped regions, newspapers remained the primary tool for extracting information.

Garp turned uncharacteristically serious and said in a deep voice: "You did not grow up to be the Marine who protects civilians as I had hoped; you cannot blame anyone for taking the wrong path!"

"Wrong, you say?"

Although this was his father, when it came to disputes of spirit and belief, Dragon did not yield an inch: "Can right and wrong only be defined by the World Government and the Navy?"

During the time he was still in the Navy, he too had once firmly and unwaveringly believed in justice.

However, when one bloody incident after another was exposed before his eyes, it forced him to choose to leave the Navy.

He had traveled through many places and many countries; it was only after the Ohara incident broke out that he finally made up his mind to form an army of combat, determined to embark on a path that even the Four Emperors dared not tread—he wanted to change this world where right and wrong could only be defined by the World Government.

Garp nodded and said: "Without the countless Marines who have followed in each other's footsteps for justice, this sea would be ravaged beyond recognition by pirates and madmen; this is the justice I uphold."

He had joined the Navy since he was young, upholding the justice in his heart all along the way, constantly capturing those heinous pirates and protecting the safety of the people.

Maintaining order in the Si Hai.

To him, the most important result was that civilians could live in peace.

Dragon raised his head, looking at his father with burning eyes, and asked: "So, you just watch as the Celestial Dragons harm civilians and remain indifferent? Is this your justice?"

"The Celestial Dragons are trash."

Garp said without reservation: "But if there were no World Government, can you imagine what this sea, having lost the restraint of rules, would become?"

Even with the deterrence of the Marine Admirals and the reinforcements from various Marine branches.

There were still countless pirates burning, killing, and looting; there were ambitious people like Crocodile who stole countries, and there were the Four Emperors of the New World.

If one day the Marine Headquarters lost the ability to control the sea, a world without the restraint of rules would fall into a living hell.

"Damn it, has Garp gone mad!"

Sengoku stomped his feet in anger,

this was a video broadcast from a Den Den Mushi; how could he dare to call the Celestial Dragons trash in front of the whole world? Had Garp's brain been ruined by eating too many donuts?

It was too late to cut the broadcast; Garp had spoken too quickly, without even a preamble.

He could only pray that Garp would be able to capture Dragon later to atone for his crimes; with the eyes of the whole world's populace upon them, surely such a merit would not be punished by the Five Elders.

"That really is bold."

Smoker, in his weakened state, had not expected that Marine Hero Garp would actually dare to say such things.

Even he, who was usually arrogant and unrestrained, would not dare to wag his tongue recklessly regarding the Celestial Dragons.

"For a house whose pillars have already rotted, the way to keep it from collapsing is to tear it down and build a new one, not to keep stitching and patching it up; doing that will only cause the people living inside to die as if they were imprisoned."

Dragon stared calmly at his father, the man who had forced the Pirate King into a corner several times.

If it were anyone else, he would never believe their hypocritical rhetoric.

Most people's compromises stemmed from fear of the Five Elders, fear of the Navy, or an obsession with their own power; they just wanted to whitewash their own justice, so they used these words as a fig leaf.

But Dragon knew very well that his father was not that kind of person.

He was a Marine who truly worked hard to protect civilians and had dedicated his whole life to the justice within his heart.

But how many such Marines could there be?

"Nonsense! As your old man, I must beat some sense into you!"

Garp swung his fists in anger,

he was no fool; his son saying such malicious remarks in public would only exacerbate the danger to the Revolutionary Army, and his situation would be even more difficult in the future.

The anger stemmed from an old father's affection for his son.

The two grappled together.

What was jaw-dropping was that neither side released any game-like skills; they were purely relying on their physical prowess to confront each other, as if they wanted to force the other to submit from the heart.

"Old Man, your fists are too soft; it seems the corruption of the Navy is so severe that it has made your justice grow old?"

"You brat, it's your fists that are too green."

Everyone had strange expressions; the situation before them was inexplicably filled with Weirdness, causing neither side to step forward to help.

It was not until Garp was grabbed by the neck by the five fingers of the Leader and flung away, crashing into the street wall, that the battle between the two finally came to a halt.

"Old man, you've grown old."

Clearly, the Leader of the Revolutionary Army held the advantage in this battle.

The members of the Revolutionary Army let out a cheer.

Garp coughed as he climbed up from the ground, nonchalantly brushed the dust off his body, and said, "My Iron Fist of love for my son and grandson will not become dull because of age. Since you remain obsessed and refuse to repent, I will let you see the ability I have newly comprehended."

(End of this chapter)