A Surprising Call and Kaido's Threat
Everyone exchanged glances, already guessing who Carl was calling. But was it really appropriate to make such a call for this matter?
"Hello, Vice Admiral Garp. What's the meaning of these Marine bounties?" Carl asked loudly.
"Grandpa? Teacher Carl, are you calling my grandpa?"
Luffy tilted his head in confusion—he was probably the only one who hadn't immediately understood.
Garp's booming voice immediately echoed through the Den Den Mushi: "Hahaha! You little brat Carl, are you talking about the bounties? That's right—the Marines are trying to create conflict between you and the Four Emperors. When you clash with the Emperors, we Marines will just sit back and reap the benefits like fishermen!"
Everyone was speechless...
The old man was far too candid. Was it really okay to brazenly reveal the Marines' plan like this?
Or was it... intentional?
Was he deliberately informing his grandson?
Luffy immediately shouted: "Grandpa! You Marines are so underhanded!"
Garp roared back: "Luffy, you little brat, how dare you become a pirate! Just wait until I pummel you with my Fist of Love!"
"Hmph! I'm not afraid! I'm going to find the One Piece, and you can't stop me! If you dare come after us, Carl and I will defeat you! Not just you—whether it's the Four Emperors or Marine Admirals, we'll defeat anyone who stands in our way!"
"Luffy, you impudent brat! You're too cocky! The sea is far vaster than you imagine!"
"Because the sea is so vast, I want to find the One Piece!"
"What do you know, you little punk! Just wait—when I catch you, I'll beat you until you can't stand up!"
The grandfather and grandson shouted at each other without restraint.
Everyone felt an unexpected sense of amusement, their faces lighting up with excitement.
A Marine hero grandfather and a pirate grandson with a bounty of 100 million Berries—how could anyone not find this situation entertaining?
Carl interrupted Luffy and said into the Den Den Mushi: "Vice Admiral Garp, that's not what I meant. I'm talking about the bounties you put on our Chopper and Bepo. Fifty Berries for Chopper and five hundred for Bepo? Thanks for nothing!
In Alabasta, Chopper worked with Jango to defeat the Baroque Works officer agents Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas, with Chopper being the primary combatant. He deserves at least a 30 million Berries bounty.
As for Bepo, he, Shachi, and Penguin defeated hundreds of Baroque Works agents single-handedly.
Yet you gave Bepo a bounty of 500 Berries.
Have you considered Bepo's feelings? Also, Shachi and Penguin's bounties are too low as well. Hurry up and increase them!"
Everyone was dumbfounded...
This was unprecedented—a pirate questioning a Marine hero because his crew's bounties were too low, demanding they be increased.
And the phrase "Have you considered Bepo's feelings?" left them all speechless. Since when did the Marines care about pirates' feelings? The Marines had an impossible job!
"You little brat! Since when do pirates ask Marines to increase their bounties?!" Garp couldn't help but roar.
"Why not? You're doing it now, aren't you?"
Carl shot back, "Anyway, hurry up and tell Sengoku to change the bounties, or I'll inform News Coo Morgan that Marine Hero Garp is Luffy's grandfather, and that you taught Luffy how to become a pirate!"
Garp was stunned.
It was the first time in his long life he'd been threatened like this.
Everyone was speechless, except for Luffy, who was laughing hysterically.
Chopper, Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin were all deeply moved. They hadn't expected Carl to confront a Marine hero on their behalf.
"Fine, fine. You've made your point. I'll tell Sengoku, but it's up to him whether to change them or not." Garp suddenly sounded resigned.
But at that moment, he added: "Listen, you brats—Luffy included—we received intelligence that Kaido flew out of his base camp in a drunken rage. Rumor has it he's looking to make an example of some rookie pirate crew that was featured prominently in a certain newspaper. Watch yourselves. That's all."
Click. The Den Den Mushi went silent.
Except for the two most oblivious members, Luffy and Chopper, everyone else was stunned.
The crew looked at Carl with questioning eyes.
Had Carl really contacted Garp just because of Chopper's bounty? If Garp hadn't mentioned that final warning, they might have believed it. Now they understood that Carl's motives weren't so simple.
This was an opportunity to gather intelligence about the Four Emperors!
The newspaper's provocations had been too obvious, and while the Four Emperors weren't fools to be manipulated by the Marines, they might still have taken action. Currently, the Straw Hats had no way to gather information about the Emperors' movements, so approaching Garp was their best option.
Fortunately, Garp cared about his grandson enough to "casually" warn them in advance.
And the warning was dire: Kaido was coming!
Immediately, Usopp and Nami panicked.
The Four Emperors were so infamous that many people trembled at the mere mention of their names. Usopp and Nami's reactions were perfectly normal.
Though the Straw Hats had demonstrated the strength to defeat a Marine Admiral, facing one of the Four Emperors—that felt far more terrifying than confronting any Admiral.
"Straw Hat! Emperor Kaido is coming—what are we going to do?" Law also looked serious.
"Huh? An Emperor is coming?"
Luffy was taken aback momentarily, then adjusted his straw hat with a grin. "Shishishi, if an Emperor is coming, we'll just have to beat him!"
"Straw Hat! This is no time for jokes! Emperor Kaido, known as the strongest creature on the seas, is completely different from Marine Admirals in terms of power. He's supposedly unkillable—immune to death itself!"
Law's tone grew increasingly anxious.
Though he had never encountered Kaido personally, he knew well the Emperor's fearsome reputation.
The man had survived falls from heights of 10,000 meters. He had been captured by the Marines countless times yet always survived. Being a Devil Fruit user who fell into the sea was normally a death sentence—but not for Kaido. How could they possibly defeat such a monster?!
Luffy kept grinning: "It's fine, I'll beat him! Besides, Carl is here too. At worst, we'll take him on together!"
Carl shrugged nonchalantly, suggesting it didn't matter—sooner or later, they would have to face Kaido anyway, so they might as well test their strength now.
As for fear? He showed none whatsoever.
Law had no choice but to turn to Carl: "Be reasonable, Carl. You're not as reckless as Straw Hat, are you? Tell me, how do you plan to defeat Kaido? How will you kill that monster? Kaido has fallen into the Marines' hands multiple times, yet neither Sengoku nor Garp could kill him. What makes you think you can stand against him?"
"Well, I guess that means Sengoku 'The Buddha' isn't as clever as his epithet suggests!"
Carl smiled and said, "Law, you're too anxious. While Kaido is formidable, killing him isn't impossible. Let me have that dog Devil Fruit you got. It would be wasted otherwise."
Law's eyes widened in realization: "You mean... feed a Devil Fruit to..."
Everyone suddenly understood.
According to common knowledge, a person couldn't consume two Devil Fruits simultaneously without exploding and dying.
Therefore, Sengoku "The Buddha" truly wasn't so brilliant after all. He had captured Kaido numerous times and never once thought to force-feed him another Devil Fruit.
Some "Buddha"—more like a complete fool!
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