Chapter 178 - 178: Garp’s Situation
*Crunch, crunch...*
At Marine Headquarters, inside the Fleet Admiral's office, Garp and Vice Admiral Tsuru had just returned from reporting to Sengoku.
"Are you absolutely sure? No one in the Dream Exploration Team was lying?" Sengoku asked again.
"Sengoku, with my eyesight and Garp's, we wouldn't have made a mistake. They treated us to plenty of sake, but... well, let's just say my drinking capacity is something you two old men could never match," Vice Admiral Tsuru said calmly.
*Crunch!*
Just as she finished speaking, Garp bit into a rice cracker—only to accidentally chomp down on his own finger!
Even Fleet Admiral Sengoku looked a little awkward at that moment.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
"*Ahem...*"
"Well, as long as that's confirmed. No, I should say, as long as the Dream Exploration Team isn't responsible, that's good.
Now that they're ruled out, I can relax. Otherwise, I wouldn't even know how to deal with them.
But this also means finding the real culprit is going to be a lot harder.
We've already confirmed Ace's whereabouts—on the day of the incident, he never left the Whitebeard Pirates' territory," Sengoku said while rubbing his temples.
This was giving him a headache. For the past two days, the World Government had been pressuring him to find the culprit as soon as possible, even though this wasn't really Marine business.
With no survivors left on Enies Lobby, the World Government had no way to investigate, so they pushed the burden onto the Marines.
They wanted the Marines to solve the case quickly.
"It seems like Sakazuki might be right—it's very likely the explosion was caused by dynamite rock. If I remember correctly, only the Marines and the World Government have access to that material," Vice Admiral Tsuru said meaningfully.
"Tsuru, are you saying the Enies Lobby incident was caused by internal conflict?" Sengoku caught on immediately.
"That's exactly what I think," Vice Admiral Tsuru nodded.
Garp stayed quiet on the side. With the Dream Exploration Team cleared of suspicion and Ace uninvolved, he was in a pretty good mood.
After hearing Tsuru's analysis, Sengoku fell into deep thought. If this was really an internal power struggle, then things were far more complicated than they seemed.
"Oh, right—Kuzan contacted me today. He said the World Government's Welfare Institution is now under the management of the Dream Exploration Team!" Sengoku suddenly recalled and mentioned it.
"What?"
"They took over the Welfare Institution?!" Vice Admiral Tsuru was completely stunned.
Even Garp widened his eyes in surprise.
That institution was practically useless—a department that only existed to let certain World Government officials collect salaries without doing any real work.
Only a few wealthy member nations had actual welfare programs, and even then, the funding came from those countries themselves. The World Government's so-called 'funding' mostly went into the pockets of its officials.
"Why would they want control over the Welfare Institution? No—how did they even get it?"
"This doesn't make any sense!" Vice Admiral Tsuru's head was buzzing.
Her and Garp's shocked reaction came from the fact that the institution had an extremely powerful backer.
So powerful that aside from the Five Elders, no one in the World Government dared to interfere with it.
"I don't know exactly how they did it, and Kuzan isn't sure either. But one thing's for sure—they've taken over its management," Sengoku said in a serious tone.
Vice Admiral Tsuru glanced at Garp, who was still in shock, and thought to herself, *Just what kind of people has Garp gotten himself involved with...?*
"What's their goal?" Tsuru asked.
"That's the part that actually makes me respect these kids.
They plan to put all the money they earn from selling maps into the Welfare Institution..."
Sengoku then explained the details of the Dream Exploration Team's partnership with Aokiji.
Vice Admiral Tsuru couldn't help but sigh after hearing that. They wanted to raise their status on the seas too, but their awareness was truly on another level.
"Wa-hahaha!"
"Not bad! As expected from someone I value. Very good!"
"Wa-hahaha!" Garp burst into laughter when he heard about Ryuen and his crew's actions, feeling incredibly pleased.
"In that case, Garp, you'll be responsible for handling matters in East Blue. Make sure all the supplies are fully stocked!" Sengoku said, clearly annoyed.
"Don't worry, Sengoku! I'll take care of it. I'm leaving right now!" Garp, still in a great mood, stood up, swung his Justice cape over his shoulder, and walked out of the Fleet Admiral's office.
After Garp left, Vice Admiral Tsuru looked a little surprised. "Sengoku, sending Garp back to East Blue... Are you giving him a long vacation?"
"*Sigh...*"
"I'm not giving him a break. It's just that Garp is the only one who can handle this in East Blue. Plus, once the newspapers report on it, his status will be solidified again.
Because of Dragon, Garp's situation hasn't been great lately," Sengoku sighed.
Hearing that, Vice Admiral Tsuru quickly understood.
For most people, the fact that Garp is Dragon's father might be a secret, but for the higher-ups in the World Government, it's no secret at all.
Dragon is now the leader of the Revolutionary Army—the world's most dangerous criminal. As his father, there's no way Garp wouldn't be affected.
The only reason Garp is still fine is because of his contributions in the battle at God Valley and the situation with Roger's crew.
Otherwise, just the fact that he's Dragon's father would have made it impossible for him to hold such a high position in the Marines.
"Brannew, have you spoken to Morgans?" Sengoku looked at his adjutant.
"Uh..."
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I was just about to report this to you. Morgans said that all publicity regarding the orphanage must go through Captain Ryuen." Brannew reported honestly.
"What?"
"Since when did that guy Morgans start following rules so strictly?" Sengoku looked at Brannew in surprise.
Even Vice Admiral Tsuru had the same expression as Sengoku.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I'm not sure if I'm imagining things, but Morgans seems to care a lot about Captain Ryuen's opinion," Brannew said after thinking for a moment.
"Now that's interesting. In any case, talk to that kid Ryuen properly.
Make sure the Marines get full credit—especially Garp. The publicity has to be done right," Sengoku said seriously.
"Understood!"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku!" Brannew saluted before immediately going to contact Morgans.
"Sengoku, I feel like this Dream Exploration Team is becoming more and more unusual. Just yesterday, three more Marine officers defected to them, right?" Vice Admiral Tsuru said with a serious expression.
"Not three—five. And before coming to Marine Headquarters, all of them passed through Water 7 or its nearby waters," Sengoku said in a deep voice.
For a moment, both Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru fell silent.
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