The wheel battle had given Kuzan some time to rest, and with no one dragging him down, his condition was far better than Garp’s. Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth and his face, Kuzan walked toward Koby.
“Make way, make way! Kuzan’s coming, don’t block the path of our great contributor!”
Although Kuzan had joined them earlier, he hadn’t shown much. Even though he had done quite a bit at Egghead, ordinary pirates had no idea what had actually happened.
Now it was different. Right before all the core members, Kuzan had defeated Garp as the absolute main force.
The identity of “Marine Hero” carried enough intimidation among pirates, and it elevated Kuzan’s status to a whole new level.
“Kuzan! Kuzan!”
The pirates shouted his name. At this moment, they had completely acknowledged him. Yet for Kuzan, this kind of cheering instead carried a certain pressure.
“Admiral Kuzan… why? Why did you go this far?”
“Koby, you’re too naïve and too young. You don’t understand me, and I don’t need your understanding. This is the new choice I made after stepping out of that ring. Ice Time Capsule.”
With a wave of his hand, a cold wind swept over Koby’s body, freezing him into an ice sculpture as well.
Kuzan didn’t want to argue with him. Back then, he had taken the initiative to seek out Garp, and Garp had indeed taught him quite a lot.
Even though Kuzan had made his decision, his current mood was far from good.
“It won’t hurt. This will be better for you. That way, if you resist… nothing wrong will happen.”
That line wasn’t meant for Koby, but rather as an explanation for the other SWORD members present. Among them were juniors he was familiar with, but now they stood on opposing sides.
Kuzan then extended his ability further, freezing all the Marines present into ice sculptures.
“Be careful! Carry them back intact! Don’t shatter them!”
Kuzan now possessed a certain level of authority. Facing his orders, the pirates did not object and obediently lifted the ice sculptures toward the pirate ships.
To avoid injuring them, they even dug out large chunks of the ground and transported them together.
Thus, the Socializing Island incident came to an end. Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral, Hero Garp, had fallen within Beasts Pirates territory. However, due to Kuzan’s intervention, Koby did not awaken some inexplicable punch, and everything seemed to remain on track.
It was just that the original social gathering had been ruined almost entirely.
“So noisy… my head hurts… what’s going on here…”
Dobon sat up groggily. Looking at the needle still stuck in his arm, he felt as though part of his memory was missing.
“I remember I came to attend the social gathering, then Garp showed up… Where’s Who’s-Who?”
“I’m right here. What’s wrong?”
“You set me up! You never said this plan involved me taking a punch from Garp! Wait, where’s Garp? What about the Kuja people? Don’t tell me the social gathering just ended like that?”
“I thought you’d grasp my meaning. Anyways, you’ve got a lot of questions. Garp’s already been dealt with. He’s currently being escorted back to Onigashima.”
Garp wasn’t like Koby, someone who could just be left lying around. At this moment, under Kuzan’s personal escort, Garp was already on his way back to Wano Country. The pirates who had surrounded the area were gradually dispersing as well.
They still had unfinished business. Now that the emergency was over, they naturally went back to their own affairs.
The various officers boarded ships one after another and returned to Onigashima, with only a few remaining behind.
“So… I already missed the social gathering?!”
“Not exactly. Fourtricks definitely missed it. As for you, kid, you’re actually not bad.”
The environment of Kuja was very unique, yet the people living here don’t seem to care much about it.
The island had become a wreck due to the earlier battle, but during that fight, some individuals had performed quite well. These people had successfully drawn the attention of the Kuja members.
“You mean—”
“At least you’ve got a bit of a chance. Look over there.”
Who’s-Who pointed toward Holed’em’s direction. He was currently chatting with a Kuja pirate, and it seemed like there was some progress. At the same time, Dobon also saw a tall woman waving at Who’s-Who.
As the one who had stabbed Garp, Who’s-Who had drawn quite a bit of attention. He still had some sense of honor and had deliberately waited here for Dobon to wake up.
“Alright, from here on out, you’re on your own. Oh, and just so you know, you’ve got plenty of competitors, and not just men.”
Patting Dobon on the shoulder, Who’s-Who walked toward Aphelandra under Dobon’s grimacing gaze.
Perhaps his mind was still a bit foggy; Dobon took a while before finally understanding what Who’s-Who meant.
Some officers who had originally shown no interest were now chatting with the newly joined Kuja members. He even saw Marguerite standing close beside Isuka.
As a nation without men, Kuja gave the greatest advantage to women who fought bravely.
Whether it was Aphelandra or Marguerite, both made Dobon keenly aware of Kuja’s quality. Just as he was wondering why no one was standing beside him, a woman’s voice finally sounded by his ear.
“You’ve got quite some courage, actually taking the initiative to draw that Garp’s attention. Want to take a walk with me?”
A very burly woman stepped up beside him. With two braids like chili peppers and thick lips, one of Kuja’s guardian warriors, Sweet Pea, came before Dobon.
Dobon glanced at Marguerite in the distance, then at Sweet Pea’s waist, which was even thicker than his own. He suddenly fell into deep thought.
His previous requirement had only been female, and alive. But now that the moment had arrived, he realized his standards might not be that simple.
Nothing raises expectations like comparison. Looking at his other companions, Dobon felt that after doing so much, he deserved a better partner.
With his suddenly elevated standards, he forgot his actual circumstances.
“I don’t think we’re a good match.”
One minute later, Dobon was back to being alone again, and he had no idea what kind of chain reaction that sentence might trigger.
At that moment, Zeraora also returned to the island, while Setsuna went back onto Zunesha’s back, communicating with it.
Seeing Queen sitting by the shore in contemplation, Zeraora looked slightly puzzled.
“What are you doing here?”
“Finished over there?”
“Yeah. I tailed him for a while longer. That guy really did withdraw. Not all those Marines are incapable of judging the situation.”
“You know Lord Arceus well. How about doing me a favor?”
As he spoke, Queen flicked his wrist, and a sheet of paper appeared before Zeraora.
“What’s this?”
“The expenditure and collateral economic losses from this emergency operation. I did the math. If that Garp works hard enough, ten years of mining would cover the losses from this operation.”
The string of numbers made Zeraora feel dizzy. After handing it back to Queen, he rubbed his eyes.
“What are you trying to say?”
“Do you think Lord Arceus will settle old scores with me over my slightly excessive mobilization? I can’t quite figure out whether this Garp was worth that much…”
Hawkins’ words were like a thorn in Queen’s heart. Through his earlier self-reflection, Queen realized he might not be entirely free of responsibility.
“Lord Arceus won’t. But I think Yamato will. She usually doesn’t hold grudges, but you’re an exception. If you hand her an excuse, that’s never a good thing.”
“….”
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