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Dragon left Shin's territory after being shut down, but the news of his visit spread like wildfire.
Upon receiving this information, both the Five Elders and Sengoku were deeply concerned. To them, Dragon was a far greater threat than any pirate, as his ultimate goal was to overthrow the World Government.
The world's most dangerous criminal, Dragon, had made contact with the equally notorious pirate, Shin Uzumaki. What would come of this meeting?
The Five Elders convened another emergency meeting, and this time, they summoned Sengoku, the three Admirals, and Garp to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.
It was normal for Sengoku and the three Admirals to be called, but Garp, despite being a Marine Hero, was only a Vice Admiral. Nevertheless, the Five Elders had specifically requested his presence.
The reason was simple—Garp was Dragon's father.
Garp lowered his head, a hint of shame on his face. He was a celebrated Marine Hero, yet his son was a revolutionary. And it wasn't just his son; his grandson, Luffy, was constantly shouting about becoming the Pirate King.
Garp had disciplined the boy several times, but with Luffy's personality, changing his mind was a near-impossible task.
"You should all be aware of why we have summoned you here," Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro said calmly.
"Dragon has made contact with Shin Uzumaki. Although we don't know what they discussed, it is undoubtedly not good news for us."
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn slammed the table, making the atmosphere serious.
"Garp, I believe you owe us an explanation." Saint Marcus Mars looked at Garp calmly.
"Garp's contribution to the Marines has been immense, a fact I'm sure the Five Elders are well aware of. His loyalty is beyond question."
Hearing the Five Elders target Garp, Sengoku immediately stood up to defend his friend.
"It was my failure as a father," Garp sighed, offering no other defense.
If the Five Elders wanted to punish him, he didn't care. He wasn't particularly fond of them anyway. His loyalty was to the Marines.
"In that case, we will give you a mission, Garp. Capture Dragon. I believe the Marine Hero Garp can do it," Saint Shepherd Ju Peter said, looking at Garp.
Garp's brow furrowed. Although he was furious with Dragon's actions, he could never bring himself to capture his own son.
Garp chose to remain silent.
At this moment, Sengoku couldn't defend him, and the three Admirals had no right to speak. In this room, their authority was minimal. Despite being only a Vice Admiral, Garp's words carried more weight than all three Admirals combined.
After Garp's tense silence, the Five Elders found themselves in a tight spot. Could they really punish him? His reputation in the Marines was legendary—he was a hero revered by every Marine.
"Garp, your contributions over the years have indeed been great. We do not wish to make things difficult for you—"
Saint Topman Warcury intervened, de-escalating the situation. "—How about this: you investigate what Dragon and Shin Uzumaki discussed. Find out what kind of deal they made."
This was what the Five Elders truly wanted to know.
"Alright, I'll do my best to investigate."
This time, Garp didn't refuse. He couldn't bring himself to capture his own son, but an investigation? That he could handle. Besides, there was no deadline. Even if he came up empty-handed, he doubted they'd do anything about it.
"Very well. You may leave. From now on, pay close attention to Shin Uzumaki's movements." The Five Elders could only helplessly dismiss them. They didn't truly suspect Garp; his loyalty to the Marines was unquestionable.
After Sengoku and the others left—the Five Elders discussed again—this time among themselves.
"What do you think Dragon's purpose was in finding Shin Uzumaki?" Saint Jaygarcia Saturn asked the others.
"He definitely wanted to cooperate with Shin Uzumaki," Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro said with certainty.
There was no other possibility. Dragon must have seen Shin's immense power and wanted to cooperate with him.
"The key is, we don't know if they reached an agreement."
If they had, the fallout would be catastrophic. A partnership between Shin and Dragon would make the Kaido-Big Mom alliance look like child's play.
Of course, Big Mom was out of the picture now. If Kaido wanted to team up with her again, he'd have to look for her in the afterlife.
"It's time to reach out to our undercover agent, Kalifa. She should have earned Shin Uzumaki's trust by now."
After some discussion, they found that contacting the undercover agent was the only option.
The key was to know whether Shin Uzumaki had reached a cooperation agreement with Dragon. As long as they could confirm that, it wouldn't matter if Kalifa's cover was blown in the process.
The Five Elders prepared to contact Kalifa, confident in their secret methods of communication. They had no idea that she was now completely loyal to Shin.
The matter of Dragon meeting Shin had become almost known to everyone.
Shin had just come out of the System Space when he received this news.
His expression turned cold. The news couldn't have come from his side, which meant it could only have been spread by Dragon.
"Is he trying to use my name as leverage?" Shin roughly guessed Dragon's purpose.
Even though it was just news of a meeting, anyone who heard about it would jump to conclusions. With the implied support of a Yonko, Dragon would have a much easier time convincing kingdoms to abandon the World Government.
"Shin, let's go deal with that Dragon!" Hancock said very angrily.
"Captain, the Five Elders contacted me and asked me about Dragon and you," Kalifa said to Shin.
"The Five Elders contacted you? Have you replied to them yet?" Shin asked Kalifa.
"Not yet, I'm waiting for your instructions, Captain." Kalifa shook her head.
Before speaking with Shin, she never would have replied to the Five Elders so casually. She needed to see how Shin planned to handle it first.
"You can tell the Five Elders that I have reached a cooperation agreement with Dragon," Shin said with a faint smile to Kalifa. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet
Kalifa glanced at Shin in confusion. Judging by the vice-captain's angry reaction, there clearly hadn't been any such agreement. Still, Kalifa simply nodded in compliance.
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