"Wedding?! No, no, no! Chief, we're not like that!"
Hearing this, Kuma's overly honest face turned beet red, but the words that spilled out of his mouth were completely at odds with his expression.
Meanwhile, Ginny who's perched on his shoulder, momentarily darkened—but as if accustomed to it—quickly laughed it off and said to Michael.
"Ahahaha, Michael, I've tried a few times before, but Kuma just doesn't take the bait!"
"Getting married isn't really a must, you know!"
Michael clicked his tongue, watching these two who were clearly in denial.
A faint irritation stirred in his heart.
If it were the him before knowing what fate awaits them, he wouldn't care whether these two lived or died!
But since he had resolved to change the fate of the entire world, to bring a better ending to the whole sea...
Then why not start with the people right in front of him?
"...Kuma, do you really not love Ginny?"
Michael stood before Kuma, looking up with understanding in his eyes.
"Or is it precisely because you love her that you have to reject Ginny?"
Michael's words seemed to pierce through the secret Kuma had been hiding deep in his heart.
He glanced at Ginny on his shoulder, her eyes filled with hope.
Then he looked at Michael before him, whose expression was more serious than ever before.
In the end, Kuma sighed.
"I think... I'm not worthy of Ginny."
"But I'll stay by Ginny's side forever, until the day she no longer needs me."
Michael rolled his eyes—clearly, it was just his inferiority complex at work.
"Are you sure you're not worthy?"
"What if one day in the future, Ginny is captured by the God's Knights of the Celestial Dragons on the battlefield and forced to become a Celestial Dragon's wife..."
"Even then, would you remain indifferent?"
"Kuma, I don't recall there being such a coward in our Revolutionary Army."
Both Kuma and Ginny shuddered at Michael's words.
Not out of anger, but shock.
Shocked that Michael's hypothetical scenario... inexplicably made them feel a deep sense of dread.
Especially Ginny, whose heart suddenly burned with fury.
At this moment, she desperately wanted to vent.
Kuma's expression also shifted repeatedly.
Just imagining the scene Michael described made his hands clench involuntarily.
This was... completely unacceptable!
His only wish was for the people he loved to live happily in this world forever.
Not just Ginny, but Ivankov and Dragon too... And now, perhaps even Michael.
But if his cowardice led Ginny to such a fate...
He would never allow it!
The three of them stood in silence.
After a long pause, Kuma suddenly blurted out a word.
"Five years? What about five years?"
"Within five years, we will liberate all four seas!" Kuma declared firmly, then looked at Ginny on his shoulder.
"On the day the four seas are liberated... I will propose to you."
Hearing Kuma's resolute tone, Michael raised an eyebrow.
At least he's acting like a man.
It seemed even Kuma couldn't accept the tragic fate of having his beloved taken by the Celestial Dragons.
Ginny's face was tinted by the red hues of the setting sun.
The usually bold and carefree girl remained silent, only nodding.
Her eyes brimmed with joy.
"What did you say to them this time?"
On the Revolutionary Army's ship, Dragon leaned against the mast, coldly eyeing Michael as he returned.
"Come on Dragon, must you always look at people like that?" Michael shrugged.
"Nothing much, just gave them a little extra motivation."
Michael said with a smile.
"You two really have too much free time!"
Ivankov huge face darkened as he approached with a list in his hand.
"The food supplies have been procured. These should last the current Revolutionary Army for at least a year and a half to two years."
"But we definitely need to keep expanding our numbers, so these... actually aren't too much."
"Fortunately, I've inquired about it—the food reserves in the East Blue are terrifyingly abundant. I just didn't buy too much because I was afraid of drawing the attention of the local Marines."
Michael and Dragon both nodded in agreement.
Ivankov might seem like the most eccentric one, but in reality, being called "Big Bro" by Kuma and Ginny wasn't just because of his age.
"So, our best option is to make liberating the East Blue our next goal," Ivankov declared.
"That way, we'll secure the most stable food-producing region."
Michael rejected Ivankov's proposal without hesitation.
Dragon also nodded, agreeing with Michael.
"Hey, at least think about it before shooting me down!"
"There's nothing to think about!" Michael said with a grin.
"When you were buying food this time, did you happen to visit a place called Foosha Village?"
"Hmm, yes. Foosha Village has the second-highest yield among the nearby villages, only behind Shimotsuki Village and its other resources are even more plentiful" Ivankov replied after a brief thought.
"Do you know whose hometown Foosha Village is?"
As Michael spoke, he shot Dragon a mischievous glance.
Dragon's face remained as calm as still water, but his upper body suddenly tensed.
"Whose hometown?" Ivankov was puzzled by the reactions of Michael and Dragon.
"Is there some big shot in the East Blue?"
"Foosha Village... is the hometown of the Marine Hero, Garp."
The moment Michael finished speaking, Ivankov's hand jerked violently.
The Marine Hero, Garp!?
The same Garp who defeated Rocks at God Valley?
The same Garp who teamed up with Roger to fight Rocks, inadvertently creating an escape route for them?
If you really think about it, Garp and Roger were practically their benefactors.
"Alright, let's drop this irrelevant topic for now."
"Notify everyone—prepare to move out!"
"We're returning to Baltigo!"
At Dragon's command, Ivankov stopped bantering with Michael and nodded before leaving.
Michael leaned against the railing, watching the sails billow overhead.
Long after the ship had set sail, Dragon finally shifted his stance.
He straightened up, then he asked softly to Michael.
"How's... the old man doing lately?"
"Garp? Eating well, drinking well, spending his days at home playing with his grandson! I've never seen anyone in the Marines lazier than him!"
Michael rolled his eyes.
Even Sengoku couldn't do anything about Garp's blatant slacking—it was just too obvious.
After all, that old man truly didn't care about appearances.
"Is that so... Good." Perhaps it was the timing, but even the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon, couldn't help but feel nostalgic.
"With a son like me, he must have his hands full, huh?"
But Michael cut off his self-reflection without hesitation.
"Obviously! No one with the name 'Monkey' has ever been easy to deal with!"
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