Half a month passed in a flash.
Inside Colonel Rod's office at Marine 155th branch in the East Blue,
Chiga sat on the sofa, quietly reading a newspaper. Rod, meanwhile, stayed in his seat, staring at a Den Den Mushi on his desk, looking somewhat anxious.
Today was the day Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Garp was scheduled to arrive at the branch.
Rod held immense respect for this legendary Vice Admiral. After all, "forcing the Pirate King Roger into a corner" was an incredibly impressive feat, and Garp's strength was undeniably formidable.
However, Rod wasn't very familiar with Garp's personality and feared doing something wrong that might displease the coming great deity.
Chiga looked up and saw Rod's constipated expression, finding it a bit amusing. From the moment Rod called him into the office that morning until now, Rod had maintained this posture and expression, afraid of missing the Den Den Mushi's call.
"You don't have to be so nervous. I know a bit about Vice Admiral Garp; he's quite amiable. Just act as you normally would."
Chiga closed his newspaper and said to Rod.
Rod's face immediately darkened. Good heavens, so this newcomer knew more about Marine officers than he, who had been a Marine for decades?
However, he dared not show any dissatisfaction, as the person before him was also someone he couldn't afford to offend.
Seeing no reaction from Rod, Chiga stood up, losing interest, and prepared to go out for some fresh air. Suddenly,
"Purupurupuru, purupurupuru."
The Den Den Mushi, silent all morning, finally stirred. Rod immediately resembled a camel that had finally found water in the desert, grabbing the Den Den Mushi and excitedly shouting into it,
"Moshi moshi! This is Marine 155 Branch, Colonel Rod!"
"Mm, this is HQ Warship 3. We are about to land at your unit. Please come out to greet us."
Rod saluted, stood up, called Chiga, and rushed furiously towards the warship's landing point. Chigara quietly followed.
Upon reaching the landing point, rows of branch Marines were already standing in neat formation, eagerly looking towards the warship's hatch.
Under everyone's gaze, several rows of Headquarters Marines emerged first, quickly forming ranks. Then, a burly figure wearing a dog mask appeared at the hatch.
The one wearing the dog mask was naturally Garp. He glanced at the formation below, then walked casually down the ship, disregarding the surrounding stares, and shouted,
"Where's Colonel Rod here?"
"Here! Vice Admiral Garp, I'm here!"
Rod scurried over to Garp. Garp sized up Rod, nodded, and then asked,
"Mm, is Uchiha Chiga here? I was delayed for a while back home, so I won't stay long this time. Let's take him and head straight back to Headquarters."
"I'm here." Before Rod could answer, Chiga responded from within the crowd. Garp turned to look, seeing a slender young man with a pair of strange and eerie eyes standing among the Marines, looking somewhat like a crane among chickens.
"So this is the highly talented good seed Sengoku told me about? He looks quite young." Garp thought, then waved to Chiga,
"Good, come here. We should get on the ship now, back to Marine Headquarters."
Chiga nodded in acknowledgment. The surrounding Marines automatically cleared a path for him. He walked forward and stood beside Garp.
Observing the young man up close again, especially those purple eyes, Garp sensed Uchiha Chiga's extraordinary nature.
"Interesting. I'll have to properly test this kid's strength once we get back to Headquarters." Having made up his mind, Garp greeted the branch Marines below and, taking Chiga, turned and returned to the warship.
Standing at the bow of Garp's warship, Chiga waved to the branch Marines and Rod below, thanking them for their care over the past few days.
The branch Marines below, including Rod, were somewhat moved. For such a prodigy, about to soar, to still remember ordinary people like them was extremely rare.
"Go, Chiga! I look forward to hearing your name here again!" Rod shouted somewhat excitedly. Chiga on the ship gave Rod a thumbs-up.
Seeing Chiga's actions, Garp's opinion of him rose even further. To him, the quality of getting along with others and knowing how to respect them was sometimes more valuable than strength. In the anime, Garp taking Coby as his disciple was partly due to this very quality.
Of course, Chiga wasn't particularly fond of the character Coby.
In a rather good mood, Garp waved his hand, ordering to set sail. The warship then turned its bow and sailed towards the Grand Line.
___________________________
As promised, The five bonus Chapters.