"Ran away from home?!"
"Dragon?!"
Yoriichi Tsugikuni could hardly believe his ears, such an absurd claim coming from Bogard of all people. Dragon wasn't some rebellious teenager going through a phase. He was over thirty years old! How could someone his age still be said to have "run away from home"?
But Yoriichi had also noticed that hesitation in Bogard's voice earlier, just before he swallowed the word "defection."
So, at its core, Dragon's departure was likely... desertion. They simply chose to dress it up out of respect for Garp. If they called it outright treason, the implications would be far too damaging.
One could easily imagine what a blow this would be to the Navy.
The son of Marine Hero Garp. A rising star, a prodigious Vice Admiral. If the world were to learn that someone like him had turned his back on the Navy, the damage to their reputation would be catastrophic, unprecedented.
It would be as earth-shattering as if Sengoku himself had defected to the enemy.
"What happened exactly?"
Yoriichi frowned slightly, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.
He still felt a degree of gratitude toward Dragon. If not for Dragon's "help" back then, he never would have experienced the overwhelming force of Conqueror's Haki in a conscious state. It was thanks to that brutal demonstration that Yoriichi had been able to sense and comprehend the very nature of Haoshoku Haki.
And afterward, his strength had grown by leaps and bounds.
Though Dragon's methods had been... aggressive, Yoriichi had accepted the debt.
He'd always known Dragon would leave the Navy eventually. After all, the wheel of history never stops turning. Even if he, like a butterfly flapping its wings on a remote island, tried to create ripples, it was unlikely he could alter Dragon's destiny.
So news of Dragon's departure didn't surprise him.
What intrigued him, was why.
Why would Dragon go so far as to leave the Navy?
"The details... I don't know much myself," Bogard replied.
"Actually, hardly anyone within the Navy knows the full story."
"From what little I've heard, Vice Admiral Dragon failed a mission… and after that, he simply walked away from it all."
"It's a classified matter. I only overheard Vice Admiral Garp muttering to himself once—that's the only reason I even caught wind of it."
Bogard stood at ease, arms folded over the hilt of his long blade, leaning against the doorway as he looked toward Garp at the bow of the ship.
He wasn't the gossiping type. Nor was he known for loose lips. But when it came to Yoriichi Tsugikuni, Bogard held nothing back.
After all, Yoriichi had been brought into the Navy by Garp, and by Bogard himself. Among their inner circle, trusting Yoriichi was a given.
"Mission failure?"
Yoriichi snorted.
"That's impossible. With Dragon's strength, what kind of opponent could possibly cause him to fail? Some terrifying pirate, perhaps?"
"Even then no matter how formidable the pirate, would that really be enough reason for him to leave the Navy?"
"If they ran into someone they couldn't handle, couldn't he just return to HQ, bring Garp along, and wipe the floor with them together? What pirate could survive an assault from both father and son?"
To Yoriichi, this idea of "mission failure" was laughable. He could tell just by thinking about it—it had to be something else.
Bogard opened his mouth to speak, as if about to share his own speculation about the truth, but before he could get a word out, Garp turned from the ship's bow and bellowed at them.
"Hey! Bogard! Got nothing better to do?!"
"Want me to personally find you something to do?!"
"And you, Yoriichi, if you're so curious, why not ask me directly?!"
At Garp's shout, Bogard promptly shut his mouth, offered Yoriichi a sheepish grin, then turned and headed back inside, making his way to the bridge.
Yoriichi, on the other hand, didn't hesitate. He strode directly to Garp's side and asked bluntly:
"Vice Admiral Garp, I have a decent relationship with Vice Admiral Dragon. I'd like to know—why did he leave the Navy?"
Garp froze mid-breath.
He had only meant to scare them off with sarcasm, who'd have thought this kid would actually take him up on it?
This brat… Garp cursed inwardly, eyeing Yoriichi.
But faced with Yoriichi's earnest expression, Garp ultimately chose not to hide the truth.
"Your guess is… partly right. And partly wrong."
Yoriichi blinked, confused.
What did that even mean? Was this some kind of riddle?
"Dragon didn't leave because of a mission failure. But the reason he left… is still tied to that mission."
Garp paused, his tone turning grave.
"Dragon… refused to carry out a Buster Call. In fact, he went so far as to destroy nearly twenty Navy warships involved in the operation."
The weight of those words struck Yoriichi like a hammer dropped into still water, sending ripples across his face.
"Buster Call?!"
Yoriichi Tsugikuni was no stranger to that term.
But what puzzled him was this.
In today's world, what kind of enemy could possibly warrant a Buster Call from the World Government?
And if Dragon had refused to carry it out…
"To be honest, I don't blame him."
"Heh, after all, the Kingdom of Rank was condemned simply because it couldn't pay the Heavenly Tribute."
"To think such a ridiculous reason could provoke the Celestial Dragons into issuing a Buster Call on Rank… no matter how you look at it, there's nothing just about that."
"Wouldn't you agree, Yoriichi?"
Garp gave a bitter smile as he spoke to him.
He said he didn't blame Dragon.
But in this moment, Yoriichi saw none of the carefree ease or freedom he had imagined in the man before him.
Dragon's defection must've hit him harder than he let on.
"The Celestial Dragons. The Heavenly Tribute. Justice…"
"Those three things… they could never coexist."
Yoriichi didn't respond directly.
He simply nodded slightly and turned his gaze toward the sea, narrowing his eyes as he let the cool ocean breeze wash over him.
"…Is that so, Yoriichi? If it were you—what would you have done?"
Leaning on the ship's railing, Garp asked the question.
His tone suggested he was asking Yoriichi,
but in truth, he might've been asking himself.
"If the three can't coexist…"
"…then I'll keep only the one that matters to me."
When Yoriichi spoke these words, his eyes were calm and clear.
His tone was steady, almost indifferent.
No overwhelming presence surged from him, no killing intent leaked through.
Yet despite the quiet delivery, Garp caught a heavy scent of blood in the air.
Yoriichi didn't bother hiding his true thoughts in front of him.
Garp let out a quiet sigh and looked out toward the horizon, saying nothing.
He should have known.
After all, Yoriichi Tsugikuni… had awakened the power of Conqueror's Haki.
What he didn't know,
Was what kind of path Yoriichi would walk in the future.
"The future… belongs to your generation."
Garp gave Yoriichi a firm pat on the shoulder, then turned and walked back toward the ship's cabin.
Yoriichi remained at the prow of the Doghead Warship, hands resting lightly on the rail.
His eyes were half-lidded, taking in the tranquil seascape before him.
The Boin Archipelago lay roughly halfway through the first half of the Grand Line.
From here to the East Blue, Garp's next destination was a week's journey by sea.
This time, Garp was headed for East Blue's Shika Island.
A modest island home to several thousand people,
Shika Island fell under the domain of the Goa Kingdom.
The Goa Kingdom, renowned as "the most beautiful country" in East Blue.
Considered Shika one of its satellite isles.
With abundant resources and a stunning natural environment,
most of the residents here lived comfortably, free from hunger or hardship.
All in all, it was a peaceful and harmonious place.
And Garp's reason for visiting?
To find Dragon.
Because-
He had Dragon's Vivre Card.
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