Chapter 55

*Achoo!*

In the Fleet Admiral's office at Marine HQ, Sengoku sneezed, a sudden, loud sound that broke the dignified silence. He rubbed his nose, frowning.

'Must be overworked lately,' he muttered to himself. 'My body's starting to protest.'

He glanced up just in time to see Garp stroll in, grab a bag of rice crackers from his desk, and start munching away without a word.

Sengoku's eyebrow twitched. "Garp! This is an office, not your personal pantry!"

"Relax, relax!" Garp waved a dismissive hand, his mouth full. "Talk to Kuzan if you need something. I'm just here for moral support."

Sengoku's face reddened in frustration. Beside him, Kuzan just looked helpless.

"That rascal," Sengoku muttered, rubbing his forehead. He ignored Garp and turned to Kuzan, taking a deep breath. "Never mind him. You, tell me about the Alabasta incident."

"Ara, ara," Kuzan merely shrugged, a lazy tone in his voice. "It's the same as what I reported over the Den Den Mushi..."

As Kuzan recounted the events, Sengoku listened, his brows furrowing deeper with each detail.

It wasn't until Kuzan finished that Sengoku let out a long sigh, running a hand over his troubled face. "A utopia? What the hell was Crocodile thinking? Is he trying to be another Big Mom, playing house with a kingdom?"

"Never mind. We stopped his scheme, anyway. Otherwise, if he had truly usurped the Alabasta Kingdom... that would have been a massive disgrace." Sengoku pinched the bridge of his nose, his voice heavy with chagrin. "No, wait, it already *is* a massive disgrace! To let a pirate save a World Government Member Nation."

The World Government Member Nations paid the Heavenly Tribute for protection. The Seven Warlords were supposed to be an arm of that power. But here, a Warlord had nearly overthrown a member nation, only to be stopped by a common pirate. It was a slap in the face to the Marines and the World Government.

"I remember Smoker was assigned to the East Blue," Sengoku said with a sigh. "To think that after the fiasco with the Pirate Gala, the Mock Pirates still slipped past his blockade and made it to the Grand Line. We really did underestimate that crew."

*Crunch, crunch, crunch.*

Sengoku turned his head again, glaring at Garp. "If I didn't know any better, I'd almost think you were helping them."

Garp, completely unfazed, simply opened another bag of crackers. A vein pulsed in Sengoku's temple. He slammed the table again. "And those are my crackers! Don't you dare eat them all!"

"Bwahaha!" Garp paused, then grinned. "It's just a few snacks, Sengoku. Don't be so stingy."

"Stingy? You shut your mouth once you finish that bag!" Sengoku snapped, his face stormy. He turned back to Kuzan. "Fine. Since things have come to this, there's nothing else to do."

"That's it?" Kuzan asked, a little surprised. "What's the World Government's official response?"

"Crocodile will be sent to Impel Down. At the same time, the World Government will suppress the impact of this incident as much as possible. There's no other way." Sengoku shook his head with a bitter smile. "A pirate saving a Member Nation... it's too ridiculous to spread. If there had even been a single Marine nearby at the time, otherwise..."

His expression grew grim.

"The World Government was even prepared to directly credit the success of this incident to any Marine who happened to be there!"

Kuzan frowned. He knew what that meant. Arbitrarily handing a pirate's victory to a Marine was a stain on the very justice they were sworn to uphold. Of course, they didn't know that the true hero behind the scenes was a Marine, but the principle of it was galling.

"Well," Kuzan said, stretching. "If there's nothing else, I think I'll go get some rest. That was a long mission."

'This lazy oaf,' Sengoku thought. 'He used to be so driven. What happened to him?'

A hint of helplessness crossed Sengoku's face as he thought of his three current Admirals. But seeing Kuzan stand up, ready to leave, he quickly spoke. "Wait a minute, there's one more thing!"

Kuzan turned back, confused.

"Don't worry, it's not work-related. Just a small matter." Sengoku said, opening a drawer and pulling out a stack of familiar-looking items. "The Finance Department just sent these over. They said there's something off about a part of your expense report for this trip, so they asked me to ask you."

He handed the papers directly to Kuzan.

"I've looked through it carefully myself. The suspicious part is mostly recent bills, specifically from that 'Romance Dawn Club.' It seems you spent millions there in just one week. What in the world is Romance Dawn?"

Kuzan stared silently at the bill. Before he could formulate a response, Garp chimed in.

"Ah, Romance Dawn! that's a great place!" Garp, who was still eating snacks nearby, cheerfully chimed in. "You actually got a receipt for that?" He slapped his thigh, as if he'd missed out on hundreds of millions. "How could I have forgotten about that?"

"You've been there too?" Sengoku asked, looking at Garp curiously. "What kind of place is it? Why is it so expensive?"

"A bar!" Kuzan blurted out.

"A bar!" Garp echoed at the same time.

Sengoku looked between the two of them, puzzled. But since they both said it, he took them at their word. Still, he frowned. "A bar? What kind of bar costs that much? Is the booze really that good?"

"Yes, the alcohol is very delicious," Kuzan said quickly, seeing Garp open his mouth again. He nodded with a serious expression. "That's why it's so expensive. And there weren't many hotels nearby, so I stayed there for a while. Vice Admiral Garp must have gone before me. You can ask him."

"It's top-notch," Garp agreed cheerfully, still eating. He gave Kuzan a subtle wink. "I'll take you sometime, Sengoku, when you're free."

"Free? I won't be free until I retire!" Sengoku sighed, then glared. "And you'd just try to stick me with the bill!"

"Bwahahaha, it'll be my treat! I'm not lying! I have a VIP card!"

"Put my crackers down! You scoundrel, you're almost finished!" Sengoku watched in horror as Garp opened yet another bag while shamelessly offering to treat him. "Meeting adjourned!" he roared. "Now both of you, get out! Garp, are you trying to pack those up, too? Put them... down!"

But Garp had already scooped up a huge pile of snacks, thrown open the door, and bolted. Kuzan, meanwhile, stuffed the expense report into his pocket, gave a lazy wave, and conveniently closed the door behind him.

Sengoku was left fuming, a dark expression on his face. In the end, he could only curse under his breath. "Acting like brats at such age,"

He lowered his head again, looking at the expense report on the table. 'Romance Dawn... is the booze there really that good?

He sighed again, put away the bill, and gritted his teeth. "If I do find the time to go, that bastard must treat me! Damn it, my snack expenses for this month are going over budget again!"

With another sigh, he shook his head, clearing away the scattered thoughts. He looked at the bounty poster on the table and the Warlord letter of appointment next to it. "The Mock Pirates..." he sighed. "Where have you run off to now?"

--**--**

Meanwhile, on a certain stretch of the Grand Line.

"Boss!" Mock's loud voice carried across the deck. "That's Drum Kingdom up ahead! Should we dock?"

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