CHAPTER 168- The Grandson of the Buddha

Garp blinked in confusion. "Sengoku, weren't you a lifelong bachelor? Don't tell me this is some elaborate ruse—hell, I don't even recall you having a secret son, much less a grandson who popped out of a rock!"

"But… that Luo Yu guy—sure, he looks unreliable," Garp added, stroking his chin. "Still, he's never been one to act without confidence. If he told you this in advance, it probably isn't just talk."

"This kind of thing? I know it well. Judging from how he phrased it, he's probably asking how much bounty you're prepared to pay for ransom!"

"Shut it!"Sengoku snapped, smacking Garp on the back of the head."Don't lump me in with you—you and Whitebeard, always going around the sea claiming every brat as kin!"

"If that brat dares go around kidnapping random people and demanding bounties from me, he's got another thing coming!"

Garp was stunned at first, but then his expression gradually became solemn.He and Sengoku had been comrades for decades—he knew Sengoku was a man of principle.

Even in his personal life, Sengoku had remained single for years.At most, he'd spend time laboriously polishing his "golden left hand."Forget a son—even getting one would be a miracle.

But then—

"No, Sengoku, your grandson really might be in Luo Yu's hands."

The calm voice came from Vice Admiral Tsuru.

Sengoku and Garp both froze.

If it were Garp talking nonsense, Sengoku wouldn't have blinked.But Tsuru? She never spoke without reason.

"You don't believe me?" Tsuru sighed."To be honest, I didn't believe it at first either. But then I reviewed the intelligence Tina sent me…"

"That's when I remembered—you don't just have a 'grandson.' You also once had a son."

"You remember Rosinante, right? The man you took in and raised as your own son."

Rosinante?!

Sengoku's expression collapsed.His whole body tensed.

"Tsuru," he said hoarsely, "are you telling me the child Rosinante risked his life to save—the one with Lead Syndrome—has been found?"

"And he's now in Luo Yu's custody?!"

"Tell me—who is it?!"

Sengoku lunged forward, grabbing Tsuru by the arm, his grip so tight it made even Garp and Tsuru flinch.

But they understood.

Sengoku had never had children of his own.Everything he poured into his career, he also poured into Rosinante.

Back then, when Garp swore to raise talents for the Marines, Sengoku had done no less.

And yet, the one time Rosinante ever lied to him… he never had the chance to confront him about it.

Rosinante was already gone.

But Sengoku had never stopped looking for the boy Rosinante had died to protect.

Never stopped searching.

That it would be now, under these circumstances, that the truth resurfaced—and in Luo Yu's hands—was beyond what Sengoku had imagined.

Tsuru's voice turned low.

"Sengoku, you'd best prepare yourself. That child… he's now a pirate."

"And if I'm not mistaken—he's the very man whose name has recently shaken the seas."

"Captain of the Heart Pirates, a rising Supernova, bounty of 200 million."

"Trafalgar D. Water Law."

"He's known as the Surgeon of Death… and the current wielder of the lost Ope Ope no Mi."

Her words were deliberate. Controlled.

She knew better than anyone: a Marine and a pirate… are sworn enemies.

Had Sengoku still been a Vice Admiral like her or Garp, there might've been space to bend the rules.

But he wasn't.

He was Fleet Admiral. The pillar of the Marines.

And if even the Fleet Admiral bent the law to shield a pirate—

That would become the greatest stain on Marine Headquarters.

Sengoku's face turned dark as steel.His fists clenched until the knuckles cracked.

Garp, uncharacteristically quiet, finally broke the silence with a laugh.

"Haha… Sengoku, me and Tsuru are pretty tired. Think we'll turn in early. The bridge is all yours."

He turned to leave. Tsuru followed without a word.

"Garp, enough!"

Sengoku's voice stopped them in their tracks.

He let out a long, heavy sigh.

"I know my role," he said quietly. "One is a soldier. One is a criminal."

"If I asked you two to turn a blind eye now, that would make me no different from Whitebeard."

"I'll still meet him. But whatever happens afterward…"

"…will be as it must be."

Neither Tsuru nor Garp spoke. They simply bowed their heads.

They knew all too well—this was the only thing Sengoku could do.

After all, Ace's death still hung over them like a shadow.

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku! Admiral Luo Yu's ship has returned!"

A Marine officer dashed across the deck with the report.

The somber air cracked—just a little.

The three veterans turned as one, gazing across the sea.

There it was—a massive Marine warship cleaving through the waves.

At its bow, standing tall and sipping from a clay jug, was Luo Yu.

Sengoku's heart twisted.

The closer the ship came, the tighter his fists curled.

Five thousand meters… three thousand… one thousand… one hundred...

Before the warship could even anchor, Sengoku could no longer hold back.

With a single leap, he landed on the deck in front of Luo Yu and cried:

"Luo Yu! I want to see my grandson—no! I mean, I want to see Trafalgar Law! How much ransom do you need—no, I mean reward—bonus!"

Everyone on the deck was stunned.

Even Garp and Tsuru were wide-eyed.They had never seen Sengoku so rattled, so tongue-tied.

But then again—who could blame him?

To meet the boy that Rosinante died to save—after all these years?

Words failed.

Smoker and the others were equally dumbfounded.

They had assumed Luo Yu was just joking—fishing for bonus money.

They never imagined that Sengoku would burst out the moment he arrived, straight-up offering to pay for a reunion.

Realizing all eyes were on him, Sengoku froze.He cleared his throat, face flushed with embarrassment.

"I-I just want to see him. Nothing more," he mumbled. "I won't ask you to let him go. After all… I'm the Fleet Admiral."

Garp and Tsuru fell silent once again.

They'd served long enough to understand what powerlessness looked like—even in someone so powerful.

This was Sengoku's only choice.

"How much ransom?" Luo Yu raised a brow.

He sipped his drink and gave a dry chuckle.

"Sengoku... with our kind of relationship, why talk about money?"

"Don't worry. We already struck a deal. I've let him go."

"As for the bonus... you can decide how much it's worth."