Phoenix Reborn In One Piece

"Huh?" 

"You rescued them?" Vice Admiral Garp looked surprised. 

The Marines had been buried deep in the sand, and even he hadn't figured out how to dig them out. 

"That's right. But they're unconscious due to suffocation," Ryuen explained. 

At that moment, Princess Vivi and the Marines who hadn't been trapped ran over. 

"Vice Admiral Garp!" 

"Vice Admiral Garp won!" 

Seeing Garp carrying the unconscious Crocodile, Princess Vivi and the Marines were overjoyed. 

"Ryuen!" 

"Ryuen! Long time no see!" 

The Marines recognized Ryuen, so they weren't surprised to see him there. 

"Ha ha, long time no see," Ryuen replied with a cheerful smile. 

"Alright, where are the medics? Go check on the Marines who were buried," Garp shouted. 

"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp!" 

Several Marine medics, along with a few Marines, quickly ran toward the unconscious soldiers. 

"Vice Admiral Garp, thank you for helping us in Alabasta deal with the trouble caused by Crocodile. And Ryuen-sama, thank you too!" Vivi said gratefully, her excitement evident. 

"Wa-hahaha~~" 

"It's my duty. By the way, where's Bogart and the others?" Garp asked, noticing his adjutant was missing. 

"Vice Admiral Garp, we're over here!" 

A voice came from the distance, where Bogart and a few Marine officers were escorting the captured Baroque Works commanders who had avoided the collapse. 

Seeing these people apprehended, Garp felt relieved. 

"Hey!" 

"Ryuen, why are you guys here again? And how did you rescue those buried Marines?" Garp asked, his eyes brimming with curiosity. 

"Old man Garp, you should take a look at the destruction you caused," Ryuen replied bluntly. 

"If you had gone all-out from the start, you could have defeated Crocodile quickly and avoided all this damage." 

Ryuen didn't hold back his criticism of Garp. 

This guy was strong, but he loved testing his opponent's strength during battles. 

"Wa-hahaha~~~" 

"Well, um, that's… 

You can't blame me entirely. How could I have guessed he'd attack without caring about his own people?" Garp said, scratching his head awkwardly. 

"Well... it's fine, as long as Crocodile is defeated," Vivi said, trying to defend Garp. 

After all, for Alabasta, it was already a great relief that the Marines arrived so quickly to deal with Crocodile. 

"Alright, it's none of our business anyway. By the way, Princess Vivi, have the rebel issues been resolved?" Ryuen asked, looking at Vivi. 

"It should be mostly resolved now. Before I came here, I handed part of the evidence to my father. He should be sending someone to deliver it to Koza. 

Once Koza sees the evidence, I believe he won't stay stubborn any longer," Vivi said honestly after thinking for a moment. 

"It looks like you don't plan to take any action against Koza and are just going to let this rebel go. You're really something," Ryuen said calmly. 

"Um… Ryuen, Koza isn't a rebel..." Vivi said softly, trying to defend him. 

"You don't need to explain to me. It's not like he caused any damage to my country, so it doesn't concern us," Ryuen said, waving his hand to cut her off. 

Nearby, Garp had somehow found another bag of rice crackers and was munching on them while glancing between Ryuen and Vivi. 

"Ryuen!" 

At that moment, Nami's voice called out. 

After handing over the unconscious Marines who had passed out from suffocation to the Marine medics, the rest of the Dream Crew walked over to where Ryuen was. 

"Vice Admiral Garp!" 

"Vice Admiral Garp, it's been a while!" 

The Dream Crew members greeted Garp warmly, especially Hog, who had received some guidance from Garp back in Foosha Village. 

"Wa-hahaha!" 

"It's been a while! You're all such lively young people!" Garp said, clearly in a good mood as he saw the entire crew. 

However, the moment Garp spotted a woman standing at the back, his expression instantly turned serious. 

Robin immediately grew tense under Garp's gaze. 

The reason she hadn't left yet was because she was betting that the Dream Crew wouldn't abandon her. More importantly, she had no way to escape. 

"Hey!" 

"Ryuen, has she joined your crew?" Garp asked Ryuen sharply. 

"Nope, Robin hasn't joined us yet. But listen, old man, I'm warning you—don't lay a finger on her," Ryuen said seriously. 

"You brat!" 

"I'm a Marine! A criminal wanted by the World Government is standing right in front of me. How could I possibly let her go?" Garp snapped. 

"Garp, you old man!" 

"You dare? If you dare to arrest Robin, I'll cut off Luffy's... thing!" Daisy threatened fiercely, glaring at him. 

"Exactly!" 

"Vice Admiral Garp, if you touch Robin, we won't let Luffy off in the future!" Nojiko declared, stepping protectively in front of Robin. 

"Hmph!" 

"Vice Admiral Garp, you wouldn't want the World Government hounding you every day in the future, would you?" Nami added. 

The rest of the Dream Crew stood firm, making it clear that if Garp tried to go after Robin, they would make his life difficult. 

"Everyone..." 

Robin had bet right, but her heart was deeply moved by the crew's actions. 

In truth, seven of the eight crew members—excluding Ryuen and Kuina—had all experienced hardship or war. 

This made them empathetic toward Robin's struggles. Despite the short time they'd spent together, they could all sense her kindness. 

"Ugh..." 

"Fine. I'll pretend I didn't see her this time. 

But listen, Ryuen. Unless she joins your crew or the World Government removes her bounty, she'll still be hunted by the Marines," Garp said seriously. 

He knew that going against these stubborn kids would only lead to endless trouble, just as they'd threatened. 

"We'll figure this out ourselves. You should focus on dealing with Crocodile's incident. 

After all, he's one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. A Warlord plotting to overthrow a kingdom allied with the World Government—what a scandal. 

Tsk tsk tsk..." 

Ryuen looked at Garp with a teasing expression. 

The Seven Warlords, being one of the three major forces on the seas, held considerable influence. Crocodile's actions were a real headache for the Marines. 

"That's Fleet Admiral Sengoku's problem. What's it got to do with me? I'm just a Marine Vice Admiral," Garp said casually, picking his nose with a carefree attitude. 

Garp: That's Sengoku and Tsuru's business~~~ 

"Vice Admiral Garp..." 

The Marines nearby slapped their foreheads, feeling too embarrassed to even look at their superior officer. 

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