About a week after Yorichi Tsugikuni began his intense Haki training, the supplies aboard Garp's warship had dwindled slightly.
Ever since setting out to sea, Garp had received no updates regarding the Roger Pirates' latest whereabouts.
He was beginning to realize that this mission would turn out like the previous ones: a prolonged pursuit.
So when they passed by a small nation known as the Kingdom of Neil, Garp ordered the warship to dock at its port. At the same time, he instructed the crew to go ashore and resupply.
This also gave Garp the opportunity to gather intelligence on the Roger Pirates.
The Kingdom of Neil was a minor nation in the New World. Though it called itself a kingdom, it was essentially just a large island, and in terms of size, it was probably smaller than the Sabaody Archipelago. Its permanent population numbered only a few tens of thousands.
The Kingdom of Neil was small and politically insignificant, with little military power of its own. Its royal army barely totaled around a thousand troops.
However, being located in the chaos of the New World, the kingdom had to ensure its own survival. So it had joined the World Government as a member nation, serving simultaneously as a crucial naval foothold in the New World, complete with a local Marine branch.
But behind the scenes, the Kingdom of Neil was also entangled with the underworld. They secretly operated under the protection of Whitebeard's flag, and they offered pirates convenient ports to resupply as they ventured into the New World.
Straddling both the legal and illegal worlds, the Kingdom of Neil managed to secure its foothold in the volatile New World.
Its political landscape meant the kingdom teemed with all manner of unsavory characters. The Marine base stationed here operated extremely low-profile, focusing more on gathering intelligence than on direct confrontations with pirates. Direct clashes were rare.
When violent incidents did break out, it was usually the royal army that stepped in. Most of the time, pirates simply fought among themselves, and the royal army wouldn't interfere unless civilians were harmed. When pirates targeted the nobles or officials of the kingdom, the royals would immediately wave Whitebeard's flag as a protective shield.
In those moments, appealing to the Marines was often useless. After all, any pirate who could make it into the New World was already carrying a significant bounty. There were countless pirates across the seas to hunt down, and the Marines simply didn't have the power or reach to chase every single one.
A pirate could murder someone, load up treasure onto their ship, set sail, and vanish. The Marines couldn't possibly hunt down every small pirate crew to the ends of the earth. But the Whitebeard Pirates were a different story. Anyone who dared provoke Whitebeard's wrath could expect his crew to pursue them across the globe.
In the New World, Whitebeard's name carried more weight than the Marines'.
As for the Marines' own role, it was mostly to maintain a semblance of regional stability. Hunting pirates was reserved for those who posed significant threats.
Ultimately, the Marines' power was still limited, which was why the World Government would eventually establish the Seven Warlords of the Sea system in an attempt to stabilize regions further.
State-sanctioned pirates… wasn't that absurd?
Places like the Kingdom of Neil, perched on the brink of chaos, were often where information flowed fastest and most accurately. Garp's main purpose in coming here was to gather intelligence on the Roger Pirates' whereabouts.
"Splash!"
In the naval harbor of the Kingdom of Neil, the anchor of the Dog-Head Warship dropped into the sea. A wooden gangplank extended from the ship and was secured firmly to the dock.
"Creak… creak…"
Garp, draped in his greatcoat emblazoned with the word "Justice," stepped slowly off the warship. Behind him followed his two subordinates, Kuzan and Bogard. Alongside the two officers was a red-haired young man, wearing a sword at his waist and an eye mask covering his eyes. This was none other than Yorichi Tsugikuni.
Yorichi's eye mask was something he'd gotten from Kuzan. Constantly tying and untying a blindfold had become inconvenient. Kuzan's sleep mask turned out to be much handier.
To accelerate his Haki training, Yorichi spent most of his days wearing the eye mask. After days of training and adapting, his Observation Haki had finally reached the level of basic mastery. Even with the eye mask on, he could move around without issue.
His rapid progress left everyone aboard the ship speechless.
As for Armament Haki, Yorichi's progress was more uneven. Although he'd learned to channel Armament Haki into his attacks, the Haki itself remained feeble.
During sparring with Garp, Yorichi couldn't even break through Garp's defenses. He was far less effective than Axe-Hand Morgan.
The commanding officer of the Marine G-10 branch stationed in the Kingdom of Neil was a rear admiral named Roca. He seemed to have known in advance that Garp would be arriving and had come early to wait at the harbor.
Rear Admiral Roca appeared quite old, looking at least seventy. Long white eyebrows drooped over his eyes. Standing at the dock waiting, he kept his eyes closed, his head nodding slightly as if he were dozing off.
Though his body was still broad and solid, the wrinkles in his skin, the age spots on his face, and his shock of white hair all revealed the passage of time for this veteran Marine.
The sound of the gangplank lowering seemed to rouse the old Marine. His closed eyes opened a narrow slit, and when he saw Garp, a smile creased his aged face. His raspy voice, vibrating through his throat, carried to everyone nearby:
"You're here already. You haven't changed a bit, Garp."
Although Roca held only the rank of rear admiral, he addressed Garp by name. The Marines following Garp showed no surprise and greeted Rear Admiral Roca with familiarity.
"Rear Admiral Roca!"
Roca waved a hand toward the officers standing behind Garp and told them, "Go about your business." Then he fixed his gaze on Garp, saying bluntly, "We haven't received any new information about Roger lately."
"Ha ha ha ha! Uncle Roca, I'm mainly here to see you this time!" Garp laughed. Roca merely shook his head and replied calmly:
"Come on. Let's go inside and get some rest."
With that, Roca and Garp began walking side by side toward the nearby Marine base. Meanwhile, Yorichi had removed his eye mask and was staring curiously at Rear Admiral Roca's back. He tapped Kuzan's thigh beside him and asked:
"Kuzan, who exactly is this Rear Admiral Roca?"
"He seems pretty close with Vice Admiral Garp."
Kuzan lowered his head and smiled as he explained:
"Oh, Rear Admiral Roca? He's one of the Navy's most famous intelligence officers."
"When Vice Admiral Garp was young, he trained under Rear Admiral Roca. Not just Garp. Vice Admiral Tsuru and Fleet Admiral Sengoku also spent time working under him."
Yorichi listened, a puzzled look on his face. He asked further:
"The Navy's most famous intelligence officer? That means he's incredibly skilled and experienced, right? So why is he still only a rear admiral?"
Yorichi lowered his voice, clearly confused.
But this time, it wasn't Kuzan who answered him. Instead, it was Rear Admiral Roca, who was still walking several meters ahead of them.
"That's because this old man grew tired of life at sea."
"A man's got to keep his feet firmly planted on solid ground. That way, he can live a few extra years."
Rear Admiral Roca and Garp were a good four or five meters ahead, but Yorichi's deliberately quiet question had still reached Roca's ears loud and clear.
Yorichi immediately lowered his head in embarrassment. He hadn't expected the rear admiral to have such keen hearing. Being caught gossiping behind someone's back was certainly impolite.
"Sorry, Rear Admiral Roca," Yorichi said after a brief, awkward pause.
Roca had stopped walking by then, waiting for Yorichi and the others to catch up. Hearing Yorichi's apology, he waved a hand dismissively, entirely unconcerned. He gave Yorichi a quick once-over, then turned to Garp and asked:
"Who's this kid? I've never seen him before."
Garp jerked his chin toward Yorichi, signaling him to answer for himself.
"Rear Admiral Roca, my name is Yorichi Tsugikuni," he said.
Roca nodded, and a thoughtful, nostalgic look crossed his weathered face.
"It's been a long time since I've seen such a young Marine."
"Kid, I bet you're wondering how I was able to hear what you said just now, aren't you?"
"Heh heh, this old man here ate the Listen-Listen Fruit and became a Hearing Human. If I want to, I can hear every conversation happening on this entire island!"
Yorichi's expression cleared with sudden understanding. He couldn't help remarking:
"So you can hear everything everyone says… that must be exhausting."
Roca paused at that, staring blankly for a moment. Then he suddenly burst into roaring laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!"
"You're an interesting kid!"
And with that, he paid no further attention to Yorichi and the others, grabbing Garp by the arm and heading off toward the Marine base.