The nехt mоrning, оn thе final day bеfоre the Рirate Кing's ехесutiоn, Uchiha Мadаra, whо hаd spеnt the night rеsting оn a rоoftoр, oреned his еуеs.
For sоmеоne who hаd оncе livеd аlоnе underground fоr dеcаdеs, a bed was of no соnsequеnсе.
Gаrp, оn thе оther hаnd, shоwеd up on thе rооf еаrly in the morning, a bag of sеnbеi in onе hаnd and a yawn оn his lips. Аftеr grеeting Mаdаrа, hе саsuallу offerеd him thе sеnbei.
"Sо, Brоthеr Мadаra, hоw'd you slеep lаst night?"
Madarа, fоr his pаrt, didn't reасt with аny hоstility. He simply took the senbei and started eating.
"Well enough. It's been a long time since I've watched the sun rise with such focus."
Garp was a little surprised by the answer. He laughed, grabbing a handful of crackers from the bag in Madara's hand and stuffing them into his mouth.
"Hahahaha, so this is what it means to be a ninja? No wonder you're so damn strong."
Madara seemed completely unconcerned.
"It's nothing. Just a life lived in hell."
With that, Madara produced the officer's sword Gion had left behind yesterday. He wasn't holding the hilt, however. Instead, he continued to pinch the blade between his fingers as he asked, "Speaking of which, is this the little brat's sword?"
Garp recognized it at a glance. It was his old comrade Sengoku's officer's sword. Though Sengoku didn't use a sword, as a candidate for Fleet Admiral, he had to have one on hand.
"Ah, that. It's Sengoku's. He used to be pretty fond of it, but he stopped using it later on."
Madara was puzzled. This was no mere decoration; it was a fine blade, its quality even slightly surpassing the Fifty Skillful Grade Swords. To simply abandon a blade like this seemed like a terrible waste.
"Sengoku always liked to display it unsheathed in his office. I was always wiping my boogers on it, so he stopped using it after a while. Right around… where you're holding it."
After speaking, Garp stared intently at Madara's hand. Madara looked down at his own hand, the words 'boogers… boogers' echoing in his mind.
He flipped the sword, caught it by the hilt, and stared at Garp with a deadpan expression.
"Tell me honestly, is there something wrong with all you Marines?"
Garp waved a hand at Madara, picking his nose as he spoke.
"Sengoku doesn't use a sword anyway. Back then, he was being way too precious with this thing, so I figured I'd mess with it for him."
Madara watched Garp dig for gold, then couldn't help but glance down at his right hand again. A thought surfaced.
If only this were the Impure World Reincarnation.
Garp, however, failed to notice the increasingly dangerous aura emanating from Uchiha Madara. He continued to pick his nose with his right hand while using his other hand to reach for the bag of senbei Madara was holding.
As if a thought suddenly struck him, Madara asked Garp, "Do you always use the same hand to pick your nose?"
"Nah, I usually switch it up."
........
BOOM! A massive, skeletal Susanoo suddenly materialized on the rooftop, its fist sending Garp flying.
Sengoku's face immediately turned grave as he looked toward Madara and Garp's location. A jolt of panic shot through him. Had Madara really turned on them?
Then he heard Madara's furious, grief-stricken roar.
"Sengoku! Are all you Marines fucking brainless?!"
Hearing this, Sengoku breathed a sigh of relief and hurried toward the rooftop Madara was on. When he arrived, he was greeted by the sight of a murderous-looking Uchiha Madara, and beside him, a completely unrepentant Garp, who was laughing heartily while slapping Madara on the back.
Sengoku wasn't sure if it was a trick of the light, but he could have sworn he saw a colossal Susanoo flickering in and out of existence behind Madara. Then he saw Garp go flying for a second time. Yep, he wasn't mistaken. No need to get new glasses.
Madara suddenly whipped his head around to face Sengoku, his posture radiating an intent to call him to account. You can keep an eye on an uncertain factor, that's fine, but tormenting him was just plain wrong.
Sengoku laughed awkwardly, wiping cold sweat from his brow as he faced the Uchiha Madara who was on the verge of a rampage. The two stared at each other in silence. Madara's cold gaze demanded an explanation. Sengoku employed his classic delaying tactic, waiting for Madara to speak first so he could haggle.
Just as the atmosphere reached a peak of awkwardness and Sengoku was about to break the silence, a new development occurred.
"Die! Master!!"
Gion, brandishing her scabbard, used Shave to charge forward and slash at the Susanoo.
Then she realized the atmosphere wasn't quite right. She had rehearsed this dozens of times on her way over. This strike was supposed to be brimming with the Will of Fire. Her master was supposed to praise her with great satisfaction.
........
The Susanoo snatched Gion up, clutched her in its fist, and placed her in front of Sengoku. At the same time, its other hand grabbed the just-returned Garp and placed him there as well.
Garp seemed a little embarrassed to be held like that. He raised a hand and greeted Sengoku.
"Yo, Sengoku."
Gion, seeing this, had a revelation. Truly, the older the ginger, the spicier the ginger. As expected of Vice Admiral Garp, she still had much to learn when it came to infuriating people. She followed his lead and raised a hand toward Uchiha Madara.
"Yo, Master."
Uchiha Madara remained silent, his face an emotionless mask. The Susanoo, however, shoved the pair closer to Sengoku.
Sengoku's face turned the color of spoiled vegetables. He clasped his hands together in a gesture toward Uchiha Madara.
"Mr. Madara, how about one for each of us?"
Madara didn't speak. The Susanoo didn't move.
"Sigh… Fine, I get it."
Sengoku let out a long breath. He grabbed the nose-picking Garp with one hand and Gion—mouth full of the Will of Fire and hand full of the Father-Slaying Filial Sword's scabbard—with the other.
Watching Sengoku's retreating back as he muttered curses, and looking down at the Filial Sword—dammit, the officer's sword—that he had forgotten to return in his anger, Madara swore he had never been so eager to be a villain.
........
A while later, Sengoku returned to Uchiha Madara, followed by a Garp whose face was covered in spittle and a Gion who, though silent, still had the Will of Fire burning in her eyes.
The two bowed in unison, their voices perfectly synchronized in their utter lack of sincerity.
"We are truly very sorry."
Madara took a deep breath. He could feel his blood pressure rising.
In the end, Sengoku stayed behind with a look of utter helplessness, while Garp and Gion walked off, laughing all the way. Madara watched them go and slowly asked, "How long do you think you'll last as Fleet Admiral?"
"Perhaps I'll fall before I even take the post."
Sengoku sighed in turn.
"How long do you think you'll last as her master?"
"I have not accepted her as my student."
Seeing that Uchiha Madara hadn't fallen for the bait, Sengoku made no effort to hide his look of disappointment.
Madara's blood pressure spiked even higher. At the same time, he became even more certain of his theory: Marines, they really were all insane.
Madara was suddenly reminded of someone, a person he had never gotten along with: Senju Tobirama. He felt that Tobirama's usual mood must have been quite similar to his own right now.
Madara tried to imagine himself as Tobirama, then pictured three Hashiramas around him. Eugh—no, stop. He shuddered. That's not a pleasant thought.
Meanwhile, Gion was trotting happily behind Garp. She had suddenly discovered that Vice Admiral Garp was like a bottomless treasure chest.
She had racked her brain all night and only managed to render her master somewhat speechless. But Vice Admiral Garp? He had nearly driven her master and the future Fleet Admiral Sengoku to suffocation as easily as breathing. As she thought about it, Gion suddenly raised her hand.
"Vice Admiral Garp, I have a question!"
Garp was a little surprised. Gion had never seemed to like him very much before. Why was she striking up a conversation now?
"What is it, Little Gion?"
"I want to know how you managed to infuriate Master and Fleet Admiral Sengoku half to death so effortlessly!"
Garp roared with laughter upon hearing her question. So that was it.
"Hahahahahaha! That, of course, was the result of employing my wisdom and strategic genius, combined with meticulous execution!"
Gion turned her head away in a huff.
"Tch. If you don't want to tell me, just say so. Don't try to fob me off with that nonsense. Everyone in the Marines knows Vice Admiral Garp is brainless. You're the worst."
Garp choked. This girl was harder to fool than he thought.
"Ahem, ahem, just kidding, just kidding. Little Gion, you must remember, the most important thing is sincerity—the kind of sincerity where you wholeheartedly don't treat the other person as a human being!"
Gion's eyes lit up. He was finally getting to the good part. She immediately launched into an enthusiastic discussion with Garp.
She even solemnly presented the Father-Slaying Filial Sword scabbard in her hand, asking Garp with a grave expression if he wanted to learn.
"Ahem, Little Gion, let me teach you something. Courting death means you court it but don't die. It doesn't mean you do things that guarantee death. I'd like to live a couple more years."
To be continued...