"Justice that reigns over the world!"
Garp never thought he would hear those words again in his lifetime.
Once, there had been another man in the Marines with the same view of justice—a man who had even commissioned a plaque with those seven characters to hang in his office.
That man was the current Fleet Admiral...
Sengoku!
However, after Sengoku ascended to the position of Fleet Admiral, his perspective began to shift. Much of this was simply due to the change in his vantage point; as his status rose, so did his way of thinking.
From that moment on, Sengoku began to view everything through the lens of the organization's interests rather than through the lens of pure justice. Eventually, he took down that old plaque and replaced it with a new one.
The words on the new plaque were...
"Absolute Justice!"
While the words were the same as those in Akainu's office, the meaning behind them was different. For Sengoku, these words represented absolute obedience to his superiors—the Celestial Dragons.
He believed that as the Fleet Admiral of the Marines, this was the justice he had to acknowledge and uphold. Consequently, throughout his tenure as Fleet Admiral, Sengoku had never once gone against the will of the World Government.
Recalling this, Garp's impression of Sean improved considerably.
"Justice that reigns over the world, huh..."
"Kid, you're still a long way off! Bwahahaha!!"
Despite his outward laughter, Garp was inwardly surprised. When Sean had proclaimed his vision of justice, a flicker of pressure had leaked out.
It was an accidental leak of spiritual pressure.
To Garp, however, it meant something else. It felt strange, but it seemed like the seed of Conqueror's Haki.
'Then again, for someone to hold that kind of view of justice, it wouldn't be surprising if he possessed Conqueror's Haki,' Garp thought, nodding slightly.
Generally, Conqueror's Haki was rare among Marines, but there were exceptions—Sengoku being the most prominent. After all, the essence of "Justice that reigns over the world" was to stand above all things in existence, including...
"Um... Vice Admiral Garp, could I ask what year it is?" Sean suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
This was a crucial question. While he was well-versed in the plot of One Piece, he had no idea where he currently stood on the timeline.
"It is the year 1517 of the Sea Calendar."
'1517?'
That meant there were still five years left before the main story began.
This was perfect. He had plenty of time to increase his strength.
Currently, Sean's power was roughly equivalent to a low-ranking Seated Officer of the Gotei 13. And that was without accounting for his Zanpakutō; if he relied solely on that, he'd probably be the bottom of the barrel among the officers.
In the Gotei 13, unless one was a special case, achieving Shikai was a prerequisite for becoming a Seated Officer. Those who hadn't reached that standard remained ordinary members. Of course, not every ordinary member was incapable of Shikai, but the number of officer slots was limited.
With his current strength, it was impossible for him to climb the ranks of the Marines, let alone involve himself in the massive upheavals of the Great Pirate Era.
'Alright... let's start with a small goal.'
'Hmm, reach Admiral-level combat strength within three years.'
'Seems reasonable, right?'
"Kid, what are you daydreaming about? If there's nothing else you need to take, we're leaving!"
"About that, Vice Admiral Garp... can I bring my sidekick along?"
"What? You have a sidekick?"
"Yeah. Without him, I'm afraid I wouldn't have survived until today!"
"I see. Hurry up and call him over so we can get going," Garp replied, though he frowned slightly.
The reason for the frown was that Garp had used Observation Haki to scan the island the moment he arrived. The result? Aside from Sean, there was no one else on the entire deserted island.
Where on earth was this "sidekick" coming from?
Still, since Sean had mentioned it, Garp wanted to see what kind of trick the boy was playing.
A moment later, Sean took a deep breath and bellowed...
"Kuro! Get to the beach right now!"
The sheer volume of the shout nearly deafened the nearby Marines.
"Kid, what are you doing?"
"He's coming!"
"Who's coming?"
Garp immediately expanded his Observation Haki, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
'This' was the sidekick Sean was talking about?
A few moments later, a beast the size of a small mountain limped out of the forest. A pair of highly intelligent eyes looked at Sean with extreme caution.
"What's with that look? As your big brother, I'm heartbroken, you know!"
"Kid... this is your sidekick? And his back leg is injured?"
"Yeah, this is Kuro. He's my sidekick. As for his leg... well, I just cut a piece of meat off it yesterday for food, so it hasn't healed yet!" Sean said, scratching his head sheepishly.
Everyone's expressions twitched.
'Is this a sidekick, or a living vending machine for meat?'
"I say, kid... you haven't been cutting meat off him to eat for the last three years, have you?"
"Not exactly. During the first year, I was too weak; I could only run away when I saw him, so I caught other small animals in the woods."
"And you can beat him now?"
"Yeah, I could do it about two years ago. Though back then I couldn't actually defeat him—I just relied on speed to ambush him, carve off a piece of meat, and run. But a year ago, I became able to knock him unconscious easily."
It was true that there were other animals on the island, quite a few of them. But Kuro's meat contained far more energy and tasted much better. Sometimes, Sean wanted to give Kuro a break, but his appetite for gourmet food wouldn't allow it. Thus, after the first year, Sean had stopped hunting anything else.
Hearing this, everyone—including Garp—cast a look of profound pity toward Kuro.
Poor thing! For two whole years, it had been treated as a walking buffet...
Wait.
'This kid said he could easily take down this beast a year ago?'
Garp suddenly realized something. Based on his Observation Haki, this beast had strength approaching that of a Marine Headquarters Lieutenant Commander.
A year ago... was the kid serious?
Garp decided right then and there that he would thoroughly test Sean's strength on the way back to Marine Headquarters.
As for the request to bring the beast along, Garp rejected it outright. For one thing, the creature was far too large to fit on a warship.
On the other hand, that poor creature had been tormented by you for two whole years and had only just managed to escape your clutches.
And yet, you still had the nerve to try and drag it along to serve as your personal food dispenser...
Garp simply couldn't stand it anymore!
Half an hour later.
The warship slowly drifted away from the island. Sean leaned over the railing, waving toward the deserted shore.
"Goodbye, Kuro!"
"If the Marine's food is not good, I'll come back and visit you!!"
On the beach, Kuro—who had finally escaped his living hell and was strolling happily toward the woods—suddenly stumbled.
'Should I learn how to swim...'
'And maybe find another island to multiply on?'
Kuro began to seriously question his entire existence as a beast!