One Piece: The Devil Fruit Collector-Chapter 248: If a Cliff Exists, I Will Fill It!

Chapter 248: Chapter 248: If a Cliff Exists, I Will Fill It!

Chapter 248: If a Cliff Exists, I Will Fill It!

As stated before, the Seven Warlords of the Sea stood as one of the three great powers on the sea, alongside the Four Emperors and the Marines.

Although recently, the entire sea knew there was something wrong with the Warlords.

Crocodile, Gecko Moria, Edward Weevil, Bartholomew Kuma, and now Doflamingo — a full four Warlords had been killed, and one stripped of his title.

The prestige of the Seven Warlords of the Sea had begun to crumble.

But even so, no one had expected this.

Such a seismic event would arrive so suddenly.

The Seven Warlords of the Sea system was formally abolished, and all Warlords were stripped of their titles.

In its place came a special force named the Star Hunters Unit.

The purpose of the World Government and Marines was obvious to anyone — or judging from the name ’Star Hunters’ alone, they had never thought of hiding it.

The Zodiac.

This organization, which had formally appeared just a year ago, had now truly become the most feared organization on the sea, surpassing even the Emperors.

And the Star Hunters Unit had clearly been established to oppose them.

"Garp... the Marine Hero? I remember he kept a low profile after the Pirate King died."

"Yeah, and ’Black Kaichi’ Roy — I heard he was demoted after the ’Edward Weevil’ incident recently. Didn’t expect it was leading to this."

"Two Marine legends from different generations joining the same unit? Looks like the Government and Marines are serious this time."

"Word is the specific details aren’t finalized yet. Apparently there are dissenting voices among the Five Elders..."

"Really? If the Five Elders don’t agree, then who pushed this through?"

Such discussions clamored across the sea.

Countless people began quietly inquiring about the Star Hunters Unit and the fallout from the Warlords’ stripped titles.

Many allied nations also started submitting applications to the Government after hearing the news, hoping to fund the Star Hunters Unit’s weapons and equipment in exchange for regular patrols — anything to ensure their countries wouldn’t fall under The Zodiac’s reach.

The situation across the entire sea grew turbulent once more.

However, as the source of that turbulent wave, few knew that the Commander and Deputy Commander of the Star Hunters Unit were actually sitting together at this very moment.

East Blue, Loguetown.

"..."

In Smoker’s office, Smoker leaned against the wall and reached for a cigar.

"Hey, you — didn’t I say no smoking in the office?"

"Hey hey, Smoker boy... this old man is eating rice crackers... chomp chomp chomp... put that smoke away."

Two voices came one after the other.

So Smoker put the cigar back with a trembling hand.

He was furious — angrier than before, even.

This was clearly his office. He had just bought a comfortable new sofa not long ago, specifically because a certain shameless individual had overstayed his welcome here.

So why had yet another person suddenly shown up, leaving him with nowhere to sit in his own office?

"So... Vice Admiral Garp, when exactly are you heading back to Headquarters?"

He took a deep breath and asked.

"Hey hey? Why only ask Vice Admiral Garp? What about me?"

Roy’s indignant protest was ignored entirely by Smoker. His gaze fixed on Garp, who was sitting on the sofa eating rice crackers, silently willing the Vice Admiral to issue the order sending Roy back to Headquarters.

But...

"Ah?"

Garp looked up mid-crunch. "Back to what Headquarters?"

Smoker blinked. "Did you not come to East Blue to deliver Roy’s transfer order and bring him to Mary Geoise to discuss the Star Hunters Unit?"

He had clearly received word from Headquarters to that effect.

Garp thought for a moment. "Mm... Sengoku did say something like that, but — this old man has no such plan."

He grinned. "This old man is too lazy to sit through meetings and bicker... especially meetings with those trash from the World Government. Ptui!"

He spat.

"This old man came here for a relaxing vacation... mm, the rice crackers are finished. Do you have more?"

Smoker: "..."

Such a familiar feeling. He could have sworn he had heard almost these exact words not long ago.

His fists were hard. Very hard.

He truly could not understand — had he offended some important figure within the Marines at some point? Why did he keep attracting these types to his door?

But then...

"...No, but I’ll have someone buy more immediately."

Faced with Garp’s outrageous request, after a beat of silence, Smoker actually said exactly that.

This response made Roy raise an eyebrow.

He knew Smoker well enough — as far as he had seen, Smoker was not the type to be this agreeable even with direct superiors.

"This guy..."

Roy glanced at him, quietly turning something over in his mind.

After Smoker left the room, Garp finally looked at Roy.

"Roy boy, this old man heard everything."

"You punched a God’s Knight to protect Zephyr, didn’t you?"

Hearing this, Roy stilled.

But he didn’t bother hiding it, nodding directly. "So that’s what they’re called — God’s Knights. Yes, that did happen."

He watched as Garp gave him a slow thumbs up.

The old man grinned, showing every tooth he had.

"Well punched!"

"This old man has wanted to hit those scum for years! Hahahaha!"

He laughed from the gut.

As rumored, this man had not a shred of respect for the Celestial Dragons.

But then Garp’s expression shifted, turning serious.

"But Roy boy — doesn’t something strike you as strange?"

"This old man can tell you: the man you attacked was a Celestial Dragon, and one of fairly high standing among them at that."

"And yet you weren’t punished. Instead, they made you Deputy Commander of the Star Hunters Unit."

He grinned, leaving the sentence unfinished. "Why do you think that is?"

Roy realized at once that this Marine Hero — someone he had never had much direct contact with — was pointing at something.

And indeed he was.

Because Garp continued: "It’s your fame and your strength."

He idly picked his nose. "You and this old man are the same — a ’hot potato’ the Government doesn’t know what to do with."

"This old man isn’t certain exactly what happened in Dressrosa, but whatever it was, it clearly carries enormous significance for the Government. So... the ’World’ decided to throw us two hot potatoes straight at the front lines."

He put a particular weight on the word ’World.’

"This old man came to East Blue to make sure you understood — this is not a good thing."

Roy’s expression grew solemn.

He understood Garp’s meaning perfectly.

Both he and Garp were Marine legends promoted by the Government in different eras, each carrying considerable influence and deep-rooted networks within the Marines.

That made them costly to eliminate through internal channels — doing so risked triggering instability across both the Marines and the wider world.

So the purpose behind establishing the Star Hunters Unit was transparent enough.

Take an old legend and a rising one — two powerful, inconvenient troublemakers — and point them at The Zodiac. Let their fame and strength clear the Government’s greatest enemies for them. No matter which side won, the Government came out ahead.

Garp’s meaning now was equally clear.

As a survivor of God Valley, he had faced something of Imu’s presence directly — and while he didn’t know Imu’s name or true nature, he had long sensed that the truth of this world ran far darker than most believed.

So he had come to warn this young man about the danger he was walking into.

"If you don’t want the position, this old man will work with Zephyr and Sengoku to push the Government back."

Garp said quietly: "What do you say, boy?"

The usual irreverence in his face had given way to something rare — genuine seriousness.

After God Valley, after watching the world’s darkness with his own eyes, Garp had once sat down with Sengoku for a long and heated argument.

"This world is a crumbling cliff. The kind and the innocent have already fallen into the darkness below, and they can’t move. The powerful ones standing at the top don’t even notice — one careless step and the stones they kick loose will crush the people beneath."

Both men had agreed: this was the immovable reality of their world.

But on what to do about it, they had parted ways.

Sengoku believed in endurance — climb to the top, and from there, quietly ignore the orders that had to be ignored, using whatever power you held to reduce the falling stones and protect as many people as you could.

Garp believed in staying below. Keep to your true heart, he said. That way, when the stones fell, at least you were in a position to step in front of them.

That difference had led them down different roads.

Marine Hero Garp chose to remain a Vice Admiral, refusing promotion to Admiral so he would never have to take direct orders from the Celestial Dragons.

He moved freely within the system, and personally protected the ordinary soldiers and the weak that he could actually reach.

Sengoku chose to keep climbing, all the way to Fleet Admiral.

Garp had even made him a promise for it — if the day came that Sengoku lost his true heart and was dyed black, he would kill his old friend himself.

Sengoku had agreed without hesitation.

Under that understanding, the two had fought side by side ever since.

But they were getting old.

The Marines needed the next generation — a generation with equal strength, uncorrupted hearts, and no entanglement with the Government’s worst deeds.

And after the Zephyr incident, Garp had made up his mind: Roy was the backbone of that next generation.

He had the power. More importantly, he had the will — that spirit that had driven him to strike a God’s Knight directly for his mentor’s sake, consequences be damned.

In Garp’s eyes, that was worth more than strength.

So he had come today to say these words. It was also a decision he and Sengoku had reached together in quiet — if Roy refused the position of Deputy Commander, then the two of them would force the World Government to back down, whatever it cost.

Roy was silent for a moment after Garp finished.

He could feel the weight and sincerity behind every word.

But...

"No, Vice Admiral Garp."

He met the old man’s eyes.

"My view is exactly the opposite of yours."

"Oh?"

Garp raised an eyebrow.

"I don’t think this position is a danger. On the contrary — I think it’s..."

Roy said calmly.

Unlike Garp, Roy had access to more information than almost anyone else on the sea.

And from that information, certain things became clear.

The Star Hunters Unit, for instance — the entire operation was effectively already settled, with formation expected within two months at most.

Yet within Government channels, the Five Elders had apparently voiced a vague position: the establishment of the Star Hunters Unit could be delayed; specific arrangements might warrant further discussion.

That was unusual.

On the surface it looked as though the Five Elders simply didn’t want the unit formed — but had been forced into it regardless.

To most people that would seem absurd. The Five Elders were the highest authority in the world. Their will was supposed to be absolute.

But for Roy, who knew the truth of this world and what had truly happened in Dressrosa, the essence was visible directly.

The Star Hunters Unit had been established at Imu’s insistence.

After grasping the concept of the ’Creator,’ Roy could easily imagine what the God’s Knights’ failure in Dressrosa meant to Imu.

He had likely lost full confidence in the God’s Knights — and as Doflamingo had said, most of them were nothing more than power-drunk trash in the end.

Imu probably wanted to consolidate the forces at His disposal and direct them at The Zodiac, even overriding the Five Elders and the Celestial Dragons to do it.

The Five Elders couldn’t openly defy Imu’s orders.

But — given that Saint Saturn had been quietly keeping the ancient robot Emeth for Vegapunk to study, it wasn’t hard to see that the Five Elders’ loyalty to Imu was not absolute.

They clearly had no desire for a force as powerful and as far outside Celestial Dragon control as the Star Hunters Unit to exist.

A fracture had opened between the two.

And fractures meant chaos. Fractures meant...

"Opportunity."

Roy gave a quiet, dry laugh.

"If the world is already a cliff, and all the kind and innocent are trapped below it — then whether you choose to stand on the cliff or stay beneath it, both are wrong."

He raised one hand and looked at it.

"If it were me, I would gather enough power and authority, and then... pull everyone below the cliff up. And then fill the cliff in entirely." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

He looked at Garp.

"Return the sea to level ground — a world where people can simply live. That is what a Marine should do."

He said it plainly.

By this point, setting aside his identity as Star Lord, he no longer needed to hide much of what he thought. Like Garp, his standing was enough that he could afford to say clearly what he liked and what he didn’t.

And he had been unhappy with this world for a long time.

Now, with a fracture forming between the Five Elders and Imu, and a portion of the power they held beginning to loosen — he had every reason to seize this moment, accumulate as much initiative as he could, and lay the groundwork for what was to come.

He held one thing back, of course — the part that came after. That once the people below the cliff had been brought up, once the cliff itself had been filled in, the powerful figures who had stood on top of it would face their own reckoning from the people they had crushed.

"As for the danger of facing The Zodiac..."

He felt a flicker of something almost like amusement.

"I don’t care."

"..."

Garp looked at him — at those steady, unhesitating eyes.

And for a moment, the old man said nothing.

Then...

"Ho. Filling the cliff..."

It was something even he and Sengoku had never dared to think.

Not because they hadn’t wanted to. But because they knew too well how deep and dark the abyss below that cliff truly was.

Even Sengoku, in all his ambition, had only ever hoped to shift the world’s foundations slightly in his lifetime — to scrape away a little of the rot, nothing more.

But this boy...

"Youth is truly something."

Garp grinned again, wide and unguarded. "Hahahaha — this old man underestimated you, boy!"

The joy in his laugh was genuine.

Yes. This was it.

This was exactly what the Marines needed. Not cautious old men managing their compromises, but a new generation with the nerve to imagine something better.

"Pity that Luffy boy is set on his own path because of that Red-Haired... otherwise you’d have made a fine person to guide him."

He clicked his tongue with mild regret.

Then, setting that aside, he looked at Roy directly. "Roy boy — since you managed to hurt that God’s Knight, you’ve already mastered Conqueror’s Infusion, haven’t you?"

Roy stilled briefly, then nodded.

The smile on Garp’s face deepened.

He rolled up his sleeve.

Beneath it, a muscular arm was revealed — and across it, dark crimson lightning crackled and coiled, the unmistakable flicker of advanced Conqueror’s Haki.

That was his second reason for coming.

"Then — let this old man see it, boy. Show me your spirit."

☆☆☆

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