Sengoku was momentarily stunned by Smoker's report. While Luo Ye had always been a loose cannon, disobeying direct orders and showing no mercy to pirates, he had never outright harmed a fellow Marine before.
Why had he gone to East Blue and killed a branch colonel?
"Marshal Sengoku? Did you know about this beforehand?"
Pulled from his thoughts by Smoker's voice, Sengoku let out a sigh. If he had known Luo Ye would stir up trouble like this, he would have never allowed him to set foot in East Blue. But that wasn't something he could admit.
"You don't need to concern yourself with this. I will personally see to it that a suitable replacement is assigned to Division 16."
Smoker narrowed his eyes. Sengoku's response only confirmed what he suspected—this wasn't pre-approved. What right did Luo Ye have to execute a Marine officer without authorization? Even an Admiral couldn't act so arbitrarily.
When Luo Ye arrived in Loguetown, Smoker would make sure to confront him about this.
Unbothered by Smoker's reaction, Sengoku hung up the phone. He clenched his fists as his jaw tightened.
Crunch.
The sound of someone munching on senbei broke through the silence. Turning sharply, Sengoku found himself glaring at Garp, who continued eating as if he hadn't a care in the world.
"GARP, YOU DAMNED FOOL! CAN YOU THINK ABOUT ANYTHING OTHER THAN SENBEI?!"
Sengoku's voice boomed through the office, veins bulging on his forehead. "Your so-called 'grandson' just killed a Marine branch colonel in East Blue! If Smoker hadn't reported it, would that brat Luo Ye have ever informed me?!"
Garp, mid-bite, blinked. "Huh? That happened? Well, that kid went a bit overboard."
Hearing Garp's words, Sengoku's rage lessened slightly. If even Garp thought Luo Ye had stepped out of line, there was hope of reigning him in.
But before he could relax, Garp casually added, "Smoker really talks too much."
Sengoku: "…?"
The sheer audacity of Garp's statement made Sengoku see red.
"GARP, YOU BASTARD! DO YOU EVEN UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS OF WHAT THAT BRAT DID?!"
But Garp just waved a hand dismissively, still chewing.
"Come on, Sengoku, we've known that kid for years. If Luo Ye killed Colonel Nezumi, then that scumbag must've been up to something shady."
Sengoku hesitated. Garp's reasoning wasn't wrong. Luo Ye had always been ruthless toward criminals, but he never harmed the innocent. If he executed Nezumi, then the colonel had likely been deeply corrupt.
Sengoku sighed. "Even so, I still need to hear his justification."
He reached for the transponder snail.
Brrr… Brrr…
"Moshi moshi. Kid Luo Ye, it's Sengoku. Why did you kill the Colonel of Division 16?"
"If he was guilty of misconduct, you should have brought him in for trial."
"…Tch."
Hearing Sengoku's nagging, Luo Ye felt a headache coming on. Was this what old age did to people? It was almost scary.
To shut him up, Luo Ye quickly explained Nezumi's crimes—his protection of Arlong, the extortion of Cocoyashi Village, and the abuse of his Marine position.
Before Sengoku could respond, Luo Ye hung up.
Back in Marineford, Sengoku stared at the transponder snail in disbelief.
He turned to see Garp smirking at him.
"GARP, THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THAT BRAT HAS HUNG UP ON ME!" Sengoku bellowed.
Garp burst into laughter. It was exactly as he thought. If Nezumi had gotten on Luo Ye's bad side, then he must have been a disgrace to the Marines. And judging by how Sengoku had stopped ranting about Luo Ye killing a Marine, he had already accepted that reality.
As for Sengoku's demand that Luo Ye be 'taught a lesson' when he returned?
Garp scoffed, crossing his arms. "I'm not stupid."
Sengoku had no response. He just clicked his tongue in frustration.
"This is why none of your grandsons will ever give me peace of mind!" he growled. "That damn Luo Ye is always causing trouble. Even as an Admiral, he refuses to play by the rules!"
Sengoku's complaints only escalated.
"Ace and Sabo have half the Headquarters officers running around trying to stop them from 'sparring' with everyone they see!"
"They claim it's 'training'—who trains by ganging up on captains and rear admirals?!"
"And don't even get me started on the youngest one! That glutton Luffy eats more than the entire recruit squad combined! We've had to increase food shipments to the training camp just for him!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Garp threw his head back and laughed, thoroughly enjoying Sengoku's frustration.
He didn't care how much Sengoku griped—Luo Ye, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy were his pride and joy. Nothing the Fleet Admiral said could change that.