At the port of Marine Headquarters, Marineford, Cudius had just disembarked from a warship. Walking beside him was Vice Admiral Garp, who had been chattering non-stop sihey'd set foot on nd.

  Holding his forehead in frustration, Cudius sighed. "Garp, I've told you tless times, I don't know where the Roger Pirates are. Why do you keep b me?"

  "It's not about the Roger Pirates as a group. They've already disbanded. Everyone knows that," Garp said, waving his hand dismissively. "Breaking up has its advantages, sure, but it also means news will leak more easily. Aren't you CP-X guys supposed to be good at gathering intel? Just tell me if you hear anything especially about that b*****d Roger."

  "I'm as anxious as you are. The Five Elders have beehing down my neck about this. Why do you think I came to Marine Headquarters in the first pce? I'm here looking for information too," Cudius replied.

  "Pfft, information? More like you're just here to visit Gion," Garp teased, waving him off.

  In truth, while Cudius had good retionships with figures like Sengoku and Zephyr, there was always a sense of formality and distan their versations. They respected him but treated him differently because of his Celestial Dragon status. Garp, oher hand, couldn't care less about Cudius's noble blood. He spoke to him like he would anyone else, without any regard for rank or title. Oddly enough, this made Cudius feel more fortable.

  Initially, Cudius and Garp weren't particurly close. Before the capture of Shiki, they were barely acquaintances, just two people who knew of each other without mutera. But after Shiki's arrest, they found themselves w together more frequently. Over time, Garp came to realize that Cudius wasn't your typical Celestial Dragon. The man didn't act like o all. In fact, in many ways, they got along quite well. Their retionship grew quickly, as if they had been friends for years.

  No treated Cudius like an old buddy, pletely informal. He would casually sp Cudius on the shoulder or pull him by the arm, behavior that would have been unthinkable for others when dealing with a Celestial Dragon.

  "I'm serious, I really am just here for information…" Cudius repeated, a bit exasperated.

  "You sure? You're not lying to me?" Garp asked, staring at him with narrowed eyes.

  "What would I lie to you about?" Cudius responded, rubbing his temples.

  Scratg his , Garp muttered, "Strange… Gion's beautiful, capable, and has a bright future in the Marines. Plenty of people want to chase after her, so why are you not showing any i?"

  "Maybe because I'm not in the Marines?" Cudius shot back, feeling a little annoyed.

  Garp grinned and mumbled to himself, "Maybe I should tell Gion not to waste her time on you…"

  "What was that?" Cudius asked, not catg what Garp had said.

  "Ahahahaha, nothing! Fet it! Let's go, let's go. I'll show you what you want to see," Garp ughed awkwardly, ging the subjed pulling Cudius along by the arm.

  Ohey were inside Garp's office, Cudius sat down and sipped some tea while Garp looked at him with fusion. "What's this about? You seemed like you were in a rush back at the port. Weren't you looking for some information? Now you're ag all casual."

  Cudius chuckled, a bit embarrassed. "Well, I was just trying tthen my position, you know. Anyway, don't ge the subject do you have what I'm looking for or not?"

  Garp paused, his expression serious for a moment. "You're talking about that new stifiit Mariablished, right? It's supposed to be top secret. How did you find out about it?"

  Cudius smiled slyly. "e on, Garp. Did you fet who I am? I might not be able to gather intel like we do for the public, but I have access to a lot of information within the Wover. My authority lets me know more than you think."

  Garp shook his head in resignation. "I swear, Cudius, you've got all these skills, but you never use them for anything productive. You've got your eye on Marine all the time. Why don't you focus on finding Roger instead of digging into our stuff?"

  "I'm w on it! Maybe I'll have Roger in s in a few days," Cudius muttered, his patience wearing thin. It felt like everywhere he went, someone brought up Roger.

  Garp's expression grew serious again. "Cudius, let me remind you, don't get too cocky just because you helped capture Shiki. Roger is a differe. He's incredibly dangerous. If you find any leads on him, cooperate with Marine Headquarters. You've got talent in your CP-X team, but you're still growing. You don't want to end up on the wrong side er."

  After a pause, Garp added, "Of course, if you don't want to involve too many people or risk losing credit, you always e to me directly. I'll help you, and you take all the glory for capturing him."

  Cudius gave Garp a withering look. "Do you really think I'm that shameless?"

  Befarp could respond, Cudius quickly ged the subject. "Fet aber. Let's get back to what we were talking about the stifiit."

  "Well, it does exist, but even with your authority, you're not allowed to visit. You'd need authorization directly from Fleet Admiral Kong. If you get that, I'll help you out. Until then, no dice," Garp said, waving his hand dismissively.

  "If I had the authorization, I wouldn't be here asking you about it," Cudius muttered under his breath. "Anyway, I'm not asking to visit. I just heard that you guys are w on somethied to Devil Fruits, turning them into equipment."

  Garp's eyes widened in shock. "How do you know about that? Do we have a spy inside?"

  "No, no, calm down. I heard it from the Five Elders," Cudius said casually, using the Elders as a ve excuse after all, no one would dare question that.

  Garp let out a sigh of relief. "You scared me for a sed there."

  Cudius then reached into his coat and pulled out a Devil Fruit, pg it oable. Garp eyed it curiously. "What's this?"

  "This," Cudius said with a grin, "is the Logia S-S Fruit. I need a favor. I want your stifiit to help me turn it into something like a wallet or a backpack. You know what I mean."

  Garp blihen scratched his head. "Turning a s into ste equipment? Huh, that's actually pretty clever…"

  Cudius smirked. "Just don't try to use it as an excuse to steal it or anything."

  Garp chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "What kind of person do you think I am? Am I really that shameless?"

  Cudius rolled his eyes. "The way yhing says it all."

  "Haha, well… fine. I'll take care of it. Just leave it to me. You'll get your sy wallet or whatever," Garp said with a ugh.