Cudius had initially po visit Prehistorid to cate pets, but unforeseen circumstances forced him to abandon that pn. While on the edge of Prehistorid, he made a call ton via a Den Den Mushi, arranging to meet up ter.

  He instructed Dragon to tact him once he was doh his matters.

  Dragon didn't push ba this. While it was an urgent matter, it wasn't immediate. The dey wasn't signifit, and, as Cudius mentioned, he knew Dragon wao learn a scripts from the books.

  It was almost absurd, but there was no alternative; even if it seemed foolish, one had to give it their best shot. Better that than doing nothing at all, right? Who knows, maybe there'd be a miracle?

  Although Cudius didn't share the details of what had happened, Dragon could guess that whatever it was that caused him to miss the meeting must have been signifit. He'd just have to wait for the test papers to find out more.

  The Prometheus, o full speed, was incredibly fast. The ship was self-suffit, with enough provisions to st a year without needing to resupply.

  With the vessel running at maximum power, Cudius quickly made his way baariejois.

  Vice Admiral Garp seemed to have been waiting for Cudius at the harbor. When he saw the Prometheus dog, he stepped forward to greet them.

  Cudius and his crew disembarked quickly. Stussy stood beside him, while Nia held little Ace. Enel, carrying his fishing rod, already looked like part of the group.

  Acc to their arra, Cudius would let Enel set out on his own in a year's time, simir to how he had let Crocodile go off on his own.

  The young girl Robin showed no iion of disembarking, still holed up in the library. Nothing much to add there.

  The moment Garp id eyes on Ace, his face lit up. Without a word, he grabbed Ad rubbed the boy's cheeks with his bearded face.

  "Grandpa, that tickles! You're so annoying," Apirying to push Garp away with a look of mock disgust.

  "Hahahaha! Ace, it's been a while. Did you miss Grandpa?" Garp asked with a hearty ugh.

  "No, not at all," Ace replied mercilessly.

  Garp's grin faltered slightly, and he shot a disapproving look at Cudius. "What kind of upbringing is this? Haven't you taught him to respect his elders?"

  Cudius returhe look, somewhat exasperated. "What does that have to do with me? Ace is a bright and well-mannered kid. If there's an issue, it's on you."

  True enough, Cudius had trained Ace well. The boy had received an excellent education and ied Cudius's love for reading. Though his personality remained a bit "untamed," likely due ter's adventurous blood running through him, he exuded a natural aura of adventure.

  Still, he was far better behaved than his inal wild-child self. Now that he was growing older, Cudius had even started developing his strength.

  Garp knew better than tue with Cudius, so he just let out a grumble, showing a hint of dissatisfa. "Alright, time's tig. Let's not waste any more time. Are you ready to go?" he said.

  Cudius nodded and turo Stussy. "You have your own busio handle here, right? Go take care of it."

  "Of course, Yhness. I wish you success in your endeavors," Stussy said with a smile.

  Cudius aowledged her and then turo the head steward, Nia. "Nia, stay in Mariejois and take care of Atil we return."

  "Yes, Yhness. I'll look after the young master," Nia said with a nod.

  , Cudius looked at Enel and smiled. "A year from now, you'll set off on your own. Think of this as an opportunity to prove yourself."

  Enel grinned, his eyes filled with excitement. "Yhness, the standards you set for me are really high. But don't worry, I won't let you down."

  With that settled, Cudius and Enel departed with Garp.

  They didn't take the Prometheus this time. With time being short, taking the Prometheus, which would have to pass through Fish-Man Isnd, would take at least a week for preparation and transit. By then, they might as well be ying flowers on Dougs Bullet's grave.

  Crossing Mariejois, they arrived at the port on the New World side, where a Marine warship was already waiting.

  Wasting no time, Cudius and Garp boarded the ship together, a peculiar vessel with a dog-head design. Cudius could never quite figure out where Garp's strange sense of humor came from.

  On barp, in a ceremonious fashion, took a dog-head cap from an aide and pced it on his head, leaving Cudius momentarily stunned.

  "What're you looking at? Jealous? I've got extras if you want one," Garp said, adjusting his hat.

  Cudius quickly waved his hands. "No thanks. I'm just... surprised at your uaste."

  "You just don't get it. This is called personality. Do you even know what fashion is? Marines shouldn't be so dull," Garp said, pulling out a bag of senbei and mung on it.

  Soon, the dog-headed warship set sail toward the New World.

  After a few bites, Garp spoke up again. "Sengoku and the others set off two days ago. But my ship's been modified; we should be able to catch up."

  "Yeah, I tell. This thing looks like it's got the speed of a rag hound," Cudius joked, eyeing the dog-head bow.

  "Is that a hint of sarcasm I'm hearing?" Garp asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "You're imagining things. I'm genuinely plimenting your ship," Cudius replied, irely sincerely.

  Garp scratched his neck but didn't press the issue. Cudius then asked, "I heard from Fleet Admiral Kong that you're using a Buster Call for this mission. Seems like you've been triggering those more often these past few years."

  Garp nodded, letting out a sigh. "Yeah, the increase in Buster Calls just shows ohing, the threats out at sea are getting worse."

  "So what's the lineup for this one? I'm guessing Kong wants to make sure everything goes smoothly. He's not ing along, is he?" Cudius asked.

  "No, Kong is staying back at Mariejois. Sengoku and I are leading the operation, with its participating as well. And of course, you've got your CP-X involved. On the Marine side, we've got me, Sengoku, Tsuru, Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, Gion, plus the likes of Vice Admirals like the Momonga and Doberman."

  Cudius's eyes wide this. "A lineup like that? What do you even need CP-X for? With that kind of force, you could take on the Whitebeard Pirates!"

  He mentally tallied the power: while Sengoku was the only official Admiral, Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, and Gion were all Admiral-level in strength. Not to mention, Tsuru's strategic brilliand Garp's unmatched battle prowess were also part of the mix.

  More than half of the Marine's high and was deployed. Seven Admiral-level powers in one mission, it seemed overkill for handling Dougs Bullet and Byrnndi World.

  "Well, better safe than sorry. This is a big deal, and we 't afford any slip-ups. If even one of them gets away, it'll be chaos ter on," Garp said matter-of-factly.

  ***

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