One Piece: Get Stronger by Watching Battles

Tina glanced at the shattered chair and the deep trenches in the ground.

As Momousagi's friend, Tina could naturally recognize who was responsible for the incident, and therefore didn't believe Zhou Ze's words.

This has already caused Gion to make changes, and you still say it has nothing to do with you?

"Zhou Ze, Gion has come all this way, how could you treat her like this?"

Zhou Ze glanced at Tina's gaze and immediately realized what she was thinking. His scalp tingled, his face fell, and he let out a wail.

"I'm innocent!"

P.S.: Smoking is harmful to your health. Dear readers, please do not smoke under any circumstances! Remember!

Chapter 427 The Two Generals, Comparable to Zhuge Liang and Phoenix Chick

"Injustice!"

Grant and Sherman lay on the ground, clutching their heads and groaning.

"You two brats, you haven't been following Zhou Ze for long, but you've already picked up his scoundrel manner perfectly!"

Garp's fists clenched so tightly they cracked, veins bulged on his forehead, his eyes were full of disdain, and his tone was even more dissatisfied.

"Get up now, do you want me to give you a few more punches to feel better?"

Grant and Sherman exchanged a furtive glance, then scrambled to their feet, their faces beaming with obsequious smiles, and flanked Garp on either side.

"Lieutenant General Karp, we are truly innocent! Lieutenant General Zhou Ze's orders to us were simply to follow your instructions, and he didn't say anything else!"

Garp's suspicious gaze, tinged with disdain, swept over the two of them for a moment before letting out a muffled groan.

"Zhou Ze may not have said anything else to you... What I want to know is, did you two brats say anything to him?"

Sherman and Grant felt a chill run down their spines. They both lowered their eyelids slightly, their gazes darting away for a moment before they feigned ease, raising their heads with even more fawning expressions.

"Heh, heh heh, Lieutenant General Garp, as you said yourself, we're just kids. Even if we wanted to say more, with the wisdom of the Chief of Staff, what more could we possibly say to him?"

“Yes, Lieutenant General Garp, you’re overthinking it!” Grant nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Garp's face tightened with worry; he clearly didn't believe the two men's story. After a moment's hesitation, his gaze sharpened as he stared at them.

"You two are trying to fool this old man like Zhou Ze? Give me a break! I've heard Zhou Ze himself comment on you two brats..."

Sherman and Grant exchanged a glance, their interest piqued, eager to know how Zhou Ze would evaluate them.

Although they were usually incredibly arrogant, considering themselves the cream of the crop among the young navy, even Zhou Ze often addressed them by their first names.

However, in the end, Zhou Ze wasn't much older than them; they were roughly the same age. Furthermore, Zhou Ze didn't place much importance on hierarchical relationships.

Therefore, the two kids usually acted like lawless devils.

However, they still acknowledged Zhou Ze as a strongman.

“Zhou Ze once said that under his command, Mike and George were like ‘Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix’, and you two are no less so, comparable to the ‘Two Generals’…!”

Garp glanced at the two of them sideways, finished the rest of his sentence with a look of disdain, and then began to complain again.

“That bastard Zhou Ze, he calls himself ‘Ink Dragon’ and that’s fine, but Old Mike served under me for many years. How could I not have discovered his talent? What makes him worthy of the title ‘Hidden Dragon’?”

Even the most arrogant Sherman and Grant knew that Garp could criticize Zhou Ze, and if they were to join in the criticism in front of Garp, they would truly be out of their minds...

Throughout the entire navy, everyone knows the relationship between Garp and Zhou Ze!

"I knew it! That's why Zhou Ze always called me 'Silly Husky,' oh, so he had such a high opinion of me behind my back!"

Sherman stroked his chin, looking belatedly realizing what was happening.

"But I seem to remember him saying something like that about old Mike too...?"

Grant, standing next to Sherman, gave him a disdainful look.

"Are you deaf? Didn't Lieutenant General Karp just say that Zhou Ze thinks the two of us are 'on par' with Mike and the others? So, whether it's 'Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix' or 'The Two Generals,' it's the same assessment..."

This time, Sherman didn't argue with Grant, but nodded. "Yeah, that's true."

After a moment of silence, the two exchanged a glance and muttered in unison, "But I still think Mike and George are not as good as me...!"

Garp's original intention was to extract some useful information from the two kids, but their conversation unexpectedly veered off course and they started complaining about Zhou Ze, which made his eyebrows twitch violently.

"You two bastards, I'm asking you a serious question...!"

The old man gave a furious shout, trying to steer the conversation back on track.

Damn it, why does everything that involves Zhou Ze always veer off into some inexplicable way?

The two kids simultaneously shrugged, wondering how to react, when a marine outside the courtyard gate shouted.

"Report! Lieutenant General Tsuru, Deputy Chief of Staff, has arrived!"

Before the words were finished, the crisp sound of high heels clicking on the ground could be heard.

Garp and the other two were all stunned for a moment. Then Garp's face darkened, and Sherman and Grant quickly reacted as well. However, their faces lit up with joy, and they immediately stood at attention and saluted.

"Vice Admiral Garp, Vice Admiral Tsuru must be here to see you. We'll be going now!"

Without waiting for Garp's response, he ran out the door as if fleeing.

Two salutes were heard outside the door addressed to Lieutenant General Tsuru. The sound of running gradually faded into the distance, and the clatter of high heels paused for a moment before resuming…

Lieutenant General Tsuru slowly walked in!

The old lady and the old man stared at each other from a distance of nearly ten meters. From the aura they had sensed earlier, Garp had already figured out that Vice Admiral Tsuru hadn't brought her female naval subordinates with her this time. The reason for this was obvious.

Vice Admiral Tsuru immediately deduced from Garp's expression that the answer he wanted was indeed on Fishman Island...

"Garp, you should know what to say, right?"

After a long silence, Lieutenant General Tsuru finally spoke softly, his voice not loud, but his tone resolute.

Seeing Vice Admiral Jianhe's reaction, Garp did not try to brush it off with his usual flippant smile.

The fact that this clever old lady was here clearly indicates that she had grasped the crux of the matter…

“Little Crane, that brat is guarding Fishman Island. He's not in Sabaody right now, and I happen to have some free time, so…”

After a moment's thought, Karp spoke in a deep voice, noticing that Vice Admiral Tsuru's face had visibly darkened, and a sudden urgency rose in his heart.

"Hey, hey, don't be angry yet. I'm not saying this to hide anything from you, I just want to tell you that this matter really has nothing to do with me..."

Lieutenant General Tsuru's gaze grew increasingly cold. This old fellow was still spouting nonsense!

A pure, cleansing power was already surging within the old woman's palms.

"Little Crane, don't be impulsive, I'm truly innocent... Don't make a move, you can't beat me..."

Vice Admiral Tsuru unleashed astonishing power from his thin limbs, and with a light leap, he attacked Garp.

"Ah, someone... someone knows more than I do... Steelbone Kong, that old guy is on the island too, he knows everything!"

The hand, surging with energy, stopped in front of Garp. The force of the palm swirled the navy cloak behind Garp. Vice Admiral Tsuru lightly turned her wrist, pure energy washing away the restlessness in her heart, and gazed intently at Garp.

"The Commander-in-Chief? What's he doing on the island? And you called him 'old guy,' so... your talks broke down?"

Chapter 428 Determining One Thing, Determining One Person

Fishman Island, Dragon Palace.

King Neptune stood with his arms crossed, deep in thought, occasionally pulling out a Den Den Mushi from his enormous orange beard, seemingly hesitating about whether to contact someone.

Below the steps, Prince Flipped Star stared at Neptune, hesitating for a long time.

"Father, my brother Shark Star has relayed Zhou Ze's suggestion that you accept the Celestial Dragons' demands. Why...?"

Neptune lowered his gaze, his eyes filled with worry as he looked at the Starfall, then slowly swam down from his throne and sat down in front of the Starfall, coiling his fishtail around his waist.

"A disaster-prone star, I'm a bit puzzled...!"

Seemingly unsure how to explain, Neptune uttered a sentence and then remained silent for a long while.

After thinking for a moment, Fanchexing tentatively asked, "Is Father worried that if we agree to the Celestial Dragons' demands, and their agreement this time turns out to be real, then we...?"

Neptune was somewhat taken aback by the fact that the "roller coaster" was so oblivious to political sensitivity.

"You actually had such a thought? I'm really...!"

As he spoke, he sighed again.

"Sigh, do the Celestial Dragons have any sincerity? When your brother sent back the intelligence, didn't he also send back Zhou Ze's analysis?"

"How could the Celestial Dragons possibly be sincere? Their actions... seem to be aimed at confirming something else...!"

Fanchexing had never doubted Zhou Ze's judgment; however, he was even more confused about his father's concerns, which was why he used this as a starting point.

"So, Father, what are you worried about...?"

The "mind-blowing" comment from the person who had just crashed made Neptune rethink his thoughts. After a moment's thought, Neptune said in a deep voice,

"What I'm actually worried about is Zhou Ze... He doesn't seem overly concerned about the risks that will come from Bai Xing's true identity being exposed, which makes me think that he probably knows what the World Government is trying to determine!"

The man who crashed didn't understand what Neptune was saying, but he was deeply shocked.

"Father, this... Zhou Ze, is he really...?"

Neptune nodded solemnly. "Yes, actually, not only Zhou Ze, but the Celestial Dragons should have already gotten the answers they wanted!"

Fan Chexing's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Could a 'smart' person really do this kind of remote counterattack?

Neptune ignored the shocked expression on the face of the man who had crashed, and continued talking to himself.

"To confirm whether my judgment was accurate, I only need to pass on a message to Musgarud, telling him that I accept the terms..."

"If they weren't trying to confirm something, they could just make up a location out of thin air, and all they'd have to do is destroy an island. They're capable of making that decision..."

"Conversely, if they have already received an answer... then the 'one island for one island' agreement will no longer be mentioned..."

At this point, a strange, somewhat mocking look flashed in Neptune's eyes.

"After all, they never really cared about Shirahoshi's 'awakening' from the beginning!"

Fan Chexing only regained some composure after hearing this; he was so shocked his jaw almost dislocated.

"Father, do you mean that the World Government never really cared about my sister's power from the beginning, and that they were just using it to uncover the truth of something?"

Neptune raised its tail, its nearly 12-meter-long body unusually tall, and slapped its tail heavily on the floor several times.