Chapter 780 - 779: Your Grandfather or Your Companions, Which Side Do You Choose?

Those with a clear head within the Navy also understood that Garp was simply giving the Navy a way out. He was using his own life as the price to allow the Navy’s justice to endure.

Over the past week, the Navy’s hawk faction, spearheaded by Doberman, had urged Garp more than once not to go through with this. They assured him they would not do anything out of line and begged him to stay out of this fight.

Yet, to all these persuasions, Garp gave a flat refusal.

His action this time was not meant to use his life to force the hawk faction into silence; rather, it was to project an image to the entire world that the Navy was still upholding justice.

Since the collapse of the World Government, the recruitment of new Navy personnel had plummeted. The fall of the government had dealt a heavy blow to the Navy, while the number of pirates was increasing exponentially.

Under such circumstances, he, the Hero of the Navy, had to stand up. He needed to use his battle, or even his death, to show the world that the Navy had not lost its sense of justice and was still fighting to maintain peace.

In Totto Land, on Matcha Island.

"So, what do you say, Captain Alucard? Garp-san has clearly laid out his cards. How will you respond?"

The entire area was a matcha park made completely of matcha. Alucard sat atop a matcha stone, while Kuzan, carrying a backpack, questioned him from behind.

The surrounding area was filled with members of the Big Mom Pirates, yet for some unknown reason, they seemed completely blind to Alucard and Kuzan sitting right there in plain sight. They didn’t react at all, acting as though no one was there.

"To possess such resolve for the sake of the Navy, he truly is a remarkable man."

A gentle breeze blew past, scattering Alucard’s hair and obscuring one of his eyes.

"I once wanted to become like that too, that kind of cool, dashing man," Kuzan sighed, before shifting the topic. "So? Can you tell me your plan now?"

"Only those with that kind of resolve can be called humans. Why shouldn’t I accept?"

Alucard raised his right hand, the sigil on the back of his white glove glowing with a crimson light. "Interesting. This is truly too interesting."

"Then I’ll head back and deliver the message. The location is Garp-san’s hometown, Mount Corvo in Foosha Village, the East Blue," Kuzan said, turning to leave.

Right then, the shadows on the ground suddenly surged upward, wrapping around Alucard’s body before sinking back into the earth in less than two seconds. When a figure emerged once more, it was actually Katakuri.

At that exact moment, the residents of Matcha Island, who had previously been oblivious to Kuzan’s presence, all noticed him at once.

"Th-That’s the former Navy Admiral, Aokiji!"

"He’s a combatant for the Immortal Pirates now! Wh-Why is he appearing here?!"

"What are the guards doing?! How could they let such a dangerous enemy infiltrate this place?!"

In an instant, the entire street fell into a commotion. Seeing this, Kuzan quickly made a run for it, roaring internally, What the hell? When I was standing next to Alucard, no one could see me at all!

Alucard, now disguised as Katakuri, strutted openly through the territory of the Big Mom Pirates, muttering to himself, "Well then, time to head to the East Blue... No, there’s no need to rush, is there?"

Under the deliberate promotion of Sengoku, Garp, and the others, this impending war had drawn the attention of the entire world.

The Navy’s propaganda basically focused on topics like: "The Hero of the Navy is willing to risk his life in battle to carry out justice."

This was because it let the world know clearly that the Navy had not abandoned its justice.

But right at this moment, a new piece of news arrived from Morgans’ World Economy News Paper: the Revolutionary Army’s headquarters, Baltigo, had been destroyed.

The ones who had struck were the Scientific Research Unit under the Immortal Pirates.

Specifically, it was the group led by Dr. Vegapunk, the Female Dragon Knight Aranea, the Human Weapon Bartholomew Kuma, and the newly joined Edward Weevil.

Despite the shocking news, the photo published in the newspaper only showed a ruined wasteland of the Revolutionary Army’s headquarters in Baltigo. There were no photos of corpses or death notices for Sabo, Emporio Ivankov, or the others.

From the look of it, they weren’t dead.

In the New World, drawing closer to the territory of the Big Mom Pirates, the Thousand Sunny was sailing toward the Emperor’s domain to rescue Sanji. Luffy was crouching on the lion head at the bow of the ship.

He was currently locked in a deep, agonizing dilemma.

Sanji had been abducted by Big Mom, his grandfather was about to fight a decisive battle against Alucard, and his sworn brother was missing with his life hanging in the balance.

Faced with such a complicated situation right now, what was he supposed to do?

"Sabo should be fine. If something had happened to him, it definitely would have been published in the newspaper. So right now, we are left with only two choices: return to the East Blue to save your grandfather, or enter the territory of the Big Mom Pirates to rescue Sanji."

The speaker was Carina. She was a songstress who had originally successfully infiltrated Gild Tesoro’s side. After the Donquixote Alliance fell and Gran Tesoro was seized by the Immortal Pirates, she had nowhere left to go, so she accepted Nami’s invitation to join the Straw Hat Pirates.

"What do you mean, ’save’ him... Luffy’s grandfather is the Hero of the Navy! And... And his opponent is that Alucard! A battle of their caliber, even if we go, we..."

Usopp’s entire body was trembling as he spoke. Whether it was Garp or Alucard, their level was far too high above theirs.

By comparison, Usopp would much rather sneak into the territory of the Big Mom Pirates to rescue Sanji.

At least that way, they could find Sanji and make a run for it, meaning there might still be a silver lining.

But who could possibly have the confidence to rescue Garp from Alucard’s clutches?

While Usopp’s thoughts carried a heavy suspicion of cowardice and a fear of death, they were not entirely without merit.

For a moment, the Straw Hat Pirates fell into a collective silence.

Zoro, who was leaning against a corner, suddenly opened his eyes and said, "How about we split into two groups?"

"Huh?"

Everyone’s attention instantly snapped to Zoro, and even Luffy turned around from the lion’s head.

"One group will head back to the East Blue. Though I don’t know if it’ll be of any use, we can see if we can help Luffy’s grandfather. Even if he’s a Marine, if he hadn’t held back during the Summit War, we wouldn’t have escaped so easily. The remaining group will go rescue that ero-cook."

Zoro’s eyes swept over everyone. "What do you all think of that?"