OPJ Chapter 8: Loguetown

"You are flattering me by calling me a treasure." Saitama waved his hand with empty eyes. " I'm just a hero because of my interest and try to do whatever is within my power."

"Ha,ha,ha.. Young people with ideas similar to your's keep getting rare as time passes."

Garp burst out laughing with a fierce voice, and said, "With your strength, as long as you are willing to do what you can, that would be the greatest help to justice!"

Saitama fingered his ear and asked after the noise had passed, "So, where are we going?"

"To the Marine Headquarters!" Garp patted Saitama on his shoulder as he said, "Although I am qualified to recommend and directly enlist you into the local Marine's branch, I had recalled that you had told me that heroes would never accept any kind of superior and subordinate relationship."

"So this old man will take you to this branch to register and arrange a suitable place for you to stay. Will that do?"

Saitama blinked while saying, "Ah, thanks for your care..."

As the two were talking, a marine suddenly rushed out of the cabin, "Vice Admiral Garp!", The soldier saluted in a standard way and said, "We just received a distress signal from the nearby Marine branch, Please give orders on how to deal with it."

"A distress signal"? Garp was stunned. He immediately rushed into the cabin's contact room and asked the liaison officer loudly, "What happened? I remember that Loguetown was nearby. What about Smoker? Why didn't he go out to help?"

The liaison officer was listening to the Den Den Mushi. As soon as he saw Garp coming in, he quickly stood up and said, "Reporting to the Vice-Admiral, Garp! It was Commander Smoker who sent out the distress signal!"

"What!" Garp was extremely shocked when he heard the report, Smoker was the apprentice of the former General "Black Arm Zephyr" and was also the Logia-type, the Smoke-Smoke Fruit user. In the first half of the Grand Line, Smoker should have been almost impossible to defeat!

This was the reason that the Marine Headquarters had arranged for him to be stationed in Loguetown, But now... That stubborn and brave boy actually issued a distress signal!? Something big must have happened!

Garp immediately grabbed the Den Den Mushi and shouted at it, "What's happening, Smoker? Who attacked you? Are you hurt?"

"Cough.."

The sound from the Den Den Mushi sounded very weak, which only served to make Garp's premonition of the situation worse.

"I was attacked by... Admiral... Aokiji..."

Before he could finish, the voice from the Den Den Mushi stopped.
What was happening... What the hell was going on!? The one who attacked Smoker was Kuzan? How was that possible!? There were all sorts of questions running through his mind, but there was no hesitation in his actions.

Garp promptly ordered his marines, "Immediately find out the origin of the signal from the Den Den Mushi for me!"

"Then turn around and sail as fast as you can! Hurry!!"

The Marines quickly got to work. Thanks to the fact that this was Garp's ship, it was well equipped with devices that were suitable for this task, the marine officer in charge of espionage immediately tracked the origin of the signal via a spy Den Den Mushi.

They quickly changed their course, and the group set sail once again.

Only now did Saitama have the opportunity to ask, "Excuse me... What exactly happened?"

"I have a bad feeling about this.." Garp paced back and forth in his cabin, his face filled with seriousness, "it was fortunate that we brought you along this time, Saitama, Everything is turning out to be strange... The Commander was attacked, and the attacker was identified to be the Admiral of the Marine Headquarters. It's unbelievable that something like this could have happened.

Saitama thought while saying, "Admiral? Garp-san, you can call the branch and ask..."

"This old man has already contacted them. They said that Kuzan was in the Marine Headquarters and he hasn't left recently either. It seems that all answers will have to wait until we arrive..."

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Loguetown, The town of the beginning and the end. It was situated very close to the Grand Line, and many pirates would choose to stay in this town for: one reason was to get supplies, and the other reason was to pay their respects to the former Pirate King.
Gol D. Roger's place of execution. That platform was admired by the pirates as their Holy Land.

It had become a ritual for pirates to visit the execution platform of the Pirate King before setting off for the Grand Line.

Although, because of the existence of Smoker, quite a lot of pirates were caught and sent to prison. Still, a large number of pirates still looked forward to coming there, That place was always bustling with activity.

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Half an hour after receiving the distress signal, Garp's warship had docked at the port in Loguetown. But the quay which used to be bustling with activity was as deserted as a graveyard today.

"What happened here..." Garp jumped down from the ship and looked around the dock with a frown on his face. "Why isn't there anyone here?"

Suddenly, the window of the adjoining room opened silently, and a furtive eye began peeping at Garp, when he saw the ship at the wharf and the cloak of justice that only a Captain or above was qualified to have, he quickly closed the window.

Garp moved towards the window with a flash as he smashed it into pieces and caught the man by his lapel!

"Hey... Let me go!" The man struggled to get free but was unable to overcome Garp's iron fist, "I am an ordinary merchant, a Marine can't do this to me without any proper reason... "

"Reason?

Garp stared deeply into the man's eyes and sneered, "I vaguely remember you... You have a bit of a reputation in the East Blue, Locke!"

"Damn, was I recognized?"

Locke spat with disdain, his hands flashed talon gloves, and his backhand stabbed Garp in the stomach. I'm the kind of person, an old man with a foot inside the coffin can handle... Poof!!!!!!"

Before he could finish, Locke's jaw was punched by a blow from Garp.

Even his bones seemed to have been broken, The fear in his eyes had reached to such an extreme level that he looked at the plain-looking old man before him in horror.

What the heck!

This old man... Who on earth is he?!

"Spit it out!"

Garp stepped on Locke's chest and demanded, "Quickly tell me what exactly is going on here?"

"Why is there no one at the wharf, and why is a famous pirate like you hiding here!?"

Locke was trembling with fear but before he could answer,
The earth suddenly froze!

A middle-aged man with round sunglasses appeared out of the corner.

"Garp-san..."

Aokiji's hands were in his pockets, and his eyes flashed with a cold light behind his sunglasses. "Welcome to Loguetown."