Garp's resolute refusal echoed through the conference room, yet Kong showed no surprise, not even blinking an eyelid.
The entire Marineford knew exactly what kind of temperament this old bastard had.
"Forget about the Celestial Dragons issue," Kong said. "I've received word that the Five Elders have imposed a soft ban on all Celestial Dragons. From now on, only those with special permission can leave Mary Geoise. So even if you wanted to clean up their mess, you wouldn't find their asses to wipe."
"..."
Dragon listened with a dark expression as the esteemed Fleet Admiral uttered such crude words. However, he wasn't the least bit surprised about his father's promotion to Marine Admiral.
After reading the documents about the military restructuring earlier, he had already sensed these developments.
Marshal Kong would be promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the General Headquarters, Admiral Sengoku would become Fleet Admiral, Instructor Zed would ascend to Minister of Military Affairs, and Vice Admiral Tsuru would rise to Chief of Staff with General Rank. But who would fill the Marine Admiral position?
He knew very well that Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan—and even himself—were still visibly short of reaching top-tier combat strength.
Under the rule that there must be at least one Marine Admiral, aside from the Navy's hero Monkey D. Garp, there simply wasn't a second candidate.
"What? Those trash are locked up now?"
Garp was momentarily stunned before shaking his head vigorously. "No, no, you just said some Celestial Dragons can still come out. If they cause trouble, won't I still have to clean up their mess?!"
BANG————
Kong slammed the conference table furiously. "Enough of your nonsense! Acting like becoming an Admiral is beneath you. Let me make this clear—you don't have the right to refuse this time. Whether you agree or not, you will be a Marine Admiral, and this will be announced worldwide immediately!"
"I won't do it! Whoever wants to be Admiral can take it. Don't even think about making me wipe those trash's asses!" Garp roared back, too furious to care about the other man's rank.
"Garp!"
Kong shot to his feet, unleashing an overwhelming aura. His fierce glare clashed violently with Garp's equally defiant gaze midair.
Even though neither intentionally released Haki, the sheer spiritual pressure radiating from their emotions made the massive conference table tremble as if Marineford had been struck by an earthquake.
"..."
Across from them, Dragon watched the two powerhouses lock horns with exasperation. Frankly, only someone like him could endure this—any ordinary Vice Admiral would either have fainted or be sweating buckets, barely clinging to consciousness.
"Father, if you don't become Admiral, then who will?" Dragon interjected lightly. "Without an Admiral, Admiral Sengoku can't be promoted to Fleet Admiral. Are you going to hold back your old friend and block his advancement?"
"Oh, and if no one takes the Admiral position, the restructuring can't proceed either. Vice Admiral Tsuru won't be able to become Chief of Staff or attain General Rank..."
With those three casual remarks, Garp's expression froze, his aura dissipating instantly. Kong seized the moment to retract his own presence and sit back down, shooting Dragon an appreciative glance.
"This... this is my own matter, how does it involve Sengoku and the others!"
Dragon shook his head and said, "But the current situation is that your promotion directly affects Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru's career paths. As for those three Admiral candidates, you should know they're not ready to become Marine Admirals yet—it'll take at least a few more years."
"..."
Garp was completely dumbfounded, standing there at a loss. He never expected his own son to corner him like this—that brat!
The key was, he wasn't the type who could coldly say something like "I don't care about Sengoku and Tsuru"—that would make him a complete jerk.
"Moreover, once you become a Marine Admiral, even if some Celestial Dragon causes trouble later, you can simply ignore it. Do you really think the World Government would dare remove you? And if they did, wouldn't that actually suit your wishes?" Dragon continued.
"Ah, this..." Garp was stunned, while thinking to himself: "He's right... I could just not care. Who could force me?"
Meanwhile, Kong found Dragon's words somewhat inappropriate—was this really something to say right in front of him?
Yet for some reason, the current Fleet Admiral (and future Commander-in-Chief of the General Headquarters) chose to remain silent, pretending he hadn't heard anything at all.
"The most critical point is—if you outright refuse the Admiral position, the World Government could completely ban you from traveling to other worlds. Surely you wouldn't accept that kind of punishment?"
"Of course not!!" Garp roared.
He then fell silent, standing there torn by indecision. Dragon said nothing more, waiting quietly alongside Kong for his decision.
After a long moment, a heavy sigh filled the room.
"Fine! I'll take the damn Admiral position. But I stand by what I said—don't come to me about Celestial Dragon business!" With that, Garp turned to leave the meeting room with a dark expression.
"Wait, we're not done yet. Don't you want to hear about Dragon's future arrangements?"
Kong's voice stopped Garp in his tracks. He turned back and sat down again, glaring fiercely at his son before growling, "What's this brat got going on now? I was planning to give him some long-overdue 'fatherly training'!"
Dragon's eye twitched at that remark.
"Take a look."
Marshal Kong slid the remaining document toward Dragon, who reluctantly picked it up under his father's glare.
But as he read, the contents quickly captured his attention.
"Separation of military and police... restructuring the Court of Justice to establish a Police Affairs Department... Public Security Division, Military Police Bureau, Police Stations..."
Unlike his father Garp or his future son Luffy, Dragon was the thoughtful type. The more he studied this reform plan, the more he recognized the benefits of separating military and police powers.
He'd long felt the Navy's jurisdiction was too broad—essentially handling anything related to crime.
"The Police Affairs Department would strictly limit the Navy's authority to maritime affairs. However, it also strips all member nations of their policing and judicial rights... That won't be easy to implement."
After Dragon pondered for a while, Kong smiled warmly and asked, "So, would you be willing to serve as the first Director of the Police Affairs Department?"
"Although it doesn't belong to the military and doesn't hold a General Rank, in terms of level and as the highest leader of the Court of Justice's police force, it's practically equivalent to being a Marshal."
Just as Dragon was about to answer after some thought, Garp suddenly shouted from the side, asking in shock, "What Police Affairs Department? What do you mean it's not part of the military? Are you transferring Dragon out of the Navy?"
He had always raised this son to be an outstanding Navy officer from childhood, firmly believing he would become a Marine Admiral in the future. But now, hearing Marshal Kong's words, it seemed Dragon wouldn't be continuing in the Navy!
However, Kong paid no attention to Garp's reaction and instead looked solemnly at Dragon, asking, "What is your decision?"
"I'm willing to take the position of Director of the Police Affairs Department. From a global perspective, this is a good thing. However, I'd like to first meet the recommended candidate for Chief of the Military Police Bureau."
Dragon picked up the document and flipped to the last page, narrowing his eyes as he murmured, "Bartholomew Kuma?"