*Chapter 251: Why Is Everyone Else So Happy?*

Sengoku followed the gaze and looked over at Garp, who was sporting a large belly!

Standing next to him were two short kids, especially the shortest one, who was sucking on his finger while staring at Sengoku.

No doubt about it!

That boy must be Garp's grandson.

Garp's grandson is already this big?

But then Sengoku thought about how others already had grandchildren this age, while he didn’t even have a son.

Suddenly, Sengoku’s mood became a bit gloomy. He had adopted a foster son in the past, but...

Sengoku silently sighed in his heart and felt an urge to retreat to Marineford and wallow in his depression.

After all, his foster son's death was linked to Doflamingo of Dressrosa.

At the time, there was nothing Sengoku could do about Doflamingo!

After all, the guy was a Celestial Dragon, and he had powerful backers.

So, Sengoku couldn’t do anything to him.

Now, Sengoku could only watch other families enjoying time together while he could only stand by and watch.

"Hahaha! This is my grandson, Luffy. Come on, call him Grandpa Sengoku! When you grow up, I’ll make him a Vice Admiral just for fun."

Garp gave Luffy a hearty smack on the head, almost knocking the boy flat on the ground.

Luffy stumbled but was fine. He held his head, glaring at Garp.

"I don’t want to become a Navy officer! I’m going to be the King of the Pirates!"

Luffy roared at Garp before turning and running down the street.

Ace, seeing Luffy run off, feared he would cause trouble, so he chased after him.

Sengoku was left speechless with frustration.

So, your whole family has rebellious bones, huh?

Your son wants to start his own venture at sea.

Your grandson wants to be a pirate!

Your whole family is no good.

And also!

Garp, are you out of your mind?

Becoming a Vice Admiral isn’t something you can just hand out like candy!

Do you think the Navy runs by my word alone?

This guy... it’s like you’re trying to tell the world you get special treatment from me.

"Hmph!"

Akainu let out a cold snort as he watched the fleeing figure.

Garp's whole family is bad news!

If that kid really does become a pirate...

Akainu planned to personally deal with him.

No way will he let this kid cause havoc on the seas.

"Hey, how come you didn’t say hello before showing up?"

At that moment, Kuzan appeared, hands in his pockets, holding a woman’s hand as he walked over.

This made Sengoku widen his eyes in disbelief at what he was seeing.

"This..."

Sengoku didn’t know what to say for a moment.

"Oh! This is my fiancée. We’re planning to get married at the end of the month in Dressrosa. Make sure you come!"

"I have to say, aside from that old geezer Zephyr, everything else in Dressrosa is great."

Kuzan shot a glance at Zephyr as he spoke, his tone dripping with resentment.

"Ahem!"

Zephyr coughed lightly and glared at Garp, that rascal.

If it weren’t for Garp...

He wouldn’t have been the only one getting scolded right now.

At least Garp would be taking the heat with him.

But Garp, that rascal, snitched.

Now, Zephyr was the villain in everyone’s eyes, while Garp reaped all the benefits.

That guy really deserves a beating.

"... What a surprise!"

Sengoku looked up at the sky, feeling a bit dazed.

Why does it suddenly feel like all his friends are so happy?

Garp gets to spend time with his grandson.

Even Kuzan has found love and no longer seems as lost as he once was.

Even Borsalino has a child now!

Despite how casual Borsalino acted when he came to the office before...

In truth, he probably cares a lot about that child.

And what about Sengoku?

He had devoted his life to the Navy, working tirelessly.

But what did he get in return?

"Sengoku-san, you seem a little off today."

Kuzan looked at Sengoku curiously, sensing that something was amiss.

"Let’s go inside," Sengoku replied, trying to brush off his emotions. "I should get a proper tour of Dressrosa."

At this moment, Nara Shikaku stepped forward and said, "We've been standing here long enough. Are we planning to stay at the port and chat?"

"Yeah! I want to take a good look at Dressrosa."

Sengoku nodded in agreement.

In a nearby house, a woman had just finished nursing her baby and left the room.

Suddenly, a flash of golden light appeared, and Borsalino’s expression stiffened slightly. Although the details of that night were fuzzy, he remembered every woman’s face clearly.

Yes!

It was definitely this one!

Borsalino looked down at the baby in the crib.

"Haha!"

The baby, upon seeing Borsalino, didn’t cry but instead reached out, trying to grab him.

Hesitating, Borsalino extended a finger, and as soon as it got close, the baby grasped it.

Borsalino’s face showed some awkwardness. He thought about picking the baby up but then touched his beard. It seemed his beard might be too prickly.

In the end, Borsalino decided not to hold the baby. After playing with the child for a short while, he felt it was time to leave.

In an instant, Borsalino disappeared from the room, startling the baby, who then burst into uncontrollable tears.

Soon after, the woman returned to the room and gently rocked the crying baby.

Standing on the opposite rooftop, Borsalino looked at the mother and child with mixed emotions in his heart.

"Zefar! Let me see what tricks you still have up your sleeve!"

With a flash of cold light in his eyes, Borsalino turned into a beam of light and disappeared.

As soon as he left, a man with golden hair appeared in the spot where Borsalino had stood.

"That must be Admiral Kizaru. No doubt about it, the Pika Pika no Mi grants incredible speed. Only my Flying Thunder God Technique could possibly match it, but even that wouldn’t make things easy."

This man was the recently revived Minato Namikaze!

These resurrected individuals had been secretly placed in various locations, acting as members of an elite Anbu unit, directly under the command of Uchiha Raijin.

Minato, having been revived, no longer had any regrets after seeing his son. Even though he was now working under someone else, he didn’t have any particular complaints.

"But it seems Kakashi suggested we shouldn’t interfere? What exactly is Uchiha Raijin planning?"

Minato couldn’t figure out what Raijin’s motives were. But since he wasn’t asked to intervene, he would just keep watch from the shadows.

He glanced off into the distance.

He wondered how Kushina was doing now.

With Lady Mito by her side, he guessed there wouldn’t be any problems. Since his revival, Kushina had left him with nothing but the words “divorce.”

Now, Minato was left alone.

However!

He never imagined Hiruzen Sarutobi would go this far.

Had he known, he would never have entrusted his son to Hiruzen’s care, no matter what.

Minato had once believed that Hiruzen, as the Hokage, would treat his son with love and care. At the very least, Naruto shouldn’t have suffered the way Kushina did, being bullied from a young age.

But Minato’s view was too narrow. He had underestimated Konoha’s approach to raising a Jinchuriki.

They had trained him as a cold, emotionless war machine!

Naruto had no close friends.

The only person close to him was Hiruzen Sarutobi.

But!

That was exactly how Hiruzen controlled the Jinchuriki. By keeping Naruto attached to only one person, when the time came to use him, Naruto would follow Hiruzen’s every order without question.

After a bit of investigation, Minato understood Hiruzen’s plan.

Thankfully!

The Uchiha clan had appeared, giving Naruto friends and a family to support him, preventing him from becoming just another puppet manipulated by Konoha.

"Master Minato! They’re heading to the coliseum next! I think it’s time for you to gather a team and make an appearance."

A spark of electricity flashed as Kakashi appeared beside Minato.

Noticing where Minato’s attention was focused, Kakashi quickly understood. Someone must have been here earlier; otherwise, Minato wouldn’t have shown up.

There was only one person who could have been here.

Borsalino!

It seemed the admiral hadn’t accompanied Sengoku and the others openly but had come to Dressrosa in secret.

But even that was a good thing!

Kakashi had worried that Borsalino might be too indifferent to show up at all.

He knew that people without emotional ties were the most troublesome. These types were fearless, focused entirely on their objectives—real "hardheaded" types.

Kakashi didn’t want to deal with someone like that.

"I need to make an appearance?"

Minato was taken aback. He hadn’t expected to be needed.

"Yes! Bring Third Raikage with you to the arena. Show off some of your strength."

"I’ve invited Jack to the event, and he’ll bring along a few friends too."

"But when you’re in the arena, try to avoid using the Flying Thunder God Technique. Rely more on your ninjutsu."

Kakashi nodded seriously. He wanted to help Minato gain recognition! At the very least, Minato was his teacher, and Kakashi couldn’t stand to see him just drifting aimlessly around Dressrosa.

So, Kakashi planned to elevate Minato’s status!

He would give him the title of the King's Guard Captain, tasked with protecting the palace’s safety.

Of course!

Minato would still work undercover in the Anbu.

The public title was just to provide a front. This way, Minato could move freely across the seas.

"No problem!"

Minato agreed.

"I thought you hosted three or five matches a week at the coliseum, but I didn’t expect there to be more than ten battles every day."

Following behind Nara Shikaku, Sengoku commented as they approached the coliseum.

It was clearly the busiest place in Dressrosa.

But he hadn’t expected Dressrosa to still maintain such a venue.

"We ninja value strength. We’re not afraid of bleeding. Our only fear is not having the chance to bleed when it really matters."

"And you know our king—within the Uchiha clan, only the strongest can become the clan leader! The strongest must lead."

"Our families are the same. Without strength, there’s no way to survive in this world."

Nara Shikaku said helplessly.

"I understand, but… isn’t it inappropriate for those children to be watching?"

Sengoku, now seated in the audience, glanced over at a group of kids, most no older than ten. Some weren’t even as tall as Garp’s grandson.

"It’s to prepare them early for battle."

Shikaku replied flatly.

It wasn’t uncommon for kids to be on the battlefield at age four!

In Dressrosa, these children were actually well protected.

Their only hardship was what they witnessed in the arena.

"Hahaha! Sengoku, you’re underestimating these kids. They could probably take on some adults!"

"And the strongest ones aren’t even here. The strongest kids could probably go toe-to-toe with a Navy Vice Admiral!"

Zefar laughed, proudly boasting about the children he had trained.

"What?"

Sengoku and Sakazuki exchanged shocked glances.

Was this place full of giants?

Even the giants wouldn’t have such strength!

Sakazuki’s eyes flashed.

If this were true, he needed to pick out the strongest ones.

And it seemed like these kids weren’t even the main event.

At that moment, someone approached Shikaku.

With a strange look on his face, Shikaku finally nodded.

"The King’s Guard will be performing today. You’ve arrived just in time for the main event."

"The King’s Guard is Dressrosa’s most elite force."

"Each member is incredibly powerful. Today, they’re putting on a display to show the kids some battle techniques."

Shikaku turned to Sengoku and the others.

"How come I’ve never heard of this?"

Garp mumbled. He had been in Dressrosa for a while and hadn’t heard anything about such a guard.

Kuzan, however, was intrigued as he watched the arena.

He had a feeling this was meant to showcase Dressrosa’s strength.

But while most people hid their power, these guys were proudly putting it on full display.

"Just wait and see!"

Shikaku pointed to the arena.

Minato Namikaze and the Third Raikage had stepped into the center of the field.

The Third Raikage stood with his arms crossed, his face expressionless.

But just looking at his muscular physique, it was clear he was incredibly strong.

In contrast, Minato looked more like a pretty boy, as if a gust of wind could blow him away.

But Sengoku wasn’t fooled by appearances. He could sense something special in Minato.

"Look! It’s the Beasts Pirates!"

"That’s Jack from the Beasts Pirates! He’s been a regular at the coliseum and has never lost a match."

"Who’s that guy next to Jack?"

"He’s a pirate with a 300 million berry bounty!"

"That strong? That pretty boy is doomed."

(End of chapter)