Chapter 69
Garp has just kind of been staring at Sengoku for the past 20 minutes, sprawled out on one of the couches in Sengoku’s office eating a pack of twizzlers. And Garp can say without a drop of doubt he can currently see Sengoku starting to grow gray hairs from whatever he’s looking at on his screen. “What’s got you all stressed, old man?” Garp asks casually, tossing his head back to down the last twizzler.
Sengoku turns to face him, his eyes wide and a vein bulging out of his forehead. “You wouldn’t believe it, Garp. Your granddaughter, Luffy, has somehow managed to make the entire world her fanbase with her little...stunts on social media! And these platforms, they just can’t be taken down, the platforms can’t be banned, The videos and photos can’t be took down or banned from the internet! It’s like they have some sort of...immunity! The whole world knows her, loves her, and she’s flaunting her pirate life in our faces, and we can’t do a single thing about it!” His voice rises with each word, and by the end, he’s practically yelling. “And it’s not just her, the whole Strawhat crew has their own pages, her division commanders too! And even a few other pirates, so I don’t even have to do anything with her crew, she just knows them, they have these… these... untouchable platforms and It’s driving the marines insane!”
Garp laughs, a hearty, deep chuckle that fills the room. “Well, she always did have a way of making waves, didn’t she? And she’s got a knack for making friends wherever she goes. But hey, at least she’s not hiding her true self. That’s one thing I respect about her.” He stands up, stretching his old muscles. “But if she’s got that kind of power, maybe we can use it to our advantage, yeah? Maybe spread some goodwill, or keep an eye on the other pirates for you?”
Sengoku just stared at him for a long, long second, before with a lot more force than was necessary, opened his laptop and started typing away like it was the last thing he would ever do. It was another long, long second of Sengoku typing and Garp raised an eyebrow at Sengoku, but before he could say anything, a notification went off from Sengoku’s computer, making him jump and curse under his breath. Garp leaned over his shoulder to look and couldn’t help but laugh out loud when he saw the screen.
Sengoku had gone to the main source of his stress, Monkey D. Luffy’s social media profile. Before Sengoku could do anything the notification that had popped up opened and started playing the video it was notifying him about. It was a video of pure chaos on the Thousand Sunny. People were drinking, eating, laughing, yelling, dancing, fighting, playing music. In the video it was focused on Luffy, Kid, and Law, and they’re playing just dance, looking like they just ran a marathon as they try to get five stars on the hardest, and fastest dance routine. The three pirates looked like they hadn’t a care in the world, smiles as wide as the Grand Line itself on their faces. The screen was filled with their laughter and the sound of their crew cheering them on.
"This is what we're dealing with, Garp," Sengoku growled, his eyes glued to the screen, his fists clenching and unclenching.
Garp raised an eyebrow at him. “A couple of kids playing just dance?” He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Are you really getting all rumbled and tumbled over some kids playing just dance?”
Sengoku threw his arms up in the air. “It’s not just that, Garp! It’s the fact that she’s flaunting her pirate life! And not just that, she’s got the audacity to show her friendship with those two!” He pointed at the screen where Kid and Law were sweating and grinning like it was the last day of their lives.
Garp sighed, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and finger. “Senny, it’s not like it’s a secret. Hell, The three of them just took down big mom and Kaidou together. The whole world already knows they’re friends, or at least, friendly rivals. And besides, the kids are just having fun. Nothing wrong with that, right?” He patted Sengoku’s shoulder, trying to ease his tension.
Sengoku’s eyes never left the screen. “You know as well as I do, Garp, that those two are just as dangerous as Luffy. If they band together and decide to go against us, we’re in for it. And now they’re influencing the public, turning pirates into heroes!”
Garp snacks sengoku upside the head hard, hard enough to nearly knock off their glasses. “Sengoku, they’re already fucking heroes dumbass, you know how many islands Luffy has freed, saved, and everything in between. Then came along the kid pirates and the heart Pirates, and they started following her around like lost pups, and since they started following her around, they started saving and freeing Islands and people everything in between. And now, because of that alliance they had, we have eight out of the fifteen of the supernovas not going off gallivanting and destroying shit, So sit the fuck down, and let them dance their little hearts out. They earned it.”
Sengoku sighs heavily, running a hand through his hair and knocking a few gray hairs out. “I know, Garp. It’s just...it’s hard to keep up with them all. And the fact that they’re all so...so...flamboyant about it!” He gestures towards the screen, where Sanji is now doing an impromptu cooking show, flipping pans and catching food in mid-air while flirting shamelessly with the camera.
Garp laughs. “You gotta remember this is a bunch of teenagers, teenagers and young adults, we’re talking about here. The only thing they know how to be is flamboyant or edgy, and if they’re edgy, they’re still flamboyant about it. You gotta remember these aren’t some pirates in their mid 40s early 50s. These are kids, pretty sure the youngest out of these three crews is 17 and the oldest is 27, more than half of them should still be in school, and the other half should be in college, but instead they’re out here fighting wars we can’t even touch with a 10 foot pole. So, let them live their lives, if they want to make TikToks of themselves, then let them, if they want to stream games, let them. They’re doing a better job than we ever could with PR.”