# Chapter 773: Garp's Consolation
The original Ian Family members had already numbered three thousand, and now with the slaves rescued from Mary Geoise added, the total was nearly ten thousand!
Of course, among these nearly ten thousand people, many women and children had to be excluded, but Ian understood clearly that the remaining men, if he raised his arm and called out, would not hesitate to join the Dragon Hunter Pirates' banner.
At that time, the Dragon Hunter Pirates' scale would be at least five thousand or more, and the originally stretched personnel problem would be greatly alleviated.
Moreover, a large personnel scale was also one of the symbols of the Four Emperors. With so many people, the Dragon Hunter Pirates were approaching the scale of the Whitebeard Pirates. Although they couldn't compare to the original BIG MOM Pirates, Ian felt it was enough.
The more subordinates one had, the more people needed to eat, which all required money. So without Ian needing to remind them, Hogkin and the others, while rescuing the slaves, also conveniently looted the Celestial Dragons' estates, packing up all the valuables to take away later.
These riches were perhaps only a small part of the Celestial Dragons' wealth. The truly valuable things should have been stored in treasure vaults, but no one knew how to open them, so Ian didn't plan to waste effort on that.
In a mighty procession, when this nearly ten-thousand-person team reached the port on Mary Geoise that led down to the New World, they almost filled all the ships docked there. These ships were originally meant for merchant convoys and envoys with passes to exchange, but now they were all requisitioned by Ian and his group. Over a dozen ships of various sizes, carrying the joyful people, plunged into the descending sea current.
Ian naturally sat on the lead ship. As the ship tilted and sped downward in the current, he turned back to look at the Red Line behind him.
He remembered the first time he passed through here, also riding a ship like this. But that time, Aokiji had frozen the entire descending current, and sliding on the ice surface was much faster than now.
Boom! The ship swooped down, its bow first pressing into the sea surface, but it quickly bounced back. After shaking a few times, it soon stabilized. Under the sailors' control, this lead ship cleared the path, allowing the following ships to enter the sea.
Over a dozen ships formed a considerable formation. Then, the Ian Family members scattered on each ship proudly took out a Dragon Hunter Pirates flag, climbed to the top of the mast in a few moves, and hung the flag.
The pattern of a sword piercing a skull dragon head was printed on the black flag, fluttering in the sea breeze. People on all ships unconsciously looked up at this flag. At this moment, they suddenly understood the meaning this flag represented.
Woooh—!!!!
From all the ships, people erupted in a roar: "Dragon Hunter!!!!"
The roar was mixed with the crisp voices of children, sounding especially... clear!
"..." Vice Admiral Garp was also on Ian's flagship. He crossed his arms, listening to the roar, watching the people's excited and angry expressions, and remained silent.
"What's wrong, old man?" Ian asked him.
Garp shook his head: "I've been a Marine my whole life, caught countless pirates, but sometimes I myself am confused about what kind of justice I'm protecting..."
Ian didn't speak. He knew that Old Man Garp probably had many feelings now and needed to vent.
"Sengoku is my good friend!" Garp continued: "But on the point of why the Marines must protect the Celestial Dragons, I never truly understood him before. Look at these slaves. The Marines catch pirates all over the world, claiming to be justice, but they turn a blind eye to the existence of these people. I've asked Sengoku why more than once, but he never answered me. When I pressed too hard, he used his Fleet Admiral status to suppress me..."
"Heh!" Ian gave a wry smile.
"But after we retired and Akainu became Fleet Admiral, I finally understood what efforts Sengoku made during his tenure!" Garp sighed: "With his own prestige, he kept maneuvering with the World Government, preventing the Marines from completely degenerating into the World Government's thugs. During his tenure, no matter what, the Marines still maintained a certain detachment. But... after that brat Akainu took over, that detachment disappeared!"
"There's no helping it. He came to power with the support of the Five Elders, didn't he?" Ian took over the topic.
"Yeah!" Garp nodded: "I understand now why Sengoku wanted Aokiji to succeed him. He didn't want the Marines to completely lean toward the World Government and become accomplices of the Celestial Dragons... It's just that no one expected that Aokiji would only be Fleet Admiral for fifteen days before being brought down by the Five Elders and Akainu..."
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku must have been very angry at that time, right?" Ian asked.
Garp grinned widely: "He was furious! It was the first time I saw him curse!"
"Now that Akainu is dead, who do you think will become the new Fleet Admiral?" Ian asked him.
But Garp shook his head: "What does it have to do with me? Sengoku and I have already retired. After losing power, all we have left is this old face. But how much face this old face still has, who knows? The Marines are no longer something we can control..."
"Yeah..." Ian agreed with feeling: "Not to mention anything else, just look at what happened to Admiral Zephyr... The World Government letting Edward Weevil join the Seven Warlords never considered Admiral Zephyr's feelings at all."
If he had to use a word to describe the World Government's style, the only one Ian could think of was "killing the donkey after it finishes its work."
Actually, for the older generation of Marines like Garp, Sengoku, or Vice Admiral Tsuru, they had dedicated their lives to the Marine cause and had special feelings for the Marines themselves. Even if they had nominally retired, if needed, they would still contribute their remaining heat. This was the true foundation of the Marines. Imagine, even if the Marines only maintained the tradition of three Admirals, anyone who said the Marines only had three Admirals would be a fool.
Any one of these retired older-generation Marines, pulled out at random, was an Admiral-level combat power!
But now, this older generation of retired Marines was being made bitterly disappointed by the World Government. Whether it was Admiral Zephyr's matter or Aokiji's indignant departure, they all realized that the Marines were no longer the Marines of their time!
In the original history, this situation had already begun to show signs, but Ian's appearance undoubtedly accelerated this process, causing this serious internal problem of the Marines to erupt completely.
By the time he chatted with Garp, Ian finally understood why Old Man Garp, when he appeared, used words instead of fists to dissuade him!
"Forget it, old man, since you've already retired, just enjoy life!" Ian comforted him: "That kid Ace is doing very well in the Whitebeard Pirates, and Luffy has now entered the New World. They all have a group of good companions, carrying out their own adventures. Isn't that enough to console you?"
However, Garp patted Ian on the shoulder and said: "Do you know what this old man is most consoled about?"
"What is it?" Ian asked with a smile.
"What I'm most consoled about is meeting you back in the East Blue!" Garp laughed heartily: "And what I'm most proud of is that sudden idea I had back then, to have you help me catch that kid Ace! If it weren't for that encounter, I'm afraid everything would be different, right?"
Ian scratched his head with an embarrassed smile.
"Us old folks can no longer keep up with the times. This world will keep turning without anyone!" Garp said: "So from now on, it's up to you young people. Do whatever you want to do, don't worry about us old folks. You, Ace, and Luffy must live freely..."
Ian nodded and didn't speak...
The fleet, facing the sea breeze, galloped across the vast, boundless sea, riding the wind and waves, heading home.
At the same time, the news that Akainu, the current Fleet Admiral of the Marines, had been killed by the Four Emperors Black Dragon Ian was reported by panicked news reporters.
The impact of this incident was enormous, but the first effect was something even Ian hadn't expected...
That was... Akainu's death finally made that group of villains in the Bad Alliance make up their minds, ready to make their move!