One Piece: Heather Strelitzia

Chapter 5: Act 1 - Prologue

A/N

I apologise for the delay, really. IRL has been crazy lately, so the moment I got some breather, I put in a chapter.

I know its short but do bear with me. And no, this story won't be abandoned.

Special thanks to Fox & Archer for helping out with the fic as well as Murph and Maruf for beta.

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Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its characters except for the OCs.

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Chapter 5

The journey from Ohara was a tough one for Garp. It took all the marine's willpower to stop himself from destroying every damned ship that fired at the island. So many lives were lost all for studying something that the World Government deemed to be a taboo. At times like these, Garp found himself questioning his decisions and the Marines' motto of 'Absolute Justice.' The definition had become even more blurred as time progressed and the new bloods weren't helping things, especially that damned brat – Akainu. The Vice-Admiral's views were extreme and strongly resonated with that of the five elders, so for him to eventually become an Admiral and consequently, Fleet Admiral wasn't too far out.

Garp sighed as he looked up at the eye on the mast. His Observation Haki had alerted him about the additional presence on the ship and he immediately deduced that the dark-haired girl had eaten a Devil Fruit.

All he could do was nod his head solemnly in understanding at the eye. He watched as it eventually dispersed when they were far away from what used to be Ohara. The marine relayed further instructions to his men to get to the calm belt, stop at one of the islands along the way to resupply and then make their way to Marineford where Sengoku was waiting for his report.

He then started walking towards his cabin where he needed to have a word with the girl. Luffy was going to be out of it for a while since he had practically burned his entire energy the moment he unleashed that intense wave of Conqueror's Haki. A part of Garp was jubilant to find that even his grandson possessed it, and was excited to see the effect it would have on his growth since he had unleashed it at such a young age. However, the other part of him lamented and kicked itself for the methods he had used to achieve said result. He ultimately shook his head, clearing the thoughts from his head. Now wasn't the time to look back, what was done, was done. There wasn't anything that he could do now but he would make sure that Luffy had a bright future.

Eventually, he reached his destination, took a breath and headed in.

Robin had been holding her knees and crying soundlessly with her face buried in between them when the door to the room opened. She quickly made herself smaller in the corner of the room where she couldn't be seen and got ready in case someone else had come. However, her worries were unfounded as she heard the Hero of the Marines take a deep sigh.

"You can come out, no one is going to come in," he said as he sat on a chair and gestured for Robin to take the opposite one.

The girl looked up at him with teary eyes, unable to contain her emotions any longer. She was rattled by what she had seen and clearly was trying her best to remain as calm as she could. Nonetheless, she heeded the marine's words and sat on the chair.

"Why?" that was the only question that came out of her mouth. One simple word yet it held a deeper meaning than anything else.

Once again, Garp sighed before he asked, "Will you be able to live with it?"

"Better than wondering about it my entire life," the girl replied.

"What you saw was the buster call. It is a privilege granted to the highest levels of the Marines and the World Government. In special cases and upon approval, this can be given to a subordinate by any of those who hold one. It is simple to activate it – one just needs to press the button on the golden den-den mushi. As soon as it's pressed, a signal is sent to the Marines after which a fleet of 10 ships and 5 vice-admirals is immediately dispatched to the specified location. It cannot be cancelled. It is the marine's version of 'Absolute Justice'," Garp said in an angry tone at the end.