“My god, how many people died here?” Garp reached the edge of the forest and found the ground covered in bodies.
Most had already been mauled by wild beasts and were difficult to recognize.
He counted them and froze.
“Thirty-six bodies.
Dad killed thirty-six people.” “They were pirates.
They had just landed when they ran into Dad, and he killed them without any trouble.” The weapons scattered across the ground confirmed their identity.
They had clearly intended to attack the town, only to encounter his father first.
“There’s still a smell of blood coming from over there.” Garp knew every part of this forest.
He had once survived here alone, though remembering it still made him shudder.
Following the scent, he reached the shore and discovered more bodies beneath the cliff.
There was also a ship.
Garp jumped down and boarded it.
Someone had already cleared it out, but bloodstains remained across the deck.
His father had killed many people here, probably within a very short time.
Garp searched the ship for quite a while but found nothing valuable.
“Dad moves too fast.
He took everything and didn’t leave me a thing.” While he was grumbling, someone appeared behind him with his hands clasped behind his back and a smile on his face.
Garp slowly turned around.
The moment he saw his father, a chill ran down his back and sweat formed on his forehead.
He had been caught.
Gulp.
One had been hiding his strength, while the other had secretly come to investigate.
Now they both knew what the other had been doing.
Garp rubbed his hands together.
“Dad, can you teach me?” This was what he wanted to learn, not writing.
After living together for so long, Garp had never realized his father was this powerful.
Dozens of pirates had been killed just like that.
The methods were brutal, but Garp didn’t think his father had done anything wrong.
Had the pirates survived, the townspeople might have been the ones who died.
His father had killed them to protect everyone.
Garp would have done the same.
People they cared about lived in that town, along with many other good people.
Pirates were vicious and unscrupulous.
For money, they could massacre an entire village or town.
Garp had heard countless stories about their cruelty and had even seen pirates kill without hesitation.
Their brutality had left a deep impression on him.
He wanted to become strong enough to protect everyone.
“Dad, teach me.” Jiro looked down at his son and saw the determination in his eyes.
Garp wanted strength because he wanted to protect others.
“What you need right now is to temper your body and build a solid foundation.
You haven’t reached the next stage yet.
When you’re older, I’ll teach you.” “Garp.” Garp immediately stood at attention.
“Present!” “The world outside is enormous.
My strength might be decent around this town, but beyond this island, it isn’t worth mentioning.” “There are far stronger people in distant places, powerful enough to shake the world.” Garp’s eyes shone with anticipation.
The outside world was vast and filled with countless powerful people.
There were Marines and pirates, and Garp dreamed of joining the Marines.
He wanted to become a Marine and protect everyone who needed protection.
“Stay true to yourself, Garp.
Remember what you said today.” “Don’t let the outside world change who you are.” Garp answered seriously, “Yes, Dad.” He wouldn’t change.
Those words would become his creed, and he intended to follow them for the rest of his life.
“Go home.
Don’t tell anyone what happened here.” Garp nodded.
If his father didn’t want people to know, he wouldn’t say a word.
His father had always kept a low profile and never showed off his strength recklessly.
Garp stared at Jiro’s back, his eyes sparkling.
I want to become someone like him someday.
Someone who silently protected others.
A hero.
From that day onward, Garp became even more serious about training.
He pushed himself harder, increasing his usual training from two rounds to three.
He shortened his breaks, reduced his playtime, and squeezed out every possible moment to strengthen himself.
Over the next month, he could feel himself growing stronger every day.
His nighttime lessons continued as well.
After mastering the multiplication table, Garp began learning to read and write.
He studied far more seriously than before, perhaps because he had finally found his motivation.
Jiro no longer needed to watch over him constantly.
He also claimed the rewards for eliminating the pirates and successfully caring for Garp.
[Armament Haki +1.] [Iron Body +2.] [Finger Pistol +2.] [Tempest Kick +2.] His strength increased once again.
The speed of his improvement was astonishing.
A month earlier, he had still been weak.
Now, he had enough power to protect himself.
At the very least, no one in this small town could stop him from coming and going as he pleased.
Jiro took out the Devil Fruit he had found on the pirate ship.
Devil Fruits were among the most powerful abilities in the One Piece world.
Finding a useful one could provide an enormous advantage.
In the early stages, Logia-type Devil Fruits offered the greatest boost.
Their elemental bodies made them nearly impossible to defeat for anyone who didn’t know Haki.
Later on, however, strength depended more heavily on how well the user developed their fruit.
The greater their mastery, the stronger its abilities became.
Their own physical combat skills also needed to be strong if they wanted to reach the top.
Jiro studied the fruit in front of him, but he couldn’t identify it.
“Should I eat it?” “What if it’s completely useless?” “The worst possibility would be some bizarre ability.” The uncertainty gave him a headache.
If this turned out to be the Rat-Rat Fruit, he would be miserable.
He hesitated.
Eat it or leave it alone?
Devil Fruits could reappear after their previous users died, but without a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, Jiro had no way to identify this one.
The system was useless too.
All it ever did was give him more tasks.
It showed no concern at all for a weak and helpless person like him.
[System: …] “Whatever.
I’ll eat it.” “It would be a waste to leave it sitting here.” “At worst, I’ll focus on improving my physical combat skills.” Jiro gritted his teeth, raised the fruit, and took a bite.
It tasted revolting.
He nearly spat it back out.
After one bite, he had absolutely no desire to take a second.
From now on, he was a landlubber.
He forced himself to swallow.
As the fruit took effect, Jiro carefully sensed the changes within his body.
He felt stronger—far stronger.
Power surged through his arms as his entire body began to transform.
At least it wasn’t the Rat-Rat Fruit.
Instead… Jiro glanced at the shell growing across his back and fell silent.
A green turtle shell had appeared, and his skin had taken on the rough texture of a turtle’s.
The Turtle-Turtle Fruit.
“I…” Jiro went completely numb.
This was three times uglier than becoming a rat.
He stared at his transformed body and felt sick.
“Why did it have to be this?” “God, why are you doing this to me?” “Waaah!” “I don’t want it anymore!” He regretted everything.
Had he known what the fruit contained, he never would have eaten it.
This was a complete scam.