In the tenth month since Luffy had obtained his System, Garp came to visit.
As usual, the moment he found out that his grandson was still stubbornly insisting on becoming a pirate, he immediately chased Luffy throughout the entire forest to teach him a lesson with what he personally called the Fist of Love. Luffy had tried fighting back once, but within seconds, he was already sprawled on the ground, defeated without putting up any meaningful resistance.
The forest, which was usually peaceful, now trembled with the sound of falling trees and Garp's thunderous shouts echoing between the trees.
"Wait, Luffy! Stop!" Garp shouted furiously, swinging his fist and immediately knocking down a nearby tree.
"Like I'd stop!" Luffy continued running through the forest, his breathing growing heavy. After a while, he managed to hide behind a large rock.
"Huff... huff... I think it's safe here," he muttered, his chest rising and falling as he caught his breath. He had been chased since dawn until late in the afternoon.
Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps could be heard. Luffy held his breath, trying to move as little as possible.
"Where are you, Luffy!" Garp shouted as he rolled up his sleeves, his eyes staring sharply toward the rock where Luffy was hiding. "So you're there."
'Did he find me? No, Grandpa is just bluffing,' Luffy thought, peeking from behind the rock. What he saw instead was that his grandfather had already disappeared. He let out a sigh of relief.
"So you're hiding here."
The voice came directly from behind him. Luffy screamed in shock.
"Gyaa, Grandpa!"
He quickly ducked, avoiding the fist that shot toward him. The rock he had been hiding behind shattered into countless pieces, sending fragments flying in every direction. Luffy immediately ran away while screaming hysterically.
"You won't be able to keep running forever, Luffy!" Garp chased after him with long strides, but not long afterward, he suddenly came to a stop.
Luffy was already standing in front of him, his body lowered, one clenched fist touching the ground while his other hand rested against his thigh.
"Gear Second!"
Hot steam began rising from his entire body.
Garp grinned fiercely.
"Come at me, you insolent grandson!"
Without answering, Luffy's figure disappeared from sight before suddenly appearing directly in front of Garp. The old man's eyebrows rose slightly, not expecting his grandson's movements to have become this fast.
"Gomu Gomu no Jet Gatling Gun!"
A barrage of fists shot toward Garp one after another.
Garp crossed both arms in front of his face to defend himself before eventually being sent flying into a tree behind him.
"There's more!"
Steam stopped rising from Luffy's body. He bit his thumb, and his hand immediately began to expand.
"Gear Third! The hand of a giant!"
"Gomu Gomu no Gigant Pistol!"
He jumped into the air, pulled back his now massively swollen arm, and slammed it straight downward toward Garp.
BOOM.
Thick smoke billowed into the air. The surrounding trees collapsed one after another, birds nesting among them scattered in panic, and a new crater had just formed in the ground. Luffy landed firmly, his eyes fixed on the smoke that was still rising.
"Did I manage to beat him?"
At that exact moment, a figure jumped out from the middle of the smoke. Garp stomped his foot through the air as though there were an invisible floor beneath him, then shot toward Luffy at incredible speed with a fierce grin spread across his face.
"You're still a thousand years too early to defeat Grandpa, you naughty brat!"
Garp's fist landed squarely on Luffy's face, distorting it for a moment before his body was sent crashing into the ground, forming a shallow crater. Luffy's vision slowly blurred before everything went completely dark.
When Luffy opened his eyes, the sun had long since set. The night sky stretched above him, dark and filled with countless stars forming a long line resembling a river. In front of him, the crater left behind by his own attack was still wide open. From the distance, the occasional hoot of an owl answered the chirping of crickets, filling the silence of the forest that night.
Luffy held his swollen head.
"Ouch, ouch... that old man really doesn't hold back."
However, after complaining for a while, a smile slowly appeared on his face.
At least, today had not been completely bad. He had successfully copied granpa into the Simulation, and now he had a new training opponent to face every day. Until now, he had already defeated all the wild beasts and strong people he could find on this island, even increasing the number of opponents he faced at once to make his training more challenging.
He was quite satisfied that he had finally found someone that strong to copy, something he could use to further improve his fighting strength. While his thoughts were still wandering, his grandfather's voice came from nearby.
"You're awake?"
Luffy turned his head. Garp was sitting casually on top of a fallen tree trunk. In front of him was a small campfire with several skewered fish being grilled over it, releasing a savory aroma that immediately made Luffy's stomach growl. Beside him was a pile of fresh fruit.
"Come here, let's eat," Garp said as he picked up a grilled fish that was already cooked before immediately taking a bite.
Without saying much, Luffy immediately sat beside his grandfather and began eating eagerly as well.
"Eat plenty. If you want to become a great Marine, you have to eat a lot," Garp said while continuing to chew.
"I don't want to become a Marine! I want to become the Pirate King!" Luffy protested while continuing to eat, his mouth full.
That old argument broke out once again between grandfather and grandson, as if it had become a routine every time they met, and as usual, it ended with another bump appearing on Luffy's head because of Garp's punch.
After the food had been completely finished, Luffy remembered something he had wanted to ask for a long time.
"Grandpa, do you know the name of my Devil Fruit?"
"Isn't it the Gomu Gomu no Mi?" Garp replied in confusion.
"That's what it's called, but I couldn't find its name in the Devil Fruit encyclopedia I have." Luffy took the encyclopedia out of his Inventory before handing it to his grandfather.
"What was that?" Garp asked curiously when he saw his grandson pull a book out of thin air.
"Ah, that's a technique I came up with myself," Luffy answered casually. "You could say it's a part of me."
Garp nodded, assuming it was a technique developed through his grandson's Devil Fruit, so he did not question it any further. He had sailed across the vast seas for a long time, and whenever something strange or unreasonable appeared, there was only one easy way to explain it: just blame the Devil Fruit.
He flipped through the pages of the encyclopedia, and sure enough, there was not a single record of the Gomu Gomu no Mi inside. Garp closed the book and returned it to Luffy, who immediately stored it back inside his Inventory.
"Maybe your Devil Fruit is appearing for the first time?"
"You think so too, Grandpa?"
"Yeah. Devil Fruits are strange things. Anything can happen when those things are involved."
Their conversation continued as they talked about the vast seas, with Luffy mostly listening while occasionally asking questions. During the conversation, he also took the opportunity to ask his grandfather about Haki.
Garp explained that Haki was a hidden power possessed by every living being in the world, something that could be called one's will, spirit, or very existence itself. There were three types of Haki.
The first was Kenbunshoku Haki, the power to accurately sense the presence of enemies. It could be compared to a sixth sense, although it was actually somewhat different.
The second was Busoshoku Haki, which allowed its user to utilize their spirit or will as a protective layer, or to harden their body and weapons while attacking. This type of Haki was also the only way to truly touch the real body of a Logia-type Devil Fruit user.
The third was Haoshoku Haki, which allowed its user to utilize their spirit, will, or determination to intimidate enemies at the same time. This type of Haki could not be trained at all and was purely an innate talent possessed from birth by only one in a million people.
Hearing that explanation, Luffy's eyes immediately sparkled with excitement. Something called Haki sounded incredibly cool.
"Grandpa, teach me how to train Haki!" Luffy begged.
"No. If you want to learn that, you have to join the Marines first."
"Tch, stingy."
"What did you say, you naughty brat?!"
A fist landed directly on Luffy's head. Since his grandfather refused to teach him, he decided that he would simply learn it himself.
After all, according to the System, his Haoshoku Haki had already awakened. He simply did not yet know how to use it properly. He had also copied his grandfather into the Simulation, so perhaps he could figure it out himself through training there.
Garp only had three more days left on the island before he finally had to set sail again.