After coming back to his senses, Roya continued experimenting with his newfound power.
Only after he had thoroughly familiarized himself with it did he finally stop.
By then, the entire courtyard was a complete mess, looking as though it had just been swept by a sea of flames.
During his experiments, Roya confirmed that he had complete control over the flames.
In other words, he could choose whether or not to release them.
Whether the additional fire damage manifested was entirely determined by his own will.
Furthermore, Roya could extinguish the flames he had released with a single thought.
In other words, whether the flames existed or not was completely under his control.
There was also a difference between this power and the Magma-Magma Fruit.
Although Roya was immune to the flames’ damage, his body couldn’t transform into fire like a Logia user could.
Just as Roya continued playing around with his sword and familiarizing himself with his newfound power, Garp finally woke up.
“What is that smell?”
Still half-asleep, Garp twitched his nose several times and frowned as he walked into the courtyard.
The first thing he saw was Roya practicing swordsmanship.
Huh?
That brat Roya is already up.
The thought had barely crossed Garp’s mind when his remaining drowsiness vanished without a trace.
His eyes suddenly widened.
His mouth fell open as he stared at the completely blackened courtyard.
What…
What the hell happened?!
Garp stood there dumbfounded for several seconds.
Then, an earth-shaking roar suddenly erupted.
“RO…YAAAAA!!!”
The roar shook the entire Marine Headquarters so violently that it nearly threw everything into chaos.
Even Fleet Admiral Sengoku looked startled.
He couldn’t make out what Garp was shouting, but he could tell that the voice clearly belonged to Garp.
The moment Sengoku thought of Garp, black lines seemed to appear across his forehead.
He shook his head and decided not to bother with it.
…
Garp’s roar had been earth-shaking.
Fortunately, there had only been some miscellaneous items in the courtyard, and nothing particularly valuable had been damaged.
Moreover, Roya knew he was in the wrong this time and didn’t try to argue or make excuses.
Garp himself wasn’t particularly concerned about material possessions either.
So, the old man’s anger soon subsided.
After Roya and Garp turned over the soil and cleaned up the courtyard, it was restored to something resembling its original state, although the smell of something having been burned still occasionally drifted through the air.
Standing in the courtyard, Garp glared fiercely at Roya.
Roya simply gave him an awkward grin.
“All right, you little brat.
For the next month, I’ll personally guide your training.
My training is going to be extremely strict.
If you dare slack off even once, you’d better be prepared to receive the old man’s Fist of Love!
This time, I won’t hold back!”
Garp’s expression became stern as he stared at Roya.
The aura that suddenly emanated from him was enough to scare an ordinary child into tears.
But to Roya, the strictness contained in Garp’s words didn’t make him retreat in the slightest.
Instead, it further stimulated his competitive spirit.
“Let’s begin!”
Roya’s expression became calm.
His answer was simple, yet decisive.
It carried an intense will.
The will to become stronger.
Garp could clearly sense that determination.
Aside from surprise, what he felt even more strongly was relief.
What he had feared most was that Roya lacked fighting spirit.
Now, it seemed his worries had been unnecessary.
…
In the courtyard.
Since Roya was already eighteen years old rather than a child, Garp didn’t immediately begin teaching him specific exercises.
Instead, he first gave Roya a simple explanation of the fundamentals of training.
“Every human body possesses enormous potential.
As long as you can unlock even a portion of that potential, you can become a powerhouse capable of defeating a hundred ordinary opponents.”
“Some people are naturally able to unlock part of their physical potential from birth.
That’s why they don’t need much training to become powerful from the very beginning.
Most of the recruits in the Marine Headquarters’ recruit camp are like that.
Among the strongest of them, the physical strength they’re born with is already enough to rival Marine officers!”
With just these two simple statements, Garp explained why, in the world of One Piece, some people were born ordinary while others possessed extraordinary physiques almost from birth, with bodies that were nearly impervious to blades and bullets.
After hearing Garp’s explanation, a look of understanding appeared on Roya’s face.
As a transmigrator with a broad perspective, Garp’s words weren’t difficult for Roya to understand.
“So, the foundation of physical strength is unlocking the body’s potential.”
“Exactly!”
Garp nodded when he heard that Roya had not only understood what he had said but had also summarized it immediately.
At the same time, he was slightly surprised.
Although Roya wasn’t one of those natural-born geniuses who had already unlocked part of his potential and possessed an exceptionally powerful physique, his comprehension seemed quite good.
Satisfied, Garp continued explaining how to unlock the body’s potential.
He even briefly explained the power known as Haki, which could be wielded once a person’s physical potential had been developed to a certain degree.
Naturally, Garp wasn’t going to teach Roya Haki right from the beginning.
That would be putting the cart before the horse.
So he merely touched on the subject before moving on to a detailed explanation of how to unlock his physical potential.
The method was simple.
Continuously break through the body’s limits.
For example, if a person’s maximum was one hundred push-ups, breaking through that limit would mean developing a portion of their physical potential.
Obviously, breaking through one’s limits directly was extremely difficult.
Garp, however, knew several techniques for breaking through physical limits and unlocking hidden potential.
With these techniques, breaking through one’s limits would become considerably easier.
Soon, under Garp’s guidance, Roya began his formal training.
…
At the same time, inside the Marine Headquarters’ recruit camp.
Roya’s sudden absence didn’t cause much of a stir.
The recruits continued their training as usual.
During a brief break, several recruits from the same formation as Roya gathered together.
One of them had heard that Roya had taken leave.
“He only joined a month ago and he’s already taking leave.
He really doesn’t take training seriously.”
“He was already at the bottom, yet he still dares to take time off whenever he wants.
What an irresponsible guy.
Is he giving up on himself?”
“How is someone like that the nephew of Vice Admiral Garp?”
Several Marine recruits spoke one after another, each with a look of disdain on their faces.
Just then, a sharp voice came from nearby.
“That’s enough!”
Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.
A tall and graceful female recruit walked over and spoke to them.
“Do you really think Vice Admiral Garp is someone you can gossip about behind his back?!”
“Uh…”
The recruits exchanged awkward glances.
One of them hurriedly said to the female recruit,
“Our mistake.
But don’t report us to the instructor, Tashigi.”
The female recruit was none other than Tashigi, the sword-loving Marine officer who would eventually become a major character in the original story.
But at this point, she was merely a recruit who had yet to graduate.
She had also previously been in the same formation as Roya.
Tashigi snorted.
“Even if Roya’s performance isn’t very good, he’s still Vice Admiral Garp’s family.
What kind of behavior is this?”
“Yes, yes…”
Although the recruits were somewhat unconvinced—they respected Garp, not Roya—they didn’t dare argue with Tashigi.
Besides, Tashigi was quite strong.
Her performance in the recruit camp ranked near the top.
In this world, where strength was respected above all else, strength practically represented one’s status.
Seeing everyone agree, Tashigi gave another snort and returned to her training.
Then she turned and walked away.