Ace, however, stood to the side, looking conflicted and hesitant to speak.
“Huh?” Luffy and Sabo noticed Ace’s unusual behavior.
“What’s wrong, Ace?
Wouldn’t it be great for the three of us brothers to join the Marines together and beat up our bastard grandpa?”
Hearing this, Ace fell silent for a moment before forcing a strained smile.
“Luffy, Sabo, can you let me think about it first?”
Watching from the sidelines, Raizen immediately understood Ace’s reaction.
Ace was the son of the Pirate King, Roger, and had always harbored deep-seated resentment toward his lineage.
Hearing his two sworn brothers declare their intentions to join the Marines, it was only natural for him to feel conflicted about whether he belonged there too.
At that moment, Garp wiped his tears and walked over.
“Ace, Grandpa knows what you’re worried about.”
Garp’s expression was incredibly resolute.
“But you don’t need to worry.
You are my grandson, Monkey D.
Garp’s grandson!
With your grandpa standing behind you, you have nothing to fear!
I—no, we—are your backing!”
So what if he was the Pirate King’s son?
As long as he didn’t say anything, and Sengoku and Tsuru kept their mouths shut, who would ever know?
The world only knew that the Pirate King’s son had died ten years ago during a Buster Call.
The Ace standing here today was simply his grandson.
Looking across the entire sea, who would dare make trouble for Garp’s grandson?
The Celestial Dragons?
Go ask Imu how it feels to take a fist to the face from this old man!
“You bastard old man.” Ace fixed his gaze on Garp’s unwavering face, seeing the genuine affection etched into his features.
Slowly, his vision began to blur.
No, his vision wasn’t blurring.
Tears had silently welled up in his eyes, obscuring his view of Garp.
Luffy nudged Ace from the side.
“Ace, you’re crying.”
“I am not!” Ace hissed, reacting like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on.
“Hey, you bastard old man, just you wait!
I’ll join the Marines, learn the Marine Rokushiki, and then I’ll beat you!
Together with Luffy, I’ll become the strongest Marine!”
With that, Ace spun around and bolted.
He had to run.
He had lost control of his emotions and started crying; if he didn’t escape now, he couldn’t even imagine how much Luffy and Sabo would tease him later.
“Ace!!” Startled, Luffy and Sabo quickly chased after him, which only made Ace run even faster.
“Don’t follow me!!!”
Watching the trio disappear into the distance, Raizen stepped up beside Garp and spoke softly.
“Teacher Garp, you must be very happy right now.”
With Monkey D.
Dragon serving as a cautionary tale, Garp wanted nothing more than to ensure Luffy and Ace joined the Marines no matter what.
Garp turned his head to look at Raizen, the boy he had picked up from an isolated island a year and a half ago.
“Raizen,” he said, his tone incredibly earnest.
“I need to thank you.
You’ve helped lift a heavy burden from my heart.”
Raizen waved his hand dismissively.
“What are you saying, Teacher Garp?
I’m your disciple.
It’s only natural for a disciple to help their teacher solve their problems!”
Hearing this, Garp instantly returned to his usual boisterous laughter.
“You’re right!
You are my disciple.”
“Go fetch those three little brats.
Dadan should have lunch ready by now, and I’m starving.”
“But Teacher Garp, you just finished a whole bag of rice crackers.”
“Hmm?
Are you talking back to me?”
“Ah, got it, got it.
I’ll go bring them back.”
“That’s more like it!
Bwahahaha!”
The sun shone brightly over Foosha Village, perfectly mirroring the clear, joyous state of Garp’s heart.
The next day.
Raizen and Garp brought Sabo and the other two back to the mountains behind the village.
Yesterday afternoon, Garp had used a Transponder Snail to inform Sengoku that the trio would be joining the Marines.
Upon hearing the news, Sengoku didn’t hesitate for a second and immediately created Marine files for all three of them, terrified that if he delayed even a moment, they might run off to become pirates.
It couldn’t be helped.
The disastrous precedent set by Monkey D.
Dragon was still fresh in his mind.
Having all three of Garp’s grandsons join the Marines together was the best possible outcome.
If those three became pirates…
just imagining the scenario gave Sengoku a massive headache.
Garp and Raizen took their positions while the trio watched from the sidelines.
“What are Teacher and bastard Grandpa doing?”
Sabo had spent the previous afternoon getting used to calling him Grandpa Garp, successfully cementing his status as Garp’s adoptive grandson.
Now, he could shout the word ‘Grandpa’ without the slightest psychological burden.
Luffy and Ace shook their heads in unison.
“No idea.”
“Hmph!” Garp snorted, picking his nose.
“We’re here today so I can train your teacher.
At the same time, I’m going to show you brats what a clash between the top powerhouses of the sea looks like.”
“Top powerhouses of the sea?” Sabo pondered the phrase for a moment before his eyes lit up.
“Wait, Teacher is a top powerhouse too?”
Raizen waved his hand modestly.
“Compared to Teacher Garp, I still have a long way to go.”
This was the truth.
After half a year of consolidation, his strength had indeed made significant strides, but compared to a walking stat monster like Garp, he was still too green.
At his absolute limit, he was currently hovering around the level of an Emperor’s top commander, and he had only just broken into that tier.
The gap between him and a pinnacle fighter like Garp was simply too vast.
Garp tossed aside his empty bag of rice crackers and looked at Raizen.
“Raizen, how is your control these days?”
Raizen knew exactly what Garp was asking.
“I can control it with precision now.
It won’t hurt Sabo and the others.”
“Good.” Garp smiled in satisfaction.
Then, his gaze sharpened.
Instantly, powerful black-and-red lightning erupted from Garp, spreading out in all directions.
In an instant, birds plummeted from the sky, fish sank to the bottom of the streams, and the beasts of the forest collapsed unconscious.
In response, the corners of Raizen’s mouth simply curled up into a grin.
The next moment, golden lightning erupted from his body, clashing evenly against Garp’s Conqueror’s Haki.
The shockwaves from their colliding Conqueror’s Haki caused the surrounding rocks to shatter and trees to topple.
The overwhelming pressure even seemed to carry the faint threat of tearing the sky itself apart.
“Wh-what is this?” Sabo’s pupils quaked violently, and Luffy and Ace weren’t faring much better.
The three of them stood with their jaws dropped wide open.
Although they couldn’t feel the oppressive weight of the Conqueror’s Haki due to Raizen and Garp’s deliberate control, just witnessing the sheer scale of the destruction around them was enough to prove that their teacher and bastard grandpa were unimaginably powerful.
It was their first time seeing a clash of this magnitude!
‘Just their auras alone can tear the sky and shatter the earth…
Is this what the top powerhouses of the sea are like?’
The next moment, Raizen moved.
He retracted his golden Conqueror’s Haki, condensing and coating it entirely around his right hand.
“Teacher Garp,” Raizen spoke softly.
“Over the past half year, I’ve combined my Devil Fruit abilities to develop my own martial arts style.
I call it the Mythical Beast Fist.”
“Oh?
Is that so?
That’s quite impressive.” Garp likewise retracted his Conqueror’s Haki, coating it over both of his fists.
“I wonder how it compares to my Fist Bone?”