Looking at the dense forest around him and the trees several meters thick, Garp wore a face full of amazement.
“Can you use that special Devil Fruit ability of yours again for this old man?”
“I can.”
After Roy finished speaking, he stretched out his right hand.
A sharp, cone-shaped piece of wood shot from his palm and instantly pierced straight through the trunk of a towering tree beside him!
“This is Wood Release: Piercing Cone.”
After using the Wood Release technique he had developed himself, Roy did not forget to explain it to Garp.
“Wood Release: Piercing Cone?”
“What an impressive Devil Fruit ability.
A Devil Fruit that controls trees… is it a Paramecia?”
Garp’s face was filled with curiosity.
Sure enough, because of habitual thinking, this kind of ability would be regarded as a Devil Fruit.
Even Garp was no exception.
And Roy had no need to explain anything.
“We’ve been chatting for so long, but this old man hasn’t introduced himself yet, has he?”
Garp no longer dwelled on Roy’s ability.
Instead, he grinned carelessly, revealing a row of big white teeth, and said, “This old man is Garp, a vice admiral of Marine Headquarters!”
“I know.”
How could Roy possibly fail to recognize the famous Garp?
No matter what, he had watched over a thousand chapters’ worth of the original One Piece story!
Roy’s tone was calm as he introduced himself as well.
“Roy.
A traveler.”
“Roy?”
Garp heard the name and realized that he seemed to have never heard it on the sea before.
It seemed that this young man really was just as he said.
He had spent ten years training bitterly and alone on a deserted island.
As for Roy knowing his name, Garp did not find it strange.
After all, he had roamed the sea for so many years.
He still had some fame, at least.
“If this old man hadn’t become a Marine back then, maybe I would have become a traveler just like you.
Ahahahahahaha!”
Moreover, after learning that Roy was a traveler, Garp became much more cordial toward him.
As long as Roy was not a pirate or part of some criminal organization like the mafia, then there was no conflict with Garp’s profession as a Marine.
“Roy, are you interested in joining the Marines?”
Garp asked while digging his nose, looking nothing like a Marine at all.
It would truly be a pity if such a young man with so much promise and potential did not join the Marines.
The moment those words came out, Everyone froze in shock.
“Vice Admiral Garp!
Who invites someone to join the Marines the moment they meet them?
And when you’re inviting someone, can you please not dig your nose?
Please be a little more serious!”
The group of Marine soldiers behind Garp helplessly reminded him after hearing his sudden and completely unexpected words.
“No.
My dream is to become a traveler.”
Roy shook his head and refused.
If he became a Marine, he would be bound by the Marines’ many rules and restrictions.
He would not be able to travel and sightsee freely, nor would he be able to complete the System’s travel check-ins without worry.
“Is that so?
Then that really is a shame.
If you joined the Marines, then perhaps the Marines might gain another admiral in the future!”
Hearing Roy refuse, Garp felt it was a pity, but he did not force him.
After all, everyone had the right to choose.
He had no reason to force someone else to make a decision.
After a moment of silence, a conversation he had with Sengoku not long ago about the Seven Warlords of the Sea suddenly surfaced in Garp’s mind.
It was currently Sea Circle Calendar year 1515, and the Seven Warlords of the Sea were not yet complete.
There was still one vacant seat among the Seven Warlords.
As for the other six Warlords, they were either pirates or criminals, all vicious and wicked people.
Garp was genuinely not interested in those people.
However, this Roy before him…
Garp’s eyes lit up slightly.
“Roy, this old man happens to know of a profession that doesn’t conflict with your dream of being a traveler.
Are you willing to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?”
Garp asked.
In his eyes, with Roy’s Devil Fruit ability that could create such a massive forest, he was absolutely qualified to become a Warlord.
Although the Seven Warlords had originally been defined as seven influential pirates, rules were dead things.
And what Garp disliked the most were those kinds of rigid rules and restrictions.
Besides, Garp felt that if Roy became one of the Seven Warlords, he might be even more suited to the title than some of the current Warlords.
“Vice Admiral Garp, isn’t your thinking a little too jumpy?
He just refused to join the Marines, and now you’re recommending him to become one of the Seven Warlords?”
Commander Ryan was frightened by Garp’s words.
The Seven Warlords of the Sea!
That was the title given to seven powerful pirates!
Was it really appropriate to give such a title to a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old young man they had only just met and had not even spoken to for long?
“That’s right, Vice Admiral Garp.
Please be careful with your words!
Saying that someone should become one of the Seven Warlords isn’t something you can just say casually!”
The other Marine soldiers also clicked their tongues one after another.
“One of the Seven Warlords?”
After hearing Garp’s question, Roy froze for a moment.
He truly had not expected that after he refused to become a Marine, Garp would recommend him to become one of the Seven Warlords.
Becoming one of the Seven Warlords could also be considered receiving the Marines’ official recognition.
With that identity as a cover, even if he went to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise or Marine Headquarters, it did not seem impossible.
Many places where he originally would not have been able to travel and check in would suddenly become places he could visit casually.
Moreover, after becoming one of the Seven Warlords, there would not be too many restrictions.
At most, when the Marines summoned him, he would just go and participate while doing the bare minimum.
“Roy, there’s no rush.
You can think it over!”
Seeing that Roy had not immediately agreed, Garp still wanted to fight for it a little.
He found Roy quite pleasing to the eye.
“No need to keep thinking about it.
I agree.”
Roy responded.
“Hahahahaha!
Good!
This old man knew you would agree!”
“However, it will probably still take some time before you officially become one of the Seven Warlords.
I’ll have to return to headquarters, submit your application materials, and wait until the necessary procedures are completed!”
Hearing that Roy had agreed to become one of the Seven Warlords, Garp’s mood improved quite a bit.
“Then I’ll have to trouble you, Vice Admiral Garp.”
Roy said politely.
“But after agreeing, I still have one small request.
I hope Vice Admiral Garp can satisfy it?”
Roy asked in an inquiring tone.
“What request?
As long as it doesn’t violate this old man’s principles and isn’t too troublesome, this old man can satisfy it!”
Garp patted his burly chest, making it thump loudly.
“I want to have a real battle with you.
Through actual combat, I want to test what level my strength has reached!”
“You also know that I just said I’ve spent ten years buried in training here, so I’m still not very sure what level my strength has reached in this world.”
Roy explained.
Although he knew that ten years of bitter training had caused his strength to undergo an earth-shaking transformation, he still needed someone as a measuring standard to determine exactly how strong he had become.
“Hahahahaha!
This old man was wondering what kind of request it was.
So you want to have actual combat training with me?”
“That doesn’t count as a request at all.
In truth, this old man also wants to see just how strong you are.
If your strength can bring me even more surprises, then recommending you to become one of the Seven Warlords will go even more smoothly!”
Garp laughed loudly and agreed.
To be honest, he was also quite curious about Roy’s strange Devil Fruit ability that created trees.
Perhaps this sparring session…
Would satisfy his curiosity.