Chapter 13 — Breaking the Calm: The Return of Garp! (Double Chapter)
Rosinante's easy surrender took not only Tsugikuni Yoriichi by surprise, but even Zephyr hadn't expected Sengoku's foster son to throw in the towel so quickly.
Zephyr hadn't interacted much with Rosinante before, but he'd heard Sengoku praise him endlessly—how diligent and upright the boy was, how firm his resolve, how hard he worked toward becoming an outstanding marine.
But seeing Rosinante sprawled out on the tatami now, Zephyr couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. Still, his expression soon hardened. He could laugh at Sengoku's overprotectiveness, but when it came to training, Zephyr had never been one to take things lightly.
Even if Rosinante wasn't yet a marine, even if he wasn't a student of the Naval Academy, Zephyr couldn't just let that kind of attitude slide.
Before Yoriichi could open his mouth to encourage him, Zephyr's sharp voice rang out:
"Rosinante!"
"Get up!"
"The Navy isn't child's play! Once you step onto the battlefield, death can come at any moment!"
"If you don't train seriously now, you'll just be another corpse when you face pirates! Do you want Sengoku to bury his own son?!"
"You're Sengoku's foster son! Don't act like a coward—stand up!"
Zephyr's sudden roar startled Rosinante so badly that he jumped to his feet, blurting out, "Y-yes, sir! I'll keep going!"
As a Vice Admiral, Zephyr's authority carried immense weight. Rosinante hastily grabbed his bamboo sword, let out a sharp yell, and lunged again at Yoriichi.
"Oh?"
"Now that's more like it!"
Zephyr's words of praise had barely left his lips before Yoriichi sidestepped the attack and, with a light flick of his wrist, tapped Rosinante's ankle with the bamboo sword. The boy cried out in pain and stumbled to the floor.
"Good—that pain will keep your spirit burning," Yoriichi murmured under his breath.
Sure enough, gritting his teeth, Rosinante scrambled up and charged again.
All morning, Rosinante sparred with Yoriichi, barely taking any breaks.
For Yoriichi, the training did little; for Rosinante, however, it was a trial by fire.
The boy's willpower was actually strong—he simply had a bad habit of giving up when things got tough. Sengoku's doting nature hadn't helped either; every time Rosinante slacked off, Sengoku indulged him.
So despite his age and background, Rosinante's progress had been painfully slow. Even at his peak later in life, if one ignored his Devil Fruit ability, his Doriki would only be around twenty—barely above an ordinary sailor.
At twelve years old, he was just a bit stronger than the average kid his age.
By lunchtime, his muscles had cooled and the pain set in. His hands shook so much from fatigue that he could barely hold his spoon.
"Hey, hey…"
"Yoriichi, I've never trained this hard before…"
"I'm still growing, you know! If we keep training like this, won't it stunt my growth?!"
"I'll stop growing tall, right? Yoriichi, look at you—don't you think all that training made you short?"
Even as he struggled to eat, Rosinante's mouth didn't stop moving for a second.
"…"
"My height is perfectly normal," Yoriichi replied flatly, giving him a sideways glance.
To be fair, Rosinante did have the right to brag—at only twelve, he already stood nearly two meters tall.
Yoriichi, on the other hand, was of far more modest stature—barely one hundred seventy centimeters.
For once, Yoriichi found himself without a comeback.
"You're tall enough already. Being taller won't make you stronger," Yoriichi muttered between bites.
"No, no, no."
"Being tall is important. I don't want to end up a shorty."
Rosinante shook his head solemnly. Yoriichi knew he wasn't trying to insult him, but somehow the words still stung.
The people of this world were, on average, giants compared to those of Yoriichi's former world. Even among the marines, men over two meters were commonplace—not to mention the actual giants in their ranks.
As the two chatted and ate, the cafeteria door suddenly slid open.
Rrrrip!
Zephyr stepped in, carrying a food tray. Behind him followed a tall, broad-shouldered man draped in a coat of justice, his face hidden behind a precariously stacked mountain of food nearly half a meter tall.
Both Yoriichi and Rosinante looked up curiously.
"Yo~"
"Yoriichi, my boy!"
The man leaned around his pile of food, grinning widely—it was none other than Vice Admiral Garp. Without hesitation, he plopped himself into a seat, the mountain of food clattering onto the table.
"Vice Admiral Garp!"
"Hello, Vice Admiral Garp!"
Rosinante blurted his greeting in surprise, while Yoriichi gave a polite nod.
"Bwahahaha!"
"No need to be so stiff!"
"I heard Zephyr was opening his mess hall today, so I came to freeload. Looks like I arrived just in time! Bwahahaha!"
Settling beside Rosinante, Garp began unloading his tray, looking utterly pleased with himself.
"All your fault," Zephyr grumbled good-naturedly as he took a seat next to Yoriichi. "Didn't even warn me you were coming—now there's barely enough food to go around."
Still, he divided his meal into three portions, handing the largest shares to Yoriichi and Rosinante, keeping little for himself.
"Garp, weren't you supposed to be chasing Roger? How come you're back already?"
"You've only been gone a couple of weeks—not even a month. Don't tell me you lost him again?"
Zephyr smirked.
Within the Navy, Garp was infamous for his free spirit. Commander-in-Chief Kong had tried many times to promote him to Admiral, but Garp always refused.
Rather than fight in the New World like the other vice admirals, he spent most of his time in the East Blue, relentlessly pursuing the Roger Pirates. When he wasn't chasing Roger, he hunted other pirates along the way.
Thanks to his efforts, the East Blue had become the most peaceful of the Four Seas.
Recently, however, Roger's crew had passed through Sabaody Archipelago, entered Fish-Man Island, and set sail for the New World.
Garp had gone after them immediately—but to everyone's surprise, he was already back.
"Bah!"
"You know how the New World is. I almost had them—but then a bloody storm hit out of nowhere, and they slipped away."
"My surveillance ships haven't spotted them for days, so I figured I'd head back first."
"Besides," Garp said, grinning as he looked Yoriichi up and down, "I wanted to see how much progress you've made under Zephyr's training!"
As he spoke, he tore off a chunk of meat and stuffed it into his mouth.
Zephyr chuckled. "So you really did lose them again, huh?"
"In the East Blue you were always losing his trail—and now that they've swapped ships at Water 7, I bet they're even faster," Zephyr said around a mouthful of food, his tone half teasing, half amused.
"The New World's weather changes faster than a woman's temper. At this rate, I'd say you'll never catch Roger."
"Don't you worry about me," Garp replied with a grin. "I'll get him eventually."
"His movements have been strange lately—like he suddenly has a clear goal. He's been a lot more active."
"I don't know exactly what he's after yet, but I'll find out soon enough."
While the two veterans chatted, Yoriichi listened quietly. Hearing Garp's words, he already had a good guess what Roger was pursuing—no doubt the Poneglyphs.
Roger must have realized he was dying and set out to fulfill his dream of circumnavigating the world. Having already reached the New World, he'd likely seen the Poneglyph on Fish-Man Island. His next step would be to gather all of them—to reach Raftel.
As Yoriichi pondered this, Garp suddenly stood, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Alright, kid! Let's see how much you've grown."
"I was the one who brought you into the Navy—means I'm responsible for your progress!"
"If you're wasting that talent of yours, I'll be real upset! Bwahahahaha!"
Yoriichi blinked, startled—then noticed that Garp's once-towering pile of food was… gone. Completely.
He'd finished everything while talking to Zephyr.
"…Already?" Yoriichi muttered, dumbfounded.
"Don't just sit there daydreaming! You're done eating too, right? Come on—time to work off that meal!"
Laughing boisterously, Garp grabbed Yoriichi by the arm and hauled him toward the courtyard.
"Hey—Garp, hold on!"
Zephyr tried to stop him. It was one thing to check on the boy's progress, but could they at least finish eating first? Just because he'd cleaned his plate didn't mean everyone else had.
But before Zephyr could grab his shoulder, Garp brushed his hand aside with a grin.
"Honestly…" Yoriichi sighed inwardly, then turned to Zephyr.
"It's fine, Zephyr-sensei. I've finished. A bit of exercise will help with digestion."
Without waiting for a reply, Garp had already dragged Yoriichi outside.
"Alright!" Garp said, cracking his neck as he took position in the middle of the courtyard. "Come at me—let's see what you've got."
Yoriichi gave a small nod, then turned toward the dojo. A moment later he returned with a bamboo sword in hand and faced Garp.
From the veranda, Rosinante watched, munching on a tray piled high with leftovers. "Go get him, Yoriichi! Make him work for it!" he cheered, his mouth still full, though the gleam in his eyes was pure mischief.
"I'm starting," Yoriichi said softly.
Without another word, he inhaled, then dashed forward, sword flashing.
"Oh? A frontal assault?"
"Not bad—that's the spirit of a true marine!"
Garp laughed approvingly—then, in the blink of an eye, the boy was already upon him, bamboo sword thrusting upward toward his chest.
"So fast!" Rosinante exclaimed, unable to follow the movement. When he finally caught sight of the sword again, Garp already had it caught effortlessly in one hand.
The vice admiral's cheerful grin faded, replaced by a faint frown.
"Stop."
His tone sharpened. "Still the same kind of attack?"
"I brought you into the Navy almost twenty days ago."
"With your physique, you should've started learning the Six Powers already—and given your talent, you should've shown some hint of Haki by now."
"Why are you still this weak?!"
Yoriichi hadn't even finished his first strike before Garp called a halt. He looked the boy up and down, then turned toward Zephyr with clear displeasure.
"Oi, Zephyr! You're supposed to be training him. What the hell have you been teaching?"
"Why hasn't he made any progress?"
Zephyr snorted coldly. "No progress? Filling his head with knowledge is progress!"
"He's still a child. Building a foundation comes first. There's plenty of time for the Six Powers later."
Garp narrowed his eyes—he could hear the uncertainty behind Zephyr's bluster.
His instincts immediately kicked in. He slung an arm around Zephyr's shoulder and murmured quietly, "This Steel Bone Kong's doing, isn't it?"
Trust Garp to see through it in seconds. Despite his rough manner, he was far from stupid.
Zephyr gave a low, irritated hum. "Since you already know, why bother asking?"
That was all the confirmation Garp needed. He sighed, then looked back at Yoriichi.
"This won't do," he said flatly. "Train him like this, and you'll never make a real marine out of him."
"Next time I set sail, I'm taking the kid with me."
"No," Zephyr shot back immediately. "He's still too young—and he's not even an official marine yet. You can't just take him out to sea."
"That's an order."
"Order?" Garp's voice boomed across the courtyard.
"Ridiculous! A boy this age is already a man! He should be out there braving the seas!"
"There are two brats about his age sailing with Roger right now!"
"If pirates that young can roam the ocean, why can't the Navy?!"
"Order? What order?! To hell with that!"
"Next time I head out, I'm taking him—and anyone who's got a problem with it can tell me to my face!"
"Humph!"
With a dismissive snort, Garp turned on his heel and strode out of Zephyr's quarters.
Zephyr watched him go, the stern lines of his face melting into a grin.
"Vice Admiral Garp really is easy to read," he chuckled.
Yoriichi exhaled softly.
He'd thought the two men were truly arguing—but seeing Zephyr's expression, he realized otherwise.
So that's how it was. Zephyr had used Garp to say what he couldn't.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha!"
"It's for your own good, you know!" Zephyr laughed, rising from his seat. "You can't make a great marine just by reading books!"
"Still, that loudmouthed fool came back at just the right time—hahaha!"
(End of Chapter)