A woman with a green bandana and a delicate face smiled at Garp.
She looked like a gentle woman.
"Hahahaha, are Luffy and Ace here?!"
At the sound of his voice, many people in the port looked over, then their eyes skipped over Garp and curiously looked at Esdeath behind Garp.
There weren't many beauties in Windmill Village; Machino was one, but today, a great beauty had arrived.
As for Garp, he came and went as he pleased, so he wasn't a rarity!
"Luffy and Ace should be with Dadan."
She tilted her head and thought for a moment before mentioning Dadan, the mountain bandit who, in the original work, was like a mother to Sabo, Ace, and Luffy—sharp-tongued but soft-hearted.
Her gaze, however, remained curious as she looked at Esdeath.
Seeing this, Esdeath smiled but did not proactively introduce herself.
Ace apparently hadn't set sail yet; it would be a few more years before he began his exploits on the high seas.
"Little ones, rest and regroup!"
"Yes!"
At Garp's command, all the Marines began to rest in an orderly fashion; after all, it wasn't their first time in Windmill Village, so they were familiar with it.
"Hahahaha, I'll introduce you when I get back, Machino."
"Let's go, Esdeath."
With a wave of his hand, he took only Esdeath and headed into the deep mountains.
It had been a long time since he had seen Ace and Luffy; he wondered if those two boys had changed their minds and wanted to become Marines.
This time, he brought Esdeath with only that thought in mind: to let Luffy and Ace see what excellent Marines looked like!
"It really is..."
She slowly followed Garp's pace, having originally wanted to meet Machino, as there were rumors that she was Shanks' wife.
She didn't know if it was true and wanted to verify the fact.
...
"Dadan!"
Before they even got close to the house, a roar directly startled all the birds in the surroundings, causing them to flee the forest.
A sturdy figure appeared at the doorway, looking at Garp's figure with some disbelief, wondering what madness this old man was up to again, coming back here!
"G-Garp!"
"Take this! Stinky old man!"
A somewhat familiar voice came from the rooftop; looking up, it was Ace, holding a pipe!
"I'll leave him to you, Esdeath."
Turning his head, picking his nose, and looking at Esdeath indifferently, he was completely irresponsible.
"I won't be responsible if you get hurt..."
She reluctantly drew her military knife and jumped in front of Garp, blocking the attack, then turned back to complain to Garp.
Why did she feel like her coming here was just like doing chores?
"Nani!"
Ace looked at the blue-haired woman in front of him, his expression freezing as he said, "I don't fight girls, get out of the way."
"Gomu Gomu no—Pistol!"
Hearing that prefix, Esdeath knew who was coming, but Luffy was only 12 years old now and looked quite silly.
He threw a punch at Esdeath; in his eyes, there was no distinction between male and female.
"Idiot Luffy, that's not our target!" Ace slapped his forehead; he had already stopped, but Luffy went up to fight again.
"Ah!"
"But I can't stop now!"
Luffy, belatedly, wanted to stop his punch, but the current Luffy didn't have the control he had at the beginning of the story.
Esdeath's face darkened; with a flash, she appeared behind Ace and punched him, and Luffy's figure did the same.
Bang! Bang!
Two punches sent both of them into the ground, the kind that couldn't be pulled out.
She had wanted to beat the two of them for a long time; both Ace and Luffy were too annoying, and now she could finally give them a good beating.
Ace was fine; after all, he was still acceptable, just a bit silly, but Luffy was a hothead who could drive her crazy.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
She showed no mercy at all.
Esdeath only stopped when two pig-headed figures appeared in everyone's sight.
Although their injuries looked severe, she hadn't actually hit them hard; it was simply to the extent of Nami's usual beatings, just to let Luffy get familiar with it early.
"Allow me to introduce myself, Esdeath! Marine Cadet."
She pulled the two out of the ground; they were still in a daze, amazed that the woman in front of them was so fierce, hitting even harder than the old man (Grandpa)!
"Puhahahahaha!"
Garp, who was standing by, laughed heartily at their miserable state, completely disregarding their feelings.
"Hello, Portgas D. Ace!"
"Yo! I'm Monkey D. Luffy!"
Their obedient appearance almost made Dadan burst out laughing; the two great devils were actually so well-behaved.
"How about it, do you still want to be the Pirate King!"
"Yes *2!"
The two blurted it out without any hesitation; they could give up anything but not being the Pirate King!
"Idiots! You're going to become the strongest Marines!"
Upon hearing this answer, Garp's face instantly darkened, and as expected, another brutal beating ensued.
But the two were stubborn, refusing to yield even a little, even though their whole bodies were trembling, they remained defiant.
This kind of perseverance made Esdeath admire them; they were indeed foolish.
However, it was good to be 'rather jade shattered than tile intact'.
They stayed in Windmill Village for three whole days afterward, just to continue correcting Luffy and Ace's ideas.
Garp only had to return after Sengoku couldn't help but start scolding him.
Of course, Esdeath successfully gained two little subordinates; during this time, it was either Garp beating the two or having her beat them.
After all, their physical talent was terrifyingly strong, and Esdeath didn't need to hold back, simply leaving them with a beautiful (terrifying) impression.
"Ace, let's not provoke women anymore; Big Sis Esdeath and an angry Machino are both so scary."
It wasn't until Garp's battleship left that Luffy, with snot running down his nose, started crying and complaining to Ace.
That demoness was too terrifying, even more terrifying than his grandfather.
"What are you afraid of? When we grow up, who knows who will beat whom?"
Ace scoffed, but his slightly trembling body betrayed him.
"But I heard Grandpa say Esdeath is only 15, younger than Ace."
"..."
Ace shivered and decided he wouldn't provoke that woman again; if he met her on the high seas, he would walk around her.
"She's simply a monster!"
...
Although she had spent two leisurely days there, her training hadn't fallen behind; in fact, it had improved quite a bit, and she had even exchanged a few blows with Garp.
Garp also didn't stingy his experience; she didn't know if it was because she had beaten his grandsons, but he always wanted to beat her up.
Unfortunately, she managed to counter all of his attempts; after all, he couldn't possibly use his full strength to fight Esdeath.
"Vice Admiral Garp, pirates spotted ahead!"
"Clear them out!"
It really wasn't the East Blue pirates' fault for being weak; Garp came home every few days, so which pirate could possibly develop strongly?
Those who did develop strongly were all big figures!