Garp carried a pot of soup—cooked with who knows what—kicked open the room door, and walked inside, with Luffy following close behind.
He used such force it was as if he were kicking down an enemy's door, not his own home. Noticing that Bai Yun was awake and watching the grandfather-grandson duo, Garp spoke.
"Hmm!"
"So, you finally woke up, kid."
"Good, just don't die in my house. I have to say, your body is way too weak. You just fell from the sky and fractured all your limbs and ribs. Especially your legs—you'll be stuck in a wheelchair for a while. You really need to step up your training."
A certain moss-head's childhood friend, who died from falling down the stairs, felt personally offended by this comment.
Hearing Garp's words, Bai Yun almost made the 'sweating soybean' face.
How can I compare myself to you 'monsters'? Bai Yun thought. Plus, I have that 'heaven-defying' sickly constitution ability. It's a miracle I'm even alive.
Struggling to sit up, Bai Yun realized his entire upper body was swathed in bandages, making him look like a mummy. Except for his head, everything else was wrapped up.
"Did you save me?"
"Thank you so much."
"Otherwise, I think I might have died out in the wilderness and been eaten by wild beasts."
Bai Yun replied. After thinking it over, he decided it was best not to mention that he knew who they were, even if his knowledge was only one-sided.
"Huh?"
"It was just your luck, kid. You happened to crash right onto this old man's head."
Garp first let out a sound of confusion—I thought this old man had a bit of a reputation. I'm a Vice Admiral, and you don't recognize me? Is it because I'm not wearing my uniform?—but he quickly dismissed it. Garp was never one to care about reputation anyway.
"Hello, my name is Monkey D. Luffy."
"Why did you fall from the sky? You're kind of weak, though. I fell off a cliff and was fine."
He was polite, but only slightly.
The young Luffy was seven years old now and had been trained by Garp for some time; falling off a cliff was nothing serious for him anymore.
"My name is Bai Yun."
"As for the rest..."
"I've forgotten. All I remember now is that my name is Bai Yun. Where did I live before? Who was I? I can't recall."
After thinking about it, Bai Yun decided that amnesia was the easiest way to fool them; otherwise, he would have to fabricate an entire fake identity.
"You don't remember?"
"Your head didn't seem to be hit, though."
"You're lucky, kid. First, a News Coo broke your fall, then you hit a crooked tree on the way down, which absorbed some of the impact before you finally landed on me."
"Otherwise, given your physical condition, you would probably be dead."
The crooked tree deserves a medal!
Garp scooped a bowl of soup, handed it to Bai Yun, and continued explaining.
Bai Yun took the bowl and thanked him. He recalled that after the system—that son of a bitch—disappeared while he was 'floating' in the air, he did hit something on the way down. So it was a News Coo.
Thank you, Brother Bird. If you hadn't broken my fall, I might have kicked the bucket. Your great kindness will never be forgotten.
After silently thanking the News Coo, Bai Yun suddenly realized something.
Wait, where is Brother Bird? What happened to it?
"So, where is the News Coo?"
Bai Yun asked while sipping his soup.
Little Luffy was holding his bowl, tilting his head back to drink the soup, and didn't answer.
Garp stopped the bowl he was raising to his own mouth. "Well, it's in the pot, in your bowl, and in your mouth."
"Ugh! Cough, cough, cough!!!"
Garp's answer made Bai Yun's eyes widen, and he nearly choked to death.
"Cough! Cough! Wh... what? This soup was made from that News Coo?"
"Yeah, what else? It fell from the sky; why let free food go to waste? Boiling it into soup helps nourish the body, and with a physique like yours, you should definitely drink more."
Garp replied, handing Bai Yun a cloth, and then immediately continued drinking his own soup.
Bai Yun took the cloth and wiped his mouth, looking into the soup bowl, where the surface seemed to reflect the image of Brother Bird.
I'm sorry, Brother Bird, but seriously, this soup is really delicious.
...Hic!
"Thank you for the meal."
In the time it took Bai Yun to finish one bowl of soup made from his 'savior,' Brother Bird, Little Luffy had already finished everything in the pot. Bai Yun put down his bowl and thanked both Garp and Luffy.
"Mm."
"Luffy, go wash the dishes."
Garp nodded, then instructed Luffy to go wash the dishes.
"Oh."
Luffy didn't argue. He placed his bowl in the pot, then carried the pot and bowls out of the room.
Garp's smile instantly vanished, replaced by a serious expression as he looked at Bai Yun. He crossed his arms, and his imposing aura slowly pressed down on Bai Yun.
The atmosphere immediately grew tense. Bai Yun panicked, thinking, 'I haven't done anything wrong, have I, Vice Admiral Garp?'
"Bai Yun?"
"Bai, kid, you were lying just now, weren't you?"
"You don't actually have amnesia, do you?"
Garp asked, his tone flat.
Oh, so I was exposed. Well, no big deal.
No big deal my ass!!
"Uh, well... about that..."
Bai Yun started to stutter, as Garp's 'death stare' remained fixed on him.
A brainstorm raged in his mind. Bai Yun immediately drew upon his nine years of compulsory education writing skills to fabricate an identity for himself.
"It seems nothing can be hidden from Vice Admiral Garp."
"I am actually a mercenary. I was working with my older teammates just to earn a living. I'm from Loguetown."
"Yesterday, we took on a job escorting a merchant ship, but during the escort, we ran into a powerful group of pirates. Everyone... everyone sacrificed themselves."
As Bai Yun spoke, tears began to fall. His acting was so good he deserved an award, but it wasn't just his skill—under the covers, he had secretly pressed hard on his own thigh. Damn it, that really hurt!
Those tears were tears of pain.
...
A/N: The journey continues! If you're eager to read far ahead and support this story, consider joining the Eternal Phoenix community. You can find me on Patreon by searching for "Eternal_Phoenix".
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