Lulucca Island, the port.
The starry sky was clear, the night was cool like water, and the Moonlight sprinkled onto the stone pavement.
Sephiroth walked up to Garp, who was still holding a rock and doing squats, and said irritably:
"Speaking of which, your injury from today hasn't healed yet, and you're starting to exercise now, your wound will split open..."
"I was lying in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. I kept thinking about fighting that diamond bastard today, so I came out to exercise a bit..."
After finishing another squat, Garp put the rock he was carrying with both hands onto the ground, clapped his hands, and stood up with a chuckle.
"Oh right! There's something I want to tell you..."
As if remembering something, Garp put away the smile on his face and saluted the young man:
"My name is Monkey D. Garp, Sergeant of Marineford. Thank you very much for helping us during the day!"
Sephiroth was slightly stunned when he heard that Garp, who had mastered Haki of Armament and Six Styles and whose strength had reached the level of a General, only held the rank of Sergeant.
Immediately, he reacted...
It was the year 1470 of the Sea Calendar. Roger, Golden Lion, and Whitebeard, the future three legendary Pirates, were still just rookie Pirates who had just debuted, making a small name for themselves and gaining a little fame.
In this era, even the Rocks Pirates hadn't risen yet...
As for Red Earl Redfield, who went out to sea as a Pirate because he admired Brook, it is estimated that he hasn't even gone out to sea as a Pirate yet!
Overall, compared to the Great Pirate Era and the era of the three legendary Pirates, the number of Pirates now is very small, the sea is not very chaotic, and it can even be said to be calm!
In the Marine, if you want to get promoted and get rich, either you have a background or you have enough merits!
After the Great Pirate Era began, Pirates ran rampant, making the situation on the sea turbulent. Among the Marine, those with strength often had more opportunities to earn merits.
But...
In this era, there weren't even many Pirates, and ordinary Marine had no chance to get merits at all!
If you only have strength but no background or merits, then if you want to get promoted, you can only slowly wait it out and build up seniority!
Just like Admiral Zephyr, he joined the Marine at fourteen, had the chance to participate in actual combat at eighteen, and didn't become a Corporal until he was twenty-eight...
If Zephyr hadn't encountered several major incidents consecutively later, coupled with Rocks, Roger, and others starting to rise one after another, stirring up the situation on the sea, he wouldn't have been able to be promoted from a Corporal to a Marine Admiral in just ten years based on his military achievements.
Times make heroes, this is not just talk!
The current Marine Academy was nothing like the one Zephyr had experienced as an instructor. Back then, they implemented elite education, teaching every cadet the knowledge and skills needed to become a general, allowing them to grow robustly.
Now, the Marine Academy adhered to the principle of turning enrolled Marine cadets into qualified soldiers, only allowing them to learn basic knowledge in a certain area. The advanced tactics, strategies, and combat skills were all controlled by Marines from noble families.
In this situation, civilian Marines basically had no chance to stand out without absolute hard strength and merit!
However, compared to Garp's current rank and the historical changes of the Marines, Sephiroth was more concerned that this guy was actually quite polite...?
So, he couldn't help but tease:
"Hey! I didn't expect you, this big, rough-looking guy... to actually know how to say thank you!?"
"Uh...!? Hahaha! Actually, I also feel very awkward, but I sincerely want to thank you..."
"Speaking of which, what's your name?"
"Me!...My name is Karl D. Sephiroth..."
"Oh! Then I'll just call you Sephiroth... Hahaha!" Garp laughed heartily.
"I also watched your fight with that diamond guy today..."
"To be honest, your combat skills are really terrible!"
"It's not my skill problem at all, okay!"
"That diamond bastard's defense is ridiculously strong, I can't even hit him!"
Hearing this, Garp immediately became indignant. His fist, hardened with Armament Haki, could punch through a ten-centimeter steel plate with full force!
But...
The defense effect of Andrew using Diamond Transformation and Armament Haki, superimposed on each other, was ridiculously high.
So much so that he was just scratching the surface when hitting the opponent!
Oh! No, it couldn't even be considered scratching; after all, scratching could leave a mark, so his attack was at most tickling!
"Hehe! If you had just used the internal destruction of Armament Haki, he wouldn't be able to be so arrogant..."
Garp scratched his head, looking puzzled:
"Internal destruction of Armament Haki...?!?"
"What is that...?"
"That is the top-level application technique of Armament Haki... Want to learn?
I can teach you!"
"As long as you learn this technique, no matter how solid the substance you encounter, you can destroy it from the inside..."
As he spoke, the smile on Sephiroth's face became increasingly 'kind', and his fists began to crackle as he clenched them.
Gulp!
For some reason, Garp got goosebumps all over his body. His sixth sense was telling him that if he agreed, nothing good would happen next.
But...
The top-level application technique of Armament Haki sounded amazing, and he really wanted to learn it!
Garp pondered for a moment, and he recalled the feeling of powerlessness when fighting Diamond Andrew today.
If today's situation happened again, he would probably still be unable to fight back...
It was better to try learning new combat techniques; perhaps that would make him stronger.
After all, he'd heard that Sephiroth alone had defeated Phoenix Allen and Diamond Andrew, destroying the Phoenix Pirates.
Such a strong person was indeed qualified to teach him!
"Okay! Please teach me that internal destruction technique!" Garp said with determination.
"Okay! Then let me first talk about the theoretical application techniques of Armament Haki..."
"Generally speaking, the conventional uses of Armament Haki are hardening and coating."
"Hardening is used to strengthen one's internal defense and the defense of the skin surface."
"Coating, on the other hand, is to let Armament Haki flow to the surface of the body and weapons, forming a layer of invisible Haki armor, allowing us to attack without direct contact. It can both strengthen one's defense and increase attack power."
"Remember, the essence of the internal destruction I am about to teach you is flow!"
"When you are attacking, you can try to make all the excess, unnecessary Armament Haki in your body flow and gather on your fist."
"The moment you attack the target, inject the Armament Haki covering your fist into the target's body at the fastest speed, and you can create the effect of internal destruction..."
"This principle sounds very simple, but..."
"To truly achieve internal destruction, it not only requires the user to have a huge amount of Armament Haki, but also extremely precise Armament Haki control ability!"
"Injecting Armament Haki into the target's body?
I think I understand a little..." Garp said thoughtfully, stroking his chin.
"Talking without practicing is useless. You need actual combat to better master this technique."
"Alright! Now that the theory is finished, let's start practical teaching... Hehehe-!"
As he spoke, Sephiroth suddenly let out a villainous laugh, his eyes revealing a fierce glint.
"How do we practice...?!?" Garp said, somewhat confused.
"Of course, by beating... Ah! No, I'm giving you actual combat guidance!"
"Hey! You clearly wanted to say beat me just now, right!!?" Garp widened his eyes and protested loudly.
"Stop talking nonsense! Take this!!!"
Sephiroth became angry out of embarrassment, swung his fist, and directly smashed it onto Garp's face with a "Bang!", knocking the opponent back two steps.
"Hey! You guy..."
Garp covered his bleeding nose, as if he still wanted to say something.
However...
Bang!
Sephiroth showed an evil smile, swung his fist again and hit Garp's face, causing the latter to immediately curse:
"Damn it!"
Bang!...
"See if I don't beat you down..."
Bang!
"Why do you only hit the face, you guy!?"
"Hehehe-! Stop talking nonsense, quickly recall what I just said, how to use internal destruction!"
Bang!...
The two people fighting each other by the dock... Oh! No, it was Sephiroth unilaterally beating Garp, which quickly attracted the attention of other Marine.
Even though Sephiroth was trouncing Garp, he'd occasionally offer a tip or two, making the fight seem like a special lesson. No one interfered.
An hour later...
Thud!
Garp, battered and bruised, his face swollen from Sephiroth's assault, collapsed backward onto the stone ground, gasping for air. He was utterly exhausted.
Both of his eyes were swollen shut. He couldn't possibly see if they were open or closed.
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don't bully the poor young man! Garp, you bastard, you have this day too! Sephiroth looked at Garp, bruised and swollen on the ground, and couldn't help but grin, savoring his revenge for past grievances.
Tsuru emerged from the crowd of onlookers and approached the silver-haired young man. She glanced at Garp, who was lying miserably on the ground, and frowned slightly.
"Mr. Sephiroth, Garp was injured today."
"Therefore, he's probably not very suitable for this kind of high-intensity sparring."
Sephiroth brushed the dust from his clothes, his expression indifferent. "Don't worry! I know my limits when I hit..."
"With his physical fitness, these superficial injuries will be fine after a night's sleep!"
"But..."
Seeing that Tsuru seemed to want to say more, Sephiroth had no choice but to pull out his butcher knife, open his portable space, and take out a tube of light yellow Life Strengthening Agent.
"Alright! I'll give him an injection of medicine that can quickly heal injuries, that should be fine, right?"
"Watch, tomorrow he'll be completely fine, still full of life and energy..."
As he spoke, Sephiroth injected the light yellow medicine into Garp's body. The bruises and swelling on Garp's face immediately subsided at a visible speed.
Gurgle-!
"Ah! My stomach is about to starve flat!"
Garp, who had been lying on the ground like a dead dog, flipped over and got up under the medicine's effect. He rushed into a nearby bar called Venus and started ordering frantically, eating and drinking like a man possessed, leaving the customers stunned.
As Garp ate, his injuries healed faster and faster. Soon, there wasn't a trace of bruising left on his body!
At the Venus Bar, Sephiroth and Tsuru sat in chairs, drinking and chatting.
Tsuru sighed softly, and said with some worry, "Speaking of which, how is Kong Rear Admiral's injury now?"
"It's not a big problem. He should wake up after sleeping for two or three days..."
"With his physical fitness, maybe he'll be almost recovered in ten days to half a month!" Sephiroth explained with a smile.
Hearing this, Tsuru couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"That's good!"