POWAAAAAA...
I AM BACK MY POKIEEE BEARS...
CHU~~CHU~~~
(BREATHLESS KISSING)
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My final exams are over and now I am waiting for my result and my degree.
I got a free week on me before I start as a lab assistant in the Pathology lab.
So, I am going to write as much as possible.
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Thank you for your patience.
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Important stuff: This an AU world and this is an AU Luffy, who was raised by certain someone alongside his brothers, which will be reveled in this story later.
There will be some things in this story which you may find quite odd or out of the box. But you can always ask me in the comments.
I am following the canon storyline, but there are massive changes in many things.
Other than that...
GOD DAMN IMU... he not only one shotted Luffy but also mocked him with Yo momma equivalent of Yo brotha joke.
I am telling you, this is all GEGE's doing. He had whispered something into Oda's ears during their meet up.
Now, I have two theories: 1) Either Gaban is going to die trying saving Luffy, and the crew gets a massive L and then a powerup training arc. Or, 2) Somehow, Nika or Joyboy is going to take over Luffy's body temporarily and dog walk Imu back to his garden.
Anything can happen man, anything can happen... with GEGE now siting onto Oda's shoulder like a whispering devil.
God bless this shit.
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Thought of the day:
"Your future self is silently counting on your present self to not give up. Every effort you make today is a gift you'll open tomorrow."
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Attendance Please:
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Garp sat in the office of his battleship. The only sounds for miles were the soft creak of the hull and the distant slap of waves against the ship. He tapped his finger on the table as he pulled a private Den Den Mushi from the drawer.
The phone rang repeatedly, once, twice, three times.
KACHK
"What is it, Garp? I'm busy right now."
The voice crackled with annoyance, but Garp's weathered face broke into a grin he couldn't have suppressed even if he had tried. "BWAHAHAHAHA… now, now, Senny, don't be like that! I know exactly what you do at this hour."
Silence swallowed the other end. Then, barely audible, came a string of muttered complaints, something about retirement, something about a senile old man who should know better than to call during his art time.
"Tch! If you called just for this, I'm hanging up—"
"Whoa, now, now… I haven't even said anything useless yet!"
"Yet, Garp... yet. Now speak. What do you want?"
The laughter died in Garp's throat. His entire posture shifted, the playful mask crumbling away. Where a mischievous friend had sat moments before, there now remained only an old man, a weary old man who had lived too long and seen too much.
"I visited Orchid Island."
"Oh… you met Wasuke. How is he doing? If he's having any trouble, just let me know. I can arrange something. By the way, how is hisgrandson doing?"
"He's gone."
"What?"
"Wasuke passed away a week ago. I visited his grave."
"Oh."
The word hung in the air like a struck bell. On the other end, Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral of the Marines, found himself at a loss for words. When he spoke again, his voice softened to a tone rarely heard by any living soul.
"How is his grandson taking it? I hope the boy is all right. If he needs anything, just tell me. Better yet, bring him with you. I know he willmake a fine Marine. And if he is anything like his grandfather, he will be a natural. I believe he could even become an admiral, just likeWasuke."
"Yeah, that…" Garp muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose as a headache began to form.
"Is something wrong?"
Garp let out a sigh that seemed to carry the weight of every year he had lived. "I think you should know what happened next."
And so, he told him everything.
He told him about his foolish grandson, that pirate-loving brat who had somehow found Wasuke's boy, Yuji, and convinced him to form a pirate crew, of all things.
He told him about Shell's Town and the corrupt Marine Captain, Morgan.
Then came the defeat of the Buggy Pirates, who had been terrorizing Orange Town.
The raid by the Black Cat Pirates on Syrup Village and the terrible incident that occurred there.
He sent Mihawk after his grandson, thinking it would be simple for the world's greatest swordsman to catch just a group of kids, but they somehow managed to escape.
And finally, Conomi Island.
Garp did not conceal any details. He revealed everything, all the terrible acts Arlong had committed, the corruption that had taken root in the East Blue, and the suffering endured by the common people. He explained how Nezumi was abusing his rank and status to carry out his crimes, and how every single marine at Base 16 was as corrupt as their captain.
"I see..."
Sengoku's voice had become as solemn as a funeral bell.
"That's a dire situation. The North Blue is already under Germa's influence. The South Blue is filled with mafia and underworld gangs, and let's not even talk about the West Blue. However, the East Blue was the only safe place among the four Blues. With your influence in those waters, crime was always very low. But this, I didn't realize things had reached this far."
"Yeah, I know," Garp said, his jaw tightening. "But we made one mistake: we never looked into our own ranks. Even though we know how much corruption runs through our own people, we still tried to turn a blind eye to it."
"Don't talk about that on a call, you idiot!" Sengoku's voice snapped back to its usual sharpness. "How many times do I have to explainthis to you?"
Garp simply clicked his tongue.
"Are you still scared of those old farts sitting on their fancy sofas? You should be more like that brat. He's never afraid to speak his mind!"
"Hmph. We're not like him, Garp. That boy is different from any of us. He's the only one in the entire Navy who keeps the WorldGovernment on edge. And that, if I may say so myself, is the greatest advantage we could ask for, all thanks to that boy."
Garp's laugh returned, genuine this time. "Bwahahaha… well, I'll take that as a rare compliment from you. After all, he's my precious student."
"Yeah, and that's the only good thing you've ever done in your entire life."
"Oi! Cheap shot, Senny, cheap shot..."
"Yeah, yeah… whatever." But there was warmth beneath the dismissal. "Now, let's get to the main topic. I'll write a petition in your nameto build a new Marine base on Conomi Island. It will be under your command."
"Change that to the brat's command," Garp's voice hardened with certainty. "You and I both know his influence is far greater than either of ours. And with his name on it, we won't have to worry about another Morgan or Nezumi rising to power. Everyone knows what happened to the last person who tried to get their way under the brat's name."
"Oh, so you actually have a brain in that empty head of yours."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"
But Sengoku had already moved on, as he always did whenever Garp walked into his verbal traps. "Anyway, I'll do exactly that. I'll contact him and let him know. I'm sure he won't mind."
"Good, good… now, let's discuss compensation for the villagers and all the victims affected by those corrupt marines."
"Yes, that." A pause. The scratch of a pen on paper was heard. "I'll transfer 500 million berries from my personal funds to your account. I hope that will be enough."
"Yeah, that's more than enough. With the low cost of living in the East Blue, they can build a better life with that. I'll contact a few construction workers I know here and see if they can help with the rebuilding."
Sengoku hummed in agreement. "I'll talk with the builders here about constructing the new base."
"I'll handle things on my end."
"Good. If everything is settled, then I'm hanging up now."
KACHK
The silence that followed was different from before. Garp leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and let the quiet wash over him. The ship creaked. The waves murmured. And then—
"You two may come in now."
Silence stretched. Then came the shuffle of uncertain feet beyond the door, a whispered argument too low to discern, and finally the slow, hesitant turn of the handle.
Coby and Helmeppo slipped into the office like two mice who had just realized the cat was awake.
"H-how did you know we were there, sir?" Coby's voice cracked as he asked.
"Heh… you kids are a hundred years too young to sneak up on me." Garp's smirk was evident even with his eyes still closed. He lazily gestured toward the chairs opposite his desk. "Sit."
They sat with their backs straight, hands folded, eyes darting everywhere except at the Vice-Admiral. The silence stretched on until it became unbearable.
"So," Garp said, opening one eye, "you heard everything, huh?"
Both boys shifted uneasily, like guilty children caught stealing sweets.
"Hah… you don't need to be so nervous. It's not like I'm going to eat you."
"I-I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again." Helmeppo's voice was steadier than Coby expected, even though his hands trembled slightly on his knees. Coby nodded quickly in response.
Garp waved a dismissive hand. "No need to be. After all, you're still kids, and kids get curious." He leaned forward, forearms resting on the desk, and fixed them with a look that was both stern and grandfatherly. "So, do you boys have any questions you want to ask?"
Helmeppo immediately shook his head. "No, sir, we don't have any—"
"—actually, I do have one."
Coby's interruption earned him a sharp glare from the blonde, but something in the pink-haired boy's expression stopped Helmeppo from elbowing him in the ribs.
Garp noticed the exchange and laughed, a deep, belly laugh that seemed to shake the walls. "BWAHAHAHAHA… you two remind me of my younger days!" He wiped a genuine tear from the corner of his eye and fixed his attention on Coby. "So, what is it?"
Coby tugged at the collar of his sailor uniform, the fabric suddenly feeling like sandpaper against his throat. "Ahem… who is the person you're assigning to the new marine base, sir?"
Garp blinked, and a slow smile spread across his face.
"Oh, the brat? Hehehe… he's someone only a few can understand."
He leaned back, the chair groaning under his weight, and gazed at something far beyond the walls of his quarters.
"You see, I have two students. One of them is a Marine Admiral, you'd know him. The other…" A pause. "…is stubbornly still a Vice Admiral like me. Apparently, he inherited that stubbornness from me." The smile turned wry. "But you must never judge him by his rank. I trained him personally, and when I say this, there's no one in the world who can match the raw talent that boy has. He's such a prodigy that he masters things at an absurd speed. I once watched him copy an enemy's entire fighting style, one that took decades to learn, in a matter of seconds. He saw it once, and then he knew it, as if his body had always been waiting for the command."
Coby's eyes widened, but Garp was not finished.
"But the most unusual thing about him is that he doesn't have an ounce of fear."
"What do you mean by that, sir?"
Garp's expression grew distant. "Everyone in this world carries fear, fear of death, fear of failure, fear of loss. Even the Emperors, they all fear something. Fear shapes us; it's what keeps us human. But him…" The old marine shook his head slowly. "He has none."
The office seemed to grow colder.
"Years ago, before the so-called Great Pirate Era, I met that boy. He was covered in blood, so much blood that I couldn't tell where his wounds ended and his enemies' began. He was dragging a sword larger than his own body through the mud, walking without purpose or direction. Just… walking. I looked into the eyes of a broken child, filled with grief, pain, loss, and rage. But no fear. None at all. It was as if every drop of fear he had ever known had been carved out of him, along with everything he had ever cared for."
Garp's voice had dropped to barely above a whisper.
"At that moment, I wondered... what would a soul like that be capable of? So, I took him in, trained him, showed him a path forward, and gave him a reason to live again. And now…" He let out a breath. "That same boy has become a man who has long since surpassed who I was in my prime. A man who keeps the World Government itself on its toes. A man whom all four Emperors of the Sea fear so deeply that they gave him a title of their own: Monster of the Marines."
The name dropped into the room like a stone sinking into still water.
"W-wait!" Helmeppo's voice cracked as he shot forward in his seat. "Monster of the Marines? Are you talking about that man?"
Garp raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you know him?"
The blond nodded so quickly that his carefully styled hair began to wilt. "Yeah, I've heard of him. H-He… he's my idol." The confession came out flustered, almost embarrassed, and Coby stared at his companion as if seeing him for the first time.
Garp's laughter erupted like thunder. "BWAHAHAHAHA… Oh, this is priceless! The brat has another fan! BWAHAHAHAHAHA…"
"Um, is he really that big of a deal?" Coby asked, still confused.
Helmeppo rounded on him with the look of a man whose faith had just been questioned. "Dude, are you serious? You really don't know who that man is?"
Coby shook his head helplessly.
"Where have you been living, under a rock?" Helmeppo yanked at his hair. "That man is a walking legend in the Navy! Every Marine, every single one, looks up to him, hoping that one day they can be even half of what he is. They say that after the current Fleet Admiral retires, he's the most likely candidate for the position!"
Coby's jaw dropped in astonishment.
Garp hummed thoughtfully. "Well, you're not wrong about that. Sengoku does want the brat to take up his position next, but I don't think that'll ever work."
"Huh?" Both boys turned to him in confusion.
"You see, the brat is free-spirited. He loves his freedom more than anything. Becoming Fleet Admiral means sitting behind a desk all day, drowning in paperwork, and listening to the nonsense of those fools from the World Government," Garp snorted. "So, yeah. No."
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Half an hour later, the boys were dismissed for the night, their heads still spinning from everything they had just heard. The door clicked shut behind them, and Garp was alone once more.
He leaned back in his chair and turned toward the window. Beyond the glass, the night sky stretched endlessly, stars scattered like salt across black velvet.
His reflection stared back at him, an old man, wrinkled and gray, bearing the weight of an era on shoulders that had once seemed unbreakable.
"The times are truly changing…" he murmured to the empty room.
His eyes found a single star, brighter than the rest, pulsing faintly as if trying to speak.
"…aren't they, Wasuke?"
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Like the chapter, then please share your powerstones with me.
I am hard.
See you in next chapter....
Peace out.