You Call This Loving Discipline?

"Cough! Cough, cough!"

Shanks pulled his head out of the sand pit, sand cascading from his hair. He spat out a mouthful and looked at the old man walking toward him, his face black and blue.

"Mr. Garp, I really didn't force Luffy to become a pirate!"

"Oh?"

Garp flexed his fists, his knuckles cracking as he walked over, step by step. The Haki emanating from him made the fine sand at his feet tremble.

"He's the one who pestered us every day!"

"Really?"

"Absolutely!"

Garp bent down and picked up a fist-sized rock, instantly coating it in pitch-black Armament Haki.

"Then I should thank you?"

Shanks gave an awkward chuckle. "You don't have to be so polite..."

"Fist Bone Meteor!"

Boom!

The instant the rock left his hand, it smashed up a white wave of air!

Shanks's expression changed drastically. Griffon burst from its sheath, and its Haki-coated blade struck the incoming rock with a vicious slash.

Clang—!

The rock shattered on the spot, but the remaining force sent Shanks and his sword flying dozens of meters, plowing two deep furrows through the sand.

"Captain!"

Benn Beckman was the first to rush out of the tavern, raising his gun and pointing it at Garp.

"I'm teaching my grandson a lesson. What gives you lot the right to butt in?!"

Garp stamped his foot and appeared in front of Benn Beckman in the blink of an eye.

Benn Beckman's pupils contracted, and he raised his gun crosswise to block.

Bang!

The fist slammed into the gun, and the metal rang with a long hum.

Benn Beckman's feet scraped along the ground as he slid back dozens of meters, his back crashing hard into a pile of rocks.

"Hiss..."

He shook his numb wrist, barely able to hold on to his gun.

"What a terrifying old man."

Lucky Roux charged in from the side, howling, half a chicken leg still clamped in his mouth.

Garp suddenly turned and swept a kick at him.

"Quit stuffing your face!"

Bang!

The plump figure, chicken leg and all, crashed into the sea, sending a splash several meters high.

Yasopp leaped onto a rooftop and raised his gun to aim, preparing to cover his companions' retreat.

Without even looking up, Garp casually flicked out a pebble.

Whoosh!

The roof exploded, and Yasopp tumbled to the ground in a sorry state, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"Old man, can't you be reasonable?!"

"Why should I be reasonable with pirates?!"

The other crew members arrived one after another. Some drew their swords, others raised their guns, but none could keep up with Garp's speed.

Time and again, they had barely taken their stances when an iron fist sent them and their weapons crashing into the sand along the shore.

They were no weaklings. Even in the New World, they could give an entire Marine fleet a headache.

But before Garp, they were no sturdier than paper.

Snake charged at Garp from behind, but his blade had barely grazed the hem of the old man's clothes when a backhanded punch sent him crashing into a sand dune.

Benn Beckman shot a piece of rubble flying toward a crewmate to pieces and said gravely, "Don't meet him head-on! He's not even serious!"

This was Garp the Hero, the Marine who had chased the Pirate King all over the world!

Worse still, while directing the crew, he had to keep reminding them, "Stay away from the houses! Draw him toward the sea!"

If they really fought without holding back in Foosha Village, the villagers would be the first to suffer.

But for that same reason, Garp didn't dare let loose too much either.

Garp's punch missed, and the wind from his fist swept onward, threatening to rip the roof off a house by the road.

Click.

An Air Door opened out of nowhere and swallowed the entire violent shock wave.

Another door opened over the distant sea at the same time. With a roar, seawater exploded dozens of meters into the air.

"Old man, watch the houses!"

Ron called out lazily from his perch on the railing outside the tavern.

The village chief, hiding behind a window, angrily stamped his cane. "Garp! Did you come to visit family or tear down the village?!"

Makino hurriedly set down her tray and shielded Luffy and Uta behind her.

"Mr. Ron, sorry for the trouble, but could you look after the tavern?"

"Don't worry. As long as the old man doesn't attack it directly, I can keep it safe."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the ground shook again.

"I know!"

Garp shouted without looking back.

The next second, he chased after Shanks and threw another punch!

Boom!!

Shanks hurriedly dodged.

The wind from the punch skimmed past his shoulder, but its remaining force headed straight for the tavern!

"..."

The corner of Ron's eye twitched.

Click.

The Air Door opened again, swallowing all the oncoming wind from the punch.

"If you know, why are you still throwing punches around?!"

Luffy sat on a little stool with a large bump on his head, his eyes frighteningly bright.

"Amazing! Grandpa's amazing!!"

Uta stood beside him with her arms folded, her mouth hanging open in a little circle.

"Why is your grandpa like a monster?"

"He's always been a monster!"

Ron glanced at the two of them.

"Keep your voices down. Don't let him hear you, or even your stools will get punched later."

The two kids immediately covered their mouths, their eyes wide and round.

On the shore, Shanks finally stopped smiling.

"Benn Beckman, take the others and fall back."

He held Griffon across his body.

Boom!

Black-and-red lightning from his Conqueror's Haki suddenly exploded outward!

Outside the tavern, Ron narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Whoa."

"He's much stronger than he was at the Holy Land."

Seeing this, Garp grinned instead.

"Kid from Roger's ship! You haven't wasted these years!"

"Thank you for the compliment!"

Shanks gripped his sword with both hands and sent its blade straight at Garp!

He had seen the true pinnacle aboard the Pirate King's ship. Now, facing Garp again, he at least dared to swing his sword at him head-on.

Boom—!

The black fist collided head-on with Griffon, and the Conqueror's Haki made the entire coast hum.

Shanks gritted his teeth and held against the first blow, but the sand beneath his feet split apart layer by layer, and he finally slid back dozens of meters.

He shook his numb wrist.

"You're still as ridiculous as ever, Mr. Garp."

"Cut the nonsense!"

Garp, who had only retreated two steps, charged again.

Flashes of sword and fist merged into a blur.

Shanks could block and counterattack, but every head-on clash shook the bones in his arm numb.

Ordinary slashes struck the old man without causing the slightest stir.

He suddenly shifted his feet and drew back, Griffon's blade angled toward the ground. Conqueror's Haki gathered wildly along the blade, and even the surrounding air shrieked under the pressure.

"Divine Departure—!"

The sword flashed, and a crescent of sword energy swept low across the ground, carrying a shock wave of Conqueror's Haki!

Garp's gaze sharpened. Without dodging or retreating, he coated his right fist in pitch-black Armament Haki and smashed it straight into the center of the slash, accompanied by the immense pressure of his Conqueror's Haki.

Boom—!!

The instant sword energy and iron fist collided, the sharp edge of Divine Departure seemed to strike an ancient mountain of iron and exploded down the middle!

Scattered gusts sent sand flying in every direction. Garp stood rooted to the spot, the Haki on his fist not even dispersed.

"Is that all you've got?"

He grinned, his voice booming. "Compared to Roger's Divine Departure, yours is a long way off!"

Shanks felt a tightness in his chest and forcibly swallowed the surging blood.

He hadn't expected the opponent to smash his trump-card move apart with a single punch.

Before he could recover, Garp had already charged up to him, bringing down an iron fist the size of a cooking pot.

Shanks could only force himself to raise his sword and block.

Benn Beckman occasionally fired to cut off Garp's path, but could only make the old man adjust his footing.

Every time fist and sword collided, the red-haired side came off worse.

A gust from a punch swept past Shanks's ear, and the rocks behind him shattered.

He used the momentum to spin and slash at Garp's ribs, but only cut through the billowing justice cape.

Garp laughed. "Faster!"

Shanks caught his breath. "Please stop laughing. I'm under enough pressure already!"

At the tavern, Luffy craned his neck toward Ron. "Can't Shanks beat Grandpa?"

"Right now?"

Ron rested his chin on his hand. "Even if they all came at him together, they'd still get beaten up."

"What about later?"

Ron looked at the red-haired young man, who had regained his footing on the beach, and smiled.

"Later? Who knows?"

Just then, Benn Beckman suddenly shouted, "Shanks! We can't keep fighting!"

With everyone in Foosha Village and Garp having no intent to kill, the Red Hair Pirates could still barely hold their own.

But if this dragged on, all of them would only end up taking a beating for nothing.

Shanks understood at once.

"Everyone, retreat! Back to the ship!"

"We should've retreated ages ago!"

Soaking wet, Lucky Roux crawled out from behind the rocks by the shore.

He wiped the seawater from his face, still cursing under his breath.

"My roast chicken leg!"

Benn Beckman grabbed him.

"Save your life first!"

Garp chased them to the shore, Haki gathering on his fist.

"Trying to run?!"

If this punch landed squarely, the Red Force would probably have to be rebuilt from scratch.

The instant he raised his arm.

Click.

An Air Door the size of a fingernail opened silently beside Garp's ear.

Ron's voice came from inside.

"That's enough, old man."

"Today I'm going to make sure this bunch—"

"Shanks has Celestial Dragon blood, you know."

Garp's fist abruptly stopped.

"So what?"

"I know you wouldn't really kill them."

Ron kept his voice low.

"But if you really take Shanks back in custody, the Holy Land will definitely come asking for him."

"The Holy Knights and Cipher Pol will follow the trail and find out that this former knight actually came to Foosha Village..."

He paused.

"Do you think they'll take the opportunity to find out whose son Luffy is?"

"I'm not afraid of those bastards."

Garp forced the words out through clenched teeth.

"I know, but the people in this village don't need to take that gamble with you."

Garp's pupils contracted sharply.

There were some secrets he would rather carry for the rest of his life than allow those people to trace back to their source.

In the next instant, Garp forcibly changed the course of his punch.

Boom!!

His iron fist slammed into the sea beside the Red Force.

A huge wave surged skyward, pushing the entire ship swiftly out of the harbor. The vessel rocked violently, but sustained no fatal damage.

From the shore, it looked as though Garp had nearly punched the pirate ship to the bottom of the sea.

The villagers stared wide-eyed.

They knew Garp was a marine hero, and that the East Blue had been peaceful all these years because of him.

But this was the first time they had seen the old man strike the sea like that with a single punch.

Once Shanks had steadied himself, he glanced at where the punch had landed, then looked at Ron, who stood outside the tavern with his arms folded.

He suddenly understood something.

Just then, an Air Door opened beside the ship, and Ron safely returned Uta to the deck.

The little girl looked down at her feet, her face full of astonishment.

"Wow! Did I just come through a door?!"

The corners of Shanks's mouth slowly rose. "I owe him one."

Benn Beckman frowned. "What's your connection to that marine Rear Admiral?"

"We got lost together."

"What?"

Shanks just laughed and called to the crew to raise the sails.

On the shore, Luffy cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.

"Shanks—!"

"Don't shout!" Garp roared.

Instead, Luffy puffed out his chest and shouted even louder, "I'm definitely going to be a pirate someday!!"

"You're still saying that?!"

Thump!

The Fist of Love fell again, and another round lump rose on top of Luffy's head.

Ron looked down and asked him, "Does it hurt?"

"It hurts!!"

He looked up at Garp, whose face was full of pride, then glanced at Luffy, who was clutching his head, his eyes red.

"So this is the loving education you insisted on dragging me here to see?"

"That's right!"

Garp thumped his chest, utterly self-assured.

Ron fell silent for a long moment. Looking at the two symmetrical lumps on Luffy's forehead, he sincerely felt—

This old man was really leading the young astray.