G-3 Branch

The small warship slowly sailed into the G-3 Branch harbor, its hull gleaming gold in the setting sun.

On deck, Roy stood straight, his gaze fixed on a familiar figure at the far end of the harbor.

Garp lay in a deck chair by the dock, a Marine cap covering his head. His snores shook the air, and a huge snot bubble quivered with each breath.

"Snore—zzZ..."

A vein twitched at Roy's temple. ...This was the G-3 Branch's "guardian"?

The warship pulled alongside the dock, and Bogard, Garp's adjutant, immediately came over to greet Roy, a hint of helpless amusement on his face. "Roy, welcome to the G-3 Branch."

Roy stood at attention and saluted. "Mr. Bogard!"

Bogard nodded, then glanced at the still-sleeping Garp, his mouth twitching. "Don't mind him. Mr. Garp is... uh, 'on duty.'"

Roy: "..." (Now that was a novel way to be on duty.)

Just then, Garp suddenly jolted awake. His enormous snot bubble burst with a pop, and he sat bolt upright, his cap falling to the ground.

"Huh? Who's here?!"

He rubbed his eyes, and when he made out Roy's face, his eyes lit up. He burst into hearty laughter. "Oh! Roy, my boy! You're finally here!"

Before he had finished speaking, he sprang to his feet, rushed over to Roy in a few strides, and threw an arm around his shoulders. "Great!"

"Now I can finally slack off without worrying!"

Roy was full of question marks. "???"

Beside them, Bogard covered his forehead and gave a wry smile. "Mr. Garp, please rein it in a little..."

Garp paid him no heed and grinned like a child. "Ever since that brat Kuzan got promoted to vice admiral, I haven't been able to find a decent fighter to do my work!"

"Now that you're here, someone can finally do the work for me!"

Roy pointed at himself, utterly bewildered. "So... I was brought here to be your grunt?"

Garp's eyes gleamed, and he suddenly produced an enormous iron ball from behind his back, as if by magic. "Come on! Let the welcome ceremony begin!"

Roy raised an eyebrow, growing wary. "Wait, what welcome ceremony?"

Garp laughed. "An upgraded version of the Fist of Love, of course—the Fist Bone Meteor!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Garp hoisted the iron ball high and hurled it at Roy, like a giant swinging a meteor hammer!

"Boom!!!"

Roy instantly activated his Teleport-Teleport Fruit ability and vanished from the spot. The iron ball smashed into the dock, blasting a crater several meters across and sending broken stones flying!

The G-3 Branch Marines immediately poked their heads out, staring in astonishment. "Whoa! Vice Admiral Garp is 'welcoming' a newcomer again!"

"Who's the unlucky one this time?"

"I think it's Colonel Roy, the monster personally trained by Teacher Zephyr!"

Roy's face darkened. His feet had barely touched the ground when he saw Garp raise the iron ball again, grinning like a mischievous child. "Don't run! I'm going to test your strength!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

For the next ten minutes, the G-3 dock became a battlefield for an "iron ball battle royale." Roy teleported back and forth between the dock, rooftops, lighthouse, and even the cranes, while the iron ball's shadow and afterimages filled the air beneath the setting sun.

Bogard stood to the side, calmly sipping coffee, his tone suggesting he had long since grown used to this. "You'll get used to it. Mr. Garp's way of showing affection is... rather special."

At last, Garp had his fill. He casually tossed the iron ball aside, and it landed with a thud at the edge of the dock. Clapping his hands, he looked at Roy with satisfaction. "Not bad! Your reaction speed passes! Hahaha!"

Roy panted, his face expressionless. "Thank you for the 'welcome'..."

Garp laughed and threw an arm around his neck. "Come on! Come on! I'll treat you to rice crackers!"

Roy: "Why do I feel like I've been tricked onto a pirate ship?"

The last rays of the setting sun fell on the shimmering sea.

On the dock, laughter echoed with the sea breeze, as warm and absurd as home.

Ever since Roy had arrived at the G-3 Branch, Garp's slacking had only gotten worse.

In the office—

Garp sat with his legs crossed and rice crackers stuffed up his nostrils. "Bogard! Take care of today's paperwork!" he ordered casually.

Bogard pressed a hand to his forehead, his head aching. "Mr. Garp, that's your responsibility..."

Garp put on a serious face. "Roy! Come help Bogard!"

Roy pointed at himself, utterly confused. "Me???"

In the mess hall—

Garp stood at the entrance with his hands on his hips and called out cheerfully, "Roy! Bring me back a meal. It'll be quicker if you teleport over!"

Roy's face darkened. "Don't you have hands of your own?"

Garp replied without a hint of shame, "This is training! It'll exercise your fruit ability! And while you're there, check the mess hall for any potential assassins!"

Roy: "..."

When a mission to wipe out pirates came up—

Garp slapped the table. "Bogard! Take Roy out to sea and wipe out those pirates. I'm going to take a nap!"

Bogard sighed. "...Yes, sir."

Roy said helplessly, "Mr. Garp, aren't you being a little too lazy?"

Garp replied without a hint of shame, "Nonsense! I'm developing your ability to fight independently!"

"You're really good at making excuses..."

Though Garp was a habitual slacker, he never cut corners when it came to training Roy.

Every morning, the soldiers of the G-3 Branch could see the same sight:

Garp raced all over the beach after Roy, a large sack of iron balls slung over his shoulder. He hurled the balls as he shouted, "Faster! Faster!"

Roy dodged as he complained, "Can't you find a different way to train me?!"

Garp grinned like a mischievous old rascal. "No! This is my 'special training of love'!"

During his days at G-3, Roy's strength improved at an astonishing rate.

When wiping out pirates—

Roy's gaze turned sharp. "Six Powers: Instant Prison Kill!"

"Swish, swish, swish—!"

Several afterimages flashed past, accompanied by the pirates' screams. "Thud, thud, thud!" The entire pirate crew fell to the ground in an instant and didn't get back up.

At the bow, Bogard gave a slight nod. "Not bad. We're done here."

During daily training—

Garp laughed as he swung his fist. "Take this!"

Roy took the blow head-on!

"Bang!!"

The wall shattered with a crash, and Roy was smashed into it, only half his body left sticking out.

But he soon crawled back out, determination in his eyes. "Again!"

Garp grinned. "That's the spirit!"

During extra training at night—

Alone under the moonlight in the training ground, Roy was surrounded by a faint layer of Armament Haki. The afterimages from his teleportation practice crisscrossed the cold ground.

He kept trying to perfectly combine teleportation with the power of Haki, each move sharper and faster than the last.

G-3 Branch office

Bogard strode into the G-3 office and reported gravely, "Vice Admiral Garp, a pirate crew with a bounty of over 300 million Beli has appeared nearby. They're also said to be carrying a large number of firearms and poison gas bombs."

Garp had been dozing with his legs crossed, but his eyes lit up at the news, and he burst out laughing. "Great! I've been wanting to warm up for a change!"

But just as he was about to get up, the office door was pushed open.

Roy strode in, a sharp gleam in his eyes. "Old man, let me go."

Garp froze, then burst into hearty laughter. "Hahaha! Now that's my disciple!"

He clapped Roy hard on the shoulder. "All right! Go! But remember, if you run into someone you can't beat, run back here. Don't die!"

Roy nodded firmly. "Don't worry."