The trick to adopting a son

Before they could recover their senses, the World Pirates' ship had already reached the other end of the horizon, leaving only a great pile of redwood fragments bobbing in the waves.

"Impressive. So running away is what he does best. Running away at Hundredfold Speed really is something!" Vidal clutched his throbbing chest and quipped, making the best of a bad situation.

"I'm more concerned that we actually received help from Mr. Garp himself," Issho said with a sigh, gazing at the figure above the warship.

He hadn't expected to meet the legendary man so soon.

"I'm pretty surprised myself!"

Vidal was also full of anticipation. That was Garp, after all. Going by the timeline, he was still in his prime and should be forty-five this year.

He really was getting the protagonist treatment. The moment he ran into trouble, Garp had come straight over to find him. The man really was this world's greeter for newbies!

Comparable to Phil Coulson in the Marvel world.

"By the way, where's that kid Bullet?" Vidal asked casually as he began tidying up his thoroughly disheveled appearance.

The kid didn't die in the aftermath of the battle, did he? No way, right?

Issho swept the area with his Observation Haki, then looked in one direction. "Over there."

Vidal followed his gaze and spotted a tiny boat on the distant sea, no bigger than a mung bean.

"Whoa, he got that far? The kid's got a pretty strong survival instinct!"

At that distance, Vidal didn't believe the aftermath alone had pushed him there. The kid had probably rowed there himself.

But as he recalled, they hadn't prepared any oars, since they had flown the whole way.

Once the boat drew close enough, Vidal and Issho could see that Bullet was rowing desperately with two thick, long wooden poles.

It was a good thing the kid had decent stamina and strength. An ordinary person couldn't have rowed a boat with those things, even a small one.

The comical sight made Vidal laugh. "Why do you think he didn't just run away?"

"How could he? There's no food or water on the boat."

Issho wasn't very interested in Bullet. His tone was indifferent, and his eyes remained fixed on the approaching Marine fleet.

Vice Admiral Garp was the one worth watching.

"That might be part of it. But I think the kid found the man we hid in the cabin," Vidal said with a smile.

"We didn't hide him. We put him there," Issho corrected his choice of words. Vidal made it sound as though they had deliberately kept him from Bullet.

Bullet had mixed feelings too. For one thing, he was shocked by Vidal and Issho's strength.

He had never imagined a battle could produce such terrifying effects: with a turn of the hand, they could create a vast forest on the sea, and with another, destroy everything in an instant!

The glowing slash across the sea that took so long to close, the fierce aerial battle in which his eyes could see only blurry afterimages—each scene was etched deep into the boy's mind.

Had the battlefield experience he had always been so proud of been nothing more than children playing house to truly powerful people?

This is an opportunity! I have to seize it!

As long as I follow these two men, I'll definitely get stronger!

Bullet, who believed strength reigned supreme, had keenly spotted an opportunity to improve his power, and the two men didn't seem to mean him any harm.

Not only had they healed him with that miraculous method, but they had even captured Douglas Gray, the commander of the South Jialuzibao Kingdom's forces who had betrayed him, and brought him over!

That saved him a great deal of trouble. At least he no longer had to think about going back for revenge.

In the original timeline, he had survived after gaining the power of the Combine-Combine Fruit, and the following year, when he was fourteen...

He had killed everyone, including Gray, single-handedly, and destroyed the entire South Jialuzibao Kingdom!

As a result, the World Government had issued a bounty for him, even though the destruction of a country that wasn't an affiliated nation had nothing to do with them.

But there wasn't always so much reason to be found in this world. If you harmed their interests, you had to be punished. That was the World Government's logic!

In short, Bullet, who had nowhere else to go and had just taken his revenge, felt that Vidal and Issho were two very sturdy thighs to cling to.

Before long, he rowed the boat up to Vidal and Issho. The former looked at him gently and smiled. "Where's that guy?"

"I broke all four of his limbs, drained his blood, and threw him into the sea!" Bullet tossed aside the rough wooden poles and brushed the wood chips from his hands.

"Good." Vidal nodded and said nothing more about it. Gray had been a gift for Bullet in the first place, so he could do whatever he liked with him.

"Since you didn't leave, I take it you've decided to follow me, right?"

"Right. I want to become as strong as you, and even surpass you!" Bullet made no attempt to hide his goal, looking every bit the cool kid.

"Sure, no problem!" Vidal grinned. "Come on, call me Dad!"

"What?!" Bullet wondered if there was something wrong with his ears. Issho had the same reaction.

"I came looking for you so I could adopt you as my son, then take you to Marine school," Vidal said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, right, you have grandparents, and a younger brother too. I adopted him as well. But don't worry, I'll treat you both as my own children."

Bullet's face grew darker and darker throughout the lengthy introduction to his family situation. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, he roared, "Quit joking around!!!"

Anyone would get worked up if someone suddenly told them to acknowledge him as their father.

"Vidal, are you serious?" Issho looked utterly puzzled as well.

"Of course. Why else would I drag you all the way out here?" Vidal spoke as though it were obvious, then looked at the furious Bullet.

"Let me make this clear: I'm not joking. I'm completely serious!"

"You—" Bullet was about to curse him out when Vidal pressed on. "Do you have a family?"

"F-family?" Bullet froze. The word sounded so unfamiliar.

He had no such memories. He had even learned where he came from from Gray, whom he had just thrown into the sea to feed the fish.

"Then isn't it a good thing that you have a family now?" Vidal walked over and ruffled Bullet's hair.

Bullet naturally didn't submit obediently, but he wasn't nearly fast enough to dodge the hand determined to give him a head pat.

Humiliated, Bullet could only let the bastard mess up his hair, but he could make his attitude clear with words.

"No! Way! In! Hell!" The boy, tall as an adult but still a minor, glared at Vidal through gritted teeth.

"Geez, you really aren't cute." Vidal didn't care about his attitude in the slightest. It was only to be expected.

But he wasn't in a hurry. Words alone were useless for this sort of thing; he was only making his position clear for now.

After that, he would have to move Bullet with the Fist of Love, then naturally build a bond through a warm family atmosphere.

That would depend on Vice Admiral Cornell and Ms. Enid. Oh, and adorable little brother Enel too. Who knew? Maybe the kid would evolve into someone who doted obsessively on his little brother.

Adopting a son required some training too. It was just like when Whitebeard took in Ace—they had gone through the same kind of fuss.

The prerequisite was that you genuinely wanted the other person to become family, or it could easily blow up in your face!

It's midnight, please send recommendation votes! And where are my chapter comments, my reviews? Where are you all? Everyone else's books are so lively, but it's so quiet over here.