Call Me Big Brother

"Yohohohoho! Not bad, kid—you've got the same flair I had back in the day! What happened next?"

"Then Admiral Zephyr wanted to bring me into the Training Camp, but I refused. I said I wanted to train under you for a few more years. Admiral Zephyr's face turned green on the spot, and he kept cursing you for ruining promising youths. Hahahahaha! Then you sent someone to find me, so I came back."

Mo Xingchen spoke as he poured tea. The old man and the young man chatted away, jumping from topic to topic.

Garp took the opportunity to introduce him to the Navy's current core leadership. He also told him that the current Fleet Admiral intended for his old partner Sengoku to succeed him. By the time evening approached, Garp instructed a guard to bring back packed food from the cafeteria.

"I'm back."

The two, deep in conversation, heard the voice and turned toward the door. Dragon, filthy from head to toe, was changing his shoes in the entryway. When he looked up, he saw Mo Xingchen and Garp sitting in the living room, drinking tea.

He froze for a moment. His old man might be thickheaded, but that depended on the person. This clearly wasn't an ordinary superior-subordinate relationship. It seemed his old man thought highly of this young man, so he took the initiative to greet him.

"Hello, Mo Xingchen! I'm Dragon, that old bastard's son. I saw you before in Loguetown. I thought you'd head out to sea to find the One Piece, but I never expected you to become a Marine. Still, the way you beat up Kuzan today was seriously cool!"

Mo Xingchen watched Dragon give him a thumbs-up, his face still free of tattoos, and decided to tease the kid.

"Want to learn? Call me big brother, and I'll teach you!"

"After we eat, let's have a fight. If you beat me, I'll call you that! Too bad I'm not skilled enough with Armament Haki yet. Otherwise, I would've beaten Kuzan up long ago and taught him not to swagger around all day just because he has a Logia Type Devil Fruit."

Dragon said smugly as he sat down and poured himself a cup of hot tea, then gulped it down in one go.

"Yohohohoho! Brat, go wash up first. We'll be eating soon."

"You're so annoying!"

Dragon got up and headed for the shower room.

Night fell, and the stars shimmered like a dream.

Dragon and Mo Xingchen lay on the grass beside the training field, both battered and bruised.

"Brother Mo, why did you become a Marine?"

"Hmm... because I couldn't beat your dad."

"Huh? What kind of reason is that? So if you could beat him, you would've become a pirate?" Dragon turned to look at Mo Xingchen in shock.

"Not really. I do have a little sense of justice in my heart. I originally planned to become a traveler, but I had to run my mouth and ask Roger about the One Piece. Then your dad caught me. I couldn't beat him, couldn't run away, and after he talked me into it, I ended up here."

Mo Xingchen lazily responded while chewing on a blade of grass and gazing up at the brilliant night sky.

"So that's how it is. Then, Brother Mo, teach me that martial art of yours someday! It's so cool!"

"Heh. Your dad is way stronger than I am. Why don't you ask him to teach you?"

"Tch, that old bastard doesn't know how to teach anyone. All he knows is how to beat people up and tell you to figure it out yourself. The worst part is, he never knows when to stop, and it hurts like hell! Heh heh, besides, he only ever uses that one punch. Whether something's strong or not only matters for a while, but being cool? That lasts a lifetime!"

Dragon said with a look of utter disdain.

Can't find the book by title? Try searching for the author—it may have simply been renamed!

"Hahahaha! Good kid, I didn't realize your awareness was so high! Fine! Starting tomorrow, I'll give you some extra coaching every night."

Mo Xingchen laughed as he thought, So anime really was just anime. This was a real world, and the Dragon beside him was a living, breathing person. Young people should have the vibrant spirit of youth.

"Then... want to train a little more?"

"Come on!"

When he woke up the next day, Mo Xingchen found that everyone had already left the house. Dragon had probably gone to train. As for Garp? Dragon was at least a Headquarters major, so of course he had his own private place! When Garp was at headquarters, Dragon merely went to Garp's place after daytime training to eat and chat. At night, he still returned to his own place to sleep.

After washing up, Mo Xingchen saw that it was almost noon. He put on his hat and leisurely headed out toward the cafeteria, preparing to eat. Along the way, he noticed soldiers constantly whispering about him.

He looked himself over and found nothing wrong, then touched his face and felt nothing unusual. But whenever he turned around to listen carefully to what they were discussing, they immediately hurried away, leaving him completely baffled.

Still puzzled, he entered the cafeteria and got his food when he heard someone calling him.

"Brother Mo, over here! Brother Mo!"

Looking up, he saw Dragon standing on a stool and waving at him. Mo Xingchen raised a hand in response and walked over.

"Dragon, I've noticed that a lot of people have been looking at me strangely today. Do you know what's going on?"

He plopped down beside Dragon and looked around at the people nearby as he asked.

"Heh, what else could it be? Word got out that you beat up Kuzan. And the story got more and more exaggerated as it spread, so everyone's curious about what kind of person you are. They even gave you a nickname—something like the Strongest New Recruit."

"Mm, I thought I'd done something wrong. What kind of bullshit nickname is that?" Mo Xingchen muttered with his mouth full of food. "By the way, how's Kuzan?"

"He's fine. He was discharged this morning. He just probably can't do high-intensity training for the next few days. Teacher Zephyr gave him two days off. Brother Mo, what are you planning to do this afternoon?"

Mo Xingchen thought for a moment. "Hmm... I'll go check on Kuzan first. After all, I beat him up on our first day meeting. Then I'll take a walk around town."

"Aren't you going to watch us train?"

"What's so interesting about watching a bunch of grown men work out? If Admiral Zephyr catches me, he'll try to drag me into the Training Camp again. I won't be back for dinner, so tell Uncle Garp when the time comes. Once I'm back, I'll find you for more training. Enough talking—focus on eating!"

It had to be said, the food at Marine Headquarters was truly excellent. There were dishes made by chefs from all over the world for the soldiers to choose from, and they tasted fantastic. Even Mo Xingchen, who came from China, had to give them a thumbs-up. They even had dishes made from Sea Kings.

After eating and drinking their fill, the two walked out of the cafeteria with their arms around each other's shoulders. After Dragon told him roughly where Kuzan lived, he headed back to the training grounds with the other trainees. Carrying a bag of fruit, Mo Xingchen planned to visit the future Marine Admiral.

"Knock, knock... knock."

"Coming!"

When Kuzan opened the door, he saw the bastard who had beaten him up yesterday. Mo Xingchen had a toothpick in his mouth, held the fruit up against his chest, and wore a roguish grin. "Good morning, sir!"

Kuzan looked up at the sun, already at its highest point, and the corner of his eye twitched several times. He sighed helplessly.

"Come in."

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