Corvo Mountain on Dawn Island!

Chapter 19: 019. Corvo Mountain on Dawn Island!

Frowning, Garp steadied Aying and took the prescription from her hand.

His eyes swept over it.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

"So many medicinal herbs? Isn't this part of what I send to that woman Doriel every year?"

"Oh? Grandpa, you recognize it." Mercer said in surprise. "That's right. This is a major tonic formula that strengthens the foundation and replenishes lost blood and qi.

But the properties are mild.

It was developed for infant constitutions—Doctor Doriel originally created it specifically for me."

"This... we can't afford it." Aying looked helpless. "One dose costs fifty thousand Beli, and at most you get two servings from it. It would take at least a year or two before you'd see any results."

Mercer had thoughtfully added the cost next to the herbs on the list, which was the only reason Aying could understand.

Garp sighed, feeling that money was always scarce in his life—that he was born to toil.

"Aying, Slab, you know I'm busy. I hardly have time to take care of an infant.

The reason I came this time was because Slab told me you'd just had a child, and I thought maybe you could help me raise Luffy on the side.

As it happens, that prescription was used by Mercer. I'll provide the herbs. In return, you raise Luffy for me.

Can you accept that?"

Aying was stunned, her eyes reddening uncontrollably. Slab looked at Garp with some embarrassment, but he gritted his teeth:

"I'll take this on. Thanks, Garp. Rest assured, even without this matter, given our friendship, our family would never let Luffy go hungry."

Garp sighed in relief.

Everyone was happy—except his wallet was about to take a hit.

Wait... wasn't that wrong? Hadn't Mercer and the others just seized all those gold bars from the slave ship?

And he had a thirty percent share coming. Plus, the military merits from recovering that slave ship could be exchanged for supplies at headquarters.

"Haha, no need to worry then. That money will definitely be enough."

Seeing Garp amusing himself, Mercer sighed. "Then can you prepare the herbs first?"

"I'm not staying here forever, and neither are you, old man. We have to leave in a few days."

Garp's laughter stopped. He looked at Slab and Aying.

"You're right. Then I'll entrust Luffy to you. I'll have someone purchase all the herbs today, and tomorrow I'll bring Mercer over."

"Alright. Go handle your business."

Slab knew that every time Garp came back these past few years, he would head to Corvo Mountain behind the village. He must have something important to do there.

Waving his hand, Garp left with Mercer. Slab and Aying each held an infant, watching the two walk away.

"Dad, we really owe Uncle Garp this time. Otherwise, I can't bear to think what would have happened to Arthur."

"Yeah. This old man owes that old geezer another huge favor. Then we'll just have to raise little Luffy well for him."

"Mm. I'll raise Luffy like my own son."

"Grandpa, are we going to see Ace now?"

Mercer and Garp walked along the road. "Where is he?"

Garp scratched his head awkwardly. "First, let's go to the warship and give the prescription to Bogard. Then I'll take you to find Ace."

Before long, Garp handed the prescription to Bogard on the warship. Bogard was very pleased about this—since on the way here, Garp hadn't punished him for teaching Mercer without permission. He'd been a little nervous, but now he could use this matter to "atone for his faults."

Ignoring Bogard's delight, Garp just smiled and said, "Get this done today, and what happened before is settled. Use my share of the cut to buy the herbs.

Buy a hundred doses first."

Bogard patted his chest and laughed. "Don't worry. When I handle things, you can rest easy."

Mercer smiled, picked up the travel bag he'd packed on the side, and looked at Garp. "Grandpa, let's go. I want to meet him soon too."

Mercer was quite curious about this younger brother he'd never seen since birth. He wondered how big he'd grown by now.

Probably about the same size as himself.

After all, they were born on the same day.

He wondered what his personality was like now.

Garp smiled and took the travel bag from Mercer's hands. "Let's go."

Under Bogard's watchful gaze, the two left the warship, followed a small path, and headed up the mountain.

The lush jungle echoed with unidentified roars from time to time.

Garp pulled Mercer along through the mountain forest. Seeing Mercer curiously looking around, he chuckled:

"What do you think? Beautiful, isn't it? A whole different world from Drum Island—not cold at all, right?"

As they ventured deeper into the forest, the surrounding trees grew taller, and the scent of grass and wood in the air became richer.

Mercer couldn't help but relax, finely sensing the subtle connection between himself and the natural environment.

Observation Haki rippled around him, perceiving the various auras in the forest.

Letting go of Garp's hand, Mercer walked alongside him, his breathing rising and falling. His own aura gradually shifted, as if slowly blending into the surroundings.

His entire being radiated an ethereal, tranquil atmosphere.

Garp's eyes suddenly widened, his mouth gaping wide enough to fit a balloon. Staring at Mercer, he felt as if the boy might vanish from his sight.

The aura around him seemed to be assimilating into the environment—extremely eerie.

"Devil Fruit ability?"

"No, no, Mercer isn't."

Mercer savored the "breathing" emitted by the trees around him, controlling his own breath to draw closer, to merge, imagining himself as a tree, a leaf, rooted freely in the earth, growing wild and unrestrained.

His body relaxed, going with the flow.

He aligned his breathing rhythm and his aura, constantly fitting and syncing with the frequency he perceived in his surroundings.

They walked on.

After a long while, Mercer broke free from that state of harmony with nature, withdrew his Observation Haki, and a faint smile crept onto his lips.

He looked at Garp beside him.

"What's up, Gramps?"

Garp blinked, scrutinizing Mercer. That feeling of him about to vanish was gone.

"What was that just now?"

Mercer smiled. "Just an ordinary breathing technique, a method for cultivating the body and calming the mind."

Mercer wasn't lying—this breathing method was indeed derived from breathing itself.

Garp looked speechless. "You think your grandpa's an idiot? If breathing could do what you just did, wouldn't I know how?"

Mercer grinned. "Then that just means you're too dumb, Gramps."

Garp huffed, his beard and eyes bristling with anger, feeling his fists itch.

He was about to make a move.

But then Mercer spoke.

"So, Gramps, do you want to learn? If you do, I can teach you."

Garp's eyes widened. He opened his mouth, then sighed. "No. I figure you didn't come up with that alone—must be that woman Doriel's doing."

Walking on with Garp, Mercer looked at him in surprise.

"Not bad. This is indeed a special breathing technique that Doctor Doriel figured out from my own breathing."

Garp's expression showed understanding.

A breathing secret technique like that—something akin to a special inheritance—must have cost a lot of blood and sweat. He couldn't just casually steal it from Mercer. Doing something like that would cross a line.

Clearly, Garp wasn't that kind of person.

Seeing Garp's expression, Mercer understood and said with a smile, "Even though the Breathing Technique was organized by Doctor Doriel, I'm the first in line. I have the right to teach it to others."

"Things like this—Doctor Doriel won't interfere or care. I asked her, and she said it's up to me."

"As long as you promise not to pass it around casually, Gramps, I'll teach you."

Garp looked at Mercer suspiciously. "Really? You're not lying to me?"

"Believe it or not, learn it or not. I'm not lying anyway. If you don't learn, it's your loss, not mine. I'll just take it as my good intentions wasted on a donkey's liver."

Garp's eye twitched, his teeth grinding with a click-clack.

"You little brat, you calling me a stupid donkey?"

"I didn't say that. I didn't. You figured that out yourself."

"Aaaagh, you damn brat, you're saying you didn't say it?"

Seeing Garp hopping mad, Mercer knew he couldn't push it further, or he'd get a beating—and that wouldn't be good.

So.

"Gramps, do you want to learn?"

Mercer asked again.

Garp sighed in resignation. "Fine, I'll learn. And I promise you, without your permission, I'll never pass it on."

"Good!"

The two walked and talked, Mercer speaking while Garp questioned.

To make teaching easier, Mercer had Garp use his Observation Haki to closely study his own breathing rhythm.

As Garp grasped it, his breathing began to change.

From shallow to deep.

The instinct of daily breath slowly started to transform.

Mercer also used Observation Haki to watch the changes inside Garp's body. At first, something seemed to block it, making it hard to see through, but after Mercer brought it up and Garp cooperated, everything became convenient.

After a while, Seeing that Garp had already gotten the hang of breathing, Mercer smiled: "Not bad, not bad. You're quite sharp, old man."

Garp's face immediately lit up with joy. He laughed heartily and thumped his chest:

"Of course! Who do you think I am? If I can be your grandpa, how could I be lacking?"

Mercer looked at Garp with a strange expression and said flatly: "Shameless."

Relying on Return of Life's control over the body, he took a high vantage point and called himself smart—Mercer had only said it in passing, yet he actually accepted the compliment. No shame.

Garp's face twitched.

He pretended not to hear it.

Then Mercer asked: "Grandpa, why was my Observation Haki having such a hard time penetrating your body earlier? Something was resisting it. What was that?"

Sure enough, Garp replied the next moment:

"Heh-ha~ Want to know? Then your grandpa will tell you. It's also a type of Haki, called Armament Haki. It can be used as an invisible armor or to ward off external intrusion."

"Impressive, right?"

Mercer nodded.

"Yeah, impressive indeed. But how do you awaken it?"

Garp glanced at Mercer and rubbed his chin: "You're still a bit short of the mark right now. Forcing it early won't do your body any good. Wait a few years."

"Not good for the body?" Mercer asked curiously. "Does it have to do with life force? Or maybe vitality, blood and qi, something like that?"

Garp's face stiffened. He shot Mercer a helpless look: "Dolier told you, didn't she? That woman blabs everything.

That's right, but don't try to deliberately awaken Armament Haki for now. It won't benefit you."

"Alright, enough of that. Look, we're here."

The two had just climbed over a small hill when Garp pointed at a wooden structure at the end of a path.

"There it is."

The surrounding forest was lush and green. The building was a wooden house set on a flat stretch of mountainside, hidden among the trees.

Following the path downhill, Mercer activated his Observation Haki to sense ahead. Garp raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"A fair number of people," Mercer remarked, raising a brow. "Grandpa, what is that?"

Garp's eye twitched. He sighed: "You'll know in a moment. Fair warning—those guys have a bad reputation, but the boss in there, Dadan, is a good person."

Mercer narrowed his eyes slightly. Of course he knew Dadan—a woman who would risk her life for Ace.

A mother hen who raised Ace from a child.

A good person with a sharp tongue but a soft heart.

Garp looked a bit embarrassed—after all, it was about being raised by mountain bandits—but he didn't say anything more.

The two arrived at the building's door. The next second, Garp started pounding on it with a "bang bang bang."

A long string of thuds rang out.

Watching dust shake loose from the doorframe, Mercer had the feeling the door might collapse.

Footsteps sounded from inside, followed by a roar:

"Who is it!! You trying to get yourself killed?! Can't you knock properly?!"

"Creak!"

The door swung open.

A woman with orange hair down to her waist poked her head out, a cigarette dangling from her mouth. When she saw who it was, her eyes flew wide:

"Garp—no, Mr. Garp?"

As if she'd seen a monster, she stumbled backward: "W-Why are you here? Looking for Ace again?"

Garp chuckled cheerfully: "You seem full of energy, huh? Dadan."

Dadan's face twisted in frustration:

"Are you kidding me? What energy? That brat Ace kept me up all night long."

"Is that so? Ahaha, Ace has that much spirit, huh? Looks like you've been taking good care of the little guy."

Dadan looked utterly worn out, bitterness dripping from her voice: "That kid's impossible to manage now. He's got as much strength as an adult, and he's a total handful."

"Maybe you should take him away. This little temple of mine can't handle his antics."

Mercer watched them chat, slipping past Dadan without a sound and heading further inside.

But when Dadan saw Mercer, her eyes bulged and she stammered, "G-G-G-Garp, sir, th-this child... who is he? Why does he look a bit like Ace? Could he be...?"

Garp chuckled. "His name is Mercer. My grandson. Ace's twin brother."

Dadan's vision went dark, her mouth twitching. "Then... why did you bring him here?"

No, please, no. Don't make me raise another one. One Ace is already more than I can handle. If you add another, I'll really kick the bucket.

Garp said, "Relax. You don't have to raise this one. Someone else will take care of him."

Dadan sighed in relief, her face slack with exhaustion.

Entering the house, Mercer took in the layout. Smooth wooden floors, a spacious interior with a few partitioned areas separated by blue curtains.

To the left, a fire pit sat on the ground, with an iron chain hanging from above, suspending a kettle over the flames.

The charcoal in the pit was heating it now.

Just then, footsteps—"tap, tap"—sounded. Mercer turned to look.

The noise came from the stairs leading to the upper loft.

Then.

A black-haired boy, about a meter tall, walked down.

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