Garp, Don't You Dare Die!

"Pfft!"

Mercer surfaced and spat out the lake water that had gotten into his mouth.

The next second, the other two surfaced as well, gasping for air.

Seeing how unwilling to give up they looked, it was clear they'd lost the underwater scuffle. Just then, Garp's mouth curled into a grin nearby, and he suddenly shouted:

"You three little brats~! Since you've all learned how to swim, it's time to start some real swimming training!"

As he spoke, a vicious grin tugged at his lips, his expression playful. "Try not to die, okay!"

As soon as he finished, he raised his right fist. Mercer's eye twitched when he saw pressure building around it. With a low growl, Garp punched the surface of the water.

Smack!

The lake caved in across a ten-meter-wide circle centered on him. Three seconds later, it suddenly swelled upward, then exploded with a boom.

A man-made wave surged up and roared toward Mercer and the other two.

At the same time, Garp's laughter rang out. "When you're sailing the seas, you can't predict the weather. This is the loving ocean wave Grandpa specially simulated for you. Don't you dare die, you little brats!

Ah~hahaha!!!"

In the blink of an eye, a five-meter-high wave came crashing toward them.

Mercer glanced at Ace and Sabo, who were staring dumbfounded, a string of snot hanging from each of their noses.

"Quit standing there like idiots! Get underwater!"

After leaving them with that brief instruction, Mercer took a deep breath and dove beneath the surface just as the wave hit.

The next instant, Mercer felt himself swept up by the wave and carried along in the direction of the rushing current.

Good thing it's just coming straight at us.

As he thought this, Mercer controlled his body precisely and swam with the current. But after swimming less than ten meters, he changed direction in a flash and fought his way upstream.

He pumped his arms and kicked his legs hard. Fifty meters away, Garp was slapping the lake again and again, sending two-meter-high waves crashing toward him.

Mercer swam upstream against the waves, trying to take quick breaths in the brief gaps between them.

Watching Mercer's performance from afar, Garp's eyes flashed with surprise and approval. "That's Mercer for you. What a quick learner."

Then he spotted Ace and Sabo, tiny against the waves more than twenty meters behind Mercer. After seeing what Mercer was doing, they, too, had joined in rather than give up.

Garp was even more pleased.

He twisted his left wrist, sending a swirling current into the waves he was pushing forward with his right hand.

An upgraded version of the water assault, now carrying hidden currents within the waves, surged toward them again.

Mercer swam with all his might, shutting out distractions. In his Unity of Heaven and Man state, he could clearly sense the water currents changing.

Even so, his rhythm was thrown off at once.

His body spun as the current shoved him several meters backward.

Mercer had no choice but to adjust his movements underwater again and put more strength into resisting it.

Amid the rush of water, Mercer's gaze remained resolute. He made minute adjustments to his movements, concentrating even harder on sensing the changes in the current.

But Ace and Sabo couldn't sense the water as well as Mercer could. The changes immediately threw off their rhythm, and the whirlpools in the lake dragged them even farther back.

Garp watched the three of them with interest. Seeing Mercer still struggling, he called out:

"You little brats! This move of mine is called 'Ascending the Dragon Gate.' If you've got what it takes, swim over here and cross these waves!"

He cackled loudly.

Garp put even more effort into it.

It was like moving against a blizzard, except the ground had been replaced by water.

Mercer's expression was calm.

Sensing the changes in the water, he imagined himself as a great fish swimming upstream.

Hands and feet, arms and legs.

He treated the unruly currents as one opponent after another, pumping his arms and kicking his legs. Sometimes he took a deep breath and leaped out of the water to dodge an undercurrent; sometimes he dove underwater to avoid a huge wave.

He gave everything he had to cross the waves.

He felt the impact of the currents and the sensation of his feet pushing against the water.

After repeated attempts, he used Qi Throughout the Body to coordinate the strength within him, gathering power in his legs and kicking fiercely. He recalled the leg-strength technique used in "Shave."

He tensed the muscles in his legs, sensed the water's flow, and coordinated his thighs and calves to release his strength in an explosive burst from the soles of his feet.

Water wasn't like solid ground, and the hidden currents tugged at him, but the technique still helped.

Mercer gradually steadied himself in the water and stopped floundering so badly.

But simply avoiding a struggle wasn't enough for Mercer. Fixing his gaze on Garp in the distance, he swam forward with all his might.

Noticing that Mercer was adapting, Garp's mouth curled up. He started mixing things up, trying out even more challenging tricks.

Sometimes he simulated waves that grew higher with each swell.

Sometimes he whipped up whirlpools with both hands and made them collide near Mercer, causing an explosion.

Other times he raised a huge sheet of lake water to simulate a downpour.

In less than ten minutes, Ace and Sabo were out of the running, swept to the shallows on the opposite side of the lake.

Half an hour later, with Garp grinning brightly thirty meters away, Mercer, utterly exhausted, sank to the bottom with a helpless look on his face.

Garp was having a blast.

He couldn't stop grinning.

He plunged into the water and swam over, grabbed Mercer by the arm, and brought him to the surface. Then he took him over to Ace and Sabo.

Crunch!

Crunch!

Seeing the two of them eating lotus roots they'd dug out of the shallows, Mercer laughed in exasperation. "Got any more? Get me a piece too. I'm hungry."

Sabo grinned. "Of course! The lotus roots here are really sweet."

As he spoke, he reached beneath the water beside him and pulled out two sections of lotus root, washed clean of mud and sand.

They looked pretty white.

He handed Mercer and Garp a piece each, both as thick as an arm.

Mercer took his piece, shook off the water, and bit into it. He crunched away, replenishing his fluids. He had to admit, it really was sweet.

"Caw~"

Seeing Mercer at the shore, Karasu swooped down and landed on his shoulder, careful not to pierce his skin with his claws.

"What're you eating?"

Mercer smiled and crushed the other half of the lotus root in his hand, then lifted the pieces. "Lotus root. It can be used as medicine, cooked as a vegetable, or eaten as a fruit. It's pretty tasty."

Karasu blinked, pecked off a piece, chewed it, then swallowed it as soon as the juice came out.

It was just like fruit: nice and crunchy, with lots of juice.

"What's that on your crow's feet?" Ace asked. "I've been wanting to ask for a while. There's quite a lot of it."

Mercer smiled. "I found a kind of wild honey on the way to find you. I was planning to bring some back for you anyway."

Ace's eyes lit up, and he reached out to grab it.

But the next second, as soon as he reached out, a dark shape came at him, and he quickly pulled his hand back.

He glared at Karasu, looking dissatisfied. "Why'd you peck me?"

Karasu cackled. "Caw~ Mercer didn't say you could touch it."

Ace: "..."

"Hey! If you want some, don't rush. You'll get some later. By the way, want to know where the beehive is?

I only took most of the honey. The bees should have replenished it in a while."

Ace nodded. "Of course I do! Tell me where it is. Then I'll never run out of honey."

Mercer smiled and told him the location. He was leaving in a few days anyway, and it was better to let Ace know. After all, you shouldn't let outsiders benefit from something that could stay in the family.

Just then, Garp said, "Come on, that's enough for today. Let's go hunting and get something to eat."

He waved and headed toward where they'd left their clothes.

Crackle!

Sparks flew everywhere.

A huge bear, skewered on a wooden pole, was roasting until it gleamed with oil.

Mercer opened a packet of honey and spread the wild honey evenly over the meat. He gave each of the other four a piece to tide them over.

With the final step done, he used Cold Dew to cut the roast bear into pieces and set them on clean lotus leaves on the ground.

"Mmm! Let's eat."

As he spoke, he handed Garp a bear leg. Garp grinned from ear to ear, took it, and began eating heartily.

Mercer left the others to fend for themselves. They could eat whichever piece they liked.

The idea was simple: take whichever piece you wanted.

The bear meat was unbelievably delicious. It was roasted crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, and the sweetness of the honey went perfectly with its tender, juicy meat.

As he ate heartily, Mercer controlled the movement of his stomach and intestines to digest the food faster. Waves of heat welled up inside him.

His body absorbed the abundant nutrients.

In the end, they even cracked open the bones and ate all the marrow.

Looking at the sky, Garp said, "You can go to Dadan's place. We'll meet back at the lake tomorrow."

With that, Garp stood up, picked up a packet of honey Mercer had given him, and patted his backside as he left.

Ace's eyes gleamed with defiance. He huffed. "Tomorrow it is. Like I'm scared. Let's go back and sleep."

Sabo hesitated. "Am I going too? Won't I be a bother?"

Ace thumped his chest, unconcerned. "It's fine. We can hunt something on the way back and bring it with us. Dadan won't mind."

Sabo smiled at that, but then he coughed twice, his breathing a little ragged.

Seeing that, Mercer smiled. "Make sure to practice the breathing technique I taught you. Ace has been learning it for two years. If you don't work hard, he'll only leave you further behind."

Sabo nodded earnestly, his face full of gratitude. "Don't worry, Mercer. I'll definitely work hard and surpass Ace."

Now Ace was the one who took offense. He looked disdainful. "You think you're the only one who'll work hard? I learned it two years before you did."

Mercer smiled and handed them a packet of honey. "You two go to Dadan's. I've got something to do. See you tomorrow."

After saying that, he called Karasu over. While Ace and Sabo stared in bewilderment, Mercer left.

Ace said, exasperated, "Everyone's busy, everyone's got something to do. How can there be so many things? And what's with all the secrecy?"

Sabo nodded in agreement, then stood up and began putting out the fire to prevent it from spreading through the forest.

Walking through the woods, Mercer thought back to what had happened before they roasted the meat.

Garp had brought down the bear.

But Mercer and the others had gathered the firewood.

While they were gathering firewood, Ace had come over on his own to ask Mercer if he could teach the Breathing Technique to Sabo.

Mercer hadn't refused. Sabo was a good kid.

With Ace as their connection, and after spending time with him that day, Mercer approved of Sabo too, even though they hadn't known each other long.

Since Mercer wouldn't be around Ace for a long time, Sabo getting stronger would help the two of them work better together.

So,

While the meat was roasting, Mercer taught him the "Free Breathing Method" and corrected some of the mistakes Ace had been making in his training.

Twiddling a Surgical Knife in his hand, Mercer headed toward Foosha Village.

By the time he came out of the woods, he had two plump rabbits in his hands. Each had a wound at the throat.

At dusk,

Mercer knocked on Makino's door. The moment she saw him, she puffed out her cheeks. "Why are you only getting back now?"

Mercer grinned and lifted the plump rabbits in his hands. "I ran into these on the way. They looked pretty fat. Have you eaten yet? We can have these in a bit."

Makino took them from him and said helplessly, "You weren't back yet, and I didn't know what you wanted to eat, so I haven't cooked anything."

"Hey! You don't have to wait for me. Lately, I've been training in the mountains with my grandpa and the others. Sometimes I don't even know if I'll make it back in time, so don't go out of your way to wait for me.

Just eat when you're hungry and drink when you're thirsty."

Karasu swooped down from the sky just then. Looking at Makino, he said, "Honey, for you, a share."

As he spoke, he lifted the lotus-leaf bundle in his claws.

Makino looked puzzled, so Mercer briefly explained.

Then,

A sweet smile appeared on her face.

After going inside, Mercer went with Makino to the bar on the first floor. Makino said, "I'll find a jar for the honey in a bit, so you can take your share with you.

By the way, go take a shower upstairs. I'll go cook."

Mercer nodded.

He washed up quickly and washed his clothes too.

Upstairs,

Mercer watched the clothes swaying in the breeze and smiled. Then he went back downstairs. A little while later, he and Makino ate together.

On the second floor,

Silver Needles were embedded one by one in Makino's body, helping reinforce her memory of the breathing technique.

After a long while, when her body started to tremble, Mercer pulled out the needles one by one.

She took a deep breath, her body soaked in sweat. She coughed softly, waited a moment, then Makino said:

"I'm going to take a shower."

Time passed.

When Makino came out, she saw that Mercer had already fallen asleep. A smile appeared on her lips, and she said softly:

"He fell asleep. Looks like he was tired today. At least this time, he wasn't as irritating as he was yesterday."

She tucked the blanket around Mercer.

As soon as she turned around, she saw Karasu staring at her wide-eyed. He raised his left index finger to his lips, then smiled.

She returned to her room, beaming.

The next day.

Mercer got up early.

He had just finished washing up when Makino's door opened.

Wearing her pajamas, Makino stepped out. When she saw Mercer, she smiled and said,

"Good morning. Are you going for a run?"

"Yeah!" Mercer asked curiously, "Why are you up so early? Did I wake you?"

"No, I usually get up around this time."

"Go for your run. I'll have breakfast ready when you get back."

"Sure. Thanks."

"Aw, what are you thanking me for? You don't have to be so polite with me, little Mercer. You're practically my little brother, after all."

"Tch. Still refusing to give up, huh?"

"Ha ha! Get out of here! Why are you insulting me?"

After breakfast.

Mercer headed out, making his way toward Corvo Mountain.

Near the forest, he ran into Garp, who still had sleep in the corners of his eyes.

The two stared at each other.

Garp looked a little confused. "Mercer, you didn't sleep at Dadan's last night?"

Mercer pursed his lips. "There were too many people. I couldn't get used to sleeping there."

"But I didn't see you return to the warship, either."

"Oh, I slept at Makino's."

"Huh?!" Garp's eyes widened. "Since when did you two get so close? How come I didn't know?"

"Huh?!" Mercer was confused, too. "Haven't we always gotten along pretty well?!"

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