One Punch

Marine Headquarters Marineford, due to its unique geographical location, easily defensible terrain, and the presence of numerous powerful figures from Headquarters, was absolutely the Marines' strongest and most important military fortress.

After passing through the towering main building bearing a seagull flag and the enormous characters for "Marines," Leon followed Garp into the residential area for Marine families.

Given Garp's position in the Marines, even though he spent most of the year drifting at sea, he still had an exclusive courtyard in Marineford.

Sengoku and the others still had matters to deal with, leaving only Zephyr to accompany them.

Along the way, Zephyr watched Leon's body gradually return to its normal size, his expression growing increasingly solemn.

Life Return?

It didn't seem quite right. With this Leon kid possessing such powerful digestive abilities, just how astonishing must his physical constitution be...

The brat Garp picked up might truly be a monster blessed with extraordinary talent!

Leon was also silently observing Zephyr, the Marine Admiral who had not received much attention in the original work, yet was another tragic figure created by Oda.

His heart was clearly filled with benevolence and justice, and he was known as the "Admiral Who Doesn't Kill," yet his family had died at the hands of pirates.

The culprit who had cut off his arm and killed numerous Marines had even brazenly joined the Marines and become a Shichibukai.

As a result, he had resolutely established the "NEO Marines," only to die in the end at the hands of his own prized disciple...

"Hey! Leon, kid! What are you so absorbed in thinking about?"

Leon came back to himself. The three of them had already reached Garp's exclusive courtyard.

Looking at Zephyr's serious expression, Garp chuckled.

"How is it? The old man didn't lie to you, did he?"

Zephyr nodded lightly. This boy named Leon was clearly an uncut gem.

Leaving him with Garp was like burying a pearl in the dust. If he were with me, things would be different...

I, Zephyr, am merely an ordinary instructor in the Marines, yet I have barely managed to train several future Marine Admirals...

"Zephyr! You old geezer aren't plotting something, are you?"

"Of course not..."

Garp scrutinized Zephyr, pulled a bag of senbei from his pocket, grabbed a handful, and viciously stuffed them into his mouth.

"There'd better not be!"

"Leon, kid! You'll stay here for now. Once your injuries have healed, go to the Marine registration office and enlist."

"I've already put in a word for you."

Leon nodded. Until the Silver Fiber Bandage he had asked Kuzan to have someone make arrived, he still needed to avoid wandering around as much as possible.

Garp's courtyard was spacious enough, and people rarely came by.

As for Garp himself, after being in close contact with Leon for so many days, he had not shown any discomfort.

Leon even wondered whether Garp's body had already developed some kind of antibodies...

"Come to think of it, I haven't asked how old you are."

"..."

This simple question genuinely stumped Leon.

His current human form looked the same as he had in his youth in his previous life.

As for his Godzilla form, as an Atomic Monster that had existed since time immemorial...

Age was merely a unit of measurement established by humans by applying natural changes to themselves.

A single slumber for Godzilla could last tens of thousands of years...

"I should be sixteen?"

Leon answered with some hesitation.

"You don't even remember your own age?"

Garp laughed, but his absentminded nature kept him from taking such a trivial matter to heart.

He finished the remaining senbei in one bite, then wiped his hands on the black suit he was wearing.

Garp stood in front of Leon, shook out the Coat of Justice, and looked down at Leon from above. "Come on, let the old man see what you're capable of now!"

Huh?

Here, "looking down from above" was being used entirely in its literal sense.

The completely real pirate world before him was nothing like Oda's manga, where the characters' sizes had been adjusted for visual effect.

Leon raised his head and looked at Garp, who stood two meters and eighty-seven centimeters tall. His powerful physique loomed before Leon, whose body was now that of an ordinary human, like a solid wall.

"Don't be nervous. Just attack the old man with all your strength!"

Seeing Leon's hesitation, Garp cheerfully explained that he was only conducting a simple test of his strength and absolutely would not fight back.

"You're the one telling me to hit you."

Leon looked at Garp's utterly unconcerned face. Given his height, a punch from him would land right on Garp's lower abdomen.

To be safe, he would only use half his strength.

Before this, Leon had never undergone any martial arts training. He only knew that the best way to throw a punch was to start by generating force from the legs.

He drew a deep breath and simply closed his eyes.

His right leg pushed against the ground, his hips turned, and his shoulder drove forward. He unleashed a smooth, exhilarating punch, yet felt no feedback from hitting a target.

He opened his eyes.

Garp looked as though he had seen a ghost. He was already several meters away from Leon.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Zephyr, who had been watching the show from the side, could not hold back his laughter. Garp shot him a fierce glare, his face somewhat embarrassed.

But when he saw the deep pit left by Leon's right foot and the bandages on Leon's body, which had been torn apart by the sudden burst of immense force...

Garp realized that he had been too careless.

If not for the combat instincts he had honed through countless battles over the years, then if he had truly taken Leon's punch just now without any precautions...