"Waaah, Luffy! What did you feed me?! What is this?!"
Garp had merely taken the food his little grandson handed him without even looking at it, but only after swallowing it did he realize something was wrong.
His limp arm came into view, and Garp's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"Eh?!"
Luffy was equally shocked, unable to understand why Grandpa had suddenly turned into a monster.
"Captain! That looks like the Devil Fruit we stole!"
Over with the Red-Haired Pirates, Lucky Roux, his round belly wobbling, swiftly found the little chest that had been flung aside. He yanked it up and showed everyone that it was completely empty.
Seeing this, Shanks went numb all over. He looked at Garp, then at Luffy, his mouth opening and closing constantly, yet not a single word came out.
Zephyr covered his eyes with one hand, unwilling to look at Garp's condition.
Originally, he had thought they should simply let nature take its course. If Luffy could eat the Nika Fruit disguised as the Gum-Gum Fruit, that would have been fine too.
But... why had that old bastard Garp eaten it instead?!
What kind of situation was this?
The Warrior of Liberation, Joy Boy's successor—Monkey D. Garp?!
After his initial bewilderment, Garp lowered his head and looked at his hand again. With a forceful swing, his limp dangling arm immediately snapped back.
"Ah, it changed back."
Garp grinned. Great, it would not interfere with him eating rice crackers and donuts.
Just as he was about to lower his head and take a few more bites of roasted meat, Garp suddenly noticed that everyone was staring at him.
"Hey, hey, what are you all looking at me for? Do I have flowers growing on my face?"
Rubbing his face, Garp found that it felt unusually soft, springy, and smooth. Not bad.
"Hey, Garp."
Zephyr finally recovered and silently walked over to sit beside Garp.
"Do you not know what you ate?"
"What?"
"A Devil Fruit, you bastard! You're like Sengoku and Tsuru now—you've become a Devil Fruit user too!"
Zephyr's tone was agitated, though he forcibly kept it under control.
Thinking about it seriously, perhaps letting Garp eat the Nika Fruit was not so bad?
After all, although Garp was a reckless rogue, he truly possessed a simple sense of justice. He was also quite powerful, and paired with the Nika Fruit, it would be a perfect match.
It was just...
The more Zephyr looked at Garp's carefree expression, the angrier he became. Did this old bastard realize he had stolen his grandson's power?!
"A Devil Fruit?"
Garp was startled.
"That's not bad at all! I've wanted to try being a Devil Fruit user for ages. Sengoku and Tsuru's powers are both pretty good, so mine should be great too!"
That familiar booming laughter rang out, and Zephyr could not help clenching his fist.
"A Devil Fruit?"
Hearing the unfamiliar term, Luffy could not help looking at Zephyr, his eyes full of curiosity.
Zephyr was already irritated by Garp, that stubborn old fool who would not listen to reason. Seeing Luffy staring at him expectantly, he was about to explain.
But someone beat him to it.
"I know, I know!"
Uta skipped over and shoved Luffy aside with one shoulder.
"I'm a Devil Fruit user too! The Paramecia-type Uta Uta no Mi! Everyone who hears my singing can find happiness!"
Zephyr could not help finding Uta's confident expression amusing.
Luffy would become incredible in the future, nearly changing the entire world. But Uta would be even more incredible—she would nearly wipe out the entire world.
"So, Luffy, I'm stronger than you~"
Uta provocatively teased her loser little brother.
"Damn it!" Luffy was still as easy to provoke as ever. "One day, I'll find an amazing Devil Fruit too and become a stronger Devil Fruit user than you, Uta!"
"Impossible."
"It's definitely possible!"
"It is impossible!"
Children truly changed moods quickly. They had just been angry over Higuma, and now they were bickering again.
Zephyr let the two children play around, but the rightful owner had already come looking for them.
"Mr. Garp, Mr. Zephyr... that Devil Fruit was our spoils of war..."
Shanks's resentful voice drifted over. He approached like a ghost, making both Zephyr and Garp's scalps tingle.
"Hey, hey, kid, don't look like you're about to die! It's just one Devil Fruit. At worst, I'll get you another one someday."
Amused, Garp pulled open his own mouth and discovered that it could stretch enormously like putty. He could stuff all the roasted meat inside, and his eyes immediately lit up.
This Devil Fruit power was great!
"Get me another one..." Remembering the years he had spent enduring everything, Shanks looked like he wanted to cry. "I really only wanted this one!"
After sulking for a while, Shanks was no weak man. He quickly pulled himself together.
After giving the matter serious thought, Shanks looked brightly at Garp and took off the straw hat on his head.
"Mr. Garp, does this straw hat look familiar to you?"
"Huh?" Garp narrowed his eyes as a familiar feeling surfaced. "That's Roger's straw hat!"
"Yes." Shanks nodded, then solemnly held the straw hat out to him.
"Then, Mr. Garp, would you like to inherit this straw hat and meet me at the pinnacle someday?"
Zephyr turned to look at Shanks, his gaze behind his sunglasses growing even stranger. What was going on today? Why were absurd things happening everywhere?
Garp's mouth twitched, and he slammed his plate onto the table with a bang.
"You little bastard, do you want a taste of my fist?!"
"Hahaha, then forget it."
Shanks backed down awkwardly. He was only good at fooling children; old men were not so easy to fool!
Closing his eyes, Shanks pondered for a moment. He exchanged a glance with his adviser Beckman, then looked once more at Garp, who was happily eating, and Zephyr, who wore the same thoughtful expression. Finally, he spoke.
"Can we talk in private? Mr. Zephyr, Mr. Garp, I have something to tell you, and I also want to ask you a few questions."
Only then did Garp stop eating meat. He looked at Zephyr, and after seeing him nod, nodded as well.
"Sure."
"Thank you. Don't worry, I'll come alone."
"Captain!"
The Red-Haired Pirates gathered around him in concern, but Shanks talked them down one by one.
"Relax, I'm not going to do anything stupid."
Shanks smiled confidently.
Zephyr glanced at him. "Just now..."
"Cough, cough, except for just now."
Shanks waved his hand, excluding that incident.
Soon, Beckman and the others, along with Makino, were left to watch over Luffy and Uta. On the back mountain of Foosha Village, after confirming there was no one around, Zephyr and Garp stood on one side while Red-Haired Shanks stood opposite them.
"Kid, what do you want to say?" Zephyr took the initiative. He already had some ideas.
Shanks smiled, his gaze turning nostalgic before he spoke. "Since Mr. Zephyr already knows, I won't hide it anymore."
"That's right. I'm a Celestial Dragon, a member of the Figarland Family. Garling, the commander-in-chief of the Holy Knights, is my father, and Shamrock, the current captain of the Holy Knights, is my brother.
"A few years ago, I temporarily returned to Mary Geoise. There, I saw the true face of the Celestial Dragons and felt deeply ashamed of my identity as one!"
Shanks spoke calmly, while Garp was already dumbfounded. What? Hadn't this kid grown up on Roger's ship? A Celestial Dragon?!
Zephyr nodded. He already knew this information, which was why he had been willing to speak with Shanks.
"What are you trying to say?"
"What I mean is, during those years when I returned to Mary Geoise, I was actually searching for information. Once I found it, I left."
"And that information... was the Devil Fruit Mr. Garp ate."
"On the surface, it was the Paramecia-type Gum-Gum Fruit. In truth, it was the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Mythical Zoan, Nika Form."
Shanks spoke each word clearly, leaving Garp dumbfounded once again. A bubble of snot even formed at his nose.
What the hell was that?
"Mm." Zephyr nodded. "I knew that too."
"What?!"
Shanks stared at him in disbelief. How did he know that too?
Before you continue