Teaching Begins

"In this era, there was actually a brat whose dream was to become a hero! Hahahahaha!"

Through the Den Den Mushi, Garp could hear Zephyr's feelings.

It was joy from the bottom of his heart.

"If only I had met him sooner."

After laughing heartily, Zephyr sighed. "If we had gotten to him before 'them,' that brat would definitely have become an outstanding Marine!"

The "them" Zephyr referred to were, of course, the Celestial Dragons.

They had turned Lynn into a slave, and they would never allow their "property" to join the Marines.

Therefore, the name Lynn Barek was destined never to be written in the Marine registry!

"What happened at the Sabaody Archipelago... I really owe that brat a huge favor, Garp!"

Zephyr grinned and slowly said with a smile, "If you run into him out on the Great Pirate Era, don't forget to thank him for me."

Back to the present.

On the warship.

Garp let out a deep sigh.

That's why I say you're too stubborn, Zephyr!

If you leave a favor unreturned, you won't sleep easy at night.

Since Lynn Barek isn't a pirate, I'll do you this favor!

Once it's done, I'll definitely make Zephyr buy me a drink!

That was what Garp thought.

Meanwhile, Lynn kept eating.

In just a few hours, the mountain of food on the small boat had nearly been wiped out.

Lynn let out a satisfied burp and called to the warship ahead.

"Hey, got any water?"

"Yes!"

The Marines aboard the warship were already dumbfounded. Still, since Vice Admiral Garp had raised no objections, they naturally would not refuse such a simple request.

"Catch!"

A Marine tossed Lynn a bottle of water.

Lynn caught it and gulped down several mouthfuls. He immediately felt as if he had come back to life!

The Energy Value inside his body was slowly being consumed.

Hero Skill: Brawler's Bounty.

Lynn could consume the Energy Value in his body to heal himself to a certain extent. The more severe his injuries, the more effective the healing from consuming Energy Value became.

The advantages and disadvantages of this move were both obvious.

Its advantage was that Lynn could gain astonishing healing abilities when on the verge of death. This gave him monstrous physical capabilities, enough to trade blows head-on with top-tier powerhouses like Zephyr and Garp.

Yet its disadvantage was equally apparent. When Lynn's injuries were light, his healing ability became weaker, only slightly better than that of an ordinary person.

Because of this, Lynn could expend a great deal of Energy Value to recover from severe injuries, but he could not use this move to swiftly return to his true peak condition. He would always fall just short.

He stood and rolled his neck, producing a series of crackling pops.

Lynn assessed his current physical condition.

Energy Value: 900/1500.

He had mild bruising in many places, while his limbs were sore, swollen, and aching.

Other than that, however, the serious injuries Garp had inflicted had basically healed!

Bang!

Lynn slammed his fists together.

He could no longer wait to experience Garp's "teaching"!

After his brief excitement faded, Lynn sat on the small boat and fell into thought.

At the very last moment of his battle with Garp, he had seemed to touch upon something.

Was it Haki?

No.

Lynn shook his head.

He had once devoted all his effort to developing his Devil Fruit ability, so Lynn knew exactly what that feeling meant.

"A new Hero Skill..."

As he rowed, Lynn began searching through his memories and combat experience for the answer.

About another hour passed.

An island appeared in everyone's field of vision.

It was a vast Uninhabited Island. One half was covered in dense forest, while the other was a flat grassland.

No one discussed such an unscientific landscape. After all, there were simply too many strange things in the Great Pirate Era.

"Drop anchor. All personnel disembark and set up camp on the grassland near the shore. Do not approach the edge of the forest under any circumstances!"

The adjutant arranged everything in an orderly manner.

He had extensive experience with this kind of work. After all, who told him he had such an unreliable superior?

At the same time, Garp was snoring away on the grass.

A while later, Lynn secured his small boat and lay down on the grass as well.

Sunlight and the scent of fresh grass were both powerful sleep aids.

Before long, Lynn closed his eyes and fell asleep too.

Seeing this, the adjutant could not help rubbing his forehead speechlessly.

In a sense, this man named Lynn Barek was really quite similar to Vice Admiral Garp!

Evening soon arrived.

The Marines erected tents across the grassland and lit bonfires around them.

Once everything was done, the adjutant decisively shattered Garp's pleasant dream.

"Ah! Did I fall asleep? That won't do, that won't do. Let me help set up the tents!"

"..."

The adjutant suppressed the urge to cough up blood and said, "Vice Admiral Garp, all preparations have already been completed."

"Oh my, you've really worked hard!"

Garp laughed as he scratched his head, only to suddenly notice that Lynn was still sleeping nearby.

"You disrespectful brat, wake up!"

Garp roared and kicked Lynn flying with one foot.

Lynn groggily opened his eyes in midair. The instant he saw Garp, he more or less understood what had happened.

"Is the fight starting?"

Excitement flashed in Lynn's eyes. He twisted himself around in midair, landed on both feet, and charged straight at Garp!

However, Garp merely dug at his ear, then suddenly sidestepped and let Lynn rush past him.

"You really are an impatient brat!"

Garp beckoned at Lynn.

"Listen quietly. I'm going to explain the training rules."

As he spoke, Garp walked over to the gathered Marines.

"Rokushiki are techniques that transcend the limits of the human body."

"To learn Rokushiki, you must first train your physical strength to its limit. Only after touching the bottleneck of that limit will you be qualified to surpass it!"

"This island is very special. It is divided into two areas: grassland and forest."

"The grassland is absolutely safe, while the forest is filled with all sorts of ferocious beasts, including some exceptionally savage monsters."

"What you need to do is rest on the grassland, then train your physical strength to its limit in the forest and thereby comprehend Rokushiki. Understood?"

The fifty elite Marines present saluted at once.

"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp!"

Afterward, training for Rokushiki officially began under the adjutant's command.

Yet Lynn, who had heard all of this, did not move. He stared in Garp's direction.

Garp raised an eyebrow. "Brat, if you want to comprehend Haki, you need to challenge the monsters in the forest along with them!"

"I do intend to challenge a monster."

Lynn brought his fists together and stared unwaveringly at Garp. He grinned excitedly. "But isn't the strongest monster right in front of me?"

"Haha, what a confident brat!"

Garp smiled helplessly, then slowly moved his feet and drew a circle roughly ten meters in diameter on the ground with his toe.

"Brat, look carefully at this circle."

Garp pointed beneath his feet. "Use all your strength. The instant you knock me out of this circle will be the instant your Haki awakens!"

Bang!

Whoosh!

Before Garp had even finished speaking, Lynn had already stomped the ground and shot forward, charging at Garp with astonishing speed.

Come fight!

Later that day.

On another Uninhabited Island in the East Blue.

Three pirate ships were moored by the shore.

Their hulls swayed quietly with the waves, and occasional whispers drifted from aboard.

The three most terrifying Great Pirates in the East Blue were meeting on this island!

Hundred Plans!

Clown!

Commodore!

On this tiny Uninhabited Island, the villains of the East Blue had gathered together!