Will Garp Take a Disciple?

"Ha ha ha, don't be so serious. Go eat!"

The newcomer was a sturdy old man. Though his hair was white, his broad chest and well-developed muscles were no weaker than those of a man in his prime. His dark skin radiated health.

He was the famed "Marine Hero," Iron Fist Garp!

Hearing that voice, nearly identical to the one he remembered, Loa immediately looked up.

"Monkey D. Garp?"

There were three things in the entire P world that Loa was most curious about.

First, what trump cards the Dragon People had that allowed them to maintain their ruling status.

Second, how exactly this world's geography had come to be!

Third,

Just how strong was Iron Fist Garp?

From what he had said after Akainu killed Ace during the Summit War, it was clear that Garp at the time had the ability to beat Sakazuki to death. He had even told Sengoku to stop him, afraid he would not be able to hold himself back.

At that level of strength, who would dare dismiss Garp's words as the barking of a defeated dog?

Akainu was a full-fledged Admiral, hailed as the Navy's strongest combat power. If Garp was afraid he might accidentally beat him to death, just how strong was Garp?

So Loa was genuinely curious about Garp, even more so than he was about uncovering the secrets of the D. Family.

"Vice Admiral Garp!"

While Loa was lost in thought, Arudo stood up straight and saluted.

Other than the three Admirals who had also come out of the Recruit Camp, the person Arudo admired most was Iron Fist Garp.

He was the great hero who had personally captured the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. Arudo had grown up listening to his legends.

For the three Admirals, Arudo felt aspirational respect. But for Garp, it was pure, wholehearted worship.

Seeing Arudo trembling with uncontrollable excitement, how could Loa not know what he was thinking? But Loa was also certain that Arudo did not know Dragon, the man the government had labeled "the world's worst criminal," was the son of his idol.

A strange smile curled across Loa's lips as he considered whether to spoil that little fact.

At that moment, Garp waved for the crowd to disperse and walked to the serving window. "Ah, you're the chef today, Marcus? Then the usual. Give me a serving."

Marcus was the uncle who had served Loa and Arudo their food. Hearing Garp's words, he pulled a long face. "Well, Vice Admiral Garp, you may need to wait a while."

Garp had his own residence in Marineford, but living alone, he certainly could not cook. He normally ate all three meals in the military cafeteria.

"Hm? Why?" Garp asked curiously. Then he noticed that the counter, inside and out, had been cleaned spotless! He was instantly stunned. "Hey, hey, Marcus, it's still early. You're already done for the day? There's still a whole bunch of brats behind us who haven't eaten their fill!"

"How could I be done for the day?" Marcus defended himself weakly, pointing at Loa and Arudo. "Those two over there took all the food that had just been prepared. You know I don't allow food to sit around and go cold. I always cook according to the cafeteria's traffic, but they took everything that had just been made."

"Oh? Something like that happened?" Garp turned around and looked at Arudo, who was peeking at him from the corner of his eye with hands trembling in excitement, and at the young man sitting opposite Arudo, stuffing himself with food and drink.

There were clearly only two people, yet they had taken up an entire table. The table was piled high with food, all of it for the two of them.

That kid must be the one Kuzan has been teaching lately, right? Garp thought.

When word first spread that Kuzan was personally training a recruit, everyone had thought it was a joke.

A Navy Admiral teaching a recruit? What kind of joke was that? What could a recruit possibly learn? They were probably still just running laps to build their bodies.

But as news gradually spread from the Elite Camp, along with the explosions that rang out across the plaza every dusk and the ice shards flying everywhere, everyone slowly accepted the unbelievable information.

Garp had only learned of Loa after the latter's first level-up since arriving at headquarters. That inexplicable aura had been too overwhelming; even Garp had been affected by it.

"Right, didn't Sengoku say yesterday that the only Silverback Great Ape on Trial Island had been killed? He even had Haisoken and Onigumo go capture another one!"

Garp recalled what had happened at yesterday's meeting. At the time, he had eaten too many rice crackers and gotten thirsty, so he had casually overheard a few words while looking for water.

Thinking of this, Garp became very curious about what abilities Christopher Loa possessed to make both Zephyr and Kuzan view him so highly.

"Marcus, bring mine over when it's ready!" Garp called out to Marcus, then slowly walked over to Loa's table.

Arudo had been watching Garp the whole time. Seeing him approach, he flung aside his chopsticks and shot to his feet, splattering fried rice all over Loa's face.

"V-Vice Admiral Garp!"

Loa wordlessly brushed away the grains of rice, then lazily stood up and saluted as well. "Vice Admiral Garp, hello!"

No matter how curious he was, eating was more important!

Arudo was obviously not a qualified foodie. Faced with his idol, he had directly abandoned his food. Aside from despising him for it, Loa could only go along with the local customs.

Though this was the cafeteria and they did not need to salute an officer here, the man before them was the Navy Hero, Monkey D. Garp. If Loa really treated him casually, he would bet tomorrow's dinner that someone would teach him a lesson within four hours.

Including, but not limited to, headquarters Vice Admirals like Momonga.

Seeing Loa's lazy appearance, Garp's gaze deepened. He really is Kuzan's disciple. He's learned that temperament completely.

Though he thought that, Garp said something different aloud. "Ha ha ha ha, what spirited youngsters! Not bad! Being able to eat is a good thing!"

As he spoke, he patted Arudo's belly, then coughed awkwardly and changed the subject. "You're Arudo, right? Zephyr thinks highly of you. Last time—"

Grrr~

Arudo and Loa, who had been listening to his lecture, froze in bafflement as they watched Garp instantly fall asleep and begin snoring. Loa's thoughts roared like ten thousand galloping horses.

"Fuck!!! You actually fell asleep! How the hell did you learn such an unscientific skill?!"

Pop~

The snot bubble burst, and Garp continued as if nothing had happened, without even changing his tone. "Last time, Zephyr said that as long as your speed keeps up, you can graduate. Well, anyway, among all these Elite Camp classes, there have only been a few who could use Armament Haki before graduating. You're a genius! Even if you apply to graduate now, he can't do anything about it. Ha ha ha ha."

Though Garp had only made a casual joke at the end, Arudo still did not relax in the slightest.

He stomped down hard, crushing the wooden clog on his foot. Loa even saw the bones in his bowl tremble twice.

Saluting again, Arudo said excitedly, "Yes, I understand!"

So what exactly did you understand? Why can't I make sense of any of that?!

Loa frantically complained inwardly. Then his eyes suddenly met Garp's, and both discovered that the other's eyes were filled with helplessness.

This kid is kind of interesting. Garp thought calmly, waving for Arudo to sit down. Then he looked at Loa, his direct gaze seeming as though it wanted to see straight through him.

"Hey, you're Loa, right?" Without waiting for Loa to answer, Garp continued, "According to Zephyr, you're the most gifted among these recent batches of recruits, but you don't look like much!"

After saying that, he flicked out a booger with his finger.

Loa watched Garp fool around with an unruffled expression. Though he did not know why Garp was putting him down, considering the man's unreliable personality, Loa remained completely calm.

Among the D. Family, Garp's branch was absolutely an oddity! Whatever strange thing he did, there was no need to be surprised.

But it would be too rude not to answer. After thinking briefly, Loa replied, "Because I'm still a recruit, you know. Parenthetical smile~"

"What does 'parenthetical smile' mean?" Garp choked on the phrase. His hand trembled, and his fingernail dug painfully into his nostril, nearly bringing tears to his eyes. After a pause, he decided not to dwell on Loa's wording and directly revealed his purpose.

"Well~ whatever. Let me ask you, kid. Do you want to become this old man's disciple?"