Garp

The next morning.

Bulu bulu bulu~

"Carl, the phone. Go answer it—it should be for you."

Carl opened her bleary eyes and saw the lecherous-looking "Chrysanthemum" Den Den Mushi. She did not even need to think about it; it had to be Kizaru.

"Hello, Admiral Kizaru. Mm-hmm, I understand. Then I just need to wait one more day at Marine Headquarters. All right, all right, goodbye."

Carl hung up and yawned, pulling Monica, who was wearing a camisole nightgown, into her arms.

"What is it? Are you going on another mission so soon?"

Carl idly played with Monica's curls and sighed. "Yeah! But I can still rest today. I won't be leaving until tomorrow, so I can spend one more day with you."

Monica smiled sweetly and kissed Carl on the cheek, only to feel something beginning to awaken.

"You kept at it all night yesterday. How do you still have so much energy?"

Carl looked utterly innocent. Who told you to insist on being the knight? Besides, with the dual buffs of [Still as a Virgin, Quick as a Rabbit], she was not even holding back, all right?

Training grounds.

Zephyr looked at the empty field and smiled. His students each had their own futures ahead of them, and as their teacher, he was naturally happy for them.

"Hey! Zephyr, you really haven't lost your vigor! I heard you killed a pirate with a bounty of 300 million Beli a few days ago?"

Hearing that irreverent voice, Zephyr could not help but grin. "You bastard, your vacation's over?"

Garp approached with a hearty laugh, picking his nose. "It ended ages ago. I've just been busy chasing down that bastard Red-Haired lately."

The two bumped fists, then each found a seat and crossed their legs.

"I heard you trained another fine disciple?"

Zephyr grinned slightly. He had not wanted to show off, but Garp had insisted on pushing him...

"Hahaha, how did you know?"

Garp curled his lip. "I saw it when I was looking for rice crackers in Sengoku's office. It's that kid named Carl, right?"

"That's right. She's the most talented new-generation Marine I've encountered in the past decade. Given time, she'll surely achieve great things."

Garp looked at Zephyr in astonishment. "Such high praise? Is that kid a Logia too?"

Zephyr chuckled. He had known Garp would not have looked carefully. If he had, he would not have asked such a question.

"No, she's a Paramecia."

Garp scratched his head. A Paramecia, just like his troublesome grandson.

The moment Garp thought of Luffy, anger rose in his heart. Damn it, what kind of spell had that bastard Red-Haired cast on Luffy? The boy was dead set on becoming a pirate. No matter how badly Garp beat him, he would not change his mind.

"Not an ordinary Paramecia?"

"That's right. The Devil Fruit she ate is called the Holy Light Fruit. It can release Holy Light, which heals and strengthens the body. More importantly, it can affect other people as well."

Garp's eyes widened. "What?! There's an ability like that in this world?"

Garp had spent his entire life in the Marines and seen countless ability users, yet he had never heard of such a Devil Fruit power. Just hearing about it made it sound perfect for the Marines.

"Exactly! During internship missions in past years, there were always a few students who died at pirates' hands. But with Carl around, there wasn't a single student casualty in this internship mission."

"On top of that, with Carl's healing and enhancement, they wiped out two pirate crews. One student was shot more than twenty times, and Carl still managed to save him."

"Now you understand just how powerful her ability is, right?"

Garp sucked in a breath and hurriedly asked, "Does that kid have a posting yet? If not, let me take her!"

"Hmph." Zephyr sneered disdainfully. "Too late! You have no idea how sought-after Carl is!"

"Then who is she following now? Akainu?"

Zephyr shook his head. "No. Akainu invited her, but she refused. Unless something unexpected happens, she should be reporting to Kizaru."

"Kizaru?! Are you sure?"

Garp nearly dropped his jaw. He had assumed it would be either Akainu or Aokiji. Who would have thought it would be that unfathomable Kizaru?

"Sigh... it's a long story..."

Zephyr then told Garp about how Kizaru had discovered Carl's ability and everything that followed, enjoying the look of surprise on Garp's face.

After an unknown amount of time, Garp grew increasingly curious about Carl and simply said, "Zephyr, why don't you call Carl over and let me have a look? I'd like to experience that Holy Light myself!"

"I'll try..."

Crescent Bay. Carl, who was strolling through the streets with Monica, took out her Den Den Mushi and held it in front of her.

"Teacher Zephyr?"

"That's right, it's me. Are you still at Marine Headquarters? If you are, come to the training grounds. Someone wants to see you."

Carl froze for a moment. Since she had nothing else to do anyway, she might as well go.

"Okay, Teacher Zephyr. I'll be right there."

After putting away the Den Den Mushi, Carl took Monica's hand. "Come on, let's go together!"

Monica hurriedly waved her hands. "Th-That wouldn't be appropriate, would it?"

"Hey, what are you afraid of? Teacher Zephyr isn't going to eat you. Come on, come on!"

Inside the training grounds.

The sharp-eyed Garp spotted a handsome, cheerful young woman with her arm around a blonde girl as they walked in. He quickly asked, "Zephyr, is that Carl?"

"That's her."

"Teacher Zephyr... uh, Vice Admiral Garp!"

Carl saw that her guess had indeed been correct. On the way over, she had vaguely suspected that the person who wanted to see her was most likely the Marine hero Garp. She had already met most of the Marine higher-ups, but Garp was the only one she had heard of without ever seeing in person.

To be honest, she had always been curious about what kind of person Marine hero Garp was. After all, the thing she heard most often was his exploits.

Today, she had finally met him in person. He was just as she remembered: tall and powerfully built. Even with a head full of silver hair, he could not conceal his formidable presence. He truly was the perfect example of someone who only grew more formidable with age.

"Hahahaha! I am Garp. Zephyr has been bragging quite a bit about your ability!"

"Uh... hehehe, Teacher Zephyr flatters me. I'm just an ordinary Marine."

Garp and Zephyr exchanged smiles. Garp stood and patted Carl on the shoulder. "Kid, I won't waste words. Let me experience that Holy Light of yours, all right?"

"No problem."

Carl immediately condensed a ball of Holy Light and merged it into Garp's body. Garp closed his eyes and felt it carefully.

After a long while, Garp slowly opened his eyes and looked at Carl with a complicated expression. He felt a faint sense of emotion in his heart. No wonder Zephyr valued Carl so highly. This was exactly the kind of ability the Marines needed.

"Carl, work hard. Don't let your ability down."