Ace bit into the meat, and the aroma of fat exploded in his mouth.
He stared hard at Lorne, his provocative gaze clearly saying, I'm eating this, and you can't stop me!
"Tastes all right," Ace mumbled, holding his neck rigidly straight, refusing to let even a trace of enjoyment show.
The atmosphere at the table instantly turned incredibly strange.
Luffy and Garp stared dumbfounded, still frozen in their meat-snatching poses as they watched the steak rapidly disappear into Ace's mouth.
"Aaaaaah! My meat!" Luffy's jaw nearly hit the floor as he stared tearfully at the empty plate.
"Guh... this brat..." Garp froze for half a second, then burst into earth-shaking laughter.
"Gahahahaha! Well done, Ace! Now that's a man!"
Garp slapped Ace on the back, nearly knocking the meat he had just swallowed back out.
"If you want something, use your fists to take it! Remember this feeling!"
Ace coughed violently from the slap, his face turning crimson, but said nothing. He merely stuffed the rest of the steak into his mouth with stubborn determination.
Lorne watched the farce, his animal ears twitching. Without another word, he picked up his knife and fork again and leisurely worked on his own portion.
Dinner ended amid that chaotic yet inexplicably harmonious atmosphere.
The mountain bandits drank themselves under the table, while Garp belched and picked his teeth contentedly.
"All right, brats." Garp rose, his towering figure casting a broad shadow. "You've had your fill. That's it for today. At first light tomorrow, the real hellish training begins!"
He grinned, his white teeth looking particularly sinister under the light, his smile brimming with anticipation for the spectacle and all the trouble it promised.
Ace and Luffy involuntarily shuddered.
Even Dadan and her bandits cast them sympathetic looks.
Only Lorne's eyes flashed with excitement.
Early the next morning.
Dawn was barely breaking, and Mount Colubo still slumbered in the tranquil morning mist.
Boom!!!
An explosive crash rang out!
A fist smashed the already dilapidated wooden door of the bandits' hideout to splinters from outside!
Wood chips flew everywhere! Garp's towering figure blocked the doorway, shutting out all the light.
"You little brats! Get your asses up!" Garp's thunderous roar made the entire wooden house buzz. "Training starts now!"
Luffy jolted awake in fright and sprang out of his hammock. His rubber head hit the ceiling with a thunk, then sprang back with a "boing."
Ace woke in an instant, reached beneath his pillow for a steel pipe, and stared warily at the doorway.
Lorne was the calmest of them all. Already dressed, he sat beside the window as though he had been waiting for this moment all along.
"Grandpa! You're tearing the house down!" Luffy protested loudly, rubbing the lump on his head.
"Too much yapping!" Garp seized Luffy by the back of his collar, picked Ace up with his other hand, and strode outside. "Lorne, follow me!"
A short while later, the three were brought back to yesterday's clearing.
The morning air in the jungle was slightly cool.
But Ace and Luffy found no comfort in it. Cold sweat broke out as they looked at Garp standing before them, arms folded and an irritated look on his face.
"Starting today, I'm going to turn all three of you into the strongest Marines!" Garp's voice was a command.
"I don't wanna be a Marine! I'm gonna be the Pirate King!" Luffy immediately retorted.
"Me too!" Ace shouted after him.
Bam! Bam!
Garp brought down two punches, and two fresh, enormous lumps instantly rose on their heads.
"Talk about your dreams once you can survive me!" Garp flexed his wrists, his joints crackling explosively. "Now listen up! The training is simple. You're going to fight me!"
He grinned, and the old man who had been so laid-back a second earlier underwent an explosive change in presence!
A ferocious aura erupted from him, pressing down so hard they could barely breathe!
"All three of you, come at me together. If you can touch me even once, you win!"
The instant he finished speaking, Garp vanished!
"!?"
Ace's and Luffy's pupils contracted sharply.
The next second, Garp's voice exploded beside their ears.
"Too slow!"
A fist carrying terrifying power rapidly grew larger before their eyes!
This punch was completely different from yesterday's knocks! Before the fist even reached them, the wind cut like knives!
"Fist of Love: Indiscriminate Barrage!"
"Aaaaaah!"
"Damn it!"
Ace and Luffy could not even react before the violent wind from his punches sent them flying. They rolled several times across the ground and only stopped when they hit trees, screaming all the while.
The two lay sprawled on the ground, pain wracking their bodies, without even the strength to stand.
This was the strength of the Hero of the Marines. Even when he was merely playing around, it was enough to plunge them into despair.
Garp's attack did not stop.
His indiscriminate assault had three targets!
After sending Ace and Luffy flying, that unstoppable iron fist hurtled straight toward Lorne, who remained where he stood!
Facing a punch that could shatter rock, Lorne's eyes blazed with a terrifying light!
Instead of retreating, he advanced!
He stepped forward, planting his feet in the ground like nails!
"Bring it on!"
With a low shout, every muscle in his body contracted inward in an instant, and a metallic sheen surfaced on his skin.
"Iron Body: Adamant!"
Lorne crossed his arms in front of himself and met Garp's iron fist head-on!
Clang!!!!
A piercing metallic crash exploded, loud enough to seemingly overturn all of Mount Colubo!
A terrifying shock wave surged outward from the two! Deep furrows were plowed into the ground, the surrounding trees were uprooted, and shattered stones and dirt flew through the air!
Garp's fist pressed hard against Lorne's arms, unable to advance another inch!
Meanwhile, the ground beneath Lorne shattered inch by inch as the tremendous force drove him backward. His legs plowed two deep furrows through the earth. After sliding more than ten meters, he thrust both legs down and actually forced himself to a stop!
"Hmm?"
Garp raised an eyebrow. He could feel the force of his punch being absorbed by the boy in some strange way, then rebounding.
This boy had actually taken one of his punches head-on!
"Hey! You two! What are you standing around for?!"
Lorne lowered his blocking arms and turned to roar at Ace and Luffy on the ground.
"Get behind me!"
His voice carried an unquestionable force.
Ace and Luffy were both stunned.
They stared at the figure standing before them. Though he was not particularly burly, his back seemed incomparably imposing at that moment.
"Oh?"
Garp withdrew his fist and watched the scene with interest.
He spread his mouth in a ferocious grin and flexed his wrists again.
"Gahahahaha! Interesting! Very interesting! You want to be a punching bag and protect those two?"
Garp's gaze turned serious, and an aura even more terrifying than before rose from him!
"Fine! I'll grant your wish!"
Before his words had faded, Garp vanished again!
This time, his only target was Lorne!
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
Fists moving too fast to see rained down on Lorne like a raging storm!
Lorne's nerves were stretched to their limit. He abandoned every unnecessary movement and focused entirely on defense!
He was a shield! A human wall forged from flesh and blood, blocking everything for Ace and Luffy behind him!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every one of Garp's punches struck with a piercing crash, as though hitting steel.
Lorne was driven back again and again. With every punch he took, a large crater exploded beneath his feet.
He could feel the bones in his arms screaming.
Crack!
With a sharp snap, a rib bone in his left arm was broken by one of Garp's heavy punches!
Agony struck!
But the next second, a warm current swept through him. The break tingled and itched, and the bone actually healed within a single breath!
Then came torn muscles, followed by even faster regeneration!
Passive: Battlefield Bravery!
Under the extreme pressure of a powerhouse on Garp's level, the monstrous regenerative power in Lorne's bloodline was fully awakened!
"Is this guy... a monster?!"
In the distance, Ace stared fixedly at the center of the battlefield.
He saw with his own eyes as Garp punched Lorne's chest inward, only for it to return to normal the next second. He saw Lorne's arm bend at an unnatural angle, then knit back together in the blink of an eye.
That speed of recovery was no longer human!
Meanwhile, in Lorne's mind, the Grit Gauge that represented his trump card remained a golden shade on the verge of overflowing under Garp's pounding!
Pain accumulated, and strength grew with it!
Lorne felt his blood burning, an unprecedented sense of power filling his body. Far from being afraid, he grew more excited the longer they fought!
"Gahahahaha! Good! Good! That's it!"
Garp laughed louder and louder, growing engrossed in the fight, his punches becoming heavier and heavier. "Can you still stand, boy?!"
Lorne gritted his teeth and braced against another heavy punch, his entire body sinking into the ground.
He raised his head, his face covered in wounds, yet his lips spread into a crazed grin.
Ace watched that figure from behind.
That figure covered in wounds, yet stubbornly refusing to fall.
That figure shielding them from every storm with his own flesh and blood.
Ace's eyes reddened.
He remembered the despair of being captured by pirates, remembered his helplessness when Sabo died. He had always thought he was strong and wanted to prove he was stronger than anyone.
But only today did he realize that true strength was not about proving anything, but having enough power to protect.
Just like the man before him.
Ace's lips moved, and a form of address squeezed out of his throat, so softly that only he could hear it.
"...Big brother."
At the center of the battlefield.
Lorne felt his body had reached its limit. Every muscle was howling.
But the fighting spirit in his mind boiled as never before!
He raised his head, looked at Garp looming before him like a demon god, and spread his mouth into a blood-filled grin. With all his strength, he roared defiantly:
"Hit harder, old man! My mom hits harder than that!"
Before you continue