"Boom!"
With a tremendous crash, a huge figure fell from the sky like a meteor, slamming into the beach in front of Lorne and sending sand billowing everywhere.
As the dust cleared, an old man wearing a dog-head hat and a coat emblazoned with "Justice," with half a rice cracker still in his mouth, was studying him curiously.
Having just unleashed his ultimate move, Lorne was briefly weakened, and the golden aura around his body had already faded.
The moment he saw that unmistakable dog-head hat, he recognized the newcomer: the Marine hero, Monkey D. Garp!
Yet Garp merely glanced at him, seemingly uninterested, before turning his gaze to Masha, who lay on the ground behind him.
When he saw Masha's face clearly, Garp's carefree expression instantly turned to surprise.
"Oh! Isn't this Masha, the toughest and most stubborn little girl who served under me back then?" Garp picked his nose and strode over. "What are you doing hiding away in a place like the East Blue to retire?"
Lorne froze.
He looked at Garp in disbelief, then at his adoptive mother on the ground.
With Lorne's support, Masha struggled into a sitting position, a complicated, bitter smile appearing on her face. "Vice Admiral... Garp."
"What do you mean, Vice Admiral? Call me Mr. Garp!" Garp squatted down without ceremony and checked Masha's injuries, then frowned. "That old injury acting up again? You really never stop making me worry."
As he spoke, he pulled a small medicine bottle from inside his coat and tossed it over.
Masha did not catch it. Instead, she used every ounce of her strength to grab Garp's trouser leg, her eyes full of pleading. "Vice Admiral! It doesn't matter what happens to me. But this child... you've seen his talent for yourself. He shouldn't be buried away on this little island! Please... please take him to Marine Headquarters! Only there can he become truly strong!"
Lorne's heart sank.
"I'm not going!" He refused without a second thought, shielding Masha even more tightly. "Screw the damn Marines! I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying on the island to protect Mom!"
Lorne had been an orphan in his previous life. He loved this feeling of having a family, and he did not want to leave Masha's side again, not even for a moment.
"Hahahaha!" Rather than getting angry at his words, Garp laughed so hard that tears nearly came out.
He stood and patted Lorne's shoulder with enough force to make him stagger.
"You've got backbone! That's Masha's son for you!" Garp grinned broadly, showing a mouthful of white teeth. "But you don't get a say in this!"
"As Masha's son, that makes you my grandson, too! How could a grandson of mine hole up in a little place like the East Blue?"
The moment he finished speaking, the hand Garp had seemingly rested so casually on Lorne's shoulder abruptly tightened, while his other hand clenched into a fist.
"This is my Fist of Love, a welcoming gift for my new grandson!"
"Oh, no!"
Lorne's pupils contracted sharply as an unprecedented sense of danger enveloped him. Without thinking, he crossed his arms and concentrated all his strength into them, trying to block.
But in the face of absolute power, every technique seemed utterly helpless.
"Thud!"
With a dull thud, Garp's fist landed squarely on the top of Lorne's head.
That irresistible force instantly shattered all his defenses. Stars swam before his eyes, and it felt as though an actual huge lump had risen on his head. Then his consciousness plunged into boundless darkness.
His final thought before passing out was, That old bastard... that fucking hurts...
As she watched Lorne slump limply to the ground, Masha showed no worry. Instead, she smiled with relief.
She picked up a bulging bundle she had prepared long ago from beside her and pushed it into Garp's hands.
"Vice Admiral, these are Lorne's changes of clothes... I'm leaving this child in your care."
"Don't worry. He's my grandson. I've got his back!"
Laughing heartily, Garp picked up the unconscious Lorne with one hand as though he were a chick, then effortlessly hauled him and the bundle aboard the Dog-Head Warship.
When Lorne woke again, he found himself lying in a medical room aboard the warship. What was done was done. Outside the window, clouds raced backward over an endless sea.
"Awake, brat?"
Garp's voice came from the doorway. He was chomping away at a piece of roast meat larger than Lorne's face.
"I told your mom you'd come back for her once you became an Admiral," Garp said indistinctly through his mouthful. "But before that, we need to make a detour to Mount Colubo in the Goa Kingdom. I've got to check on my other two troublesome grandsons."
Ace... Luffy...
Those two names flashed through Lorne's mind.
"We've got nothing else to do before we reach our destination." Garp finished the last bite of meat and licked his fingers, still wanting more. His eyes shone as he looked at Lorne, like Columbus discovering the New World.
"I'm very interested in that constitution of yours. Come on, let me give you some proper 'special training' and see where your limits lie!"
For Lorne, the voyage that followed became nothing short of hellish training in taking a beating.
Garp was completely unreasonable. His daily "training" consisted of beating Lorne in all sorts of ways. No Haki, just pure physical attacks.
Yet the more Garp hit him, the more astonished he became. This brat was an absolute monster!
No matter how much force he used, even if he broke Lorne's bones and made his internal organs bleed, as long as he gave him a little time to catch his breath, the boy could use that terrifying recovery ability to return to normal in a short time, then glare at him even more fiercely.
The lower his health, the faster he regenerated! He was like a cockroach that simply would not die!
"Hahahaha! I've struck gold! I've really struck gold!"
After punching Lorne into the deck yet again and watching him climb out of the hole on his own, Garp clenched his fists in excitement and burst into heartfelt laughter.
"Brat, you're even more fun than the giants of Elbaf! Before we reach Headquarters, let me really develop that monstrous body of yours!"
Watching Garp rub his hands together, his face brimming with excitement, Lorne could not help shuddering.
He had a feeling his days of suffering had probably only just begun.
Before you continue