An unusual bond between grandfather and grandson

As soon as the veteran finished speaking, Lorne's stomach let out an earth-shaking growl.

Without the slightest embarrassment, Lorne rubbed his stomach. "Got anything to eat?"

"..."

"Hahahaha!"

Garp's booming laughter came from inside the cabin.

Whoosh!

A slab of roast meat bigger than a washbasin flew through the air and struck Lorne squarely on the head.

"Eat first! Once you're full, we keep fighting!"

Lorne caught the roast as it slid down and sank his teeth into it.

Crunch!

Piping-hot juices burst in his mouth, and his eyes lit up.

Delicious!

He polished off the roast in a few bites, even crunching up the bone and swallowing it.

"Not enough!"

"More!"

"Hahahaha! Good lad! Your appetite rivals mine when I was young!" Garp walked out of the cabin carrying a whole roast pig, with a pig's trotter clenched between his teeth.

He plopped down on the cracked deck and tossed the roast pig in front of Lorne.

Without another word, Lorne tore off a hind leg with his bare hands and stuffed it into his mouth.

Garp didn't stand on ceremony either. He tore a large slab of ribs off the other side and crunched away.

The two sat facing each other on the battered deck, a roast pig between them, grease dripping from their mouths as they ate.

"Hey, that piece is mine!" Lorne slapped Garp's reaching hand away.

"Bullshit! It's my ship and my pig! I'll eat whichever piece I want!" Garp refused to back down and reached for the pig's leg in Lorne's hand instead.

"You-!"

Quick as a flash, Lorne stuffed the pig's leg into his mouth and swallowed it whole.

Garp's hand closed on empty air.

"You little brat!"

"You old bastard!"

Both reached out at once for the last glistening piece of pork belly.

Four hands tangled over that piece of pork belly.

Thump!

Garp punched Lorne on the head, then snatched the pork belly while he reeled from the pain and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Underhanded!" Lorne rubbed the fresh lump on his head, his eyes wide with fury.

"On the battlefield, there are only winners and losers! Nothing's underhanded!" Garp said indistinctly through the pork belly. "If you can't snatch it from me, that just means you're not fast enough!"

"...Just you wait."

Grinding his back teeth, Lorne looked toward the other side of the deck.

There, the chief petty officer was directing several cooks as they carried more food out of the cabin.

Roast fish, roast meat, bread, and fruit piled onto the deck, crate after crate.

"The vice admiral ordered us to bring out half the food reserves." The chief petty officer's face twitched. "Half... That's enough to feed the whole crew for three days..."

The food formed a small mountain.

Lorne and Garp moved at the same time.

They lunged at the mountain of food as though crazed with hunger.

"That fish is mine!"

"Let go! I saw it first!"

"Are you blind? My hand's already on it!"

"What good does touching it do? It only counts once it's in your mouth!"

Thump!

Another punch.

Lorne went flying, half a roast fish still clenched firmly between his teeth.

He flipped in midair, landed steadily, swallowed the fish, then turned and charged back.

Thump!

This time, he fought smarter, throwing a punch while grabbing food. As Garp blocked, he snatched an entire loaf of bread from under his hand.

"Hahaha! You're too slow, old man!"

"You little brat!" Rather than getting angry, Garp laughed even louder and swung a palm at him.

Lorne dodged sideways and scooped up another piece of roast meat.

They fought as they grabbed, and ate as they grabbed, the mountain of food shrinking before everyone's eyes.

The marines on both sides of the deck stared, dumbfounded.

"Is... is this training or dinner?" the rookie asked, scratching his head.

"Both." The veteran leaned against the railing, looking utterly drained of the will to live. "And neither."

"What do you mean?"

The veteran fell silent for a few seconds before forcing out, "I've served under Vice Admiral Garp for twelve years, and I've never seen him fight anyone over food."

The rookie froze.

The veteran continued, "When the vice admiral eats, he always keeps to himself and ignores everyone else. Have you ever seen him act so... so..."

He couldn't find the words to describe it.

"So much like a grandfather with his grandson?" Bogard appeared beside them, his expression complicated.

The veteran and the rookie both turned to look at him.

Arms folded across his chest, Bogard watched the old man and the boy in the middle of the deck trading blows over food. After a long while, he sighed.

"Look at the vice admiral now. Doesn't he look just like an old man who's finally gotten his wish for his grandson to eat with him?"

The deck fell silent.

Everyone looked at the old man, who was laughing more happily than ever.

Garp held a whole roast fish in one hand and swung the other at Lorne's head, cursing all the while, yet unable to suppress the grin on his face.

Lorne's mouth was stuffed with food, his cheeks bulging as he chewed and blocked Garp's palm with his fists, mumbling, "Old bastard, stop stealing my food."

They had fought all afternoon, nearly smashing the deck to pieces.

Now they were coming to blows over a piece of meat.

The mountain of food was wiped out.

Lorne rubbed his rounded belly as he lay on his back on the deck and let out a loud belch.

Garp sat leaning against the mast, picking his teeth with a satisfied look on his face.

"Old man," Lorne said, staring at the clouds overhead.

"Hmm?"

"You said earlier you wanted to recommend me to some guy called Sengoku."

"Yeah. What about it?"

"I'm not going."

"I wasn't asking your opinion."

"Then what's in it for me if I go?" Lorne rolled over onto his stomach on the deck.

"Fighting!" Garp picked his teeth, speaking as though it were only natural. "Marine Headquarters is full of strong fighters. Go there, and you'll have endless fights. Isn't that better than holing up in the East Blue?"

Lorne's animal ears perked up.

"Endless fights?"

"That's right!" Garp counted on his fingers. "The elite training camp at Marine Headquarters is full of brats around your age, each a better fighter than the last. Then there are the headquarters vice admirals. Any one of them would give you more than you could handle."

Lorne fell silent.

Marine Headquarters.

Admirals, vice admirals, an elite training camp...

That was where powerful fighters from all over the world gathered!

There was no better place to get stronger as quickly as possible!

"I have conditions," Lorne said.

"What makes you think you're in any position to set conditions?"

"I don't care. Are you going to listen or not?"

Garp rolled his eyes. "Go on."

"First, I'm not wearing that lousy uniform."

"...Suit yourself."

"Second, I won't take orders from anyone except you and my mom."

Garp's eyebrows rose. "Do you know what kind of place the Marines are? We have military discipline!"

"I don't care." Lorne stood firm. "I can help the Marines fight pirates, but no one gets to order me around. If anyone dares use military orders to push me around, I'll punch them."

"Try punching an admiral."

"If I can't beat them, I'll keep it in mind until I can. I'll punch them sooner or later."