She slammed down three chipped wooden bowls onto the rough-hewn table, followed by a ladle full of steaming, lumpy brown stew. It smelled… earthy. Very earthy. Possibly containing actual earth. Ace wrinkled his nose but took a bowl without complaint. Luffy, naturally, grabbed the biggest bowl and started inhaling its contents before it even stopped steaming. SLUUURP! GOBBLE!
Garp plopped down onto a sturdy crate that served as his chair, gesturing for me to sit on a rickety stool opposite him. Dadan slammed a fourth bowl, slightly smaller, in front of me with a grunt. I murmured a quiet "Thank you," and hesitantly picked up the rough wooden spoon.
The stew tasted… well, it tasted brown. Meaty chunks of indeterminate origin floated alongside lumpy root vegetables in a thick gravy. It wasn't poisoned, at least. After years of scavenging, eating questionable things found washed ashore, or 'borrowing' rations, it was practically a feast. I ate slowly, deliberately, mimicking Ace's wary pace rather than Luffy's vacuum-cleaner approach. My eyes kept flicking up to Garp. He ate with gusto, loud slurps echoing Luffy's, but his gaze kept drifting towards me, thoughtful, heavy. The easy camaraderie he shared with Ace and Luffy felt different when directed at me; it was weighted with unspoken history, with the fire and blood of Hi-no-Kuni.
Luffy finished his bowl in approximately thirty seconds, banged it on the table, and yelled, "MORE!" Ace kicked him under the table. Garp chuckled. Dadan grumbled but refilled Luffy's bowl. The mundane act of eating felt surreal, suspended between the shock of reunion and the promise of Garp's 'hellish' training.
After the bowls were scraped clean (mostly by Luffy, who looked ready for a third helping), and Dadan was busy scrubbing the pot with sand and muttered curses, a tense silence fell again. Ace seemed content to brood near the doorway, polishing a metal pipe he carried. Luffy was picking his nose, looking bored now that the food was gone. Garp leaned back on his crate, watching me.
Now. Now was the time. Before the training started, before things got complicated in a different way. He needed to know.
I took a deep breath, the scent of woodsmoke and stew heavy in my lungs. "Ji-san," I began, my voice low but clear. He straightened slightly, his attention sharpening. "That day... on the island... you told me to eat the fruit."
His expression tightened. "Yeah. The glowing one. Figured it was important if the old Chief kept it hidden."
"It was," I confirmed. I hesitated, unsure how to explain the power thrumming beneath my skin, the strange warmth that sometimes felt like wings wanting to unfurl. "It's called the Tenshi Tenshi no Mi. Model: Michael."
Garp's eyes widened almost comically. He choked on the swig of water he'd just taken, sputtering. Cough! Hack! "The what?! Tenshi... Angel?! Model: Michael?!" He stared at me as if I'd just sprouted horns and a halo simultaneously. "Are you serious, kid?! A Mythical Zoan?! One of those?!"
His reaction was even stronger than I'd expected. "One of those?" I echoed, confused.
Garp leaned forward, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial rumble, glancing quickly at Ace and Luffy who were now looking over, curiosity piqued by his outburst. "There are certain Devil Fruits, Akane... fruits the World Government wants erased from history even more than forbidden knowledge. Fruits they'd hunt across the four blues and the Grand Line to possess or destroy." He rubbed his chin, frowning deeply. "I knew they were after something on Hi-no-Kuni, but a Mythical Zoan of that caliber... damn." He paused, his gaze flicking towards Luffy, who was trying to stretch his finger up his nose further. Garp's eyes narrowed slightly. "They covet power like that. Like the Ope Ope no Mi, which can grant eternal youth... or like that ridiculous fruit Shanks' crew had..." He looked pointedly at Luffy's nose-picking finger, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. "...the Gomu Gomu no Mi."
Luffy blinked, pulling his finger out. "My fruit? Why?"
Garp waved a dismissive hand, though his expression remained serious. "Never you mind, brat! Point is, Akane, having that Angel fruit? That alone paints a bigger target on your back than eighty million beri ever could."
But that wasn't all. I reached under my cloak, my fingers finding the familiar shapes. First, I drew the Kaenken. Even in the dim hut, the blade seemed to absorb the light, its black, glass-like surface shimmering with latent heat. I laid it carefully on the rough table. Next, I pulled out the pouch containing the Sunstone Heart. The smooth, milky stone pulsed with a faint, rhythmic light, the intricate carvings seeming to shift subtly.
Garp stared at the items, his breath catching. He reached out a hesitant finger, tracing the edge of the Sunstone Heart. "And these... The Flame Sword... and the Sunstone...?" He looked up at me, his face grim, understanding dawning. "Your Grandpa Chief gave them to you."
I nodded mutely.
Garp leaned back, running a hand over his face with a heavy sigh. "No wonder," he murmured, his voice filled with a bleak certainty. "No wonder they issued a Buster Call." He looked at the artifacts, then at me, then seemed to stare into the distance, lost in thought. "The Sunstone Heart... Kaenken... and a fruit embodying divine justice... Akane," he said, his voice low and serious, "the World Government, the ones above the Marines, they've spent the better part of three hundred years searching for those specific items, especially that stone. Erasing any trace, silencing anyone who knew where they might be. Hi-no-Kuni..." He shook his head slowly. "Your island wasn't just declared a threat. It was the culmination of a centuries-long hunt. You weren't just survivors; you were guardians of things they fear more than anything."
The weight of his words settled over me, heavier than the sea itself. Three hundred years. My home wasn't just destroyed out of spite or random cruelty. It was erased for holding secrets, for guarding history. Grandpa's final words echoed in my mind. The Heart whispers truths... Why they fear Hi-no-Kuni...
The heavy silence stretched, thick with unspoken implications. Luffy looked confused. Ace looked thoughtful, processing the fragments he understood. Dadan watched Garp, wary.
Then, Garp slammed his fist onto the table, making the bowls jump. BANG! The serious mood shattered instantly. He grinned, a wild, almost feral look in his eyes. "Right! Enough history lessons!" He stood up abruptly, his massive frame filling the doorway. "Listen up, gaki-domo!" He pointed a thick finger at me, Ace, and Luffy.
With startling speed, he delivered three swift kicks, sending each of us tumbling out of the hut door and into the muddy clearing outside. WHAM! THUMP! OOF!
"Ow! What was that for, Gramps?!" Luffy complained, rubbing his backside.
Ace landed crouched, glaring daggers at Garp.
I stumbled, catching myself before I fell, the Kaenken bumping against my back.
Garp stood silhouetted in the doorway, cracking his knuckles with relish. "Training begins NOW! Bwahahahaha!" He laughed, the sound echoing through the quiet forest of Mt. Colubo. "Let's see if that eighty million beri bounty is worth anything more than firewood!"
The 'training' that followed made the warnings about ravines and tigers seem understated