"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts..."
Ark's eyes were filled with tears, a large bump swelling on his head. He struggled hard not to cry, glaring fiercely at the old man in front of him with a deeply resentful expression.
"What's wrong with being a Marine!"
Garp didn't care about his glare at all, flexing his iron fist that struck fear into pirates across the world, grinning widely. "Don't get cocky, brat."
The nearby Marine soldiers couldn't help but smile knowingly.
How many times was this now?
They still admired this kid named Ark. No matter how many times he was punched by Garp's iron fist, he never backed down from defying the Marine Hero.
"If only I could beat you..."
Ark muttered resentfully under his breath, the second half of his words barely audible. "I'd definitely smash you to pieces today, you damn old man."
He was currently in the training grounds of the Loguetown Marine base.
It wasn't that he had been persuaded by Garp to accept special training. Rather, the old man played dirty and didn't care where Ark was. If he said anything out of line, Garp would immediately hit him with his "Fist of Love."
Ark's pride couldn't bear being beaten up by this annoying old man in front of his friends. So from that day on, he had no choice but to come to the Marine base for daily training.
"What did you say?"
Garp cracked his knuckles, staring intently at Ark, who was muttering under his breath.
He had heard the first half, but based on Ark's attitude toward him, he could guess the second half wasn't anything good.
Ark turned his head away stubbornly.
Garp grinned and changed tactics. "Do you want to get stronger?"
After all these days, he had grown more and more fond of Ark's unyielding personality.
His Fist of Love didn't just terrify pirates. Even Marine soldiers feared it like the plague.
Getting hit by it was way too painful.
But Ark had taken more than one punch. In fact, he was hit several times almost every day.
The last one this stubborn and hard-headed was his grandson Luffy... No, maybe it was that even more stubborn brat, Ace.
Garp was lost in thought, wondering which of the two was more hard-headed, when Ark noticed his distraction and a bold idea popped into his head.
"Ha!"
Ark suddenly threw a punch filled with all the resentment he had built up over these days, fueled by endless anger.
The punch landed squarely on Garp's right cheek.
Garp didn't even flinch, his gaze slowly lowering to Ark's face, his grin stretching ear to ear. "Brat, you're interesting."
The other Marine soldiers who witnessed Ark sneak-attacking Garp—and actually succeeding—were stunned.
Marine Hero Vice Admiral Garp... got punched by a kid?
"I'm not scared of you!"
Having vented his anger, Ark glared back fearlessly.
"Ha ha ha ha..."
Garp burst into laughter.
Now he was even more impressed with this brat.
What Ark lacked was just an opportunity.
If he could be persuaded to join the Marines and handed over to Zephyr for training, he might become a future Marine prodigy.
As a Marine, fearing the strong was not a good thing.
"Vice Admiral Garp..."
Smoker walked over, a cigar in his mouth.
He had also witnessed Ark punching Garp. What could he say? He could only silently give the kid props.
"If you want to beat me, then join the Marines."
Garp placed a large hand on Ark's head, forcibly turning him around before kicking him in the butt and sending him flying.
"I'd rather die than join the Marines!"
Ark shouted in humiliated anger, scrambling up from the ground and running off.
Willpower was one thing, but pain was still something to fear.
Smoker watched Ark run out of the training grounds, not bothering whether he would cause trouble in the base. He turned back and said in a low voice, "Latest news. That guy defeated the Warlord Gecko Moria."
"Oh? Interesting."
Garp grinned, punching his palm. "It's been a long time since someone this amusing appeared on the seas."
The Seven Warlords were a trump card the World Government used to control the seas.
Reddy defeating Moria was no different from slapping the World Government hard across the face.
By convention, the World Government would extend an invitation for Reddy to replace Moria as the new Warlord.
But Garp knew that was wishful thinking.
He had long guessed the World Government's scheme from the moment they ordered Marine Headquarters to issue a bounty for Reddy.
But what he found even more interesting was what his old friend Vice Admiral Tsuru told him... Reddy had a fiery temper and would definitely retaliate.
Sure enough, Reddy's counterattack was swift.
He had directly taken down one of the Warlords.
Garp also recognized Reddy's intelligence.
Among the current Warlords, Moria was the weakest and easiest to deal with.
With the combat power Reddy's crew had already displayed, defeating Moria was no challenge at all.
"Vice Admiral Garp..."
Smoker hesitated.
Garp scoffed. "You're worried that guy will come to Loguetown to cause trouble?"
Smoker was speechless, replying gloomily, "I'm not worried he'll come to Loguetown to cause trouble. I just wanted to ask, if he comes to Loguetown to take Ark and the other kids, should we Marines stop him?"
Smoker wasn't a by-the-book Marine, and he wasn't afraid of trouble.
Reddy had a 3 billion berry bounty on his head. As a Marine, he couldn't just pretend not to see it.
But the combat power Reddy had already displayed left Smoker feeling powerless.
He couldn't win!
He hoped Garp would step in at the right moment to back up the Marines.
"If that brat dares to come, I'll meet him myself."
Garp's tone shifted from "that guy" to "that brat," looking eager, as if he was looking forward to his first encounter with Reddy.
Smoker took a frustrated drag on his cigar, the tip burning down noticeably in an instant.
Maybe he shouldn't have said anything!
Loguetown was doomed.
...
East Blue skies.
A massive floating island shaped like a ship with a lion's head carving at the front was moving toward the Calm Belt.
"Kee ha ha ha... That guy actually isn't dead!"
Golden Lion Shiki stared at the vast ocean in the distance, veins bulging on his forehead, a savage grin on his face.
His overwhelming presence pressed down on the people in the cabin, nearly suffocating them.
No one dared to provoke this unpredictable overlord at this moment.
The Flying Pirates were practically isolated from the world.
It wasn't until a few days ago that Shiki learned from his subordinate pirate crews that Reddy, whom he had believed dead, had actually become a notorious pirate with a 3 billion berry bounty.
Even the World Economic News had crowned Reddy the "Fifth Emperor of the Sea."
How could Shiki tolerate this?
"Lord Shiki, I told you long ago that guy was up to no good."
Indigo waited for Shiki's anger to subside slightly before seizing the chance to incite him. "Please leave him to me. I'm very interested in the Bloodline Factor technology he possesses."
"As long as we capture him, I'll definitely get the information out of him."
"I swear!"
In his eyes, Reddy was nothing but a fraud. How could he compare to the legendary pirate Golden Lion Shiki?
Shiki was swayed.
He was still very interested in Bloodline Factor technology, especially the bright future Reddy had once described to him.
To him, betrayal meant nothing. What mattered was the Bloodline Factor technology in Reddy's hands.
If Indigo could extract the technology from Reddy, that would be perfect.
If not, Shiki was confident he could force Reddy to work for him.
As for whether Reddy would resist... Shiki didn't even consider it.
A weakling like that couldn't possibly defy him.
Indigo, seeing Shiki agree, immediately sneered and suggested, "I heard that guy took in some orphans in Loguetown. They'd make excellent test subjects."
"If we capture them, that guy will come to us on his own."
Shiki's interest was piqued.
He already knew Reddy had stolen his Float-Float Fruit powers and even created a clone to loot Punk Hazard.
Honestly, even he had no confidence in finding Reddy on the open seas.
Hearing Indigo's suggestion, Shiki made a quick decision. "Turn around. We're heading to Loguetown..."