OPTC Chapter 289 – The Unreliable Garp
Hero Garp, a current Vice Admiral of the Navy Headquarters, known as "Iron Fist," is one of the top combatants in the world.
But even someone like him has worries few know about—namely, that his grandsons constantly shout about becoming pirates… even Pirate Kings.
He has no solution to this, so whenever they yell about being pirates, he scolds them first, then disciplines them with a "fist full of love."
However, Ace and Luffy's stubbornness is legendary. No matter how bruised, swollen, or battered they get, they never change their tune.
But today, while Garp was using his day off to "educate" his grandsons in the mountains, he unexpectedly ran into a group of strangers. By coincidence, he heard Luffy say he wanted to become a seashell, and Ace claim he no longer wanted to be a pirate—all because of a pink-haired girl's strange ability!
Garp was thrilled. It was the first time he'd ever heard Luffy say he wanted to be anything other than a pirate—even if it was a seashell! And Ace seemed to have a new possibility too.
However, when the ability's effect wore off, both boys quickly returned to normal. Luffy, not understanding what had happened, simply ignored it and yelled about wanting meat again. Ace, more cautious, pulled Luffy away from the ghost girl, watching Perona warily.
Since neither boy seemed harmed and there was no hostility, Garp grew curious and asked if Perona could use her ability again—just to see its effects clearly. If it worked well, maybe she could even help him educate his grandsons!
Perona looked lost, and Zhang Da Ye stepped forward and asked, "You're Vice Admiral Garp, aren't you?"
"You recognized me, huh?" Garp laughed heartily. "Yes, I'm Monkey D. Garp, Vice Admiral of the Navy. Those two brats are my grandsons. Now, who might you all be? And what's that little girl's power about?"
"We're a traveling group from Sabaody," Zhang Da Ye explained. "Because of the Golden Lion incident, we accidentally ended up in the East Blue, and now we're continuing our journey." He introduced his companions, though he doubted Garp would remember their names.
"Perona's ability makes anyone hit by her ghosts extremely negative for a short time. It was an instinctive reaction when she saw that kid rush over—no malice intended. Sorry about that."
Seeing that Garp didn't seem angry, Zhang Da Ye continued explaining just to be safe.
Garp waved it off. "No problem! In fact, could that little lady try her ability again on my grandsons? Ace, Luffy, come over here!"
Ace shouted, "Why should we go over there and get hit by her again, you old geezer!"
Luffy, still craving meat, made a face and echoed, "Old geezer!"
"Old… geezer?" Garp's eyes darkened. In an instant, he appeared before them—one fist for each. "Call me Grandpa!"
Bang! Bang!
"Ow! Why does it hurt so much?!"
"I'm rubber! Why does Grandpa's punch still hurt?!"
Both boys rolled on the ground clutching their heads in pain.
"With strength like that, wouldn't an ordinary kid be knocked silly?" Shark Chili said, watching Garp's punches. Even he wouldn't want to take one of those.
If Kuina were trained by Garp for a day, she might not survive to see her twelfth birthday.
Perona trembled. This was the Navy's hero—scarier than any Admiral! …Wait, she was a good person now, right? Good people didn't have to be scared of him… right?
Wendy and Carla were used to seeing this sort of thing. Their guild master's grandfather also had a tendency to punch through walls and ceilings when angry.
Tom shrank back and hugged Zhang Da Ye's leg.
Zhang Da Ye noticed something about the power in Garp's fists and looked to Artoria for confirmation.
Artoria nodded slightly. "It should be Armament Haki. Using something like that to discipline grandsons… quite excessive."
Zhang Da Ye's face went blank. So Garp really had been beating these two with Armament Haki since childhood.
"A fist full of love can't be resisted!" Garp explained proudly as he grabbed Ace and Luffy and plopped them down in front of Zhang Da Ye. "Go on, let that little girl use her power!"
Zhang Da Ye asked, "They're your grandsons, right? Are you sure this is how you should teach them?"
"It's all to make them fine marines! I've thrown Luffy into bottomless ravines, dark forests at night, even tied him to a balloon and let him fly off! All part of making him a strong man!"
He puffed out his chest. "So just letting them feel a Devil Fruit ability? Nothing serious. As long as it helps them grow into excellent marines, it's worth it!"
Ace muttered stubbornly, "I'm going to be a pirate!"
"Yeah! I don't wanna be a marine!" Luffy yelled.
"You'll be marines!" Garp barked.
"Pirates!" they both shot back.
"Marines!"
"Pirates!"
…
"Zzz…" x3
Right when their argument reached its peak, all three—grandfather and grandsons—suddenly dozed off, snoring with snot bubbles hanging from their noses.
Perona blinked. "They… fell asleep? Why?"
"What's wrong with these three?" Carla asked, glancing at Zhang Da Ye, who seemed oddly calm.
Zhang Da Ye calmly sat back down and picked up his grilled meat again. "They'll wake up soon. Don't worry about them. Let's eat first."
Artoria, always cooperative when it came to food, nodded and sat down properly. "If Da Ye says so, then let's eat before it burns."
Tom obediently sat too, ready to enjoy the meal. The others followed, still sneaking glances at the three sleeping figures between bites, feeling a bit rude—but technically, it was Garp's group that had been rude first.
Time passed. The roast boar was gone, and the tiger was nearly finished when Garp's snot bubble popped.
"Ah, crap! I fell asleep again!"
Before anyone could say anything, Garp turned on his grandsons. "You two! Is this how you take Grandpa's lessons seriously?!"
Bang! Bang!
"Ow!" x2
Their screams sent birds fleeing from nearby trees.
After the chaos subsided, Zhang Da Ye invited, "How about you sit and eat something first?"
"Meat!" Luffy cried joyfully, grabbing a tiger leg and gnawing on it. Between mouthfuls, he mumbled, "You guys are good people after all!"
"Luffy!" Ace scolded. Realizing Perona's attack earlier had been a misunderstanding, he bowed. "My brother was rude. I apologize—and thank you for the food!"
After Sabo's "death," Ace had vowed to look after Luffy. To thank Red-Haired Shanks for once taking care of him, Ace had even learned manners from Makino. Months of training had paid off—he now apologized before dining and then fled afterward.
Watching the boys devour their food, Garp realized there wasn't enough meat. He kicked off his shoes and dove into the river. "I'll be right back!"
Two minutes later, an enormous splash erupted downstream as a giant crocodile flew out of the water, eyes rolled back.
"Bwahahaha! You're a quick one, huh?" Garp laughed as he dragged it ashore by the tail.
Zhang Da Ye silently mourned for the crocodile. Being praised by Garp for speed was as close as it got to a eulogy.
Tom's eyes sparkled. Though full, he'd never tasted crocodile before. Surely he could eat just a bit more.
"This cat can cook? Not bad!" Garp was impressed by Tom's skill, admitting the Navy's own chefs were about the same level.
"Tom's cooking is excellent, sir. You should try his soup—ah, never mind."
Too late. Luffy had already chugged the entire pot.
"Luffy! You drank it all?!" Garp sighed. "That's my grandson all right… from his appetite alone, I know he'll be strong one day."
"Hot! Hot!" Luffy yelped, fingers red from touching the pot straight off the fire.
"Idiot! Who grabs a hot pot like that?" Ace scolded, savoring his bowl. He'd never tasted soup this good before.
Artoria eyed Luffy, her ahoge twitching. This kid was a formidable rival—at the dinner table.
The tiger was gone soon after, but there was still the massive crocodile left. Artoria focused on her "battle" with Luffy as they both reached for more meat.
Finally tasting Tom's cooking, Garp nodded. "Delicious! …Wait a second, why does this cat look so familiar…"
Then it hit him. "You're that group that defeated the Golden Lion?!"
Zhang Da Ye gave him a deadpan look. "We literally told you that earlier."
"Did you? Bwahahaha, sorry! Guess I wasn't paying attention. So it's really you guys—thanks to you, my vacation got extended!"
"Huh?" Zhang Da Ye blinked. Solving the Golden Lion incident might have prevented his vacation from being cut short—but extended?
Luffy, still chewing, shouted, "You're the ones who made Grandpa's vacation longer! You're bad guys!"
Ace covered his face. He could already see where this was going.
Sure enough, Garp punched Luffy flat. "You don't want Grandpa to take time off and be with you, huh, Luffy?!"
"Because every time you're on vacation, you just hit me!" Luffy protested, clutching his head.
Garp clenched his fists. "Even so, I still want my grandson's love!"
"Ow!"
Seconds later, Luffy was gnawing crocodile meat with watery eyes. Good food made him forget pain quickly. Ace, already on the ground, sighed. He always tried to protect Luffy, but that only meant he got punched first every time.
After the usual "discipline," Garp scratched his head. "Ah, what were we talking about again?"
"Your vacation got extended because of us," Zhang Da Ye said calmly. At this point, a grandpa who punched between sentences was… reasonable enough.
"Right! The HQ called me, but I didn't want to pick up. You saw how busy I am during vacation," Garp said.
Zhang Da Ye glanced at Ace and Luffy. Busy indeed—beating your grandkids nonstop.
"Anyway, Sengoku called twelve times in a row. I finally picked up, thinking it must be something serious. Turns out, the Golden Lion went to East Blue! I set sail right away just in case—but before I even arrived, you'd already handled him. Big help!"
Zhang Da Ye nodded. "So what about your extended vacation?"
"After that, I told Sengoku I wanted more time off, and since the problem was solved, he agreed—on one condition: I keep an eye on a certain traveling group."
"Which group?" Zhang Da Ye asked, though he already suspected.
"You guys, of course! Sengoku thinks any group powerful enough to take down the Golden Lion but still hanging around East Blue must have another agenda. So he told me to make sure you don't stir up trouble."
Garp had just casually revealed his surveillance orders to the very people he was supposed to be monitoring.
Zhang Da Ye sighed. "Are you sure you should be telling us that?"
Garp froze. "Ah, right! That was supposed to be classified! Bwahahaha, just pretend I didn't say it!"
"How can we?!" Shark Chili, Wendy, Carla, and Perona yelled in unison.
Garp waved them off. "Don't worry about it. Sengoku always overthinks everything. Granny Tsuru and Gion both trust you, after all."
Zhang Da Ye ignored the "take-back" comment and asked, "The current Fleet Admiral is still Kong, right? From how you describe things, it sounds like Sengoku's already in charge."
"That's because he's about to be promoted. Less than a month left. Officially he's still an Admiral, but he's basically running everything already."
"Wait, but Gion said the reason Sengoku couldn't come earlier was because at least one Admiral had to stay at HQ…"
"Oh no, that's classified too! Forget I said that!"
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