Garp showed no politeness at all. As if tossing down a piece of loot, he slammed the still struggling Luffy onto the desk with a loud bang! The impact was so great that Luffy staggered a few steps before barely regaining his footing. His small face flushed red and pale in turns, the rough texture of Garp's coat still burning against his skin.
"Shuzo-kid! I brought the person for you! Monkey D. Luffy! My own grandson!"
Garp's booming voice rattled dust from the ceiling of the registration hall. With a broad sweep of his arm, he sounded as if he were handing over a priceless treasure. "Train him however you want! Push him to the highest intensity! If he dies, it's on me!"
The way he said it was nothing like enrolling his grandson. It was more like throwing a stubborn piece of iron into a forge.
Shuzo lifted his head, his sharp eyes instantly locking onto Luffy.
That gaze carried crushing weight. Cold, precise, dissecting him from head to toe like a scalpel. No warmth. No reverence. Only rigid formality and scrutiny.
"Monkey D. Luffy."
Shuzo's voice was deep, steady, and fast, like reciting the title of a report.
He picked up a dip pen and, on the first line of a register filled with densely written names, carved the name with strokes that nearly tore the paper. "Age?"
"Seven… almost eight."
Luffy answered, uneasy under that gaze.
"Place of birth?"
"Foosha Village, East Blue."
"Devil Fruit eaten?"
"No." Luffy replied crisply.
Shuzo's pen paused. His eyes flicked to Luffy again, this time with a trace of something else—confirmation, or perhaps… faint suspicion?
But he didn't ask further.
"Any special abilities or combat experience?"
Luffy hesitated.
Zanpakutō (Soul-Cutting Blade)? How could he explain that?
His silence was cut short by Garp's massive hand slamming down from above!
BAM!!
The familiar "Fist of Love" landed squarely on Luffy's head without warning.
"Uwahhh—!"
Luffy yelped, clutching his skull and crouching down. His brain felt like it was shaking inside his skull.
Pain. Burning pain.
"You brat! What's with the hemming and hawing! At your age, what damn combat experience could you have! At most, fighting off stray dogs in the countryside!"
Garp stood with hands on hips, lecturing without shame. "Don't you dare act mysterious in front of me! This training camp isn't a teahouse for lazy brats!"
The nearby marines, who had been trying to hold back their laughter, finally burst out in loud chuckles.
The famous "Marine Hero" and his grandson were always a spectacle at Marineford. Someone whispered, "Vice Admiral Garp really does show his 'deep love' in his own way!"
Luffy gritted his teeth, clutching his throbbing head, and glared fiercely at the old man laughing like nothing had happened.
But deep in Garp's eyes, for just an instant, there was a flash only Luffy could catch. A command. A warning. And a shield over his secret. He must not speak.
Shuzo expressionlessly turned back to his register, drawing a firm line across the "special abilities or combat experience" field and writing down "None." Clearly, this kind of scene was routine to him.
"Take this."
He scribbled a few lines, tore off a slip of paper, and tossed it along with a brass key tied to a wooden tag toward Luffy.
"Dormitory Area Three. Block A, Room 210. From today, you are officially enlisted."
His voice had no emotion, like he was pronouncing a verdict. "Remember the number. Your code and identification will be assigned during future training."
His sharp gaze lingered on Luffy's aching head and his stubborn eyes, before finally adding coldly, each word like ice shards: "This is not Foosha Village. Every drop of sweat in this camp may mean a drop of blood on the battlefield. Slack off, and here that equals… death."
The warning cut into his skin like a freezing wind.
Garp seemed satisfied with Shuzo's sternness. He slapped Luffy on the back so hard the boy nearly stumbled again. "Did you hear that! What Shuzo says is an order! Do your best!"
He turned, grinning, waving at Shuzo and the amused marines. "Alright! I leave him to you! I've got business with Sengoku and a pot of tea waiting!" With that, the large figure draped in a coat strode away without pause, leaving only the echo of hearty laughter behind.
Luffy looked down at the crumpled slip of paper and the cold brass key etched with "3A210." Then he raised his head toward Shuzo's steel expression, and then at the surrounding marines in their white uniforms—some curious, some mocking, some indifferent.
A wave of unfamiliarity, cold and suffocating, washed over him. Without his grandfather's towering shoulders to shield him, everything here would have to be endured by himself.
(End of Chapter)
[50 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[Thanks for your support!]