When Gustave woke the next morning, he found that Garp was gone, with little Luffy and little Ace sprawled beside him on the bed.
Looking across the room, Tom was sleeping comfortably in his bed, but Po's bed was empty.
Gustave carefully lifted his blanket, trying not to wake Luffy and Ace. He stepped outside the room but didn't see Po, though he heard sounds coming from the kitchen.
Walking into the kitchen, he found Po preparing breakfast.
"Po, has Mr. Garp returned to Marine Headquarters?" Gustave asked, opening the refrigerator and taking out a bottle of milk.
"Yes, Master left early this morning. It seems Fleet Admiral Sengoku was pressuring him to return. Master mentioned that Sengoku is preparing for the Admiral Promotion," Po replied while frying an egg.
"Admiral Promotion? I see..." Hearing this, Gustave understood why old man Garp had left without saying goodbye. This was indeed a major Marine event. Soon after Zephyr retired, it would be time for Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji to advance to Admiral rank.
"But Mr. Garp left in such a hurry, without even saying goodbye to Luffy and Ace?" Gustave said, leaning against the refrigerator after taking a sip of milk.
"Master is just like that, and he'll return to visit soon. Besides, Luffy and Ace have been independent since childhood and are used to being separated from Master. They should handle this situation fine," Po replied.
"That's true. With Mr. Garp's personality, he'll probably suddenly find an excuse to take leave and come back one day," Gustave smiled at Po's response. Based on his understanding of Garp, after the three Admirals were officially promoted, Garp would definitely concoct some excuse to return to the East Blue.
After finishing his milk, Gustave placed the empty bottle outside the kitchen door and prepared to wake Luffy and the others.
After taking two steps, Gustave turned back to Po:
"Po, when you get up early for training in the future, wake me up and I'll exercise with you. How about it?"
After Po had become Garp's apprentice, in addition to daily "iron fist education," early morning exercise was essential.
Gustave admired how Garp had managed to train the naturally lazy Po into someone diligent. But it was also true that Po had been able to become the Dragon Warrior so quickly. Beyond his natural talent, Po possessed determination that surpassed ordinary people.
"Are you sure? My morning workout is pretty intense!" Po asked in surprise, turning around.
"I'm certain!" Gustave looked firmly into Po's eyes.
"Alright, starting tomorrow, I'll wake you up for early training!"
"And should we invite Tom to join us?" Po continued asking.
"Tom? Hahaha, you know his temperament!" Gustave smiled and shook his head.
Tom was even lazier than Po. He'd rather stand than sit, and rather lie down than stand. Getting Tom up early for training would be harder than climbing Mount Everest.
Gustave understood Tom's unique nature—he was strong when facing strong opponents and weak when facing weak ones. He could match anyone's level.
In the following days, Gustave deeply regretted his words. Asking Po to wake him up early was fine, but he shouldn't have committed to training with him.
Po's morning training was deceptively simple—just running. Gustave's physical fitness was already excellent among ordinary people, thanks to his basketball background. He could run twelve to thirteen kilometers in an hour (the men's world record was 21.33 kilometers).
But Garp had required Po to run about sixty kilometers within an hour, and Po had to run while carrying weights. When Gustave saw Po running sixty kilometers in an hour while carrying a massive stone, he was absolutely speechless.
For the next several days, every time Gustave returned from morning runs with Po, he looked half-dead.
Their morning jogs inspired others. Seeing Gustave and Po jogging every morning, Tom, Luffy, and Ace also decided to join in.
Ace had been training since childhood and always maintained a clear goal—to become stronger!
As for Luffy, first, he'd now set a goal of becoming a hero who punished evil, promoted good, and was loved by people—which required dedicated effort. Second, he wanted to play with his brother Ace and become his friend, even though the proud Ace didn't pay much attention to him currently.
Tom's participation was somewhat unexpected. When Gustave asked about his motivation, he learned that Tom felt embarrassed seeing Ace and Luffy training together. As the elder of the group, he felt he shouldn't be lounging around lazily every day.
Gustave smiled knowingly at this explanation. Tom was indeed lazy by nature, but he maintained strong awareness of his responsibilities as an elder figure.
However, Tom, Luffy, and Ace joining the training dealt a devastating blow to Gustave's ego, making him feel utterly useless.
Tom's running ability was extraordinary—he'd been instrumental in helping Gustave and the others escape from the Lord of the Coast. If Tom used his full strength, nobody knew how far he could run in an hour.
But Tom never ran with Po in the lead group. Instead, he would run alongside Gustave in a deliberately mischievous manner, suddenly slowing down then speeding up, circling around Gustave in ways that nearly drove him to complete madness.
Gustave worried that weight training might negatively affect Ace and Luffy's physical development, so when they proposed doing weighted training like Po, he firmly rejected their request.
But their unweighted running results made Gustave, a grown adult, feel deeply ashamed. As the older brother, Ace could run about thirty kilometers in an hour without any weight, while Luffy could manage approximately twenty kilometers unweighted.
Who could understand Gustave's pain when he watched two kids leave him far behind in the dust while Tom caused absolute chaos around him?
Before each run, Gustave would secretly remind himself that people in the One Piece world were all monsters. Someone like Rayleigh could swim across the entire Calm Belt. He didn't need to compete with them—it was perfectly normal if he couldn't outrun Ace and Luffy.
But after finishing each run, his mindset completely changed...
"This is so frustrating! Why can't I even beat two kids?"
"Damn this useless system! Other systems give skills, money, and physical fitness improvements, but mine just posts a mission, drops a Gate of All Worlds, and vanishes into thin air!"
These were Gustave's bitter internal complaints after each training session.
Therefore, the villagers of Windmill Village could witness this daily spectacle:
Every morning Gustave would head out for his run with an optimistic smile, then return with such a gloomy expression that he looked like someone owed him a fortune. There were even several days when Tom had to physically drag Gustave back to the village like a dead dog.
However, Gustave's dedicated exercise routine did prove effective over time. After weeks of consistent training, his physical fitness gradually became comparable to native people in the One Piece world. Eventually, he too would be able to carry a large stone and run sixty kilometers in an hour.
Of course, these were developments that would come much later. Currently, Gustave remained genuinely weak—weaker than even the two kids, Ace and Luffy, which was a constant source of frustration and wounded pride.