The moment Kai heard that voice, he knew who had come.
After a month together…
Kai and Ace had grown quite familiar with one another.
Of course, Ace still kept that cool, half-cold attitude; his looks toward Kai were often hostile and challenge-ready, and he kept trying to pick fights.
In the end… Ace was soundly defeated every single time.
Kai turned slowly. As he expected, Ace's face showed reluctance and annoyance.
Kids grow fast — Ace didn't look quite as scrawny as before. But compared to Kai's muscle-lined body, there was simply no contest.
"Let's go. Tell someone to come carry this beast away later," Kai said, pointing at the tiger's corpse. "With a body this big, it should feed everyone for three or four days. And that pelt will fetch a decent sum of berries."
"Consider it a little repayment… for Dadan and the others taking care of me lately."
Up close, Ace noticed the tiger's skull was deeply caved in — clearly smashed inward.
One punch — dead on the spot.
He stared at Kai with a complicated look.
"How strong is this guy…?" he thought. One punch had killed such a huge tiger. Ace felt the helplessness rise in his chest. Kai stood there completely unscathed — there wasn't even a hint of a struggle. It had been a one-sided crushing.
"Let's go."
Kai strode ahead, ignoring Ace's mixed emotions. Watching Kai's receding back, Ace ground his teeth internally.
"I'll catch up to you. Just wait. Maybe I'm weaker now… but when I grow up I'll be stronger than you!"
"Wait up!"
…
Back at Mt. Colubo, Kai soon met his grandfather, Garp.
"What do you want, old man?" Kai asked straight to the point.
"The East Blue Marine branch sent word to me," Garp said. "A fairly sizable pirate crew has returned from the Grand Line and is preparing to station in the East Blue. As a Marine Vice Admiral from my homeland, I can't just stand by."
"So…"
"I've decided to have you go deal with them."
"How about that?"
Garp looked Kai in the eye and stated the purpose plainly. As guardian of his home sea, he wouldn't allow it to become chaotic. Any pirate crew coming back from the Grand Line he felt obligated to wipe out. Usually he did it himself — a shrug and the band was gone. But seeing that Kai had spent a month of brutal training and clearly gotten stronger, Garp changed his mind: he would let Kai handle this pirate crew alone as a trial. A lesson.
Facing the seas, no true strong hand is without blood on it. To become a true powerhouse, one must have blood on one's hands and tastes of life and death. Garp wanted Kai to see the cruelty of the sea early — to meet fierce pirates head on. Without life-and-death tests, without seeing blood and the ugly faces of pirates, how could Kai ever become a real Marine?
Garp wanted to see what his genius grandson could do — how he would confront a vicious pirate crew and what methods he would use.
Of course, Kai would not be in real danger — Garp would accompany him. With Garp's protection, Kai's safety should be secure. But Garp was honest and serious: when they actually clashed with the pirates, he could not promise to cover every contingency. On a battlefield of life and death, anything might happen. Garp himself might reach a moment where he couldn't come to the rescue.
"In other words," Garp said gravely, "this mission carries substantial risk. I cannot guarantee your safety completely. I'll ask you once more: are you willing to take this assignment?"
Without much thought, Kai nodded. "I accept."
"Good." Garp smiled, satisfied. "That's my grandson — guts and spirit."
An hour later, Kai and Garp reached Foosha Village's harbor. Under the curious gazes of the marines, Kai—unfazed—boarded the Navy ship moored at the village pier. The four-year-old Kai showed no nerves; he remained calm and steady the whole time.
"I'm coming too!" Ace's voice rose from a distance just before the ship left port.
"You little brat!" Garp's vein jumped; he wanted to teach Ace a lesson. Kai on the deck also saw Ace appear at the pier. Despite his protests, Garp relented and made an exception — Ace was allowed aboard.
"If you get on this ship you don't leave," Garp warned. "Understand? Otherwise don't blame me." He gave Ace an affectionate iron fist as a reminder.
"Bogard, hand over all the intelligence the East Blue branch sent about that pirate crew. Give everything to Kai," Garp ordered his subordinate.
"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp," Bogard replied. Soon he approached Kai with a stack of dossiers taken from the ship's records room and handed them over.
"All hands, prepare to sail!" Garp commanded.
At once the ship weighed anchor and set off. A large Marine warship, a white seagull flag flying high — the symbol of justice — fluttered in the breeze as the vessel slowly steamed away from Foosha Village.
On deck, Kai flipped through the dossier, eyes scanning the contents. He quickly learned the target of his solitary task.
"The White Ostrich Pirates…"
"The crew's combined bounties approach 20 million Berries!"
"Captain Kukari — bounty: 11,000,000 Berries!"
"And the captain is an Animal-type Devil Fruit user — a White Ostrich Devil Fruit power!"
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