"Kid Kyle, from now on, Luffy is with you."
"Just don't get him killed."
Garp sat cross-legged on the ground, picking his nose, speaking casually to Kyle in front of him.
Although he hadn't appeared before the two this past week, he had been secretly observing their training.
He had to admit, with Kyle as a companion, not only did Luffy's smiles increase, but the improvement in his physical strength was also greater than before when he was with him.
Perhaps? His previous methods really weren't suitable for Luffy?
Garp fell into a half second of confusion, then tossed the thought aside.
Whatever, that's all in the past. No need to dwell on past things. From now on, just let Luffy follow Kyle.
After speaking, Garp stood up and said to Luffy, who still had a big bump on his head nearby:
"Luffy. This old man is going on a mission for the next month. I'll come back to check on you in a month."
"If your strength hasn't improved by then, you'll have to taste this old man's Love Fist."
As he spoke, Garp waved his fist, making Luffy shrink his neck again.
The shadow of being knocked out with one punch still loomed over him.
With that, Garp turned to leave.
At that moment, a system notification sound that Kyle hadn't heard for a while rang in his ears.
[Special event detected. Recruitment Mission issued.]
[Recruit the genius Portgas D. Ace.]
[Loading genius profile, loading in progress.]
[Portgas D. Ace: Son of Pirate King Roger. His father died before he was born. His mother also died in childbirth protecting him. His life was filled with hardship. He ultimately died at the hands of Admiral Akainu during the Summit War.]
[Recruitment suggestion: The future has not yet happened. Anything is possible. The identity of a pirate cannot tolerate Ace's bloodline. If he becomes a Marine, the problem is solved.]
[Recruitment reward: Armament Haki, Devil Fruit Experience Book.]
[Target genius is not near the host. Detailed coordinates have been located: East Blue, Goa Kingdom, Foosha Village (4251, 5684). Coordinates update in real time with the target.]
As soon as the system's voice fell, Kyle saw the prompted coordinates change, from 5684 to 5685, and they changed once every second.
Kyle was a bit stunned. A thousand thoughts finally condensed into two words.
"Incredible."
There's even a real time coordinate prompt. Advanced.
But the reward seems much worse than the first time recruiting Luffy.
This doubt only appeared in Kyle's mind for a moment before he threw it aside.
Armament Haki is not bad either, even though in the New World even a turtle can learn it.
Then what about this remaining Devil Fruit Experience Book.
[Devil Fruit Experience Book: Increases proficiency with a Devil Fruit, allowing the host to skip most of the time needed for developing the fruit.]
"Huh?"
Kyle's eyes lit up.
This thing seems pretty good.
A person's energy is limited. When spending most of your time on one thing, you will inevitably neglect other things.
Previously, he also had the dilemma of whether to focus on enhancing his physique or developing his fruit first.
Because he was greedy, he wanted both.
He wanted to be a well rounded fighter, not a meat shield with high defense and low attack, nor an assassin with low defense and high attack.
Now good, this problem is solved.
With this Devil Fruit Experience Book, he can devote more time to improving his physique.
Kyle shifted his gaze, looking at Garp's retreating back and shouted loudly:
"Vice Admiral Garp, wait."
Garp turned his head, still picking his nose with his finger.
"Kid, what."
Kyle showed a smile.
"Vice Admiral Garp, you just said. you're going on a mission."
From the system's prompt and the task it issued, this old codger Garp's mission was fake. Returning to Foosha Village to see Ace was the real reason.
After all, this old guy wasn't doing this for the first time, often going back to Foosha Village under the pretext of a mission.
"How about taking me and Luffy along on this mission."
"Take you."
Garp was stunned for a moment, then shook his head like a rattle drum.
"No, no."
"I'm going on a dangerous mission, to fight fierce pirates. Taking you two kids. Are you tired of living."
"No, absolutely not. This is not up for discussion."
Kyle's expression didn't change at all after being refused by Garp.
He took a step forward, his body shattering into fine electric lights, and in the blink of an eye, he reformed his figure beside Garp.
Leaning slightly closer to Garp, he spoke:
"Vice Admiral Garp, whether you're really going on a mission, you know very well in your heart. You don't really think my grandfather knows nothing, do you."
Upon hearing this, Garp's heart suddenly jolted. He turned his head sharply, his gaze fixed tightly on Kyle.
"What does your grandfather know."
Garp was a bit panicked now. From Kyle's tone, could Ace's identity have been exposed.
It shouldn't be. He should have hidden it very well.
But he couldn't be sure. He knew this old friend Sengoku all too well.
Sengoku, while powerful in strength, also had the title of Tactician. He couldn't guarantee whether Sengoku had discovered some clues over the years.
Thinking of this, Garp's expression turned slightly grim.
If Kyle knew what Garp was thinking, he would definitely scoff.
You hid it well.
Nonsense.
With that big mouth of yours, what secret can you keep.
If you really want to hide it, don't tell anyone about Ace's background. Let him live peacefully, wouldn't that be good.
You had to tell Dadan about Ace's background, and tell Ace himself when he got older.
Isn't that just pure idiocy.
Don't you know what the bloodline of Pirate King Roger means in this world.
Isn't that rubbing Rouge's efforts back then into the ground.
This later led to Ace revealing his background on the Whitebeard Pirates, letting Blackbeard know and use it as a bargaining chip to exchange for a Warlord position, ultimately triggering the Summit War and causing Ace's death.
From this perspective, Ace's death is not unrelated to Garp.
Although this explanation is a bit far fetched, there is indeed some truth to it.
Kyle did not answer Garp's question directly, but spoke ambiguously.
"What do you think."
Having said this much, Kyle simply used Sengoku's authority as a bluff.
"My grandfather once said, some identities are not suitable to exist in this world. So becoming a Marine is a very good choice."
"That way, his identity would just be that of a Marine, and nothing else. Vice Admiral Garp, what do you think."
These words made Garp's heart sink.
That old guy Sengoku really knows.
But he didn't tell me clearly. Instead, he's using Kyle's mouth to indirectly express his attitude to me.
At this moment, Garp used his not very clever brain to automatically piece together the whole sequence of events.
Finally reaching a conclusion:
Sengoku wants Ace to join the Marines.