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Chapter 120is out!!!! +40 advanced chapters monthly
Choosing to learn Kami-e and Tekkai was the result of careful deliberation on his part. Honestly, if Kami-e didn't have the added benefit of enhancing his physical muscle control, he wouldn't have even bothered learning it. Kami-e served two main purposes: dodging attacks and increasing bodily mastery. However, when it came to purely dodging attacks, Kenbunshoku Haki was vastly superior. Learning Tekkai, on the other hand, had a much simpler, singular purpose: raw defense.
"Why aren't the others useful to you?!" Garp demanded, clearly still a bit baffled.
In Garp's eyes, the Marine Rokushiki was the absolute pinnacle of physical martial arts. Every single technique was invaluable; most men would kill to master even a fraction of them. Yet here was Baishui, handed the opportunity to learn them all, flat-out refusing.
"Tell you what. To give you a better idea of where I stand for my upcoming training, I'll show you how I fight," Baishui said, rising from the ground to face the seasoned Vice Admiral.
"Once you see it, you'll understand exactly why I have zero need for Rankyaku or Shigan!"
With a flick of his wrists, a pair of dual pistols materialized in Baishui's hands.
"Photon Stream!"
At Baishui's low shout, a sharp whiz cut through the air. A massive volley of glowing light particles erupted from the barrels, streaking across the water and completely obliterating a small reef in the distance.
"Photon Cannon!"
Lowering his left hand, Baishui raised his right and pulled the trigger. With a deafening boom, a blindingly fierce beam of white light shot forward. It struck the exact same spot, exploding on impact and kicking up a colossal wave over twenty meters high.
Rumble...!
The entire surface of the sea trembled. The booming echo reverberated through the sky, and the residual shockwaves rolled across the ocean, violently rocking even the massive Marine warship.
"Photon Wings!"
Holstering his guns, Baishui murmured another command. Under Garp's astonished gaze, a pair of enormous, brilliant white wings sprouted from Baishui's back. He took to the sky, hovering effortlessly above the warship.
"Well? Do you still think I need to waste time learning Rankyaku, Shigan, or Geppo?" Baishui asked with a smirk as he gently touched back down on the deck.
"No wonder..." Garp muttered, realization finally dawning on his weathered face. "No wonder you made that choice. I get it now!"
The Vice Admiral had finally pieced together exactly why the other three Rokushiki techniques were utterly redundant for the boy.
"Alright, we'll do it your way. For the next five months, this is what we'll focus on. But you'd better mentally prepare yourself," Garp warned. "Everything else might come easy to you, but Haki? Haki isn't so easy to learn, brat!"
Garp suddenly flashed a bizarre, almost sinister grin. A sudden chill ran down Baishui's spine. Something terrible is going to happen, he thought, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what.
East Blue!
This was Baishui's hometown, but it was also a place of profound heartbreak. If A'qi hadn't been hurt, East Blue might have remained a place of beautiful memories. But ever since she was injured and slipped into a coma, this sea had become nothing but an open wound in his heart.
Whenever Garp's iconic dog-headed warship was spotted, the pirates of East Blue scattered like roaches. They fled in terror, desperately wishing they had an extra pair of legs just to run away faster.
In his past life, there was a popular saying in the One Piece fandom: "East Blue is the weakest of the four seas." Back then, Baishui hadn't thought much of it. But now? Now he fully understood why it was the weakest sea!
It was because any pirate who tried to make a name for themselves here never even had the chance to step into the spotlight. Garp treated this sea like his own personal backyard, dropping in whenever he felt like it to round up any pirate crew that threatened the balance of the East Blue.
If it wasn't considered the weakest sea after that kind of pest control, there would be no justice in the world!
Foosha Village.
This was a truly magical place. It was the cradle of legends. The future infamous pirates, Monkey D. Luffy and Portgas D. Ace, grew up here. Red-Haired Shanks of the Four Emperors had used it as a base. Marine Hero Monkey D. Garp called it home, and even the Supreme Commander of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon, and his Chief of Staff, Sabo, had ties to this humble windmill town.
Because of this staggering concentration of heavy hitters, Foosha Village was the one town in the entire East Blue that never had to worry about pirate raids. Unless a pirate crew had a literal death wish, they stayed far away. If anyone dared to harm the residents here, neither Garp nor Dragon would let them live to regret it.
And from today onward, you could add Baishui to that list of protectors.
The moment Garp arrived, Foosha Village erupted into a flurry of excitement. Even though the Vice Admiral visited a few times a year, his arrival was always a grand, celebrated event. He was their hometown hero, after all.
However, there was one person wearing a miserable scowl.
Who? Curly Dadan, the mountain bandit boss.
She was the reluctant foster mother who had raised Luffy, Ace, and Sabo. Despite having no blood relation to the three hellions, she was the closest thing to a mother they had.
The reason for her current despair was simple: she took one look at Baishui and immediately assumed Garp had brought another stray brat to dump on her doorstep.
The villagers, meanwhile, gave Baishui a warm and enthusiastic welcome. Most of them didn't know who he was, but if he was walking side-by-side with Garp, he must have earned the old man's approval. And if Garp approved of him, then he was a child of Foosha Village as far as they were concerned.
"Thank you, everyone. Thank you, Mayor Grandpa!" Baishui replied, bowing politely to Mayor Wood Slap and the others. His respectful demeanor only made the villagers adore him more. Who didn't love a polite kid?
"Dadan! Dadan, where are you?!" Garp's booming roar suddenly shattered the pleasant atmosphere.
Standing amidst the crowd, Dadan flinched. Gritting her teeth, she reluctantly stepped forward. "Garp, you bastard! What do you want now?!" she snapped, not bothering to hide her foul mood.
"Bwahaha! Come on, take me to see Luffy and the others!"
To Dadan's immense surprise, Garp didn't even mention pawning Baishui off on her. He just wanted to see his grandsons. She let out a heavy sigh of relief. Honestly, while she was relieved, a small part of her was confused—did Garp think she wasn't capable of raising this new kid? But she valued her life too much to actually ask.
With Garp heading up the mountain, the crowd dispersed. A few villagers wore knowing, expectant smiles. Whenever Garp went up there, it usually meant they were about to be treated to the hilarious spectacle of Luffy and Sabo running for their lives from a furious, roaring Vice Admiral.
Tough love, as they called it. Garp was the undisputed master of it.
Sure enough, when Dadan led Garp and Baishui into the bandit hideout, they found Luffy and Sabo sleeping inside, looking entirely disheveled. Seeing them lazing about, Garp's temper flared. He marched right up and delivered a swift double-punch to their heads.
"Ow! Who hit me?!" Luffy shrieked in pain, clutching his head and whipping around to find the culprit.
The moment his eyes landed on his grandfather's towering figure, any lingering sleepiness vanished, replaced by pure terror. "Gramps! What are you doing here?!" he screamed.
Beside him, Sabo mirrored his expression, looking absolutely horrified.
"Just dropping by to see if my dear grandsons have been set on the righteous path by my Fist of Love!" Garp replied, cracking his knuckles with a menacing, predatory grin.
Watching the scene unfold, Baishui was momentarily speechless. No wonder Luffy wanted to go out to sea and become a pirate, he thought dryly. He was literally terrorized into it by his own grandfather.
If Luffy actually became a Marine, his grandfather would probably beat him to death during training. Besides, Luffy was a person who valued absolute freedom above all else; he would naturally hate the strict, restrictive structure of the Marines.
"So, Luffy! Have you thought it over? Are you ready to become a strong Marine?!" Garp demanded, throwing out the one question Luffy would absolutely never give the "right" answer to. His tone was dangerously low, implying that a wrong answer would result in another serving of his Fist of Love.
But Luffy's dream was unshakeable. Once he set his mind to something, he wouldn't compromise for anyone, even if it killed him.
Right on cue, Luffy threw his arms up and declared, "I'm gonna be a pirate! I wanna be totally free! I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"
Naturally, this resulted in a fresh stack of steaming red lumps on Luffy's head, swelling his skull to comical proportions.
"Who's he?" Luffy asked, finally noticing Baishui standing quietly behind Garp.
"Me?" Baishui stepped forward with a faint smile before Garp could introduce him. "I'm training under your grandfather. I suppose you could consider me his disciple."
Luffy's eyes instantly turned to stars. He threw his hands in the air excitedly. "Big bro! Do you wanna come be a pirate with me?!"
Bam!
Baishui closed his eyes, unable to bear the gruesome sight as Luffy earned yet another massive lump on his head. Beside him, Sabo was trembling so hard he barely dared to breathe.
"Hold on... where's Ace?" Garp finally noticed the glaring absence of his eldest grandson.
At the mention of Ace, Dadan visibly flinched. A flash of profound guilt and panic crossed her face. Garp narrowed his eyes at her, then glanced at Luffy. Despite the cartoonish lumps on his head, Luffy's eyes were practically shining with suppressed excitement.
Garp immediately put two and two together.
The atmosphere in the room plummeted. Dead silence hung in the air. Luffy and Sabo held their breath, frozen in place.
"Ace is seventeen now. He obviously set sail already," Baishui chimed in, his tone casual and entirely unbothered.
The tension broke, and Luffy and the others secretly exhaled in relief. Someone had to break the ice to defuse the ticking time bomb that was Garp.
"That damn brat! Actually going out to sea..." Garp growled, his fists clenching. He whirled on Luffy, pointing a thick finger at him. "Listen to me, Luffy! You are not going to end up like Ace! You are going to become a Marine of Justice, you hear me?!"
"No way! I'm gonna be King of the Pirates! I promised Shanks!" Luffy yelled back, refusing to yield an inch.
Predictably, another brutal beating ensued.
"Bwahaha! Well, Luffy, you're in luck," Garp said after he had finished tenderizing his grandson. He flashed a demonic smile that made everyone in the room shiver. "I'll be staying in Foosha Village for the next five months. I'm going to educate you personally!"
"Mr. Garp... what about Baishui's living arrangements?" Dadan carefully interjected. She didn't care about the impending five months of hell; she only cared about logistics. If Baishui was going to join the boys' chaotic dynamic, she needed to prepare herself mentally and physically.
Of course, if he didn't, she could finally relax.
"I'll be building my own cabin on the outskirts to live in. There's no need for Boss Dadan to trouble herself," Baishui said, offering her a polite bow with his hands clasped.
He was humble and perfectly well-mannered, but for some reason, Dadan felt an invisible wall in his words—a distinct sense of being kept at arm's length. It wasn't an act; that aloof coldness seemed to seep right down to his bones.
"Oh... I see," Dadan mumbled, feeling an odd, inexplicable twinge of disappointment.