A Living Legend #42

"That's good... but your training is getting in the way," I said, nodding in satisfaction as I put my hand on the marine's shoulder and applied some pressure to make him lower his back.

"You need to put a bit more arch into your back to extend your reach and make yourself a smaller target," I added as I stepped back and observed the soldier's posture. "Looking good... now hit me with everything you've got," I said as I stood before him and raised an open palm.

The marine soldier nodded and obliged, sending his right fist flying in a straight jab toward my waiting palm. "That's good... now you just need to practice your jabs a bit more, and you'll be ready to take down some pirates soon enough," I added, chuckling as I caught the soldier's fist and released it instantly.

It had been three more days since I first arrived at the marine base, and as it turned out, taking down a massive sea king and treating the injuries of the man in charge was more than enough to earn everyone's respect and goodwill.

Even the commodore himself stopped scowling whenever our eyes met and went out of his way to have my weapons returned to me, while the lesser officers and soldiers started coming to me to ask for tips about fighting.

They were even polite enough to wait for my training and mediation sessions to end before approaching me, so I had no reason to refuse. Besides, teaching the soldiers some tricks here and there helped refresh my mastery of the basics.

Some marine soldiers were even brave enough to approach Chuchun, but the giant bird wanted nothing to do with them as he chased them away, well, just the ones who weren't smart enough to bring a tribute of fishy snacks anyway.

"Alright... who wants to go--" I said and promptly stopped talking halfway through my sentence as Ensign Obrien burst into the training grounds and cut me off before I could finish.

"Oy, Cedric, your ride is here," the ensign said as he scanned the area and quickly found me. "The ship is on the horizon, so I'd start packing if I were you," he added, causing me to nod.

I wasn't surprised by the news as the paperwork to clear me of the false charges and induct me into the Marines had already come through yesterday, and apparently, they wanted to join the HQ directly.

Whether it was because they thought highly of me or wanted to keep a close eye on me, I didn't really know or care since it didn't really matter or change what I needed to do there.

As for my ride, Ensign Obrien told me it would be a warship captained by a vice admiral, and I didn't need to wonder about the reason this time around since he also told me the said vice admiral was in the area and heading for Marine HQ.

In other words, the vice admiral was merely picking me up on his way back to save time, which was more than okay by me since it meant the trip would be uneventful and safe for the most part.

"Well, fellas, it's been fun, but it looks like I have to get going," I said as I turned to the marine soldiers waiting their turn with a smile. "Just keep practicing the basics, and you'll be well on your way to ruining the day of many pirates," I concluded, earning a few chuckles from the soldiers as I headed for the training ground's exit.

...

"Money... check... spear check..." I muttered, going through my luggage one last time as I headed for the port. "Everything is in check..." I added, smiling as I walked out of the base and promptly froze as I noticed the ship approaching the docks, towing a gigantic steel cage behind it.

It was a battleship-class vessel. The ship's crow nests looked like doghouses, and the figurehead was the gigantic head of a canine with an equally sizable bone in its mouth.

The battleship had too many sails, way more than I cared to count, and the masts looked like dog paws holding onto thin, tall bones. Overall, the ship seemed to have a dog theme that matched the full-face mask of the burly man standing at the brow with his hands crossed.

"You get to meet a living legend on your first days as a marine..." Ensign O'Brien said, patting my shoulder and snapping me out of my daze. "Lucky you..." he added with a chuckle as he walked past and headed for the port.

'Monkey D. Garp...' I sighed, lingering for several seconds as I stared at the ship, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. 'And for some reason, he's towing a caged sea beast with his battleship...' I mused as I followed behind the ensign.

....

"Oh boy..." I muttered, surrounded by marine soldiers as we watched the battleship drop anchor and stop at the docks, causing the vice admiral standing at the brow to raise his head and scan us.

"Which one of you punks..." The vice admiral, Garp, said, squinting as he looked at the gathered marine soldiers and me. "Killed the sea king I've been chasing for days...?" he asked, and the soldiers around me instantly parted, leaving me alone under his gaze.

With my eyes twitching, I was just about ready to curse the marine soldiers for being ungrateful cowards, but I had to swallow my words as the vice admiral jumped off the ship and landed in front of me.

And before I could get a word in or even process the situation, Garp buried his knuckles into the top of my head, unleashing ripples of pain and agony that rippled through my very soul.

It didn't injure me in any way, but the pain was like nothing I had ever experienced before, and I could do nothing but wince and hold my head in agony as I stared at the vice admiral, too stunned to even speak.

"You dumb brat!" The vice admiral said as he glared at me, unfazed by my pain and agony. "That damned sea king was supposed to stop my grandsons from running off and becoming pirates!" He added with a scowl.

"And you went and killed it!" Vice Admiral Garp went on, pointing his index finger at me. "Now I'll have to rely on this little thing to stop them!" He added, gesturing toward the turtle-like sea beast inside the cage behind his ship.

"I'm sorry...?" I said, not really knowing what else to say as I felt a lump grow on my head and push against my hands. "I didn't--" I added, pausing as I raised my head and noticed the snot bubble forming around the vice admiral's nose while he snored, seemingly sound asleep.

Confused and genuinely scared of getting another knuckle to my head, I turned to Commodore Daigin with a pleading look. To my surprise, the cowardly, ungrateful bastard instantly looked away as if he wanted nothing to do with the situation.

Then, I turned to Ensign O'Brien, but he was already sprinting away and halfway to the inside of the base.

Ultimately, one of the vice admiral's subordinates, a tall man (a head taller than Garp) wearing a beige fedora hat and suit with a marine coat draped over his shoulders, came to the rescue.

"Vice Admiral..." The man said as he cleared his throat, causing the snot bubble on Garp's nose to pop as he woke up. "We're already on a tight schedule, sir..." He added, ignoring the seemingly confused vice admiral as he turned to me.

"I believe this is the young man we were supposed to take back to HQ..." He concluded, and Garp's confused expression instantly disappeared, replaced by a scowl as he looked at me.

"Well, brat...? Aren't you going to apologize, at least?" The vice admiral asked with an affronted expression as he raised his fist and prepared to bury it at the top of my head again, much to my horror.

"Sir, the young man already apologized while you were asleep..." The man, being the courageous hero he was, said as he cleared his throat, causing the vice admiral's expression to relax as he lowered his fist.

"Oh... then all is good..." Vice Admiral Garp, grinning from ear to ear as he looked at me. "Such good manners, and to think you're strong enough to take down a sea king at such a young age..." He added, beaming as he gave me a once-over.

"If only my knuckle-headed grandsons were as reasonable as you..." The vice admiral said with an anguished sigh, and I could do nothing but blankly look at him, amazed by how quickly his mood shifted gears.

"All those rascals talk about is becoming pirates... I seriously want to give them--" He continued rambling and only pausing as his aide, my brave rescuer, cleared his throat.

"Sir... we don't have time for this right now..." The man blankly said. "We need to set sail immediately to reach HQ in time..." He added, trailing off at the end of his sentence.

"Right, right, we still have to make a stop in East Blue..." The vice admiral said, scratching his head. "Come on, kiddo, get your stuff and get your ass on the ship..." He added, gesturing toward his battleship.

...

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