Chapter 9: No risk, no fun! Granpa's way of helping is killing me!

"I don't want to be a marine!"

Grandpa blinked, clearly taken aback by my outburst: "NANI?!" He bellowed, eyes wide and eyebrows practically leaping off his forehead.

"Ace and I told you a hundred times that we will set out to sail and be free! Yet you want to lure me with haki, like some pervert would lure little boys with sweets? You perverted old geezer!"

*Lightning SFX*

Grandpa suffered a great shock from my sudden outburst, meaning this could be considered me pushing my luck. As usual, once something frustrates me past a certain point, my loose mouth becomes completely unhinged, meaning it is always ready to invite a man-made disaster. A disaster such as Garp, if his dark expression and raised fist were any indicators for what was about to happen.

"Perverted geezer... brat at least your mouth is as free as it can get. Very well, let me teach you how high the prize for such freedom is." Grandpa hissed threateningly before suddenly vanishing from my sight.

'Thank Oda for observation haki!', it suddenly kicked in, letting me sense him appear behind me in the nick of time. His fist, full of grandfatherly love, came crashing down from above, barely missing my head. All thanks to the recently developed evasion-skills of mine.

*BOOOOM!!!*

Not once before was I grateful for the shitty quest I got from my cheat but after dodging that punch there was only gratitude left within me. The ground where I stood a second ago was suddenly ravaged by cracks that spread out like a spider web, before turning it into a pit filled with rubble.

"What the hell, old man?!" I yelled, scrambling to my feet. "Are you trying to kill me?!"

But Grandpa wasn't listening. He appeared to my left, his movements faster than my eyes could follow. I barely managed to dodge, his fist grazing my arm and sending a jolt of pain through my body.

BOOOOM!!!

Another crater, another near miss. My heart was pounding, but my mind was strangely calm. This wasn't just a fight—it was a test. Grandpa was pushing me, trying to see how much I could take. He'd attacked three times now, each blow stronger than the last. Was he still figuring out my limits, or was he just having fun?

I knew I needed a plan, something more than just dodging and hoping for the best. 'If he's testing me, maybe there's a chance to surprise him with a counterattack,' I thought. 'If I can time it right, I might be able to hit that overbearing geezer right in his stupid mug.'

But before I could put my plan into action, Grandpa was already moving again. He lunged forward, his fist swinging towards my face. I ducked, feeling the wind of his punch whip past my cheek.

BOOOOM!!!

The sound of his fist smashing into the ground was deafening, like thunder crashing right next to my ear. I stumbled back, my earlier confidence evaporating like mist in the morning sun.

'Nope!' My previous plan for a counterattack was instantly thrown out of the window.

'That one was way too close for comfort, and I just so happen to like my head stay connected to my neck while in one piece.'

Garp, being a monster in every right, was already on the move, getting more serious the longer I avoided his attacks. Considering that he was said to be close in power to my old man, he should be roughly around 10 times as strong as me.

Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, I sensed something different. A strange force erupted from Grandpa, his fist suddenly turning a metallic black. My heart skipped a beat. 'No freaking way!' I thought. 'That's Armament Haki! If he hits me with that, broken bones will be the least of my worries.'

Grandpa vanished again, the ground breaking under his feet as he moved faster than I could track. My Observation Haki went into overdrive, but it wasn't enough.

His fist appeared in front of me, and I knew I had no chance of dodging it. Time seemed to slow down as the world around me faded. A cold fear gripped my heart. I had already died once but now it was beating the rhythm of terror up to my throat, all over again.

'No... No way in hell I won't at least hit back!' Unwillingness fuelled a fire of rebellion that soon turned into a blazing inferno as I threw out a fist of my own.

*Clang*

The sound was like steel clashing against steel, echoing through the clearing. The force of our punches meeting unleashed a shockwave that tore through the forest, uprooting trees and sending rocks flying. I felt the impact travel up my arm, the sheer power of Grandpa's punch threatening to shatter my bones. But then, to my surprise, the pain never came. Instead, I was thrown back, tumbling through the air before landing on my feet, skidding to a stop.

I looked down at my arm, expecting it to be broken or at least bruised, but it was fine. Completely fine. "Damn, Grandpa, my arm! It's… it's actually completely fine?"

'That shouldn't be possible.' I thought. 'Judging by how much force he used and the corresponding aftermath that followed, paired with the fact that his fist was coated in armament haki and mine wasn't- … or was it?' All gears in my head halted their spinning.

Before I could process what had happened, Grandpa stepped out of a dust cloud, a stupidly wide grin plastered on his face. He looked relaxed, almost amused, and the dangerous edge he'd had a moment ago was gone. He was back to being his usual annoying self.

"Old man," I said, unable to keep the curiosity out of my voice. Seeing him standing there so carefree did annoy me but it wasn't the time to start another 'loving education bout'. "Just now, was that the other form of haki?"

Grandpa's grin widened. "Bwahahahah! It sure was, brat. You've got more in you than you think. That was a pretty good punch."

Suddenly, his words from before resurfaced in my thoughts. He can't teach me about it, but if I were to figure it out 'one my own' then nobody could complain whatsoever! With that in mind, his action of slowly increasing how much strength he used gained a completely new meaning! Though I still haven't figured out how to use it, at least He gave me a hint on how to train.

'That old goof wasn't trying to test how far he can push me. He wanted to know how far he had to go to actually help me!' I might have taken too much damage to my head but despite being nearly beaten into next week, his willingness to support me in his own stupid ways made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Grandpa suddenly placed his large hand on my head. "Don't get cocky just yet. The price for that kind of freedom is still too high for you."

"Yes grandpa. I will train and become a lot stronger before setting out to sail the seas."

"Sail the seas? No, you brat! Join the navy and become strong enough to safely ignore orders you don't wanna follow!"

"Eh?! No, I'm not gonna join the stupid navy!"

"Nani?!"

"Also, should you, a vice-admiral, really be saying stuff like that?"

"No worries, I am strong enough to do whatever I want!"

Like that we bantered a bit on our way home, arguing back and forth about my and my brother's future.

"By the way, since we already mentioned Ace. I noticed that he became a lot more talkative. Just what did you say to make him feel better so quickly."

"Ace…" Gramps said with a smile. "To be honest you played a big part in making him realize some things. I just reminded him of what he already knew."

"Booh! What's with that shitty old-man-way of talking? Just admit if you didn't know how to talk and resorted to violen-"

*BAM*

"Ouch! You brutal old geezer, that hurt!"

"As it was supposed to, you stupid brat! And call me grandpa!"

"What kind of grandfather punches his grandson on his birthday?!"

"One with a fool for a grandson and two fists full of hard love!"

*BAM!*

Needless to say, it was a long and painful way back home.