35: Astonished Garp

Days passed like this for a while. Ron and Kuina had already been in Foosha Village for almost two months.

One evening, after bidding farewell to Luffy and Ace, Ron returned to the tavern with Raikiri strapped to his back. As soon as he entered, the tavern door opened again.

A tall, broad-chested old man with white hair and a white beard, wearing shorts and a floral shirt, walked in, raising a hand and smiling at Makino.

"Yo, Makino, how have you been?" he greeted.

Ron glanced at him and was momentarily stunned.

"Ah! Garp-san!" Makino exclaimed with surprise. "What brings you here?"

"Haha, I took a month off to come see my two grandsons," Garp replied with a hearty laugh as he walked up to the counter. "Give me a beer, make it cold."

Makino handed him a cold beer, which he gulped down in one go.

"Garp-san, what about Sabo…" Makino began.

"Ah, I've heard about that," Garp said, his mood sinking. "That fool Sabo! How could he get himself mixed up with those people..."

Makino silently refilled his glass.

"What happened to Sabo after he was taken?" a voice asked from beside Garp. He turned to see a clean-cut boy with black hair, wearing a black short-sleeved shirt and white shorts, standing calmly next to him with a long sword on his back.

"And who are you?" Garp asked with a curious glint in his eyes.

"Ron," the boy replied.

"Are you a friend of Sabo's?" Garp asked.

"You could say that," Ron said, maintaining eye contact with the famous marine hero. "I've answered your question, but you haven't answered mine."

"Haha! Interesting kid! Alright, since you're a friend of Sabo's, I'll answer," Garp chuckled.

He then picked up his beer again, his face growing solemn as he spoke. "After I got the news, I immediately asked a friend who was on the escort ship to find out what happened that day."

"Sabo did offend the Celestial Dragons, but the reason was that he tried to save a little girl who had fallen and found herself in their path," Garp explained grimly. "After he was taken aboard the Celestial Dragons' ship, they placed him and other slaves on a small boat and... blew it up with cannon fire."

"What!" Makino gasped, covering her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide with shock.

Garp downed the rest of his beer in silence.

Ron said nothing and turned to leave.

"Don't tell Luffy and Ace about this," Garp instructed Makino.

"I-I understand," she replied, wiping her tears.

Garp turned to glance at Ron's small figure as he walked away.

"That boy, Ron, is he from Foosha Village?" Garp asked.

"No, he came from an island far away," Makino explained. "He came here with a girl. They've been in the village for nearly two months now. He's very close to Ace, Sabo, and Luffy. Garp-san, even though Ron is young, he's incredibly strong."

"Oh?" Garp raised an eyebrow in surprise. He stroked his chin, now quite intrigued. "I'd like to see that for myself."

The next morning, when Ron arrived at the foot of the mountain, Ace and Luffy were already there, and with them was Garp.

"Ron, this is my old grandpa," Luffy said, pointing at Garp.

The next moment, a massive fist slammed into Luffy's head. "Who are you calling old, you brat?! Show some respect and call me just Grandpa!" Garp yelled.

"Ouch! That hurts so much! Grandpa's fists are the worst!" Luffy wailed, clutching the growing bump on his head.

Ron watched the scene, his eyes flashing.

Was that... Haki?

Garp, while picking his nose, looked at Ron and said, "Ron, just do your usual training, no need to mind me."

"No one was going to mind you anyway," Ace muttered under his breath.

The next second, he was sent flying by a punch.

With fresh, red lumps on their heads, Luffy and Ace followed Ron and began their training for the day.

Garp sat cross-legged on a rock, munching on senbei, watching the three of them closely.

"They've both improved a lot in terms of stamina since the last time I saw them," Garp thought, his gaze shifting to Ron.

"That boy, Ron... His training method might be a bit crude, but it effectively works out his entire body," Garp mused. "But still..."

Garp's eyes narrowed as he focused intently on Ron.

What's with this abnormal amount of vitality? How could a boy of around ten, like Ace, grow this strong with just these training methods?!

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T/N:

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