On the deck of the ship, one young boy with spiky white hair and hazel-coloured eyes, Smoker, was seen to be yelling out loud while doing an endless series of push-ups—with Garp, a fellow with a very huge body, sitting on top of this tiny boy.
The marines were watching the scene with nothing but shock, amazed that in contrast to the boy's terrified screams, he was somehow managing Garp's unbelievable training routine.
Perhaps he didn't really mean it when he let out those screams, and they were a method for him to gain strength. Smoker's arms were shaking, and the deck below him was drenched with the sweat that relentlessly poured from the boy. And yet, even under this intense stress, Smoker didn't give up, bent his arms down, and straightened them back up—completing another push-up.
'Just as I thought,' While enjoying a rice cracker, Garp grinned while observing the boy underneath him, 'You have the potential, Smoker.'
"Hey... huff... Garp-sensei... huff... by the way..."
Those with talent show a fearsome rate of growth. They tend to make higher up than most of people. Garp believed that there existed a variety of talents, ranging from an inherently tough body to high natural-born intelligence.
Then, there are those with unbending willpower, the hard workers who overcome their limits to match those with talents. The most prominent marine of this type, who came into Garp's mind, was Zephyr.
"You know... huff... about that 20 million... huff... Beli..."
'And you, Smoker, have an incredible talent, and your will far surpasses your peers. Without a doubt, you will grow as the core figures of Marine in the future, and it is my job to prevent you from straying away from that path.'
Looking up at the blue sky as Smoker continued his endless push-ups, Garp thought,
'It feels as if Roger's death took something away from me. This sense of hollowness—the time has come for my generation to fade away, entrusting the justice of this world to the next generation. However,'
Garp's facial expression darkened as he recalled one man,
'Sakazuki. That fellow... he harbours a dangerous ideal. Yet another man with both talent and willpower—no one in his generation is able to go on par with him, not even Borsalino and Kuzan.'
"The bounty from... huff... Mammoth..."
At this point, he wasn't even sure where exactly Sakazuki stood in terms of strength. Did he awaken his fruit? Did he master the advanced Haki techniques?
"I... huff... have a great idea... huff... you know..."
Garp had an itch that Sakazuki was going to do something soon, something that was considered immoral and ridiculous to him.
"Why don't... huff... we—AHHHH!!!!"
Garp, growing a tickmark on his forehead, lifted up a huge dumbbell on the side, causing Smoker to scream from the significantly increased weight above him.
"Shut up and focus on your exercise if you got the energy to talk, brat!!"
"WHAT THE HELL, OLD MAN!!!!!!!"
Shifting his attention, Garp looked at Hina and Bastille, who were roaming around the ship, learning the ins and outs of various tools and techniques used to sail.
'The standard of marines is falling,' Garp thought grimly, 'while the standard of pirates is rising.'
Intelligence and knowledge were indeed important. However, what drove marines was none other than their determination; Hina and Bastille, just like any other, clearly didn't have the motivation that Garp saw through Smoker. Perhaps they were using their time wisely in Bogard's eyes, however, going around the ship, observing and learning many things... they were all useless in Garps' eyes.
He swallowed the entire rice cracker that he was holding,
'...Oh well, I suppose that I will make you even stronger then, Smoker, in order to offset the imbalance.'
He reached out for another huge dumbbell, with an evil smile on his face.
__________
[One Week After]
What a quick sail it was. Apparently, there were some sort of propellers attached below the ship, thanks to the infamous Dr. Vegapunk, Hina and Bastille told me.
While they analyzed various structures and systems of marine platoon and satiated their intelligence, I had a quite fun with Garp-style training routine,
"Heh... heheheh..."
to the extent that I was currently in a wheelchair, unable to move a single finger.
"Bwahaha!" Garp pointed his finger and laughed at me with tears in his eyes, "You look like a moron, brat!"
"THIS IS BECAUSE OF YOU, OLD MAN!!!" I immediately barked, before slouching back into the wheelchair immediately, "Aw... my body is sore..."
"Uh..." Bastille, who was holding onto the back of the wheelchair, sweatdropped, "It seems that you two are getting along."
Bogard, who was standing behind Garp, shook his head as if pitying me.
"Well, that's enough chit-chat," Hina, who was gazing at our front, then stated, "Hina thinks we're here."
Just when she said so, the noises of horns resounded out from the mist ahead of us. Upon receiving the noises, the lookout of our ship, who was sitting on the Crow's Nest—the topmost section of the ship—lifted up the horn and blew in a certain pattern.
Just then, something behind the mist moved—
"What... the..." Bastille exclaimed in wonder, and I too was at a loss for words.
It was a gate. A humongous gate, so huge that I thought a giant was marching at us, slowly opened, providing an entry of our ship into the thick walls that now were visible.
"Why?" Garp grinned upon noticing my antics, "Is it your first time looking at the Gate of Justice?"
Bogard, who was silently standing at the back, spoke up calmly, "We've entered the Tarai current through the Enies Lobby Gate. At the current rate, our estimated time of arrival is approximately an hour."
Garp carried on, "And don't think that the funeral of Nigirizushi is the only thing that's happening there. We've kept it hidden as a huge surprise, but,"
He placed his arms on his waist,
"most of the available marines will be gathering from all around the world, and there will be major changes happening three days after."
Bastille and I let out the signs of interest, curious about how the events will flow.
Hina, on the other hand, simply crossed her arms elegantly, as if having known Garp's information already.
"Is that alright though?" I couldn't help but question, "Even now, the pirates are crossing the Red Line and causing harm everywhere, aren't they?"
"And hence, 'most' of the available marines, Garp-san explained to you," Bogard explained coolly, "some marines at important duties won't show up. Additionally, the ceremonies on certain occasions are necessary to showcase the might of the Marine to everyone, in order to gain the trust of the civilians and inflict fear on the criminals.
For the rest of the time, Garp and Bogard took time in explaining to us the specific details of what to do, and what to be careful of. It seemed that we, as future Marine Officers, were receiving special treatment—not that I was complaining.
And one hour swiftly passed by. Once again, the incredibly huge Gate of Justice opened, and our ship sailed out of the rapid Tarai current. Moments after, there now lied the fascinating view of Marineford that I got to view through the monitor in my previous life; I was filled with nothing but wonders.
"So here we are," I muttered while unconsciously standing up from the wheelchair and walking up to the front of the deck, "The Marine headquarter, the island that serves as the base of all Marine operations—Marineford."
"Oh," Garp raised his eyebrow with a pleasant surprise, "Better already, eh?"
"I've never seen someone who can actually withstand Garp-san's training." Bogard shook his head in disbelief, before asking me, "Kid, what do you smoke?"
"What? Smoke?" I immediately frowned and turned to Bogard, "I smoked nothing, smoke nothing, and will smoke nothing. That's the motto of my life."
Behind me, Hina was nodding with her eyes closed, agreeing with my words. On the other hand, Bastille looked at me with a deadpan, and he seemed to be thinking,
'...And your name is Smoker.'