"Ow…"
"That jerk Garp actually dared to hit me!"
"Just you wait—when your dear Luffy sets out to sea, I'll get my revenge!" Ryuen grumbled first thing in the morning.
After washing up, Ryuen, like usual, went straight to the training room, only to freeze as soon as he entered. That old geezer still hadn't left!
"Wahahaha!"
"Daisy, Nojiko, Kuina, there is no problem with your training,your power just a bit weak. No problem, though—I've got a method that'll fix that!" Garp was proudly instructing the three girls in their training.
"Hey! Garp! Why are you still here?" Ryuen shouted angrily, interrupting Garp's "guidance."
Like hell that old man knew anything about proper training; he was just a brute! Compared to Zephyr, he didn't even come close!
"Big brother, you're finally up!"
"Big brother~~"
Seeing Ryuen come into the training room, the three girls ran over to him as if seeing a savior.
Garp's training methods were definitely not for the average person—especially not for girls, since none of them wanted to end up looking like muscle-bound fighters!
"Ryuen, you're even lazier than these girls! Come on! Follow my method—100 sets to start!" Garp's eyes lit up when he saw Ryuen.
"Good luck, big brother! We're off to see Nami!"
"That's right, we need to study!"
With that excuse, the three girls dashed out of the training room, terrified of Garp's intense methods.
Watching them bolt, Ryuen's eye twitched. *Seriously? Betraying your brother like that?*
"Ryuen, why are you just standing there? Get over here!"
"Uh, actually, Vice Admiral Garp, I just remembered—it's time for me to study this morning. I'll be going now!"
"Don't even try that! You think I'm an idiot?"
"Ahh! You jerk, Garp! You'll regret this one day!!!"
---
The whole morning's training didn't end until Bellemere prepared the delicious food. The girls looked at Ryuen and tried to stifle their laughter.
Ryuen was now covered in lumps and bruises all over, looking like he'd gained a few pounds.
All of them because during the morning training, Garp had given Ryuen a heavy dose of "Marine justice." After listening to Garp's lecture, Ryuen couldn't resist mocking him a bit, which led to his current state. *Justice, huh? Isn't it just whoever's fist is bigger?*
"Oh, by the way… Bellemere, where's Genzo?" Nojiko asked curiously, noticing he hadn't joined them for breakfast.
"Oh, Genzo left early today to help Captain Gulachi. The captain's heading out on a trip and needed help gathering some oranges," Bellemere explained.
The kids understood immediately. With Captain Gulachi's trading fleet growing, now owning three ships, the villagers of Cocoyasi Village were earning plenty. But, naturally, success like this also attracted some attention from others.
After enjoying Bellemere's breakfast, Garp and Bogart prepared to leave. Due to certain circumstances, they'd stayed the night. Their battleship had a small issue that needed repairs at the dock on Aito Island.
While Garp and Bogart headed to the dock to retrieve their ship, Ryuen and his friends went to help out at the Cocoyasi Village port.
"Ryuen? You're back? I thought you'd gone out to sea again. Wait—whoa, have you grown taller?" First Mate Ade looked at Ryuen with surprise.
"Bellemere would never let us go out to sea, we're not even adults yet. And as for my height, I just eat a bit more, that's all. By the way, where's Captain Gulachi?" Ryuen asked casually, scanning the port.
"He's with the villagers, settling the payment for the oranges. We're paying for goods on the same day we receive them now," First Mate Ade replied.
Ryuen nodded. It looked like Captain Gulachi had been making quite a bit of money over the past half-year. Just look at those three merchant ships, all fitted with several cannons now.
At that moment, a warship pulled into the port and docked right next to Captain Gulachi's merchant ship.
"Marine Branch 16?" Ryuen's eyes narrowed as he saw the number 16 on the warship's sail.
"Hehehe!"
"This is the village, right?" Captain Nezumi asked, scanning the port.
"Yes, Captain. Our intelligence agents have confirmed that the village's trading group is suspected of working with pirates!" a nearby Marine answered, calm and collected.
"Hehehe. Begin the operation! Make sure to capture that captain. He's been working with pirates for a long time, so he's bound to have a stash of dirty money. That money will do nicely to fund our so-called 'justice'!" Captain Nezumi ordered with a sly grin.
"Yes, Captain Nezumi!" The Marines on the warship immediately sprang into action.
"Everyone, freeze!"
"Where's your captain? We suspect your trading group of working with pirates!"
"Bring out your captain now!"
The Marines aggressively surrounded everyone at the port, their attitude extremely hostile!
"How dare they!" Kuina was furious and started to charge forward, but Ryuen held her back, along with the other three girls.
"Guards!" Ryuen shouted.
"Yes!"
"We're here!"
The guards, who had been standing in shock, snapped back to attention at Ryuen's shout.
"What are you waiting for? Don't you see these Marines bullying our Cocoyasi villagers? Take them down! I'll take responsibility for anything that happens!" Ryuen yelled angrily.
"But…" The guards hesitated, nervous about fighting the Marines.
"No 'buts'! Even if they're Marines, they can't bully the people of Cocoyasi Village! Attack! Or I'll disband you all right now!"
"Yes!"
"Everyone, charge!"
The guards gritted their teeth and charged forward.
"Marines! What do you think you're doing? This is Cocoyasi Village! We won't let you act like this here!"
"How dare you attack the righteous Marines! Fight back! All of you, fight back!"
The two sides clashed, and it turned into a massive brawl!
Ryuen watched with satisfaction. The guards wouldn't hesitate to fight against invading pirates, but he wanted them to have the same courage against a Marine invasion as well. After all, even if the Marines retaliated later, Ryuen would stand behind Cocoyasi Village—they wouldn't back down!
Behind Captain Nezumi's warship, a dog-headed warship appeared silently. Garp had planned to leave, but when he noticed the battle, he turned back.
"Vice Admiral Garp, take a look—this is your so-called 'justice' Marine!" Ryuen shouted.
Garp's face darkened as he looked at Nezumi's warship. Captain Nezumi himself was terrified the moment he saw Garp appear.
Wasn't Garp supposed to be gone already?!
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