"Excuse me, is this Vice Admiral Garp's ship?" After instructing the two slave pirates to approach the warship, Ryu shouted loudly.
"Who are you, kid?" a hat-wearing officer with a sword at his waist asked from the ship's railing.
"I'm a friend of Ace, just here to say hello!" Ryu replied with a slight smile.
Meanwhile, the two pirate slaves were already so scared that they had fainted. Garp was a legendary hero of the Navy, known throughout the seas for hunting down the Pirate King.
"Come aboard!" After tossing down a rope, Ryu climbed up. The Marine soldiers on the ship weren't worried about his intentions; after all, this was Garp's ship, and one would have to be quite foolish to come looking for trouble here.
"Ahaha, so you're Ace's friend? Where is that rascal now?" A burly old man wearing a dog hat and draped in a justice cloak stepped forward.
"Is this the aura of a top-tier powerhouse?" Ryu gulped. Although he knew Garp had a personality similar to Luffy's and could be quite reckless, being this close to such a formidable figure still made his heart race.
Ryu didn't immediately answer Garp; he seemed momentarily intimidated by Garp's imposing presence. The officer in the hat behind Garp tilted his hat slightly, giving Ryu a curious glance as he sensed his accelerated heartbeat.
"I'm currently pursuing him!" Ryu took a deep breath and spoke directly.
"Hmm?" Garp shot Ryu a glare, his powerful aura almost suffocating.
"He's a pirate now, and I'm a bounty hunter, so it's only natural for me to chase him down!" Ryu said defiantly, gritting his teeth.
"Hmm? A pirate? That little brat actually dared to sneak off and become a pirate without telling me!?" In an instant, Garp's aura surged before it dissipated, replaced by curiosity. "Since you're chasing him, what do you want with me?"
"He mentioned that you're his grandfather, so he never takes the initiative against the Marine." Ryu replied, feeling a bit awkward.
He wasn't good at lying, especially not when trying to deceive both sides. He was worried he might get found out someday.
"Ahaha, that little rascal still has a bit of conscience." Garp said, his stern expression softening with amusement.
"Uh, General, where are you headed next? I'm going to Loguetown, and I think Ace will show up there. After I catch him, I'll hand him over to you. When would you be able to head to Loguetown?" Ryu thought for a moment and organized his words before speaking.
"Ah~ I'm on vacation right now. Can't talk business, but I'll swing by Loguetown on my way back. If you see me, just hand Ace over!" Garp said with a smirk.
"Phew~ In that case, can I stay on your ship for a few days?" Ryu asked cautiously.
"Aren't you headed to Loguetown? That's the opposite direction of my route!" Garp said as he munched on a donut.
"It's fine, just a few days won't hold me up!" Ryu shook his head.
"Well, okay then; do as you wish!" After some thought, Garp agreed.
Ryu hadn't expected Garp to actually say yes. Overjoyed, he called out to all the Marine soldiers on the ship, "I'll be challenging all of you from now on!"
"What?" "What an arrogant declaration!" "Is this kid out of his mind?"
The Marine personnel looked at Ryu in disbelief, murmuring among themselves.
Garp shot Ryu a surprised glance; he didn't understand the kid's motives. If it was merely to hone his skills, he didn't need to challenge even the ordinary Marine soldiers. Moreover, knowing his relationship with Ace, it was quite bold for him to come here so openly. However, Garp didn't mind; his absolute strength made him unafraid of such antics.
Half a day later, Ryu had already defeated all the soldiers on the ship and began challenging the officers.
A day later, aside from the hat-wearing swordsman, all the Navy soldiers on Garp's ship had fallen to Ryu. Although the experience wasn't much, it was still a significant gain for Ryu at this point.
"Phew~ So this is the Rokushiki of the Marines? Truly impressive!" After countless attempts and failures, Ryu finally gave up on defeating the swordsman.
"At your age, I wasn't as good as you!" the hat-wearing officer said coldly.
"Ha ha, is that a compliment?" Ryu said weakly as he lay on the deck.
The swordsman didn't reply and simply turned away.
"Tch~ What a cold guy!" Ryu rolled over and fell asleep right there on the deck.
That day of intense battles had boosted all his attributes by several points. Indeed, fighting was the quickest way to level up.
"Vice Admiral" The swordsman, whom Ryu had dubbed the cold guy, was currently reporting to Garp about Ryu's performance that day.
"Oh? So this kid is someone worth training?" Garp chuckled.
"He shows great potential. If he trains at headquarters, his future achievements might surpass mine!" the cold swordsman said somewhat melancholically.
Limited by his own talent, despite being by Garp's side all this time, he knew his own accomplishments would be limited.
"On my way back, let's swing by Loguetown. Whether we meet again will depend on fate!" Garp said with a smile as he walked away, revealing that he hadn't truly planned on going to Loguetown on his return.
The next morning, Ryu stood face-to-face with Garp on the deck.
"Vice Admiral, although I know there's a huge gap between us, I still want to give it a try!" Ryu said, his expression tense.
"Ahaha, youth is wonderful! Since you want to see for yourself, old man will oblige you. Let you taste my beloved fist!" With that, Garp took off his cloak and charged directly at Ryu.
"Can't dodge!" Ryu saw Garp's fist coming straight for his head, but his body felt completely unresponsive; he couldn't evade at all.
"Move!" Ryu willed his internal energy to flow, but it felt like it was stuck in a swamp, moving sluggishly.
"Boom!"
In the final moments, Ryu still couldn't evade, but he raised his fists filled with internal energy to block.
"Hmm~ Interesting!" Garp remarked as he watched Ryu get knocked into the sea.
"Sir, what was that just now, haki?" the cold swordsman asked, somewhat stunned.
"Kind of similar, but not quite. Let's fish him out; if it is what I think, the first awakening is always a bit tough!" Garp said, donning his cloak again with a smile.
Without needing to instruct them, the Navy had already gone down to fish Ryu out. Although it had only been a short day, the soldiers admired the young man who had challenged the entire ship's crew.
"Cough, cough you went too hard on me you old coot!" Ryu coughed a few times, spitting out some seawater, and pointed at Garp while shouting.
"Ahaha, is that so? I didn't think so! Besides, you didn't get hurt, did you?" Garp feigned ignorance, grinning.
Ryu turned his head away, displeased.
"Kid, do you know about Haki?" Garp sat down next to Ryu, asking with great interest.
"Armament, Observation, and Conqueror's Haki, right?" Ryu replied, appearing knowledgeable.
"Ahaha, so you know! Have you awakened Armament Haki?" Garp inquired, laughing.
Ryu shook his head and replied, "No, this is a family ability of mine; it's not Haki!"
"Oh? Not Haki? What's your full name?" Garp's demeanor shifted slightly upon hearing that it was a family ability.
"Full name? I'm just called Ryu; that's my full name!" Ryu answered seriously.
As a person from Huaguo, names held a form of heritage and shouldn't be changed lightly.
Garp scrutinized Ryu with a thoughtful look; he suspected Ryu simply didn't want to share more, perhaps fearing that he would give away something from his name.
After sparring a bit with Garp, Ryu returned to his small triangular sailboat, where the two pirate slaves were waiting pitifully; they didn't dare to run away.
Ten days later, Ryu finally set foot in Loguetown. Up until then, he hadn't encountered a single bounty criminal. Although he had run into a few waves of pirates, none were bountied. It was no wonder the East Blue was known as the weakest sea; bounties over ten million were hard to come by in this ocean.
"Sir, according to our agreement, can we leave now?" the two pirate slaves asked Ryu with hopeful expressions.
Throughout the journey, they had witnessed the fates of every pirate who had dared to trouble Ryu; he was a ruthless person who wouldn't spare even the smallest thug.
"There's one last thing. Go get me the latest bounty notice, and then you can leave. If you dare to run away, you know the consequences!" Ryu shot a sideways glance at the two pirates.
"We wouldn't dare! But sir, the bounty notices are distributed for free by the Marines; we can't go there, we can only buy them from the tavern owner. They usually have the latest notices." the pirates explained, looking somewhat troubled.
Ryu thought for a moment and waved his hand, saying, "In that case, you can go. Remember, don't do anything evil; otherwise, next time, you won't have such good luck!"
After the two left, Ryu went to the Navy base in Loguetown to collect a bounty notice. Although he wanted to ask whether Smoker was currently in charge, seeing the impatient Navy soldiers made him hold back his questions.
"Now, let's go cause some trouble! And Ace, you're the biggest treasure! I mustn't miss you!" Ryu said with a grin, holding the bounty notice as he walked out of the Marine base.
Meanwhile, on his ship, Ace unconsciously shivered awake and muttered to himself, "Why do I feel a cold breeze? I hope I'm not about to run into a storm again!"
After parting ways with Ryu, Ace had originally intended to head straight to the Grand Line. However, he encountered a storm along the way, and after some unexpected adventures and experiences, his strength had increased once again.
..............
Started editing the chapters now ^^
FREE 2 CHAPTERS IN >>...patreon.com/CuteSelfieCat