The days passed by as normal.
The sun shone brilliantly as always. The springtime in Foosha Village was quite enjoyable, and Kitse showed no signs of irritation as time went by.
The hall was still empty as always, but the papers pinned to the wall seemed to have multiplied.
Kitse didn't let the emptiness or the lack of action bother him at all.
He would wake up early in the morning, have his cup of absolute yuck, cook some food for himself, and read a weird-looking newspaper all day long.
[A/N Yes, it is a Tony Statovci ref]
The newspaper was weirdly purple, and the words contained in it didn't match the language of the current world.
It was the Nexus Daily, provided to the deployed members for entertainment. After all, for a Nexus Ranger, passing time was the hardest part of their job. The Nexus Daily kept them updated on matters throughout the multiverse.
Other than cooking and training, it was one of the few things he had come to appreciate as a Ranger.
Kitse was reading the newspaper in peace when the door opened with a bang.
A tall, muscular man walked in alone through the hall. The man had grey hair and a grey beard, and one look was enough to confirm that he was an old man.
He wore a pristine white Marine coat that read the word "Justice" in bold kanji.
The man looked old, but his steps were vigorous, and his aura was nothing to scoff at.
He carried a shit-eating grin on his face, but his eyes were darting around the place with absolute focus and clarity. Clearly, the man wasn't as carefree and goofy as he looked.
And indeed, Garp was not as calm as he looked.
Foosha Village was his hometown. It was the place where he grew up and rose to prominence. Perhaps to him, it was the place that he held most near and dear, even more than Marineford itself.
He had come to the village today to check on his grandson during his vacation, but he saw a weird-looking hall near the shore of the island.
He was a seasoned Vice Admiral of the Marines and probably one of the strongest forces in the entire world, but the hall gave him an unnatural feeling.
It was a trace of caution that he had developed as a Marine over more than half a century.
The hall, no, whatever was in that hall, was dangerous. Normally, Garp would not ignore his own instincts, but today was not the day.
A potential threat to Foosha Village was not something Garp could tolerate. So he had to check the place out. Even if it was dangerous, he had to gather intelligence on the weird-looking building.
So he entered the hall right away.
Honestly, the inside was not what he had expected at all.
He had imagined all sorts of scenarios before he entered, but now he seemed to have overreacted a little.
The interior of the hall was clean and cozy. The cinders in the center kept the entire area warm, the tables at the side were clean, and the statues in the corners were surprisingly lifelike. There was a statue of a swordsman, a spearman, a lady holding a fiery flame in her hands, a large mammoth-like creature holding a hammer, a small merman holding a serrated dagger, a cold-looking female marksman holding an icy bow, and a weird-looking tiny green skeleton. All of the statues were lifelike and very well crafted.
At the edge of the hall, opposite the entrance, a young man no older than twenty was sitting behind the counter with a newspaper in his hand.
He had silver hair dripping down the sides of his face and a warm smile that smoothed the tense environment.
"Welcome to the Nexus Guild, Marine Hero Monkey D. Garp. I certainly wasn't expecting an illustrious customer such as yourself here." The young man spoke with a polite smile.
Garp, who was prepared for a brutal showdown, was immediately caught off guard by that polite greeting and didn't know how to react for a moment.
For a moment, Garp seemed to have seen a hint of relief in the young man's eyes, but he didn't dwell on it.
"What is this place?" He decided it would be best to gather some information.
"My name is Kitse. This is the headquarters of the Nexus Guild. Though you are the first person to come through these doors."
Kitse answered calmly. Suspicions were guaranteed in his business, after all.
"Guild?" Garp's voice was laced with mild confusion as he asked.
"Think of it as a hub. One can join the Nexus Guild and complete various missions or tasks commissioned to the guild for the respective rewards. Of course, as a member, you can post specific tasks and missions as well."
The concept was not hard to understand at all, but Garp was not convinced that was all.
"Would you like to join the guild, Garp-san?" Kitse asked as Garp remained silent.
"Why establish a branch in Foosha Village?" That was what Garp cared about. He didn't care about missions or the guild at all.
A touch of surprise clouded Kitse's face, but it immediately turned into a mocking one.
"Looks like you focused your Haki entirely inside the hall, Garp-san. Try looking outside."
Garp furrowed his brows at the response and immediately spread his Haki out.
Garp's eyes widened slightly.
Even someone of his caliber could not suppress the gasp that escaped his mouth when his Haki spread beyond the walls of the hall.
The outside of the hall was a black, starry sky filled with pulsing stars. Foosha Village?
"The hall exists in a separate pocket of space in the world. When the hall encounters a potential customer or a potential member, it materializes near them so they can interact with it. This time, the hall materialized in Foosha Village because of you, but the rest of the people in the village cannot see or interact with the guild at all. The moment you entered the hall, you were instantly transported to the main headquarters. I can understand your caution, but I have no intention of settling in your hometown, Garp-san."