"It's a thousand-year-old monster!" Luffy screamed.
"A thousand-year-old monster?" Argentus repeated, brows knitting together.
He looked at Luffy. The boy was practically vibrating with fear, hiding behind Argentus's leg. Argentus scanned the treeline again.
CRACK.
It wasn't a twig snapping. It sounded like a redwood tree being snapped in half like a dry matchstick.
Argentus shifted his stance, muscles coiling. He felt a pressure—not the killing intent of a beast, but something far heavier. It felt like the air itself was getting denser, harder to breathe.
"Brat..."
The voice boomed from the shadows. It was deep, gravelly, loud enough to rattle Argentus's ribs.
"...WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MONSTER?!"
A massive hand parted the thick brush as if it were a curtain of cobwebs.
The figure that emerged was a mountain of a man. He wore a crisp white suit that strained against a chest deeper than a barrel. A coat hung over his shoulders like a cape, the word "JUSTICE" emblazoned on the back. His hair was white, cropped short, and his beard was rough white stubble that framed a jaw made of iron.
Argentus gritted his teeth, suppressing the terror, and raised his fists. He prepared to launch himself at the threat.
"I don't care how old you are," Argentus hissed, silver eyes narrowing. "Step closer and I'll—"
The old man ignored him completely.
In a blur of speed that Argentus's eyes couldn't even track, the man closed the distance. He didn't attack Argentus. He reached past him.
"Luffy!"
The old man's fist descended. It wasn't a punch. It was judgment.
BONK.
It hit the top of Luffy's rubber head. Normally, blunt attacks bounced off Luffy. This one didn't. Luffy's head deformed, burying him chin-deep into the dirt with a shockwave that kicked up dust.
"GYAHHHHH! IT HURTS! IT HURTS!" Luffy screamed, clutching his head, tears streaming down his face. "Why does it hurt?! I'm rubber!"
The old man stood up, blowing on his knuckles. He grinned, a wide, terrifying expression that looked disturbingly like Luffy's.
"Brat," the old man laughed, "did you forget Grandpa's Iron Fist of Love?"
Argentus stood frozen, his fist still raised in a punch he'd never thrown.
Grandpa?
He looked at the Marine. He looked at the crying rubber boy in the dirt.
Garp finally turned his eyes toward Argentus. The playfulness vanished for a split second, replaced by the critical, assessing gaze of a veteran soldier. He looked at Argentus's stance, his scars, his eyes.
"Hoh?" Garp grunted, crossing his massive arms. "And who is this? You've got a dangerous look in your eyes, boy. Another one of Ace's delinquent friends?"
Argentus slowly lowered his hands. He realized instantly that fighting this man would be suicide. It wouldn't even be a fight.
"I am Argentus," he said, keeping his voice steady despite the pressure crushing him. "I'm not a delinquent."
Garp stepped forward, looming over Argentus. He leaned down, staring him straight in the face.
"You're strong," Garp noted, voice dropping. "But your foundation is messy. You fight like a wild animal."
He grinned again.
"Perfect! The Marines need wild animals! Hey, Luffy! Ace! Pack your bags! I'm taking all three of you to Navy Headquarters to become fine Marines!"
Luffy popped his head out of the dirt. "NO! I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"
"WHAT?!" Garp raised his fist again.
Argentus took a subtle step back. Marines? Me?
He looked at the "Justice" on Garp's coat. The same justice that could never be fair.
Never.
But looking at the fist that could flatten him like a pancake...
"I'll pass," Argentus said coolly.
Garp paused, his fist hovering over Luffy. He looked at Argentus with raised eyebrows.
"You'll pass?" Garp cracked his knuckles. "I don't think you heard me, boy. When Garp the Fist offers to train you... you don't get to pass."
Argentus's silver eyes went cold. He didn't know this was the Hero of the Marines. He didn't know this man had cornered the Pirate King. He only saw a man trying to put a collar on him.
"I don't serve the World Government," Argentus said, voice dropping to a low, dangerous whisper. "And I certainly don't serve loud old men."
Garp blinked. He looked from Argentus to Luffy, then back to Argentus. A wide, toothy grin spread across his face.
"Bwahahaha! Cheeky brat! You've got guts, I'll give you that!"
Garp took a step forward, the ground shaking slightly under his sandal.
"But guts don't make a soldier! You need discipline! You need to learn respect for your elders!"
Argentus didn't wait for the lecture to finish.
He used the explosive speed he'd built over years of carrying boulders. He launched himself low, aiming not for a punch, but for a kill shot. He drove his hardened elbow straight toward Garp's solar plexus, intending to shatter the old man's diaphragm and end the fight instantly.
It was a perfect strike. Fast. Lethal. Ruthless.
THWACK.
The sound wasn't flesh hitting flesh. It sounded like Argentus had struck a solid wall of iron.
Argentus's eyes widened. His elbow—conditioned to smash rock—throbbed with pain.
Garp hadn't moved. Hadn't dodged. Hadn't even uncrossed his arms. He'd simply taken the blow with his abs.
Garp looked down at the boy's elbow buried in his stomach. He raised an eyebrow.
"Was that a tickle?" Garp asked genuinely.
Argentus gritted his teeth. He spun, using the momentum to swing a vicious kick at Garp's temple.
Garp yawned. He lifted one hand, lazily, and caught Argentus's ankle.
"Too slow," Garp muttered. "And too light."
"Let go!" Argentus roared, twisting his body to drive his other heel into Garp's wrist.
"No."
Garp swung his arm.
It was just raw, overpowering force. He swung Argentus like a wet towel.
The world blurred.
SMASH.
Argentus was slammed into the ground. The earth cratered beneath him. The wind was driven from his lungs in a single, agonizing wheeze.
But Garp wasn't done. He lifted the boy up again and flicked his wrist.
Argentus went flying. He crashed through a bush, bounced off a tree trunk, and skidded to a halt next to Luffy, who was still rubbing the bump on his head.
"Ow..." Luffy whispered sympathetically.
Argentus lay in the dirt, coughing. His vision swam. His entire body felt like it had been run over by a ship. He tried to push himself up, arms trembling violently.
Impossible...
After all that training. He'd trained until his muscles tore.
And this old man had treated him like a paper doll.
Garp walked over, picking his nose with his pinky finger. He loomed over the broken boy.
"You've got strength, kid," Garp said, tone shifting from playful to serious. "Physical strength. But your will is huge but brittle."
He pointed a massive finger at Argentus's chest.
"You fight to kill because you're scared to lose. Real power isn't about killing. It's about imposing your will on the world!"
Garp clenched his fist. It turned pitch black—a metallic sheen coating the skin. Armament Haki.
"This is the sea, boy! If you think you're strong now, the New World will eat you alive and spit out the bones!"
Argentus stared at the black fist. He'd never seen that before. What is that? Magic? Metal?
He wiped the blood from his mouth and forced himself to stand. His legs shook, but he locked his knees. He refused to stay down.
"What..." Argentus wheezed, pointing at the black fist. "...is that?"
Garp looked at his own hand, then grinned.
"Hah! Interested now?"
Garp dropped his stance, crossing his arms again.
"It's called Haki. And if you want to learn how to keep from getting squashed like a bug... maybe you should listen to the loud old man."
Argentus was silent for a long moment. Pride warred with pragmatism in his chest. He thought of his mother's smile. The promise he'd made.
I can't keep that promise if I'm dead.
"Fine," Argentus spat, wiping a fresh trail of blood from his chin. "I will train. I will learn that 'Haki'. But I am not wearing your uniform. I am not saluting your flag."
Garp grinned. "We'll see about that, brat. A few months in the 'Garp Academy' usually changes a man's mind."
Beside them, Luffy let out a long, sorrowful sigh. He looked at Argentus with deep, soulful sympathy—the kind of look one gives a man stepping onto the gallows.
"Good luck, Tinfoil," Luffy whispered, patting Argentus's arm. "Grandpa's love... hurts."
Garp turned on his heel, his white coat snapping in the wind. "We start at dawn! If you're late, I throw you off a cliff! If you complain, I throw you off a cliff! If you—"
"Wait."
Argentus's voice cut through the shouting. He stood straight, despite his bruised ribs.
"You never told me your name, old man. If I'm to learn from you, I need to know what to call you."
Garp stopped. He paused for dramatic effect, then slowly turned around, puffing out his massive chest, placing his hands on his hips, and tilting his chin toward the sky. The sunlight caught his white teeth in a blinding gleam.
"Bwahahaha! I suppose I forgot to introduce myself! No wonder you refused my offer!"
Garp took a deep breath, preparing for the inevitable gasp of adoration.
"I am the Hero of the Marines! The Fist that cornered the Pirate King! I am Monkey D. Garp!"
He held the pose. He waited. He expected eyes to widen. He expected the fear and respect that name commanded across the entire Grand Line.
Argentus stared at him.
He blinked once. His expression didn't change. It was the look one gives a drunk person yelling at a lamppost.
"What?" Argentus asked flatly.
Garp's pose faltered. His grin twitched.
"What do you mean, 'What'?" Garp demanded, leaning forward. "Monkey D. Garp! The Hero! The man who cornered Gold Roger! The Vice Admiral!"
Argentus furrowed his brow, genuinely trying to recall the name from the stolen diary. Roger... Whitebeard... Kaido... Big Mom... Shiki...
"Never heard of you," Argentus said, shrugging his shoulders. "Are you a Corporal or something?"
CRACK.
The sound of Garp's ego shattering was almost audible.
Luffy burst out laughing, rolling on the ground. "Shishishi! He thinks Grandpa is a nobody! He thinks Grandpa is a grunt!"
Garp turned purple. Veins popped out on his forehead.
"A CORPORAL?!" Garp roared, the trees shaking from the volume. "YOU INSOLENT LITTLE BRAT! I fought the Rocks Pirates before your mother was born! I turned down the Admiral position three times!"
Argentus looked unimpressed. "If you turned down a promotion, that just means you're bad at business. Why would you refuse a pay raise?"
Garp froze. He opened his mouth, then closed it. His brain short-circuited. He'd been called scary, violent, and crazy. But he'd never been called bad with money.
"That's it!" Garp rolled up his sleeves, steam practically coming out of his ears. "Training starts NOW! I'm going to beat the history of the Marines into that thick silver skull of yours!"
As Garp stomped toward him, looking like an angry demon, Argentus didn't flinch.
He cracked his knuckles and raised his fists.
"Come at me, Corporal," Argentus said, the faintest smirk touching his lips.
(END OF CHAPTER)
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