"By the way, Vice Admiral."
"Hm?"
"Will you be leaving that boy, Rengoku, in Dadan’s care like Luffy?"
"No. Why would I dump a child who ought to grow into a proper Marine into some bandit-run den of would-be pirates?"
Garp had been regretting it for a long time already.
He had let a pirate get tangled up with his own grandson, and the boy had been ruined for it.
And of all people, it had been that red-haired brat who had once been one of Roger’s apprentice crew!
He had stuffed Luffy full of useless nonsense, and now the boy who should have grown into a Marine was screaming about becoming Pirate King.
"He’s still young, but I’ll teach him myself. From [Rokushiki] to Haki, I’ll pass on the essence of the Navy. I’ll mold him into a splendid, proper, invincible Marine."
Ruining his children was enough with his own son and grandson. As for Ace, that boy was a special case from birth, so he was an exception...
**
Rengoku’s biological father disembarked at a factory in Marine Headquarters.
"Then...please take good care of him!"
"Yes, yes. Don’t worry, I’ll raise him well."
Rengoku’s biological father also said goodbye to Rengoku.
"We part here. I truly hope you grow up well."
"Understood, Father."
Considering his father’s physical condition, Rengoku sent him off as calmly as possible.
He didn’t really have emotions to begin with, but he knew that forcing himself to cry and wail just to match the moment would only be harmful to both of them.
After parting from his father, Rengoku headed straight for the warship’s library.
Now that he had accepted this was a world different from Earth, he was steadily building up his knowledge so he could remain calm in the face of any absurdity or impossible situation.
And one fortunate thing was that when he recently resumed training [Total Concentration Breathing], it produced the same effect here.
No, perhaps because the power level of this world was higher, Rengoku’s [Total Concentration Breathing] was growing even faster than expected.
In just a little over ten days since obtaining this new body, he had already mastered the breathing technique itself, and all that remained was maintaining it constantly in the state of [Total Concentration Breathing: Constant].
His lung capacity was also clearly that of a child’s body, yet there was no overload at all. If anything, he could feel himself growing stronger.
'This body is human too, but it’s far superior to the human body I had on Earth! The potential of humans in this world is truly limitless!'
The Pirate King Roger and his crew.
The four pirate emperors who ruled the seas.
The Fleet Admiral and the three Admirals, the Navy’s highest combat power.
All of them were pure humans.
This world also had a variety of races beyond the basics—dwarves, giants, fish-men, merfolk, and others like the long-armed tribe with only long arms, the snake-necked tribe with necks long like a serpent’s, the long-legged tribe with only long legs, and the three-eyed tribe with three eyes.
And yet the strongest beings who stood at the summit of the world were all human.
Garp was only a Vice Admiral, but there were Admiral-class monsters, Yonko-class monsters equal to them, and above even those stood the Fleet Admiral and the Pirate King.
This was a world where the limits of humanity had long since been broken.
"Oh, Rengoku, are you heading to the library again?"
"Yes, Bogard."
"Heh, good boy. Study hard."
"Yes, sir!"
**
After about a month at sea, Garp’s warship safely arrived at Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
A colossal structure that looked like a castle keep, with the characters for the Navy painted huge across the outer wall and the shape of a seagull beside them.
It was a place that radiated the unmistakable feeling of the Navy’s main stronghold.
Rengoku held Garp’s hand as he stepped down onto Marineford.
Along the way, countless Marines greeted Garp with fervent respect, and Garp returned every single one of them.
Following Garp, Rengoku soon reached the top floor of the Marine Headquarters building in Marineford.
Outside, in large letters, it read [Fleet Admiral’s Office].
The Fleet Admiral rank was two grades above Vice Admiral Garp.
But Garp paid that no mind at all, yanked the door open, and strode inside.
"Garp! You again!"
From inside the Fleet Admiral’s office, a middle-aged man with a rough voice barked at him.
"Oh, Sengoku. Long time no see."
"Tch...When are you going to learn to carry yourself with the dignity of a Vice Admiral? At least show some manners when you enter the Fleet Admiral’s office!"
The middle-aged man had a round head, a long beard braided like a rope, and round glasses.
Compared to Garp’s macho presence, he gave off more of a strategist’s air.
"Dignity as a Vice Admiral? My fists are plenty dignified! Hahaha!"
Garp puffed out his chest and proudly flexed his fists.
"Sigh...Forget that. Where’s the report for this voyage?"
"Don’t have it."
"What did you say?"
"Hey, don’t get mad. Bogard probably has it. Go ask him."
"Garp...Garp..."
It was a call heavy with resentment.
"Anyway...Hm? And who is this child?"
Only then did the middle-aged man, Sengoku, notice Rengoku’s presence.
"Ah, this is a child I picked up on this voyage. His name is Rengoku. Come to think of it, his name is kind of similar to yours."
"Picked up? Garp, don’t tell me you just grabbed him from somewhere or kidnapped him."
"Hey now, do I really look like the kind of man who’d do that?"
"Your voyages have never had a quiet day in their life!"
Garp calmed the agitated Sengoku and explained the whole story about Rengoku.
After hearing the explanation, Sengoku finally seemed to settle down and returned to his seat.
"I see, I understand the situation. Then we’d better get the paperwork started."
Sengoku immediately took out paper and a pen from his desk drawer and called Rengoku over.
"Rengoku boy, come here."
At his words, Rengoku obediently went to Sengoku’s side.
On the paper, it said [Volunteer Enlistment Pledge].
"Can you write?"
"Yes."
"Good. Then write your name here, your age, birthday, place of origin...and then..."
Sengoku carefully explained everything from start to finish and helped Rengoku fill it out.
After finishing the form under Sengoku’s guidance, Rengoku read it over once, confirmed there were no problems, and submitted it to Sengoku.
"Good...From this moment on, you are a proud Navy recruit. Your classmates will be gathering here next week, so it might be good to start basic training in advance."
"What are you talking about, Sengoku? I’m the one who’s going to train him separately!"
"Have you lost your mind, Garp? Do you even know how dangerous it is to leave him with you?"
"But if he trains like the other Marines, he’ll never get strong enough! I’ll train him personally!"
Was this what people meant by mortal enemies?
The two men were growling at each other like a dog and a monkey locked in eternal rivalry.
The good news was that they didn’t seem to truly hate each other.
Rengoku looked back and forth between them once, then bowed to Sengoku and expressed his gratitude.
"I’m sorry, Fleet Admiral. I will train under Vice Admiral Garp. It was our original promise, and I do not believe Vice Admiral Garp will harm me."
Hearing Rengoku’s words, Sengoku tried once more to persuade him.
But seeing the strong, unwavering light in Rengoku’s eyes and his resolute attitude, he eventually gave up as if there was nothing else he could do.
"Since you’ve signed this paper, you are now a Navy recruit. The training itself will be handled by Garp’s side, but if you want to be promoted, come to Headquarters."
"Yes, understood."
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