As they rode along, Loya couldn't help but chuckle at Aludo's bewilderment. Sure, the ice wolves weren't exactly alive, but moving ice cubes? It did sound pretty wild when you put it that way.
"You know," Loya mused, "this world's kinda weird when you think about it. We've got all this crazy combat power, but when it comes to actually using energy? It's like we're cavemen playing with fire."
Aludo raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Loya shrugged. "Take swordsmen, right? You learn to cut iron, boom, you're a 'swordsman'. But what about before that? Or after? It's like there's no... progression, you know?"
"Huh," Aludo grunted. "Never thought about it like that."
Loya grinned. "And don't even get me started on the whole 'Great Swordsman' thing. Like, what, you just need to be famous enough?"
As they rode, Loya's mind wandered to his own powers. He'd spent countless hours experimenting, trying to figure out the ins and outs of his modeling magic.
"You know," he said, breaking the silence, "I've found it's way more efficient to just make a static ice bomb and slap it on someone's face than to send an ice wolf to bite them."
Aludo looked at him askance. "You spend a lot of time thinking about this stuff, huh?"
Loya nodded. "Yeah, but there's still so much I don't get. Like, my ice is harder than regular ice, sure. But it's not steel-tough like real dragon slayer magic. Can't smash through decks or anything."
He sighed. "Makes me think twice about wasting mana in a fight, you know?"
"The only time I really felt good about using dynamic magic was when I caught Kuzan off guard with that Icefall Funeral move," Loya continued. "Controlled the ice on the floor he thought I'd discarded. But even then, the guy just shrugged it off. Didn't even need to use his powers, just looked a bit embarrassed."
As they approached the barracks canteen, Loya fell silent, lost in thought. There was still so much to learn, so much to figure out. But for now, food was calling. And who knew? Maybe over lunch, he and Aludo could brainstorm some new ways to use their powers. After all, in this weird, wonderful world of theirs, anything seemed possible.
Loya couldn't stop laughing as Aludo tried to mount the ice wolf. He'd completely forgotten about their size difference!
"Oh man," Loya wheezed, wiping tears from his eyes. "I didn't think this through."
Aludo, all four meters of him, sat awkwardly on the two-meter wolf, his feet still touching the ground. His face darkened as Loya's laughter continued.
"Alright, enough!" Aludo finally snapped. "What's so funny? Is it my fault I'm tall? Bigger is better, you know!"
Loya, still chuckling, held up his hands in surrender. "Sorry, sorry. Let me fix this."
He placed his hand on the ice wolf, concentrating. The creature expanded rapidly, its shape morphing until it became a three-meter-tall ice horse.
Aludo relaxed, mounting the horse with a grin. "Now that's more like it! Let's ride!"
As they galloped towards the barracks' canteen, Loya called out, "Hey, wait up! I don't know the way!"
The canteen was impressive - three stories tall and bustling with activity. As they approached, the smell of food made Loya's stomach growl.
Their unusual mounts drew plenty of attention. Whispers rippled through the crowd.
"Is that Aludo? But who's the short guy with him?"
Once word spread, recognition dawned. "Wait, isn't that the guy who's been keeping everyone up at night?"
Someone in the back shouted, "Let's teach him a lesson!"
But his companions quickly shut him down. "Are you crazy? That's the kid trained by General Kuzan. He took down a great silver-backed ape during the test!"
Loya, oblivious to the chatter, made a beeline for the meal window.
"I'll take this, and that," he rattled off. "Actually, just bring me the whole pot. And the rice too. Oh, and if the fruit isn't cut yet, I'll take the whole basket."
The server stared at Loya for a moment before his eyes lit up with recognition. "Hey, you're Loya! I know you - the best rice bucket in boot camp!"
Loya's eager expression darkened, a vein popping on his forehead. "Rice bucket? Really?"
Aludo chuckled, clapping Loya on the shoulder. "Looks like your reputation precedes you, kid."
As they gathered their enormous meal, Loya couldn't help but grin. Sure, being called a "rice bucket" wasn't great, but at least he was finally going to eat. And who knew? Maybe by the time he was done, they'd have to come up with a new nickname for him. "The Bottomless Pit," perhaps?
"Who called me a rice bucket?!" Loya snarled, grabbing some poor guy's collar. "I oughta clobber you! Eating's a blessing, you hear me?"
Aludo jumped in, prying them apart with his big hands. "Sorry, sorry!" he said to the vets rushing over. "He gets cranky when he's hungry."
After some smooth-talking from Aludo, Loya finally let go and bounced off to find a seat, piled high with food. Aludo, not one to be outdone, grabbed just as much grub.
They left behind one very shocked cook and a spotless counter.
The two of them sat down and started shoveling food into their faces like it was a competition. Loya smacked Aludo's hand away from his plate. "That's yours, you pig!" he said, pointing at the other cauldron.
The vets watching them eat just shook their heads, looking a little queasy.
Suddenly, the cafeteria went dead quiet. Then a bunch of excited voices yelled out: "Lieutenant General Garp!"
In walked this big old dude - white hair, but built like a tank. The legendary Navy Hero himself, Iron Fist Garp.
Loya's head snapped up. Monkey D. Garp? Now this was interesting.
See, Loya had three big questions about this world:
What's the Celestial Dragons' real power?How'd the geography get so weird?Just how stupidly strong is Garp?
I mean, this guy could've taken out Akainu after Ace died, but he held back. Made Sengoku restrain him and everything. You don't say stuff like that unless you can back it up.
Loya was more curious about Garp than he was about the whole D. family mystery. This was his chance to see the legend in action.
"Master Garp!" Aludo shot up, saluting like his life depended on it. The guy was practically vibrating with excitement. I mean, this was the Iron Fist Garp, the man who caught the Pirate King himself.
Loya glanced at Aludo, fighting back a smirk. If only this fanboy knew Garp's own son was the world's most wanted criminal. For a second, Loya considered dropping that bomb just to see Aludo's face.
Garp waved off the crowd and sauntered up to the counter. "Hey Marcus, you're on today? The usual, my man."
Marcus looked like he was about to cry. "Uh... Sir Garp, you might have to wait a bit."
Garp blinked, confused. "What? Why?" Then he noticed the empty counter. "Marcus, since when did you stop working? There's still hungry sailors out here!"
Marcus pointed weakly at Loya and Aludo. "Those two kids cleaned me out. You know I don't let food sit around - I cook fresh based on demand."
"Oh?" Garp turned, eyeing Aludo's trembling form and the smaller guy across from him, both surrounded by mountains of food.
That must be Kuzan's new pet project, Garp thought.
When word got out that Admiral Kuzan was personally training some recruit, everyone thought it was a joke. An admiral training a newbie? Yeah, right. What's he gonna teach them, how to run laps?
But after weeks of explosions and ice storms in the training yard, people had to accept it was true.
Garp only really noticed when he heard about the silverback ape getting taken out on the trial island. He'd overheard that tidbit at yesterday's meeting while hunting for water after overeating (again).
Now he was curious about this Christopher Loya kid that had Zephyr and Kuzan all worked up.
"Marcus, save me some for later!" Garp called out, then started making his way towards Loya's table.
Time to see what all the fuss was about.