The journey back to Marineford was uneventful—well, relatively uneventful—if you ignored the thunderous laughter that echoed across the ship as Garp devoured an impossible number of meat buns. The old man sat cross-legged on the deck, stuffing his face with such ferocity that even the ship's cook looked mildly horrified.
The captured pirates, still bound in seastone cuffs, huddled together on the far end of the deck, trembling as they threw anxious glances at the legendary Marine. Every time Garp let out another booming laugh or cracked his knuckles absentmindedly, one of them flinched, whispering silent prayers that he wouldn't suddenly decide to use them as training dummies.
Luffy, meanwhile, lounged on the deck with all the energy of a man who had zero regrets. He stretched his limbs lazily, basking under the sun, while Kuina stood beside him, arms crossed, gazing at the endless stretch of blue.
She tilted her head slightly, her expression unreadable. "You think the old man is gonna throw a fit?"
Luffy cracked an eye open, smirking. "You mean Sengoku?" He yawned. "Oh, definitely."
Kuina let out a soft chuckle. "You really love messing with authority, don't you?"
Luffy grinned wider. "Messing with authority? Me? Never."
Kuina shot him a flat look. "Uh-huh. Right. And Garp only eats one meal a day."
Almost on cue, Garp let out a monstrous burp that shook the air, causing a few of the prisoners to yelp in fear.
Luffy snickered. "See? Completely reasonable."
Kuina rolled her eyes, but amusement tugged at her lips. "No, seriously. You act like chaos is your natural state of being."
Luffy stretched his arms behind his head. "I don't go out of my way to mess with them… They just always end up mad at me."
Kuina raised a brow. "Gee, I wonder why."
Luffy looked completely unbothered. "Beats me."
She sighed, shaking her head. "Let's see… You wrecked the Slave Auction Houses and caused absolute mayhem on Sabaody… Yeah, I can't imagine why the World Government is upset with you."
Luffy shrugged. "Eh. They were asking for it."
Kuina smirked. "Oh, of course. How silly of me. Obviously, how could it be my dear captain's mistake?"
Luffy grinned. "Exactly. See? You get it."
Kuina shook her head, exasperated but clearly entertained. "You are infuriating."
Garp suddenly let out a loud HA! and smacked his knee, sending a small shockwave through the deck. "That's my boy!"
The prisoners flinched again, one of them whispering, "We're all gonna die."
Luffy just laughed. "See? Even Gramps agrees!"
Kuina sighed, rubbing her temples. "This is exactly why Sengoku's blood pressure is probably sky-high."
Luffy snorted. "Eh, he's fine. Probably."
Kuina just gave him a long stare.
Luffy smirked. "What? It's not my fault his hair turned white early."
Kuina let out a small, incredulous laugh. "You are the worst."
Luffy grinned wider. "Nah. I'm the best at being the worst."
Kuina sighed, shaking her head. "I hate that I can't argue with that."
----
The moment they arrived at Marineford, Sengoku was already waiting—arms crossed, lips pressed into a tight line, and an undeniable vein bulging on his forehead.
Garp, on the other hand, walked in happily, humming as he stole handfuls of senbei from Sengoku's personal stash and began munching loudly.
Sengoku pinched the bridge of his nose. "Luffy… Kuina… Do you two even understand the concept of restraint?"
Luffy grinned. "I do."
"Then why don't you use it?"
Luffy shrugged. "Doesn't seem fun."
Sengoku exhaled sharply, eyes twitching. "You destroyed multiple auction houses—"
"Owned by slave traders," Luffy corrected, leaning against the chair with an infuriatingly casual smirk.
"You took down over sixty pirates in one night—"
Luffy grinned wider. "You're welcome."
Sengoku's eye twitched harder.
Kuina, standing beside Luffy, couldn't help but stifle a chuckle at how easily he got under Sengoku's skin.
The Fleet Admiral sighed, rubbing his temple. "Look… as much as I want to lecture you, I can't ignore the fact that you freed innocent people, captured actual criminals, and still managed to bring back some of the most dangerous pirates."
Luffy yawned. "So, what's the problem?"
"The problem," Sengoku said, staring him down, "is that your grandfather wants to promote you both to Rear Admiral or even Vice Admiral already."
Garp, still munching on senbei, laughed. "It's only fair! My grandson's stronger than half of the old fogeys in the Marines!"
Sengoku shot him a deadpan look. "Garp, he's still a teenager."
"And?"
Sengoku massaged his temples, knowing there was no winning with Garp when it came to Luffy.
Finally, after a long pause, he exhaled deeply. "Fine. Due to your achievements, you will both be promoted—Luffy to Commander, Kuina to Lieutenant Commander."
Luffy grinned, completely unbothered. "Cool."
Kuina nodded, satisfied. "That works."
Garp, on the other hand, nearly choked on his senbei. "WHAT?! That's it?! At least make them Rear Admirals!"
Sengoku's vein pulsed dangerously. "GARP, THEY'RE STILL KIDS!"
"Bwahaha! They're stronger than you were at their age!"
The argument went on for ten more minutes, during which time Garp, in his rage, ate every last senbei in Sengoku's stash just to be petty.
Sengoku was left staring at the empty plate, looking like a man who had truly lost everything.
Luffy gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Tough day, huh?"
Sengoku glared at him.
Luffy grinned wider.
----
With his new rank, Luffy didn't waste time celebrating. Instead, he threw himself into training—sparring with Rear Admirals, Vice Admirals, and anyone else willing to fight him.
Kuina did the same, refusing to leave a single swordsman in the Marines unchallenged.
"She's a monster," One Marine muttered after getting knocked out by Kuina's relentless strikes.
"Did you expect anything less from Luffy's training partner?" Another groaned, clutching his bruised ribs.
Meanwhile, Luffy was also keeping himself busy in other ways—particularly with Gion.
It had started with simple teasing, some harmless flirting.
But over time… Luffy had pushed the boundary.
And Gion? Rather than rejecting him, she seemed to welcome it.
At first, it was stolen kisses after their spars, her breath heavy from exhaustion.
Then, it became longer, deeper moments—private encounters where Gion found herself giving in more and more.
She wasn't sure how it had happened.
Maybe it was his confidence, his undeniable charm.
Or maybe…
It was just Luffy himself.
Whatever the reason, she was enjoying it.
One evening, after another intense sparring session, Gion was leaning against the training room wall, sweat trickling down her skin, her chest rising and falling.
Luffy was standing right in front of her, eyes filled with that playful mischief that always made her heart race.
"You're getting distracted, Vice Admiral," Luffy teased, his voice smooth as he leaned in, his breath warm against her ear.
Gion swallowed, her fingers tightening against the wooden beam behind her. "I—I'm not distracted."
Luffy chuckled, his lips brushing against her cheek. "Really? Because you let me pin you down twice today."
Her cheeks burned. "T-That was just… a fluke."
Luffy smirked. "Wanna test that theory?"
Gion's breath hitched.
She should stop this. She was older than him. A Vice Admiral. A respected officer.
And yet…
When Luffy's hand brushed against her waist, sending a shiver up her spine, she realized something terrifying.
She didn't want to stop.
Watching From Afar
Kuina, watching Luffy and Gion's interactions from a distance, rolled her eyes with a smirk.
"That idiot really doesn't hold back, huh?" She muttered.
---- ✦ ✦ ✦ ----
Spoilers for the next three chapters!
Chapter 103: Growth
Chapter 104: Call from Headquarters
Chapter 105: The Snake Empress
--- ✦ ✦ ✦ ---
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