Windmill Village, by the coast, at the port.
The Red Hair Pirates' ship had just sailed away, and Garp's warship entered the port not long after.
"Hey, Luffy! I'm back! Are you ready to be trained by me to become an excellent Marine?"
As soon as he docked, Garp, seeing Luffy, stood by the ship's side, shouting excitedly, then leaped and landed in front of Luffy.
Suddenly noticing a strange girl standing beside Luffy, about the same age as Luffy and fashionably dressed, Garp's eyes immediately lit up.
Excitedly, he kept patting Luffy's head like bouncing a ball.
"Oh?! You're quite capable, Luffy!"
"You've already prepared for the future of our Monkey family so quickly."
"Whose daughter is this? Why have I never seen her before?"
Luffy's body was patted shorter and shorter by Garp, and he replied with his mouth squished into his neck.
"Her name is Uta; she's Shanks's daughter."
Garp continued to pat Luffy, but his gaze remained on Uta.
"Soga! So she's Shanks's daughter!"
"No wonder she's so beautiful."
Suddenly, Garp sharply raised his arm, patted with extreme force, and exclaimed in disbelief.
"What did you say? She's Red Hair's daughter?!"
Luffy was almost directly patted into the ground by that slap; his body had shrunk to only half its original height.
And the surrounding villagers who witnessed this scene were stunned, their eyes seemingly about to pop out, and their jaws almost dragging on the ground.
Garp finally noticed the anomaly at this moment, turned his head, and upon seeing the shrunken Luffy, he again exclaimed in disbelief.
"Luffy, what happened to you? Luffy?!"
...
A moment later!
"So you became like this because you ate the rubber fruit that Red Hair brought?!"
Garp pulled Luffy's face back and forth like a rubber band, saying at the same time.
The Gorosei's mission to escort the Nika fruit was secretly carried out by the CP organization, so Garp currently does not know that the rubber fruit Luffy ate is the Nika fruit.
"I said, can you stop already?! I'm not your old man's toy."
Luffy glanced at Garp's hand pulling his face and said helplessly.
Hearing Luffy's words, Garp immediately bared his teeth and gave him a punch of love.
"Grandpa, Grandpa! How many times have I told you to call me Grandpa. Is this how you should talk to your Grandpa?"
Luffy squatted on the ground, holding his head in pain, and said with a grimace.
"Whose Grandpa hits so hard like you?"
Garp immediately bared his two rows of front teeth at the words and raised his fist, saying.
"Heh heh! This is a Fist of Love."
After saying that, Garp suddenly became serious and spoke sternly.
"Luffy, come back to Marineford with me!"
Shanks' sudden appearance made Garp realize the danger.
Having been a Marine for so many years, he had punished countless pirates.
At the same time, he had made countless enemies.
He used to let Luffy roam freely in Windmill Village because of its remote location, where almost no one could find it.
But now it was different.
Since Shanks could find this place, it was possible that his enemies could also find it.
If Luffy continued to be unsupervised, he might one day be hunted down by enemies.
So he decided to take Luffy with him, to better protect him.
Luffy had no idea of Garp's thoughts. Regarding Garp's question, he refused without even thinking.
"No, I want to be a pirate."
Marines worked for the World Government and had to serve the disgusting Celestial Dragons. He wouldn't be foolish enough to become a Marine and work for the Celestial Dragons.
The Revolutionary Army was restricted everywhere, always having to hide.
Among other professions, only pirates were the most free and unrestrained.
Even if Luffy's original intention was to be a carefree adventurer, sailing this vast sea would inevitably and unintentionally violate the World Government's rules.
Simply put, as long as you gained a little fame and attracted the attention of the World Government, you could forget about being an adventurer.
You either accepted the World Government's recruitment or were hunted down and forced to become a pirate, because the World Government would not allow you to develop without limits.
Therefore, for Luffy, who desired freedom, being a pirate was currently the most suitable path.
Garp had long anticipated Luffy's answer.
He had heard this answer hundreds of times.
But to Luffy's surprise, Garp didn't give him a Fist of Love this time, as he usually did.
Instead, he seemed to be thinking about something, and his eyes showed a hint of worry and care.
Suddenly, Garp put away his worries, as if he had made a decision.
Then, the corner of his mouth curved upwards, revealing an eerie smile.
"Heh heh, Luffy! Speaking of which, as your grandfather, I've never personally taught you before."
As he finished speaking, Luffy was picked up by Garp and thrown onto a small boat by the shore.
"Luffy!"
Uta, seeing that she was about to be forcibly separated from Luffy, cried out anxiously.
"Don't worry! I'm just taking him for special training for a while. I'll send him back in a few days."
Garp explained.
But Uta seemed unwilling, shaking her head vigorously.
She had just heard Garp say he was taking Luffy to Marineford.
Shanks had already left. If Luffy left her too, she really wouldn't know what to do.
"Grandpa, take Uta with us!"
Luffy also felt a pang of pity. Shanks had just left, and this was when Uta needed companionship. He didn't want to leave Uta alone either.
Garp said nothing more upon hearing this. He picked up Uta again and threw her onto the small boat.