In the blink of an eye, Shanu suddenly sensed that the old man's punch wasn't actually aimed at his head, but rather at the area above his shoulder.
However, his body, honed through countless battles, reacted purely on instinct. Trusting completely in his own hardened physique, he didn't hesitate for even a heartbeat. His fist shot out to meet the blow head-on!
Boom!
Where their fists collided, ripples burst through the air, followed by a piercing explosion.
The shockwave blasted both men backward.
But Garp only took five or six steps before planting his feet firmly again.
Shanu, on the other hand, left two long gouges in the ground, sliding back more than ten meters before he could stop.
"Hm?"
Garp lifted his head in surprise, pushing back his dog-head cap, and eyed the black-haired youth before him up and down.
"Well, I'll be damned! For someone so young to have that kind of strength, Hey, kid! With power like that, you could make a name for yourself even on the Grand Line! What're you still doing out here in the East Blue?"
That punch had only been a test, he hadn't used much of his strength.
But even so, no ordinary person could have taken it head-on,let alone sent him back several steps in return.
"Because I'm from the East Blue," Shanu rolled his eyes. "I'm only fourteen. What's the rush to run off to the Grand Line? I still want to spend a few more years with my family."
"Fourteen?!"
Luffy's jaw dropped. He'd always thought "Big Bro" Shanu was at least thirty!
"Gramps!"
The kid jumped up angrily. "What the heck! Shanu's my friend, not some bad guy! Why are you hitting him out of nowhere?"
"This old man's your grandfather?" Shanu blinked. "Then why the hell is he stopping me from saving you?"
"Shut up! I'm training this brat's survival skills!"
Steam shot from Garp's nostrils as he hammered Luffy into the dirt with a single punch. Then he turned to Shanu.
"Hey, kid! The name's Garp. You've heard of me, right? How about joining the Navy under me? With strength like that at fourteen, train a few years and maybe you'll be a rear admiral before you turn eighteen!"
"Garp?"
Shanu froze, eyes wide. "The legendary Hero of the Marines, Garp?! The man who saved an entire island of Celestial Dragons?!"
"Hahaha, that's right, I," Garp began to laugh proudly,then froze as the second half of that sentence hit him.
The smile stiffened on his face.
Back then, when Commander Kong had ordered him to God Valley, he thought the Celestial Dragons were just on a sightseeing trip. He'd gone eagerly, hoping to finally catch Roger.
But after the brutal battle was over, he realized what those bubble-headed pigs had really been doing there.
The battle with the Rocks Pirates had made him a Marine legend, but it also left a deep shadow in his heart.
From that day forward, he refused every promotion to admiral.
So long as he stayed a vice admiral, he'd never have to take orders directly from the Celestial Dragons or live as their pawn.
Garp fell silent for a long time, eyes shadowed as he studied Shanu's face.
"You kid…" his voice grew rough. "Seems you know quite a bit. Don't tell me, you're one of the survivors from that island?"
"No," Shanu shook his head seriously. "And don't get me wrong,I actually respect you a lot, Mr. Garp. But that should answer your question, right? I'm the type who can't stand being bound by rules. The idea of taking orders from Celestial Dragons? Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl."
"But…"
Garp started to argue, but memories from twenty years ago flashed through his mind. He sighed, unable to find any words.
"Exactly! Being a Marine sounds boring anyway!"
Luffy poked his mud-covered head out of the ground, his face scrunched up. "Big Bro Shanu, help me talk some sense into Gramps! He's been back for days and won't stop yelling about training me into 'the strongest soldier.' I told him already,I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"
"Still running your mouth about being Pirate King? Look what that red-haired brat did to you!"
Garp roared in fury and slammed another iron fist down on Luffy's head.
"I can't stop this idiot, but I can stop you! You're my grandson! If you dare become a pirate, I'll beat you half to death!"
Thud!
"Owwww!!"
Luffy clutched his head, now sporting three massive bumps. "But I'm a Rubber-Fruit user! Why do your punches still hurt?!"
Because of Haki.
Shanu's sharp eyes caught the faint black shimmer that had coated Garp's fist just before impact, gone in a flash, but perfectly controlled. That was mastery of Armament Haki at its finest.
And Shanu really wanted to learn it.
"Wanna learn?"
Garp had noticed his gaze and chuckled.
"If you joined the Marines as my student, I'd teach you myself. But…, eh, forget it."
The old man picked his nose lazily. "Anyway, I've been itching for a fight since I came back to East Blue. This brat can't even take a proper beating. So how about you and I spar for a bit? If you give me a good warm-up, I'll overlook that whole 'killing Nezumi' business."
"How do you know, wait. So you already knew who I was?"
Shanu's expression stiffened. Damn old man, so it wasn't an accident he picked a fight!
"Of course I knew! On the trip back, I read the papers every day. Couldn't not see your face plastered everywhere!"
Garp snorted.
"As for that rat bastard Nezumi, I went with Hina to the 16th branch myself. Every Marine there swore up and down it was Buggy's doing, but I didn't buy it. So I poked around a little."
He scratched his nose again. "With this face and my reputation, it wasn't hard to get those Marines talking. They told me, real quiet-like, that just two days before the incident, Nezumi had gone to your hometown to threaten you, and was scheming to pocket the Fishmen bounty for himself."
"Once I heard that, it was obvious! You think I'm stupid?"
Garp grunted, then wiped the booger on the still-dazed Luffy's hair. "Nezumi was probably your payback, and you dumped the blame on Buggy to cover your trail."
"You tell Vice Admiral Hina about that?" Shanu grinned faintly.
"What's the point? Let her dig up her own intel if she's so capable. If she dares talk to those Marines and they still don't tell the truth, that's her problem. Bah, scum like Nezumi dying is a blessing for the Navy! Honestly, I almost wanted to praise you for it."
Garp burst into loud laughter. "Besides, you covered your tracks well. No proof, no arrest. And me? I'm on vacation, kid, I couldn't care less!"
He suddenly cracked his knuckles, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"All right, Shanu! Enough talk! You gonna spar with me or not?"