"No need, Zephyr-sensei!"
"That's right, it's not really refusing. She just exchanged it for another reward."
Binz said quickly while scratching his head. "Ain asked for Dr. Vegapunk to make her a weapon instead."
"What weapon?"
"An axe. Ian's old axe can't keep up with his strength anymore."
"An axe?"
Zephyr was taken aback by Binz's words.
Then, as if understanding something, he glanced at Ain, who was looking down, and raised an eyebrow, but said nothing more.
Then he said cheerfully, "An axe forged by Vegapunk?"
In truth, if she really wanted to exchange weapons, with his status as the Chief Instructor at Marine Headquarters, it wouldn't be hard to get one.
But since it was Ain's choice, he didn't say anything more.
"Not bad, not bad, though that kid got off a bit too easily."
"It's fine! Actually, I wanted to change mine too."
Binz said cheerfully: "But Fleet Admiral Sengoku refused!"
"Good thing he did. What were you trying to get involved in anyway?"
Binz: "..."
Wasn't that a bit of a double standard, Zephyr-sensei?!
Binz looked at Zephyr speechlessly, then glanced around in confusion.
"Where's Ian? Off to training again? And Vice-Admiral Garp? Didn't he come to the West Blue, too? Fleet Admiral Sengoku told us to tell Vice-Admiral Garp to get out of here... And go back to Marine Headquarters. His vacation is over."
"Garp? That old guy's helping Ian train right now!"
Hearing Binz's words, Zephyr raised his head cheerfully and gazed towards the hillside behind him. "I wonder how that kid's training is going? Garp's training methods are definitely not simple!"
...
"Wait, wait, let's take a break."
Seeing Ian still full of energy, Garp finally couldn't help himself. He stopped what he was doing and said speechlessly, "Your Devil Fruit ability is too good! Don't you need to rest?"
Ian: "..."
"Hey, what's that look for?"
Seeing Ian holding a one-handed axe, giving him a sidelong glance, Garp's mouth twitched as he grumbled: "It's not that I'm tired, okay? I just realized it's noon and we haven't eaten yet. I'm letting you fill your stomach first, or else Zephyr will say I didn't even give you time for lunch!"
"I'm not hungry. We can keep going."
Garp: "..."
Why doesn't this kid know how to respect his elders?
Garp looked speechlessly at Ian, who certainly wasn't hungry, and casually complained: "Fine, I'm hungry, alright? And besides, we're almost out of the special cannonballs here. They haven't even brought over new cannonballs from the ship yet, so let me eat first."
As he spoke, he started cursing under his breath. "Damn it, I've never had so much fun throwing cannonballs before! Looks like Sengoku's gonna chew me out again when I get back!"
…
"I'm exhausted!"
"Hey, Zephyr, what's with that look in your eyes?"
Seeing Zephyr squinting at him, Garp, who had returned and lay down, immediately shouted in frustration. "Do you know how that kid trains? He doesn't know how to get tired. From the moment he starts training until sunset, he never stops. He used up all the ammunition Bogard brought up the mountain."
"You don't know?"
"Know what?"
"That kid is the user of the Light-Light Fruit."
Seeing that Garp seemed genuinely confused, Zephyr said cheerfully: "As long as he's in the sunlight, he doesn't feel tired!"
"Why didn't you tell me earlier? No wonder I got tricked by that kid!"
After hearing Zephyr's words, Garp finally understood what was going on and smacked his thigh hard.
"No wonder that kid said he needed to rest when the sun went down. I thought he would finally understand an old man like me, but it turns out he was just afraid of being exposed!"
He then gave a careless laugh. "What a cunning kid! Never mind, let's not talk about that."
Lifting his head, he looked at Ain and Binz beside Zephyr. "You two came too?"
"Vice-Admiral Garp."
At Garp's greeting, Ain and Binz immediately saluted respectfully. Then, Ain and Binz seemed to recall something.
After another glance at each other, they addressed the cheerful Garp, saying, "Vice-Admiral Garp, Fleet Admiral Sengoku has asked us to inform you to return to Marine Headquarters immediately. Your leave is over. If you don't return, he won't approve your leave next time!"
At these words, Garp's previously cheerful expression suddenly fell, and he said angrily, "You two are such idiots! Don't say such things to spoil my fun when I'm so happy!"
Binz: "..."
Ain: "..."
"Alright, stop losing your temper with those two kids. There's nothing we can do about Sengoku."
Zephyr looked at Garp helplessly, shook his head, and said with a complex and sentimental tone: "I heard that the chaos in the New World has reached a critical juncture. The remnants of the former Rocks Pirates are stirring up trouble in the New World, even claiming to be its emperor."
"I guess Sengoku wants you to return so that you can take charge of Marine Headquarters and intimidate those remnants of the previous era."
The era of Pirate King has passed, but everyone understands that a new situation is about to dawn on the sea.
"It's not like we're going to fight, so what's there to be terrified of?"
However, in response to Zephyr's sigh, Garp picked his nose and said nonchalantly: "And aren't you still here?"
"I'm different. I haven't even finished my vacation yet!"
"That old guy, Sengoku, is so biased. He's so stingy when I ask for leave, but he just approved you for a year and a half. Isn't that unfair treatment?"
Garp looked at Zephyr, who was speechless and about to say something, then waved his hand and said cheerfully: "Forget it, let's not talk about this boring stuff."
He looked up at Ain and Binz again, then said cheerfully: "Now that you two are back, why don't we throw a banquet to celebrate?"
"Didn't you say you were tired?"
"Throwing a banquet won't tire you!"
Hearing Zephyr's words, Garp replies with righteous indignation. Then, looking at the two in front of him, he said cheerfully, "What are you two standing there for? Come on, let's throw a banquet!"
However, facing Vice-Admiral Garp's urging, unlike Binz, who was also excited and wanted to throw a banquet, Ain seemed to have something to say but didn't know how to start.
But after a moment's hesitation, Ain said seriously: "Vice-Admiral Garp, may I also receive your training like Ian?"
At these words, the initially excited Binz was taken aback, but after a moment, as if reacting, he looked at Garp with equal seriousness and said: "Vice-admiral Garp, me too!"
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