The Marine battleship docked at the sun-drenched pier of Foosha Village with a heavy groan of timber and iron. Garp didn't wait for the gangplank; he leapt from the deck, carrying me under his arm like a sack of grain, and landed on the wooden boards with a force that made the entire dock shudder.
"Luffy! I'm back, you troublesome brat!" Garp roared, his voice echoing across the quiet fishing village.
From behind a stack of weathered fishing crates, a small boy came sprinting. He was covered in dirt, his hair a mess of black tangles, and in his hand, he gripped a massive, steaming bone with meat attached to it that was nearly as large as his torso. He was chewing aggressively, grease smearing his cheeks.
"Gramps!" Luffy shouted through a mouthful of meat. "You're back! Did you bring more food?!"
He skidded to a halt a few feet away, his eyes locking onto me. He swallowed a massive chunk of meat whole—a feat of gluttony that defied physics—and pointed the bone directly at my face.
"Who's the skinny guy?" Luffy asked, tilting his head so far it nearly hit his shoulder. "Is he a Marine? He looks... weird."
I stood there, my feet finally touching solid ground. My Mindwheel was silent, but my senses were heightened. Luffy was just a boy, not yet made of rubber, but the vitality radiating from him was immense. To my internal interface, his life-force glowed with a bright, stubborn gold. Even as a child, he possessed a "Presence" that pushed back against the cold vacuum of my own.
I didn't speak. I simply looked at the meat in his hand, then back at his eyes.
"This is Ryujin," Garp said, swatting the back of Luffy's head. "He's going to be training with you. Try not to let the mountain tigers eat him on the first day!"
Luffy rubbed his head, grinning wide despite the blow. He stepped closer, sniffing the air around me like a curious hound. "You smell like... the sea. But also like something else. You want some meat?"
He held out the half-eaten bone. I looked at the offering, then at the invisible 1km "Dead Zone" that followed my every step. Within this peaceful village, my soul-count was a hollow zero. But I knew that wouldn't last.
I gave a slow, measured nod and reached out, tearing a small piece of the meat away.
"Shishishi! He's okay, Gramps!" Luffy laughed, jumping up and down. "Hey, Ryujin! Come on! I'll show you around!"
Luffy dragged me through the village, introducing me to everyone—from the kind-hearted barmaid Makino to the grumpy Mayor. The villagers looked on with a mix of pity and curiosity. To them, I was just another orphan caught in Garp's wake. But as we passed, I noticed the older folks shiver. They didn't know why, but they instinctively stepped back, clearing a path for the silent boy with the hollow eyes.
"Enough playing around!" Garp's voice boomed from behind us. "You want to eat? Then prove you can survive the mountain. To the forest! Now!"
The Hunting Grounds: Mt. Colubo
Garp led us straight into the dense, humid jungle of the lower slopes. The air here was thick with the scent of damp earth and hidden predators.
"The rules are simple," Garp grunted, crossing his arms over his massive chest. "If you don't kill it, you don't eat it. Luffy, show him how we do things."
Luffy's demeanor shifted. The goofy grin remained, but his eyes sharpened. He dropped into a low crouch, his nostrils flaring. Despite his age, he had clearly been forged in Garp's "Hellish Training" for years. He was fast, strong, and surprisingly precise.
Rustle.
A massive Wild Boar, the size of a small bull with tusks like curved sabers, burst from the ferns. It roared, its hooves tearing up the soil as it charged directly at the smallest target: Luffy.
"Shishishi! Dinner!"
Luffy didn't flinch. He dived under the tusks at the last second, rolled, and delivered a precision punch to the boar's soft underbelly, followed by a kick to its snout that sent the three-hundred-pound beast skidding into a tree.
The boar was dazed, but it scrambled back up, turning its red, hate-filled eyes toward me. I was the quieter target. The easier prey.
I stood my ground. My heart didn't race. Within my mind, the Mindwheel began to rotate with a low, metallic hum.
[Target Identified: Wild Boar]
[Soul Value: 0.1 Residual Spirit]
The boar charged. It felt the "Weight" coming from me—that nagging pressure of the Dragon—but its hunger overrode its instinct. It was twenty feet away... ten feet...
I didn't have Luffy's trained muscles. I didn't have Garp's Haki. But I had the Law of the Dragon.
As the boar reached striking distance, I simply stepped to the side—a movement that felt guided by a cold, calculating machine. I didn't strike with a fist. I reached out and let my fingertips brush the beast's head as it passed, letting the Requiem of Souls flare for a microsecond.
The boar didn't just fall; it collapsed as if its very spirit had been unspun. It skidded through the mud and lay still, shivering in absolute terror. Its heart beat frantically, but its will to fight was gone.
Garp's eyebrows shot up. "He didn't even strike it..."
Luffy ran over, poking the unconscious boar with his foot. "Whoa! Ryujin, what did you do? It just went 'phew' and fell down! That's so cool! Teach me!"
I looked down at my hand. The interface flickered with a cold, green text.
[Harvesting Failed]
[Note: Target is incapacitated, not dead. To harvest, the soul must depart.]
I realized then that "Training" wasn't just about getting stronger. It was about the harvest. If I wanted to be invincible, the mountain had to bleed.
I looked at Luffy and gave a small, sharp nod.
"Again," I whispered.
Garp watched us, his grin slowly returning, though his eyes remained wary. "Well then! If you're both so eager, let's head deeper. There's a hut at the top of this mountain... and a brat even more troublesome than Luffy waiting for you."