Bang!!
Bang!!
Bang!!
...
Inside the normally silent abandoned dock, a rhythmic, heavy thumping echoed through the air.
Goku's gaze was fixed with determination. He punched the ship's hull over and over again, his small frame surging with immense power that made the metal ring loudly with every strike.
Garp and Kuzan stood behind him, watching the scene in silence.
After a moment, Kuzan suddenly spoke up. "So this is the talented kid you brought back? I heard a bit about him from Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
Garp nodded slightly. "That's right. He's the best prospect I've seen in years. If he's trained properly, he'll become a pillar for the next-next generation of the Marines!"
"A pillar? That's quite the endorsement," Kuzan said, a hint of surprise in his voice.
In the Marines, to be called a pillar, one usually had to at least reach the rank of Vice Admiral.
But for Garp, a Vice Admiral didn't quite make the cut; only an Admiral—or someone with the power of one—qualified as a true pillar in his eyes.
"Look who found him! I have absolute confidence in this little guy!"
Garp crossed his arms as he watched Goku diligently pummel the hull, his eyes full of expectation and pride.
The lazy look on Kuzan's face faded slightly, replaced by a more serious expression as he stared at Goku's back, seemingly lost in thought.
A moment later, he reverted to his usual lethargic self and yawned. "You have him punching a battleship... I assume you want him to inherit your 'Iron Fist'?"
"But isn't it a bit early for someone his age?"
After all, a battleship's hull was incredibly hard. Without being able to use Armament Haki or a Devil Fruit ability, punching it was an agonizingly difficult and painful task.
To persevere through it required immense willpower.
Kuzan remembered starting his own battleship-bag training when he was around twenty. Without a powerful conviction, he would never have been able to keep it up.
Goku was barely over ten years old. It seemed impossible for a child to possess such extraordinary drive.
Garp scoffed at the question. "Hmph! What does 'early' or 'late' matter? As far as I'm concerned, this is the perfect time for him!"
"Besides, don't look down on him just because he's young. His conviction is no weaker than yours was back then!"
"Oh?"
Kuzan's curiosity was piqued.
"What kind of conviction does the kid have?"
Garp replied casually, "His goal is to train, get stronger, and surpass his own limits. Can you believe those words came from a kid his age?"
"That is indeed unusual," Kuzan said, raising an eyebrow.
"And bringing him here this soon wasn't even my idea. I wanted him to get used to Marineford for a few days first."
"But after I showed him Armament and Observation Haki this morning, he couldn't wait for me to teach him. The little brat is quite impatient."
Garp grinned broadly as he spoke.
"So, the reason you brought him here is actually to..."
"Exactly! I told him that once he can dent the bow as much as I did on my ship, he'll be ready to learn Armament Haki!"
Garp beamed with a mischievous smile.
Kuzan shook his head, amused. "You really are something..."
He didn't quite know what to say.
He knew the exaggerated dents on Garp's training ship were the result of decades of constant pounding.
Making Goku match those dents now was practically bullying the child.
Then again, if he kept pummeling the hull and tempering his fists here, he would eventually develop Armament Haki one day.
In that sense, it wasn't exactly bullying—just keeping the student in the dark for a while.
"Hahaha!" Garp laughed loudly.
The reason he did this was to give Goku a clear, visible target.
With a reference point right there, Goku's will to train would be firmer, and his progress would be even more effective.
...
Bang!!
Bang!!
Bang!!
As Goku continued his rhythmic assault on the hull, half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.
Garp and Kuzan stopped talking. As they watched Goku never once ceasing his punches, surprise began to flicker in their eyes.
"It's been quite a while, hasn't it, old man?" Kuzan looked up at the sun, clearly startled.
"Yeah, this kid is becoming more surprising by the second."
Garp's gaze remained fixed on Goku, his own surprise mounting.
Normally, anyone training against a hard hull for the first time wouldn't be able to keep punching for this long.
No matter how strong their willpower, the pain in their fists would eventually force them to stop, shake off the ache, and catch their breath before continuing.
But since Goku started, his movements hadn't faltered once. He kept hitting the hull with a steady, mechanical rhythm, as if he couldn't feel any pain at all.
"He hasn't eaten a Devil Fruit with some special ability, has he?" Kuzan asked.
"No, he's no hammer. I've seen him swim before," Garp replied.
"Then that's strange. Does he really not feel pain?"
Kuzan watched Goku's face, which showed not even a hint of agony, and found it peculiar.
"No, he definitely feels it."
Garp grinned.
He had beaten the kid until he was howling this morning; there was no way he was immune to pain.
"In this case, it just means his physical talent is incredible. Simply put, he's tough as nails. A hull of this hardness isn't enough to make him hurt."
Garp's smile faded, replaced by a deep, pensive look that hid a trace of worry.
The talent Goku was displaying made his origins seem more and more suspicious.
After all, physical constitution was different from the talent required to learn the Six Powers.
The latter could be a natural gift for anyone, but the former was a matter of genetics and inheritance.
In other words, Goku's parents couldn't have been ordinary humans; otherwise, they wouldn't have produced a child so clearly distinct from the norm.
Garp began to suspect that Goku's presence on that island wasn't just a simple case of abandonment, but he still firmly believed the boy was a prime candidate for the Marines.
Even if his background was complex and his presence on that island involved some dark secret, Garp wouldn't give up on turning him into an outstanding Marine!
Besides, though they hadn't known each other long, he had already grown fond of this innocent and righteous kid.
If anyone tried to harm the boy, they'd have to see if Garp's iron fist was still hard enough!
The two fell silent again, watching as Goku continued his training.
An hour later, seeing a shallow dent appearing on the hull, Kuzan couldn't help but marvel, "We've got quite a monster on our hands."
He didn't stay any longer. After bidding Garp farewell, he turned and walked away.
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