The word "grandpa" seemed to suck all the air out of the company's workshop. It was a whisper, but it landed with the force of a cannonball, shattering the reality of everyone present.
The legendary Marine hero, the man they had just tried and failed to attack in reality was their captain's grandfather.
The pieces clicked into place with an audible snap in Robin's mind, and she could see the dawning horror on her crewmates' faces as they began to grasp the monumental implications.
Luffy scrambled to his feet, his hand still clamped over his throbbing cheek. The initial shock was giving way to a familiar, instinctual fear.
This is not the enemy he could fight with a Gear Second or with a third gear even he combine both his second and third gear the possibility of defeating is like a daydreaming.
This person is the source of all his childhood trauma and sweet memories, the human mountain who had shaped his very being with a fist he called 'Fist of love'
"G-Grandpa!" Luffy yelled, his voice cracking. "What are you doing here?! Are you here to drag me to the Marines?!"
Garp's serious face did not change but at this moment something passed through his eyes maybe pain, maybe pride.
"Drag you? Don't think highly of yourself, brat," he said loudly, his voice echoing in the quiet room. "I'm here because the world is falling apart, and you are the one of the biggest reasons why! Declaring war on the World Government? What were you thinking?!"
"I was just saving my friend!" Luffy shot back, his fear forgotten in a burst of fiery spirit. "If I have to do it again 10 times even a hundred times I will! I won't stop until I save my friend!"
The defiance in Luffy's voice made Garp's lips twitch into something that might have been a smile, under different circumstances. "That's the problem, you idiot! You never think about the consequences! You just charge ahead, leaving chaos everywhere just like him" Garp mind drifted for a moment, and in his mind's visual memories he saw a grinning man in a pirate captain's coat, laughing fearlessly at the world - Pirate King Gol D. Roger.
This was the moment Zoro chose to recover. He sheathed Wado Ichimonji his one eye fixed on Garp with a new, wary respect. "So" the swordsman began, his voice low and calm, "you are the reason Luffy's so ridiculously tough."
Garp finally turned his attention away from Luffy, his gaze sweeping over the crew. His eyes lingered on Zoro for a moment acknowledging the swordsman's strength and his perception. "yes....I trained him" Garp stated simply. "Tossed him into jungles, down ravines, left him alone in the wilderness at night. Made him fight wild beasts with his bare hands. for make him to become a strong marine not for becoming a pirate"
A collective shiver went through the Straw Hats. The casual way he described what amounted to horrific child abuse was chilling. It explained so much about Luffy's resilience and his pain tolerance and his utter lack of fear.
Sanji, having recovered his composure, lit a new cigarette, taking a long, thoughtful drag. "So this is where his endless fighting spirit cames from," the cook muttered, exhaling a plume of smoke.