"Bwahahahaha, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" The old man, tall and powerful, laughed, slapping Rodney on the back with his huge palm. "One, two! Puff!" "Vice Admiral Garp, please stop shooting! Mister Joestar is bleeding!" the medical soldier shouted loudly.
Garp, the hero of the Marines, laughed sheepishly.
"Unacceptable! How can a person's body be so weak? How can they swim in the sea in such a state? Who would support your slap?"
Rodney wiped the blood from his mouth. His body, considered resilient, had withstood Garp's blow. He'd survived! Back then, the old man had knocked out the Pirate King Roger with a single punch when he tried to escape him by sea. Garp always said he convinced people of his virtue, and his fist, by the way, is called the "Fist of Love."
With the bag over his head, Rodney felt the same pain as the Sea King. A green light lit up his palm, and a healing technique was immediately applied to the wound, stimulating cells and accelerating healing.
"That's a very strange ability. Are you using a Devil Fruit?"
"Exactly," Rodney said vaguely, rubbing his head.
"Hahaha, what a wonderful ability! Can it be used on others?" Garp asked curiously.
- Yes.
Hearing this, Garp lit up.
- Boy, what's your name?
— Joestar Jay Rodney.
— Haha, I'll call you Rodney. Rodney, join the watch!
*Ding!* [Garp sent you an invitation. Do you accept?]
- Sorry, I don't want to be in the marine patrol.
Rodney declined Garp's invitation.
"Why?" Garp was puzzled. "Thanks to your ability, many Marines will be able to speed up their recovery from injuries. Wouldn't it be nice to contribute to the restoration of justice?"
"No, being a lookout is too much trouble. I think my life is good now."
The Marines were too complicated, and then there were the scoundrels like the World Government and the Tenryubito. Rodney didn't want those scoundrels calling him names. So-called justice was dragging a group of people down, and it was better not to participate, lest he suffer the burden.
The old man believed that Rodney was ideally suited to become an excellent marine, but his body was too weak and needed training.
"Under the old man's guidance, you'll definitely grow," Garp laughed.
- Goodbye, goodbye!
Hearing this, Rodney turned and walked away. He wasn't Luffy, who had such a strong life force. If Garp had trained him, he would have died, definitely died!
A pair of large, callused hands grabbed Rodney by the shoulders, and the old man smiled good-naturedly and said,
- Boy, next time you'll definitely thank me!
- No! Help!!!
Garp seemed determined and dragged Rodney to training. Garp found Rodney's ability very useful, and he saw him as a diamond in the rough that could be developed. He wanted to try it, to let him join the Marines. Besides, he was very bored on the warship.
"Get some more strength, Rodney boy, hold on!" Garp bit into a donut and sat on Rodney's back, who was wearing an iron suit and doing push-ups.
It was Garp's third day of training. Rodney endured high-intensity physical exercise every day. He was tired as a dead dog, but that was good for him. His body was growing at an incredibly rapid rate, and his chakra was depleting rapidly as well. The sweat on his body was like rain dripping onto the deck. The chakra in his body was constantly compressed, and his body was growing heavier and heavier. The iron suit on his body weighed a thousand catties, and Garp was tall and strong. If not for his good physique, his chakra might not have been able to withstand it.
- Ah, I can't take it anymore!
He fell to the deck and Garp asked:
- How much did you make?
The marine who was recording on one side replied:
— 4320, four hundred more than before. Physical strength is growing very quickly.
"No! That can't be! How could he possibly grow into such a good Marine?" Garp shook his head and said.
"I never said I'd join the Marines! I'm a pirate hunter, not a Marine! Why would I join the Marines?!" Rodney stripped off his iron armor, revealing his muscular upper body.
Garp trained his Haki to the strongest level in the world. Even without Haki, hitting people still hurts. Even the rubber man Luffy, impervious to blunt force, felt excruciating pain.
"What are you talking about? Your abilities are perfect for becoming a Marine, whether you're a medic or a full-fledged Marine. Don't waste your talent!" Garp had noticed this too these days. At first, he simply thought the boy's physique was too poor, and as a reward for accidentally injuring him, he trained him. But the way Rodney showed healing abilities and grew so quickly made him fall in love with this talent. But this kid seems to be just as stubborn as his grandson, obsessed with becoming a pirate hunter.
"What's so great about being a pirate hunter? Has money corrupted you?"
- Of course! Money isn't everything, but it's absolutely impossible to live without it!
- Vulgar! A marine patrolman has a salary too.
- Come on, I can easily get rid of the pirate with an arrest warrant.
— The marine patrol includes food and housing, five social insurances and one housing fund.
"Sorry, I'm at home everywhere, and I'm not afraid of difficulties or dangers. Hey, old man, did you hit me again?!"
- I think you need an education, old man.
Garp's fists cracked.
— Education through work?
- Special education!
"Why? I didn't do anything wrong?" Rodney stuck his neck out.
- If you dare to object, you'll find a reason to fight!
Crack! On deck, Garp was chasing Rodney back and forth, and Rodney didn't look the least bit exhausted. Boom! He slammed his fist into the deck, much to the shipwright's dismay. Patching such a large hole was a real pain.
- Bwahahahaha, Rodney, it looks like all your training these past few days has allowed you to withstand that old man's blow.
The blow wasn't full force. If he'd used all his strength, Rodney would be gone. This... "Fist of Love"? Presumably, perhaps the "Fist of Love" doesn't have any power either.
"Hmph, old man, even if I die and lie in a coffin, I will use my rotten vocal cords to scream: "I will never become a watchman!!!"
Rodney stood up, his nose bruised and his face swollen.
- Stinky, do you really love money so much?
- Certainly!
"I'm a pirate hunter," Rodney declared, nursing his wounds with dignity, "and I sail the seas for profit!"
"Then I'll hire you to help this old man catch someone." Garp crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze penetrating. "You know Haki, or Rokushiki?"
"Of course," Rodney grinned, "a training method."
"You dare open your mouth like a lion?" Garp rolled up his sleeves, revealing muscles brimming with remarkable strength. "The man I seek to arrest is no easy matter. But the reward I seek is small."
Rodney laughed, a sly smile spreading across his face.
"You must be a sneaky thief," Garp chuckled. "Your current body can't learn Haki. But if you have Rokushiki, I can teach you one move. And after you catch someone, I'll teach you two."
"And who do you want me to catch?" Rodney raised an eyebrow.
"The old man's grandson, Ace." Garp sighed heavily. "Where is he now?"
"Your grandson?" Rodney was surprised. "Didn't he go to sea?"
"That brat went to sea three months ago and, instead of becoming a Marine, became a pirate!" Garp clenched his fists, his voice thick with rage. "I'm very angry with this grandson of mine. It's estimated he'll reach Reverse Mountain soon. Boy, I hope you'll help this old man take care of his beloved grandson. Bring him back."
Garp understood that with Ace's talents, he would surely achieve fame at sea. Once he reached a certain level, he would become an easy target for the World Government. Once Roger's son's identity was revealed, he would be dead. The World Government would not tolerate the blood of evil in the world. It was possible that Ace would end up under investigation by the World Government, but Garp didn't want to interfere with his grandson's dream and would surely have been merciful if he had been captured himself. So he left everything to this boy.
The men under his command brought Rodney information, and every time he caught a pirate, he captured their ship. He wasn't merciful to pirates, but he was very gentle with ordinary people. He was a fair man at heart, but money clouded his judgment. It's a shame there's no such man in the Marines.