Chapter 54: Garp's Little Scheme

In the blink of an eye, Shano had vaguely sensed that the punch was not aimed at his head, but rather just above his shoulder.

However, the muscle memory forged through rigorous training, combined with absolute trust in his own resilient physique, made him hesitate not for a fraction of a second. He met the incoming blow with a fierce counterpunch from his fist!

Boom!

Where their fist-winds collided, the air instantly rippled in concentric waves, producing a piercing, explosive roar. Both of them were forced backward almost simultaneously by the shockwave.

However, Garp only retreated five or six steps before coming to a steady halt.

As for Shano, he plowed two long trenches into the ground, sliding a full dozen meters before regaining his footing.

"Oh?"

Garp looked up in astonishment, pushed back his dog-shaped hat, and couldn't help sizing up the black-haired youth before him from head to toe.

"Good kid! To have this kind of strength at such a young age—hey! A guy like you could make a name for yourself even in the Grand Line. What are you still doing hanging around the East Blue?"

Granted, the punch he had just thrown was meant as a scare tactic and didn't use much force.

Even so, it was certainly not something an ordinary person could block.

Not to mention, not only had the opponent taken it head-on, but he had also pushed him back a good several steps in the process.

"Because I'm from the East Blue!" Shano rolled his eyes. "I'm only fourteen. Why would I run off to the Grand Line so early when I could spend a few more years with my family?"

"Fourteen?!"

Luffy, standing nearby, dropped his jaw in shock. He had always thought Uncle Shano—no, Big Brother Shano—was at least thirty!

"Grandpa!"

The little brat stood up indignantly. "What is the big deal?! Big Brother Shano is my friend, not a bad guy. How could you just randomly attack him like that?"

"This old man is your grandfather?" Shano asked, surprised. "Then why was he trying to stop me from saving you?"

"Shut up! Naturally, I was training this brat's survival skills!"

Garp snorted heavily, casually hammering Luffy headfirst into the ground with a single punch, before turning his gaze back to Shano. "Who would have thought that just taking Vice Admiral Onigumo's—no, Onigumo's a different guy—following Vice Admiral Dhole's—ah, whatever, just tagging along on Fire-Tank... no, Burning Mountain's ship to take a vacation in my hometown, I'd run into a fine piece of timber like you..."

"Hey, kid! The old man's name is Garp. You must have heard of my name, right? How about coming with the old man and becoming a marine? With this kind of strength at fourteen, if you train hard for a few years, you might even become a marine rear admiral before you turn eighteen!"

"Garp?"

Shano froze, his expression changing dramatically in shock. "That legendary Marine Hero Garp?! The Garp who saved the Celestial Dragons on an entire island?!"

"Hahahaha, exactly the o—" Garp had just cracked a wide grin when he heard the second half of the sentence.

The smile instantly froze on his face.

Back then, when he was ordered by Kong to provide reinforcements at God's Valley, thinking the Celestial Dragons were simply on a field trip and hoping for a chance to catch Roger, he had rushed over in high spirits.

Only after a grueling battle did he realize what kind of unmentionable dog-shit atrocities those bubble-wearing fat-asses had been up to!

Though the battle against the Rocks Pirates cemented his reputation as the Hero of the Marines, it also became an abyss deeply buried in his heart.

Ever since that day, he had refused promotion to Admiral for the rest of his life. That way, at least, he wouldn't have to take direct orders from the Celestial Dragons and be reduced to a slave stripped of free will.

Garp fell silent for a long time, staring at Shano's face as if a layer of shadow had fallen over his eyes.

"You brat..." The old man said in a complicated tone, "you seem to know quite a bit. Could it be... are you a survivor from that island?"

"No, and don't get me wrong. I didn't mean any mockery; I still have a lot of respect for you, Mr. Garp."

Shano shook his head slightly and said earnestly, "It's just that, given all that, you probably understand the answer to your previous question by now, right? A guy like me can't stand being tied down by rules and regulations. Make me a marine? The mere thought of not being able to refuse orders from the Celestial Dragons makes my whole body itch and feel agonizingly uncomfortable."

"But..."

Garp instinctively wanted to argue, but scenes from over twenty years ago flashed through his mind. He sighed, momentarily left speechless.

"That's what I'm saying! Who wants to be a marine? It's so boring!"

Luffy managed to poke his head out of the dirt pit with great difficulty, his mud-covered face twisting into a bitter grimace. "Big Brother Shano, help me persuade my grandpa too! He hasn't been back for a few days, and every single day he goes on and on about training me into the strongest marine. I've already told him, I'm the man who's going to be King of the Pirates!"

"Still going on about being the King of the Pirates! Look at what kind of mess that red-haired brat caused!"

Furious, Garp delivered a heavy iron fist directly onto Luffy's head. "If I can't keep this punk in line, I can't keep you in line either?! You're the old man's own grandson! If you dare become a pirate, see if I don't beat you to death!"

Thud!

"So painful!!!"

Luffy wailed, clutching three massive lumps piled on top of each other on his head. "I'm a Gomu Gomu no Mi user! Why does your punch actually hurt?!"

Naturally, because of Haki.

With his sharp eyes, Shano noticed that the moment Garp threw the punch, his fist had been coated with a thin layer of dark aura that vanished almost instantly. The force was calibrated to absolute perfection, clearly showing that his mastery of Busoshoku Haki had reached the pinnacle of perfection.

—He was genuinely envious.

"Want to learn?"

Sensing his gaze, Garp let out a smug chuckle.

"If you really join the marines and become my disciple, I'll teach you hand-to-hand myself, but... sigh, forget it. Never mind."

The old man picked his nose and said nonchalantly, "Anyway, the old man's hands have been itching for a long time since coming back to the East Blue, and this stinky brat Luffy can't take a beating. How about you spar with the old man for a few rounds? If you can give me a good thrill, I won't hold it against you for killing Mouse."

"How did you know... wait, you mean you've known about me all along?!"

Shano suddenly realized something was wrong. You old bastard, it turns out you weren't just acting from the very beginning!

"Cut the crap! On my way back for vacation, the old man was lying on the deck reading the newspaper every day. It'd be harder not to recognize this face of yours!"

Garp let out a scoff.

"As for that scumbag Mouse, I went with Burning Mountain to Branch 16 as well. Every single marine from top to bottom insisted that Buggy did it. I figured something was fishy, and since I had nothing better to do, I did a little investigating on the side."

"Using this face and my reputation, I finally managed to get those marines to open their hearts to me. They quietly told me that two days before the incident, Mouse had gone to your hometown to threaten you and intended to pocket the bounty of those fish-men."

"Once you dig up news like that, isn't it obvious?! The old man isn't an idiot!"

Garp hummed and casually wiped the booger he had just picked straight onto the hair of the bewildered Luffy. "Odds are, you retaliated against Mouse and then shifted the blame onto Buggy."

"Did you tell Vice Admiral Onigumo about this intelligence?" Shano didn't bother to deny it, giving a wide grin instead.

"What's there to tell? If he has the ability, he can go gather intelligence himself and see if those marines who were bullied by Mouse for a year will tell him the truth. Tsk, a scumbag like that deserved to die—he brought shame to the marines. Honestly, I actually felt like complimenting you."

Garp also grinned and laughed heartily.

"Besides, you covered your tracks cleanly, and there's no solid evidence anyway. On what grounds would I arrest you? Furthermore, I'm here for a relaxing vacation; I couldn't care less about all that!"

He slammed his fists together abruptly, excitement flashing in his eyes. "Alright, kid Shano, enough nonsense. Are you willing to spar with the old man for a few rounds or not?"