Time passed steadily, filled with purpose.
Before long, six months had flown by.
Throughout that half year, Daren continued wearing the Seastone shackles. In the mornings, he trained with Garp at the abandoned port, throwing punches until his arms went numb. In the afternoons, he worked on developing his Observation Haki—under the constant "group beatdowns" from his fellow trainees at the camp.
As for the evenings... well, those weren't up to him.
Sometimes it was Gion. Sometimes it was Toki. And sometimes, it was Gion first, then Toki. Life was fulfilling, though a little rough on his back.
An unexpected bonus was that over time, Daren actually started getting used to the shackles. The Seastone's suppressive effect on his Devil Fruit powers seemed to weaken noticeably.
While his Jiki Jiki no Mi abilities remained sealed, the draining weakness it used to cause had lessened significantly.
Marine Headquarters – Abandoned Port
The skeletal remains of warships lay scattered across the dusty ground, their surfaces marked with deep, unmistakable fist dents.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Drenched in sweat, Daren was hammering away at a warship like it was a punching bag. Every strike made the Seastone shackles around his wrists ring out with a crisp metallic clink.
Not far off, Garp lounged under a sunshade, munching on donuts and watching Daren's back with a look of satisfied approval.
Wearing Seastone shackles made Daren's punches exponentially weaker. Breaking a warship in that condition required effort far beyond his usual strength.
But the kid stuck with it—gritting his teeth and powering through.
Just then, an overly enthusiastic voice rang out.
"Hey! Garp-san! Teach me too!"
Garp blinked and turned around to see a tall figure with a head of black curls, waving energetically.
Not this again... Garp sighed internally.
Ever since Kuzan found out last month that he was training Daren, the kid had been showing up every day, beaming with excitement, pleading to be taught as well.
Garp didn't have the time. According to the latest reports, Shiki had resurfaced in the New World, and Sengoku was tearing his hair out over it.
As for Roger, nothing major had happened—except that he'd recently clashed with "Red the Aloof" Patrick Redfield. The two had wrecked an entire small island in the process, sparking fear across several nations.
Garp had been planning to head back out to sea in a couple of days, so he flat-out rejected Kuzan.
But the kid just wouldn't give up. The more he was turned down, the more fired up he got, showing up daily with undying determination.
Thinking of all that, Garp muttered irritably, ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ N()velFire.net
"Kuzan, if you want to learn something, go to the camp and ask an instructor..."
"But I've already learned everything there is to learn!"
Kuzan shouted back, fists clenched, his eyes locked on Daren's back, brimming with fighting spirit.
"I can't fall behind Daren—he's my lifelong rival!"
You moron... Garp groaned and clutched his forehead.
"Alright, alright, come on over."
He sighed heavily in resignation.
Truth be told, Garp didn't dislike the kid. Kuzan's talent was undeniable—like Sakazuki and Borsalino, he was a "monster" in his own right.
But after his less-than-stellar experiences mentoring his own son and Sakazuki, Garp wasn't exactly thrilled about working with another so-called "prodigy."
Honestly, if it hadn't been for the favor he owed Daren, he wouldn't have even bothered training him either.
Kuzan lit up instantly and jogged over, face full of anticipation.
Garp stood from his deck chair and walked over to a nearby wrecked warship.
Off to the side, Daren paused his training and wiped the sweat from his brow, watching curiously.
Just like before, Garp began giving Kuzan the exact same demonstration he had once shown Daren.
"Watch closely. I'm only showing this once."
As Garp spoke, his expression sharpened—and with a single punch, he let loose!
A deep, muffled boom echoed across the port as the massive warship before him exploded into countless fragments, scattering like confetti in the wind.
Kuzan's eyes lit up, staring wide-eyed at the now-demolished ship. His voice came out in a daze.
"That's... insanely cool..."
Garp gave a faint smile.
He said casually, glancing over at Kuzan.
By this point, even Garp was starting to realize just how rough his teaching methods were. But honestly, part of him hoped this would be too difficult for Kuzan and he'd just give up.
What he didn't expect was for Kuzan to fall into deep thought... then, a few seconds later, grin and say:
Garp's face was filled with disbelief too.
"Then give it a try."
Kuzan chuckled, scratching his head as he walked over to a nearby warship. Clumsily mimicking Garp's stance, he threw a slow, deliberate punch.
There was a dull thud. Not too loud, but the entire ship shuddered violently. Cracks immediately spread across its hull like spiderwebs.
"Uh... I think this is how it's supposed to go. Too bad I couldn't completely break it."
Kuzan scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed.
Garp and Daren both stood frozen, mouths agape.
"You... you actually understood it!?"
Garp suddenly snapped out of it, eyes gleaming as he grabbed Kuzan's hands.
Kuzan nodded eagerly. "Yeah, yeah."
Garp blinked, then threw his hands on his hips and burst into hearty laughter.
"Bwahahaha! I knew it! It wasn't my teaching that was the problem—it's just that you guys didn't have the talent!"
"You, kid... not bad! From today on, you'll be training with me!"
Kuzan laughed excitedly as well.
Daren, meanwhile, stood off to the side, completely dumbfounded, watching these two meatheads laughing with their hands on their hips. Black lines practically floated above his head.
He suddenly covered his face.
So that's it. This "serious punch" technique... only works on single-cell organisms.
"Daren! You see that? I'll be catching up to you in no time!"
Kuzan's eyes burned with competitive fire.
Daren didn't even want to argue anymore. He just waved him off.
"It sure is lively over here..."
A slow, almost smug voice rang out just then.
As soon as the words fell, countless golden photons gathered into a tall figure before them.
Borsalino greeted Garp with a laid-back smile, then turned his gaze toward Daren.
"Commodore Daren, you've got a mission."
Before Daren could respond, Garp grumbled,
"Hey, hey, hey, Borsalino, Daren's my student now."
Borsalino raised both hands innocently.
"This is Admiral Sengoku's order..."
Garp's face stiffened.
He was well aware of the trouble his son had caused Sengoku.
So he immediately changed his tone without missing a beat.
"Alright then, Daren, go ahead and take care of it."
Garp kept a straight face as he added,
"Not like you've got much talent anyway. Staying here would just be a waste of time."
The corner of his mouth twitched. He looked at Borsalino and asked, clearly annoyed,
Borsalino's smile didn't fade as he answered,
"Shiki... the Golden Lion."
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