Marines Headquarters.
"An intern... for the Marines?"
Do we even have interns in the Marines?
"Pirate ships have interns, so why can't the Marines?" Garp, sitting nearby and draped in his Marines justice coat, said while munching on a doughnut. "That's what the kid said, anyway."
"Nonsense! How can the Marines be compared to pirates?" Sengoku replied, clearly annoyed.
"Sengoku, are you saying you disagree?" Garp squinted his eyes at Sengoku.
Sengoku stared at Garp as if he were an idiot. "Of course I disagree! How could the Marines possibly create a special internship program for a 10-year-old kid? Have you eaten too many doughnuts, Garp?"
Garp stuffed another doughnut into his mouth and glanced at Sengoku from the side of his eye. "I spoke so highly of the Marines in front of that kid. If he doesn't join us now, Sengoku, you'll regret it."
"Regret it? As Fleet Admiral of the Marines, do you think I've ever regretted a decision I made?" Sengoku stood up, slamming his hand on the table, visibly furious. "You, on the other hand, do nothing all day! Instead of hunting pirates, you took a 10-day leave and spent a whole month with your grandson. And now, you want to change Marines rules for some random brat by setting up an internship program like pirates do?"
Garp picked his nose casually. "Nothing major happened while I was gone, right?"
Sengoku, fuming, stormed around the table, grabbed Garp's doughnut bag, and shoved all the doughnuts into his mouth.
"My doughnuts... Sengoku, you bastard!" Garp, staring at his now empty bag, clenched his fists in anger.
"Go catch some pirates, Vice Admiral Garp," Sengoku sneered.
"Using ranks against me, huh?"
The two locked eyes, and Garp let out a cold snort, striding toward the door.
Just before leaving, Garp paused, glancing back at Sengoku. "I fought with that kid, Ron."
Sengoku didn't bother looking up.
"So, I know his strength." Garp picked his nose again. "He's not a Devil Fruit user, but his strength rivals that of Smoker, the Logia user who just graduated from the Marines academy this year."
Sengoku, who was about to deal with some paperwork, stood up in shock. "What did you just say?"
"Didn't you hear me?" Garp chuckled, glancing over his shoulder. "What, going deaf in your old age?"
"You're telling me that kid's strength is comparable to Smoker's?!" Sengoku, abandoning their banter, urgently questioned.
"That's right." Garp flicked some nose gunk off his finger and smiled slyly at Sengoku. "And the kid is only 10 years old. You understand what that means, don't you, Sengoku?"
Sengoku's eyes widened, heart pounding.
Smoker, a Logia user and a disciple of Zephyr, was the most outstanding student of his class at the Marines academy. And now...
A 10-year-old child with a clean record, and not even a Devil Fruit user, had power that could rival Smoker's!
"Garp, are you absolutely sure about what you're saying?" Sengoku asked, his tone serious.
"Do you think I'd joke about something ?"
Standing by the door, Garp glanced back, his expression serious.
"I didn't think so." Sengoku took a deep breath, calming his shock. He then gazed at Garp and said gravely, "What's the kid's name?"
"Alright," Sengoku said with a serious expression. "As Fleet Admiral of the Marines, I approve him as an intern."
"Gahahaha! Weren't you just saying there's no way you'd change Marines rules for a 10-year-old brat?" Garp turned, laughing loudly at Sengoku.
"Shut up! It's your fault for not explaining it properly!" Embarrassed, Sengoku hurled a file at Garp, which Garp effortlessly caught.
Sengoku sat down, then asked one last question: "When is he coming?"
"Probably next spring. I just taught him how to train in Haki, and he said he'd come after mastering it."
Garp pulled out another bag of doughnuts from somewhere and continued eating.
"You're too impatient..." Sengoku sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"If the kid doesn't want to join the Marines a year from now and ends up becoming a pirate instead, won't your Haki training just make him even stronger?"
"Hahaha, relax, Sengoku. I asked him straight up. Even if Ron doesn't become a Marine, he definitely won't become a pirate," Garp said through a mouthful of doughnut. "I can guarantee that, otherwise, I wouldn't have taught him."
"Let's hope you're right..."
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