Garp's words, "I arrived just in time for the good part," delivered with that infuriatingly knowing grin and a mouthful of rice cracker, shattered the fragile intimacy of the sunset-drenched clearing like a cannonball through a stained-glass window. My face, which had been flushed with a delicate, hopeful warmth moments before, ignited into a full-blown, five-alarm fire of mortification. Luffy, beside me, looked like he might spontaneously combust from sheer embarrassment.
"J-Jii-san?!" Luffy yelped, scrambling to his feet, nearly tripping over the mossy rock in his haste to put some distance between himself and me, and more importantly, between himself and his grandfather's all-too-perceptive gaze. "What are you doing back?! I thought you left! You said duty called!"
Garp finished his rice cracker with a final, satisfying crunch, brushing crumbs from his simple shirt. "Just tying up some loose ends, brat," he repeated, his grin widening as he took in Luffy's flustered state and my own equally scarlet face. His eyes, sharp and assessing as always, swept over us again, lingering on me for a moment with that familiar look that seemed to see right through my carefully constructed defenses. "And it seems," he continued, his voice dropping into a conspiratorial rumble, his eyes twinkling with pure, unadulterated mischief, "I arrived just in time for the good part."
"Ehhh?!" I managed to squeak out, my voice cracking. My carefully hoarded composure, the tentative steps towards something soft and new with Luffy, all of it crumbled under Garp's relentless, booming presence. "Jii-san! You're back! You... you just left a while ago!" My cheeks felt like they were radiating heat. The image of him standing there, watching us… watching Luffy lean in… Kami, how much had he seen?
Garp just chuckled, a deep, rumbling sound that shook the leaves on the trees. "A while ago? Felt like an eternity waiting for those fools down at the Marine outpost to file their paperwork!" He waved a dismissive hand. "Besides," he added, his grin turning even more wicked, "I never said I was taking long, did I, Akane-chan?" He used the diminutive, a clear sign he was enjoying my discomfort immensely.
Ace, who had been trying (and failing) to suppress his own laughter, finally let it burst forth, a series of snorting chuckles. He leaned against a tree, wiping a tear from his eye, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle of both me and Luffy being simultaneously mortified by their grandfather. "Oh, this is rich," he managed between gasps. "Just when you think things can't get more awkward..."
Makino, standing beside Garp, offered a gentle, apologetic smile. "Vice Admiral Garp insisted on returning for… a final check-up, he said." Her eyes held a hint of amusement, though she was clearly trying to maintain a semblance of polite neutrality. "He was very… persuasive." Persuasive, in Garp terms, probably meant he'd threatened to punch something (or someone) until they complied.
Luffy was still bright red, avoiding everyone's gaze, kicking at a loose stone with the toe of his sandal. "Final check-up…?" he mumbled, clearly not buying it.
Garp clapped him on the shoulder, nearly sending him sprawling. "That's right, brat! Gotta make sure my training actually stuck! Can't have you three running off and getting yourselves killed before you've even properly annoyed the World Government!" He winked, then his gaze sharpened, focusing on Luffy's still-flushed face. "Though, from the looks of it," he said, his voice dropping again into that conspiratorial tone, "some of you have been engaging in… extracurricular activities."
Ace seized on that immediately. "Oh, definitely extracurricular, Gramps!" he chimed in, his earlier mirth returning with a vengeance. "You should have seen them! Luffy finally got a girlfriend! And he didn't even have to share his meat!" He dodged the pinecone Luffy reflexively threw at him. "Wonder what Sabo would say if he was alive, eh, Luffy?" Ace added, his voice softening for a fraction of a second, a shadow of their earlier grief passing over his face before the teasing glint returned. "He'd probably be laughing harder than any of us!"
"Not a girlfriend!" Luffy yelped, his face somehow turning an even deeper shade of crimson. "Akane's just… Akane!" He looked at me, then quickly away, then back at Garp, looking utterly helpless.
My own face was still burning. Girlfriend? Sabo? This was all happening too fast, a whirlwind of teasing and serious implications and the looming presence of the Marine Vice Admiral who held far too many of our secrets. I needed to change the subject. Drastically.
An idea, reckless and probably stupid, sparked in my mind. Garp was here. He was a powerhouse, a legend. He knew techniques that could shatter mountains. And I needed to get stronger. Much stronger.
"Ne, Jii-san," I said, forcing my voice to sound steadier than I felt, pushing down the embarrassment, focusing on the one thing that had always driven me. I stepped forward, meeting his gaze directly. "Teach me."
Garp raised an eyebrow, his grin fading slightly, replaced by a flicker of interest. "Teach you what, brat? More ways to make paper out of yourself?"
"No," I said, shaking my head, my resolve hardening. "Teach me something real. Something powerful." I took a deep breath. "Teach me the Galaxy Impact."
The clearing fell silent. Ace stopped smirking, his eyes widening. Luffy, momentarily forgetting his own embarrassment, stared at me, then at Garp, his mouth slightly open. Makino's gentle smile faltered, replaced by a look of alarm.
Garp's expression shifted. The amusement vanished completely, replaced by a sudden, chilling seriousness. He stared at me, his gaze intense, probing, searching for something in my eyes. The Galaxy Impact. His signature move. A punch said to be capable of leveling entire city blocks, of shattering islands. A move he'd used that day on Hi-no-Kuni, not against my home, but against the Marines who were attacking it, a desperate, furious display of his power and his rage.
He was silent for a long moment, his gaze unwavering. The only sound was the gentle rustle of leaves in the evening breeze.
Then, he let out a short, sharp bark of laughter, devoid of humor. "Galaxy Impact?" he repeated, his voice low, almost dangerous. "You want to learn that?" He shook his head, a definitive, uncompromising gesture. "Nope. Not a chance."
"But why not?!" I protested, frustration flaring. "You taught us Rokushiki! You said we needed to get stronger! That technique—"
"Is dangerous," Garp cut me off, his voice flat, final. He took a step closer, looming over me, his shadow falling across my face. "It's not just about power, Akane. It's about control. About understanding the forces you're unleashing. It's about a lifetime of hardening your body, your spirit, your Haki, to withstand the recoil, to channel that kind of destructive force without shattering yourself from the inside out."
He tapped his own chest. "Your body… it's not ready yet. Not even close." He looked at my small frame, then back at my determined face. "Trying to wield something like Galaxy Impact now? You'd tear yourself apart before you even threw the punch."
His words were a cold dose of reality. Disappointment warred with a stubborn refusal to accept defeat. But looking into his serious, unyielding eyes, I knew he wasn't just being difficult. He was telling the truth. There were levels to this, power far beyond what I could currently comprehend, let alone wield.
Garp's stern expression softened slightly. He let out a sigh, running a hand through his already messy grey hair. "Bwahahahaha!" His booming laugh returned, though this time it held a different quality, less teasing, more… resigned? Or perhaps just accepting of the sheer, stubborn idiocy of the children in his care. "But," he continued, a familiar, dangerous glint returning to his eyes, "that doesn't mean we can't keep training, does it?"
He grinned, a wide, terrifyingly enthusiastic grin that promised pain and exhaustion in equal measure. He looked from me to Ace, then to Luffy, who was now looking distinctly alarmed again.
"So that's why," Garp declared, clapping his massive hands together with a sound like thunder, "we're gonna buckle up, my idiot grandchildren!" He conveniently included me in that familial, if slightly insulting, address. "This little vacation is over! Your 'final check-up' just got extended! Indefinitely!"
"WHAAAAAT?!" Ace and Luffy yelped in unison, their faces paling dramatically.
"But Jii-san! You said your duty called!" Luffy protested.
"Yeah, Gramps! Paperwork! Pirates to punch!" Ace added, looking desperate.
Garp just waved a dismissive hand. "Eh, the paperwork can wait. And there are always more pirates. Besides," he grinned wickedly, "training you three pains in the backside is a far more entertaining form of 'duty' right now." He looked particularly at me. "Especially now that things are getting… interesting."
He turned towards Makino, who was watching the unfolding chaos with a resigned but fond smile. "Makino-chan!" he boomed. "Ready us some food, will you? Enough for three growing brats and one very hungry old man! We're gonna need our strength!"
He cracked his knuckles, the sound echoing ominously in the quiet clearing. He looked back at us, his eyes shining with a familiar, terrifying zeal. The setting sun cast his large frame in silhouette, making him look like some ancient, benevolent (and slightly deranged) god of training.
"Because starting tomorrow," he announced, his voice filled with a mixture of grim determination and sadistic glee, "we're not just working on the Six Powers. We're going to start dabbling in something else. Something that might actually keep you alive when your fancy Devil Fruits and paper tricks fail."
He paused, letting the anticipation build, his grin widening.
"Time to see," he rumbled, his gaze sweeping over us, lingering on the faint, almost invisible aura that sometimes clung to Ace, the rubbery resilience of Luffy, and the nascent, flickering light that was the Tenshi fruit within me, "if any of you brats have the slightest aptitude… for Haki."