After the battle between Marines and Pirates, the warship, carrying the marines, returned to New Marineford with a successful capture.

In the prison cells, close to ten pirates were mulling over their defeat and mourning the death of their captain and friends.

After the ship was docked. I walked down the slippery wooden stairs and departed the ship.

Peter and Ox were taken away by stretcher. They would stay in the medical bay until they woke up.

The Marine Captain Leeway didn't speak a word to me after our last conservation since he had a lot of heavy stuff left to do.

He had to tell the family of the deceased marine that their son, lover, or sibling had died.

It was one of the hardest things the Marine Captain had to do. It usually ended with tears and shouting.

I left the harbor and walked down the streets. Soon, I reached the two-way building.

After entering the left-sided building, I met with Lotus, whose face turned solemn after seeing me being the only one who returned.

"Peter and Ox are in the medical bay. They passed out." I said and walked past her. I could see her letting out a breath of relief.

"Alright… The food has been served." Lotus said and returned to her office. After the door was creaked shut, I walked up the stairs and entered the room.

After I entered, the chore boys stood up from their beds and circled around me. Asking all sorts of questions.

Then, one of them asked where Peter and Ox were.

"They are in the medical bay. Now, excuse me, I am tired." I pushed past them and slumped down on the hard bed. My eyelids closed immediately. I was exhausted after today's hard battle.

The chore boys began discussing with each other the reason why they were in the medical bay.

"Maybe they fought against pirates and got injured!" One of them said excitedly.

"Then, how come he seems to be alright?" One of the chore boys asked while glancing in Liam's direction.

"Hmph, he must have hid himself during the battle." That seemed reasonable, and many chore boys nodded at that. They gave a stinky eye to sleeping Liam and returned to their beds.

…

After several hours, the sun was slowly setting down, and the sky was shaded in mesmerizing orange colors.

The residence of the chore boys was loud with discussions. Peter and Ox returned an hour ago and were bombarded with questions.

They were too embarrassed to say that they passed out and thought about crazy stories. Ox was surrounded by the chore boys while he talked about him cutting down a vicious-looking pirate, whose tongue was wobbling out of his mouth with saliva flying around.

The pirate's hollow, dark eyes brought out the fear of the weak-willed. The chefs and cooks paled with horror and couldn't look at the creature in the face.

However, Ox took arms and defeated the pirate with the power of his long-awaited dreams.

That story brought looks of admiration from the chore boys' faces. Even though the story seemed silly, they didn't doubt it.

Creak!

Then, the door opened, and the chore boys shuddered after a cold breeze of wind wafted through the open door.

They turned their bodies around and saw a shadowy-figure stepping inside the room. At first, they gulped down their fears, but then, their eyes showed a trace of worship.

Their mouths opened wide, and they almost let out a screech of excitement.

The shadowy figure stopped next to Liam's bed, and he slowly extended his hand. Slowly, one of his fingers was pulled back with his thumb.

Smack!

A solid flick to the head caused Liam to sit up in a hurry, with a large red bump emerging from his forehead.

"Aaahh, my head!" I woke up having massive pain in my forehead. It was like I was hit by a baseball bat wielded by a professional player!

"Who the fuck hit me!" I looked around and saw pale-faced chore boys. I frowned and wondered why they were pale. But then, I saw a shadow looming over my bed.

After turning around, I saw a tall, tanned, broad-chested, and muscular old man. He had a beard and scar over his left eye while his hair was dyed in grayish shades.

"So… You are the new recruit." The old man rubbed his chin. He happened to be nearby while receiving news about having a new recruit for his small group of mischiefs.

"Who are you, old man?" I asked with an obvious rude tone. There was no way I would be polite to someone who woke me up.

Even though the old man seemed quite high-ranked. He was wearing the justice coat that was draped over his shoulders. There were also different-colored shoulder pads.

"M-M-Marine Hero… M-Monkey D. Garp!" Peter said behind me. His teeth clattered as he uttered his words through his tightly-closed lips.

"Marine Hero?" I spoke aloud. That title seemed quite honorable, and that gave me a slight hunch about the stature of the old man.

Garp crossed his arms and flexed his bulging muscles while doing so. He scanned Liam's face thoroughly and soon frowned.

'Well… He is not anything special, but maybe I can make him Rear Admiral, at least…' Garp then took a look at the other chore boys and shook his head after seeing them standing respectfully.

If Liam had shown even an inch of respect with his current talent level, Garp would have ignored him. However, his behavior did bring a smile to his face.

"Fine, little shit. My name is Garp, your instructor." He said while grabbing Liam from the collar.

"And now you will be tortu… Cough… Trained by me." He let out a roar of laughter and left the room while dragging Liam behind.

Then, he passed Lotus and said, "I will bring him back in a week if he survives."

Lotus saluted with respect mirroring in the depths of her beautiful blue eyes.

"Where are you taking me, you muscle-brained idiot?!" I tried to take off his hand, but I think it would have been easier lifting a mountain!

"Hahahaha!" Garp's laughter echoed in the hallways while the black-haired man's screams followed. However, there was not a single soul that listened to the cries.