Early chapters on Pátreon.com/Herd99.
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The wall didn't stand a chance.
One moment, Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office was intact. The next, it was dust and daylight. A perfect Garp-shaped hole marked the exit, smoke and splinters trailing behind like an afterthought. Somewhere outside, a bird chirped nervously and flew away.
Sengoku stared at the hole, unmoving. Papers floated down from the ceiling in slow, lazy spirals. His goat gave a calm bleat, utterly unfazed, and resumed chewing on the now-dirtied report on pirate activity in the West Blue.
Zephyr cleared his throat, brushing plaster off his shoulder. "Well… that could've gone worse."
"That," Sengoku said slowly, "was the worst-case scenario."
Zephyr shrugged. "You let him in the room."
"I didn't think he'd launch the kid out like a cannonball."
"You've known Garp for how long?"
"Too long," Sengoku muttered.
He leaned back in his chair, took a long breath, and watched the goat drag another folder toward its mouth. "I'll never get that wall fixed before the Vice Admirals' meeting."
Zephyr crossed his arms. "You're worried?"
"I'm annoyed," Sengoku said. "And worried."
Zephyr stepped to the edge of the busted wall, looking out across Marineford. The sprawling base stretched before them—an ocean of white buildings, formations of marching Marines, and training yards filled with shouts and the clang of weapons. In the distance, two tiny figures were rapidly shrinking as Garp bounded across rooftops with Kain tucked under one arm like an oversized bag of rice.
Zephyr smiled faintly. "He'll be fine."
"Will he?" Sengoku asked, finally turning away from the chaos.
Zephyr looked thoughtful. "Kain's not just strong. He's… adaptable. He plays the fool, but he watches everything. I saw it back at the Academy."
"He also naps through 90% of every briefing."
"Maybe that's how he focuses."
"Don't defend him, Zephyr."
"I'm not," Zephyr said, though the corner of his mouth twitched. "But the truth is, he's different. And different's not always bad."
Sengoku leaned forward again, fingers steepled under his chin. "Different gets people killed."
Zephyr's eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't argue.
After a long silence, Sengoku spoke again.
"Do you really think Garp is the right choice? The one to train him?"
Zephyr looked back out at the base—where a faint boom sounded in the distance, followed by a distant yell that sounded suspiciously like "PUT ME DOWN."
He nodded. "If anyone can drag out Kain's potential without breaking him, it's Garp. They're both wild cards. But Garp has experience. And strangely enough, he's… reliable in his own way."
"You mean reckless," Sengoku muttered.
Zephyr smiled again. "You mean effective."
Another silence passed. The goat sneezed.
Sengoku rubbed his temples. "Fine. But if Garp blows up another section of the base, I'm putting him on janitorial duty."
Kain's feet hit the ground with a thud.
Garp had finally stopped leaping and dropped him—right in the middle of a packed training yard.
Dozens of Marines paused their drills to stare. Swords lowered. Weights stopped mid-lift. One recruit nearly dropped a barbell on his own foot.
Kain groaned, brushing dust off his coat. "Ever heard of stairs, old man?"
Garp grinned like it was Christmas. "What's the fun in that?"
Kain looked around, eyes already searching for a place to sit down and disappear. The sun was brutal here. The air reeked of sweat, gunpowder, and expectations.
He hated all three.
Garp clapped his hands. "Alright, listen up! This here's Captain Kain. He's your new role model, got it?"
Murmurs broke out across the yard.
"Wait, that Kain?"
"The guy from Loguetown?"
"The one who scared off Sea Kings?"
"Isn't he the guy who slept through his own promotion ceremony?"
Kain raised one hand half-heartedly. "Yo."
Garp beamed. "He's gonna be training and later working here under me. So treat him with respect. Or don't. Either way, it'll be fun."
Kain sighed. "Define 'training.'"
Garp threw an arm around him. "Gotta make sure you'll survive the Grand Line kid. The rest you'll see tomorrow."
Kain didn't like the sound of that.
He pulled up his Shonen System interface, blinking past the screen clutter until a familiar ping chimed:
[System Notification: New Quest Available!]
-Quest: Survive Garp's Training!
–Objective: Endure the daily torture Garp calls a "warm-up."
–Reward: 5,000 BSP and a Free Nap Pass (50 uses)
–Failure Penalty: You become Garp's permanent training dummy.
Kain sighed again. "I really need to uninstall this system."
He tapped "Accept" with the emotional energy of a man resigned to his fate.
In the distance, Garp was already dragging over a stack of boulders.
The boulder hit the ground with a thunderous thud, sending a small shockwave through the training yard. Dust clouded the air. A few Marines near the edge of the yard instinctively took a step back.
Kain didn't.
He just stared at the pile.
Five boulders. All roughly the size of carriages. One had a crack running through it from a previous impact. Another still had scorch marks. Each one looked like it weighed more than an entire squad of Marines.
Kain turned slowly toward Garp.
"Let me guess," he said flatly. "I'm supposed to break those."
Garp's grin widened, the kind of grin that usually meant pain for someone else. "What? Break them? Nah."
Kain let out a breath of relief.
"You're gonna carry them up the cliff behind the base. Ten times. Each."
The relief died instantly.
Kain blinked. "I'm sorry, I thought you said—"
"Ten times. Each. Up that cliff," Garp repeated, pointing to a sheer rock face in the distance. The sun glared down on it like a spotlight from hell.
Kain stared.
Then turned and stared at the cliff.
Then back at Garp.
"Do you want me to die?"
Garp gave a big, hearty laugh. "Course not! What good would a dead trainee be?"
Kain folded his arms. "You just said 'trainee.' I'm a Captain."
"Rank doesn't matter during Garp Training™."
"That's not a real thing."
"It is now!"
Kain closed his eyes. Breathed in. Breathed out.
The Shonen System chimed in his head like it was enjoying this.
[System Notification: Quest Activated – Survive Garp's Training]
-Progress: 0/10 Boulders carried.
-Muscle Fibers Torn: 0
-Sanity Remaining: Questionable
-Tip: Believe in yourself, Protagonist! And maybe stretch first.
Kain resisted the urge to scream into the sky. Barely.
He bent down next to the nearest boulder and placed both palms against it. It felt like touching a wall made of heat and misery.
With a grunt, he pushed. Nothing.
He tried again. Muscles in his back flared. His legs braced.
This time, the boulder shifted.
Just slightly. Just enough to make his teeth clench and his breath hitch.
Then it lifted.
Only a few inches. But it lifted.
The nearby recruits, who had been pretending not to watch, audibly gasped.
Kain's knees trembled. His arms screamed. His vision blurred from the sheer pressure of trying to stand with a half-ton rock over his shoulder.
And yet—he did it.
The boulder was on his back. He was upright. He was moving.
Huh. When did he get this strong? It probably had to do with the Limit Break workout.
That said, each step was a war. Each inch forward felt like dragging a mountain through molasses.
It wasn't fast. It wasn't pretty. But he didn't stop.
One foot in front of the other.
Up the slope.
Onto the rocky path.
And then toward the start of the cliff trail.
Word spread fast.
By the time Kain was halfway up the cliff with his first boulder, a small crowd had gathered at the bottom.
Marines off-duty, instructors curious about Garp's "new project," even a few passing Rear Admirals slowing to watch.
Kain barely noticed.
Every fiber of his being was focused on not crumbling under the pressure. His breath came in heavy, slow drags. Sweat streamed down his neck and soaked through his coat. His legs moved on instinct, not will.
But he reached the top.
Eventually.
He staggered the final step, let the boulder slide from his back, and collapsed onto the sun-baked stone.
His vision pulsed. His heartbeat was loud in his ears.
From the bottom of the cliff, he could faintly hear Garp's voice:
"Good! Nine more to go!"
Kain lifted his middle finger weakly toward the sky.
By the time the sun dipped behind the horizon, Kain had only managed to move three boulders.
His coat was tied around his waist. His shirt was ripped open across the back. His arms were trembling even when resting. The crowd had long since gone back to their duties.
But Garp?
Garp was still there. Sitting cross-legged on a boulder of his own, chewing on a rice cracker, watching with interest. Not pushing. Not yelling. Just… watching.
When Kain dragged himself down the slope again, barely upright, Garp stood.
"Good first day."
Kain coughed. "I hate you."
Garp chuckled. "You'll thank me later."
Kain collapsed onto the grass and stared at the stars. "I'll thank you in hell."
Back in his assigned quarters, Kain didn't even bother changing. He fell into bed fully clothed, his body already shutting down. Muscles spasmed. Fingers twitched. His eyelids fluttered, trying to stay open long enough to pull up the Shonen System interface.
It took two attempts to focus.
[Quest Progress: 3/10 Boulders Carried]
[Bonus Earned: Grit +1]
[Nap Pass Unlocked: 1 Use]
Kain's eyes finally closed.
And for once… the exhaustion wasn't just physical.
It was earned.