Rosinante giving up so easily was something that took not only Kokushibō Yoriichi by surprise, but even Zephyr hadn't expected Sengoku's adoptive son to throw in the towel like that.
Zephyr hadn't interacted with Rosinante all that much before, but he'd often heard Sengoku praise this boy for being sensible, determined, and endlessly hardworking in his dream of becoming a fine Marine.
Yet after seeing the current Rosinante sprawled out in defeat, Zephyr couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. Still, his expression quickly turned stern. He might've found Sengoku's indulgence amusing, but Zephyr was a man who took training very seriously.
Even if Rosinante wasn't officially a Marine yet, and even if he wasn't one of Zephyr's Naval Academy students, that didn't change Zephyr's principles.
Before Yoriichi could even open his mouth to urge Rosinante back into practice, Zephyr barked in a voice like thunder:
"Rosinante!"
"Get up!"
"The Marines aren't playing house. On the battlefield, you could die at any moment!"
"If you slack off during training, you'll end up getting slaughtered by pirates out there. Do you want Sengoku to bury his own son?"
"You're Sengoku's adoptive son, aren't you? Don't act like some coward! Stand up!"
Zephyr's sudden roar startled Rosinante, who had been lying flat on the tatami mats. He jerked up in a scramble and stammered out:
"Y-Yes, sir!"
"I'll keep going right away!"
Zephyr might've been a Marine Admiral, but in the Navy hierarchy, his reputation carried immense weight. Rosinante jumped up, grabbed his bamboo sword, and with a loud yell charged once more toward Yoriichi.
"Oh!"
"Good spirit! See, you can do it when you try!"
Zephyr's praise had barely left his lips when Yoriichi slipped to one side, dodging Rosinante's strike with ease. Then, with a fluid motion, he lowered himself and rapped Rosinante sharply across the ankle. Rosinante cried out in pain and stumbled, crashing to the floor.
"Ow! That really hurt!"
Yoriichi had put a bit more force into that strike, knowing that pain could spark Rosinante's fighting spirit. And sure enough, Rosinante lay there gripping his bamboo sword tightly, gritting his teeth as he pushed himself up to attack again.
…
For the rest of the morning, Rosinante sparred continuously with Yoriichi, barely taking any breaks.
This training didn't do much for Yoriichi, but for Rosinante, it made a world of difference.
Rosinante actually possessed a strong willpower. His problem was that he'd grown accustomed to slacking off, and Sengoku, always soft on him, rarely pushed him harder. Whenever Rosinante wanted to give up, Sengoku simply let him.
So over the years, Rosinante's growth had been painfully slow. Even as an adult, his abilities were mediocre at best, equivalent to a run-of-the-mill Marine soldier.
Leaving aside his Devil Fruit powers and looking purely at combat strength, Rosinante's maximum Doriki value in his prime probably barely reached 20.
At age twelve, he was only slightly stronger than an average civilian child.
By lunchtime, with his muscles starting to cool down, Rosinante felt soreness all over his body. His hands were trembling so badly with exhaustion that he could barely hold his spoon steady.
"Hey, hey, hey…"
"Yoriichi, I've never gone through such brutal training in my life."
"I'm still growing, you know! Isn't training like this going to mess up my growth?"
"Am I going to end up short? Yoriichi, don't you think you're short precisely because you trained too hard?"
Even though it hurt him to lift food to his mouth, Rosinante's chatterbox mouth didn't stop for a second. From the moment he sat down, he'd been complaining non-stop.
"…"
"My height… is perfectly normal."
Yoriichi shot him a sideways look as he answered. Although, to be fair, Rosinante actually had some grounds to talk. Despite being only twelve, he was nearly two meters tall, towering over most people.
Yoriichi, meanwhile, was more on the average side, barely reaching 170 cm.
Faced with Rosinante's teasing, Yoriichi genuinely didn't know how to reply.
"You're already tall enough. Getting taller doesn't help much anyway."
Yoriichi scooped another mouthful of rice, mumbling around the food.
"No, no, no."
"I still think growing taller is more important."
"I don't want to end up a shorty."
Rosinante shook his head emphatically. Yoriichi knew he didn't mean it as an insult, but the words still made him a bit uncomfortable.
This world was different from the one Yoriichi had known. Humans here were generally much taller. Marines as tall as Rosinante weren't uncommon, even if you didn't count the giants among the Navy ranks.
While Yoriichi and Rosinante chatted over their meal, the door to the dining hall suddenly slid open.
"Slide!"
Zephyr entered carrying a tray, and right behind him was a towering middle-aged man draped in a white cloak of Justice.
This new arrival also held a tray, piled high with food stacked so tall it practically hid his face.
Both Yoriichi and Rosinante looked up simultaneously, curiosity lighting their eyes.
"Yo!"
"Yoriichi, you little punk!"
Poking his head out from behind the mountain of food, Garp grinned and shouted at Yoriichi. Without waiting for permission, he plopped down in a seat and slammed his tray onto the table.
"Vice Admiral Garp!"
"Hello, Vice Admiral Garp!"
Rosinante seemed to recognize Garp and blurted out his greeting in surprise, while Yoriichi also nodded politely.
"Hahahaha!"
"Don't be so formal!"
"I heard Zephyr was cooking today, so I came over to freeload. And look at that, I got here just in time! Hahahaha!"
Garp settled down beside Rosinante, beaming as he began transferring food from his tray to his plate.
"It's all your fault, showing up without warning. I didn't prepare enough food!"
Zephyr sat down beside Yoriichi, the corners of his eyes crinkling in amusement even though he was complaining. His own tray was piled high with food, but once he set it down, he immediately started divvying portions to Yoriichi and Rosinante, leaving little for himself.
"Garp, weren't you off tracking Roger? How come you're back so quickly?"
"It's only been, what… ten days since you set sail? Not even a month yet."
"What happened, did you lose him again?"
Zephyr teased him lightly.
In the Navy, Garp was known for being an eccentric. Commander-in-Chief Kong had repeatedly tried to promote him to Admiral in recognition of his merits, but Garp kept turning it down.
Instead of operating in the New World like other Vice Admirals, Garp had long focused on pursuing the Roger Pirates in the East Blue. Unless something urgent happened at Marineford, he was usually out at sea chasing Roger.
Along the way, he'd also wipe out any other pirates he happened to run across.
Because of Garp's relentless efforts, the pirate presence in the East Blue was consistently the weakest among the Four Seas, and its social order was comparatively the best.
Recently, though, the Roger Pirates had arrived at Sabaody Archipelago, passed through Fish-Man Island, and entered the New World.
The moment news of this broke, Garp had set off in pursuit. But it was surprising to see him back so quickly.
"Bah!"
"You know what the weather's like in the New World. I'd practically caught up to them when a sudden downpour hit. Lost sight of them completely."
"For days, the surveillance ships couldn't locate Roger's trail, so I figured I might as well come back for now."
"And besides… I wanted to see how you're doing with this kid's training."
While speaking, Garp cast a glance at Yoriichi, scanning him from head to toe before grabbing another piece of meat and stuffing it in his mouth.
"So you lost him again, huh."
"You were always losing him even back in the East Blue. Now that they've swapped ships at Water Seven, escaping should be even easier."
"With the New World's unpredictable weather, I'm telling you… you'll never catch Roger in this lifetime."
Zephyr spoke with a grin, eating as he jabbed his friend with sarcastic jabs.
"Eh, don't worry about me. I'll catch him."
"He's suddenly moving with purpose lately, as if he's found a clear goal."
"I don't know what he's after yet, but I'm sure I'll figure it out soon enough."
While Garp and Zephyr chatted, Yoriichi listened intently. Hearing Garp mention Roger's new sense of purpose, Yoriichi immediately understood what Roger must be searching for.
It could only be one thing: the Poneglyphs.
Roger had been active in the East Blue for years. Now, knowing he was terminally ill, he must have decided to fulfill his dream of sailing around the world.
Having entered the New World, Roger had probably already seen the Poneglyph on Fish-Man Island. His next step would be gathering all the Poneglyphs to reach Laugh Tale.
As Yoriichi pondered these thoughts, Garp suddenly stood up despite having barely sat down for a few minutes. He looked at Yoriichi and called out:
"Kid, come on. Let's see how much you've improved."
"I'm the one who brought you into the Navy. It's my responsibility to make sure you live up to your potential."
"If you waste your talent, it'll give me a headache!"
"Hahahaha!"
Yoriichi snapped back to attention and stared at Garp, only to discover in astonishment that Garp's mountainous tray of food was already completely empty.
He'd been chatting with Zephyr the whole time, yet somehow he'd devoured everything!
"Hey, stop spacing out. You're done eating too, right? Come on, time to work off that meal."
Garp let out a booming laugh. Without giving Yoriichi any chance to refuse, he grabbed him by the arm and dragged him toward the courtyard.
"Hey, Garp, hold on a second."
Zephyr tried to intercept him, seeing how hastily Garp was dragging Yoriichi away. It wasn't that Zephyr objected to Garp testing Yoriichi's progress it made perfect sense. But for goodness' sake, couldn't they at least finish lunch first? Just because Garp was done eating didn't mean everyone else was!
But the moment Zephyr reached out to grab Garp's shoulder, Garp deftly intercepted his hand.
"Truly impossible to rein in," Yoriichi sighed inwardly, then turned to Zephyr and said:
"Teacher Zephyr, I've finished eating. Besides, it'll be good for digestion."
"I don't mind."
Before he finished speaking, Garp had already marched him outside.
"Alright, come at me. Let's see how much you've improved."
Garp stood in the center of the courtyard, beckoning with a hooked finger. At his words, Yoriichi turned and fetched a bamboo sword from the nearby dojo before returning to face Garp.
From the covered walkway at the edge of the courtyard, Rosinante was watching, clutching a tray piled with food. He shouted encouragement around a mouthful of rice:
"Hey, Yoriichi, go get him!"
"Try to last a little longer, hahaha!"
Rosinante's words said "good luck," but his expression was pure schadenfreude.
"Here I come."
Yoriichi ignored Rosinante and gave Garp a nod. Taking a steady breath, he dashed forward, bamboo sword poised.
"Oh! A frontal assault, huh?"
"Not bad. That's the spirit of a Marine!"
Garp grinned approvingly.
But before Garp could finish his praise, Yoriichi was already in front of him, body low, thrusting his bamboo sword upward toward Garp's chest.
"Whoa! That's fast!" Rosinante exclaimed from the sidelines. He hadn't even seen Yoriichi's movement clearly. By the time he registered the bamboo sword, Garp already had it caught firmly in his hand.
But Garp's previously cheerful face had darkened, and he wore a displeased frown.
"Stop."
"Why are you still using this kind of attack?!"
"I've brought you into the Navy nearly twenty days ago, haven't I?"
"With your physical abilities, you should be learning the Six Styles by now. And with your talent, you should be picking up Haki quickly too."
"So why… are you still this weak?!"
Garp called a halt after just one exchange. He stared Yoriichi up and down, then turned toward Zephyr and demanded:
"Hey, I left this kid in your hands."
"What the hell have you been teaching him?!"
"It's been more than half a month, and he hasn't improved much at all."
At Garp's outburst, Zephyr let out a cold snort and shot back:
"What do you mean no progress? Filling his head with knowledge counts as progress, doesn't it?"
"He's still young. The Six Styles and all that can wait until he's a bit older!"
Zephyr's voice was loud and firm, but Garp could hear the hesitation behind his words.
Narrowing his eyes, Garp suddenly seemed to piece things together. He tossed the bamboo sword back to Yoriichi and stepped over to sling an arm around Zephyr's shoulders, lowering his voice:
"Is this Sengoku's idea?"
Sharp as ever, Garp had instantly sniffed out the real reason. Say what you would about his reckless style, Garp wasn't brainless like his grandson Luffy.
"Why bother asking if you already know?!"
Zephyr gave a short huff, his voice tinged with frustration.
Hearing Zephyr confirm it, Garp gave a slight nod. He looked back at Yoriichi and, after a moment's pause, shook his head with a long sigh.
"This won't do. Training like this will never produce strong Marines."
"Next time I go out to sea, I'm taking this kid with me!"
The words were barely out of Garp's mouth before Zephyr instantly objected:
"No way! He's still too young. Besides, he's not even an official Marine yet. You can't take him out to sea."
"That's an order!"
But Garp's booming voice rose even louder as he roared:
"Bullshit! At his age, a man should already be carving his path on the seas!"
"Roger's ship has two kids about his age, doesn't it?"
"If pirates can set sail at this age, why can't Marines?! Huh?!"
"Orders? To hell with your orders!"
"Next time I head out, I'm taking this kid. Anyone with a problem can come say it to my face!"
"Hmph!"
With that final snort, Garp turned on his heel and stormed off out of Zephyr's quarters. As they watched him go, Zephyr who'd been fuming just a moment before suddenly broke into a smile.
"Vice Admiral Garp… he's really easy to read."
Yoriichi, who had stayed silent through it all, glanced at the grin on Zephyr's face and let out a soft sigh.
He'd honestly thought Zephyr and Garp were about to have a real argument. But seeing Zephyr's expression now, Yoriichi realized he'd been thinking too simply.
If Yoriichi wasn't mistaken, it seemed Zephyr had just used Garp as a convenient battering ram.
"Hahahahahaha!"
"This is all for your own good!"
"You'll never become a strong Marine just by reading books!"
"That idiot came back at just the right time, hahahahahaha!"