Garp's face turned ashen, feeling his standing in Ace's heart was under threat.
What he didn't know was that from the mont he perford his ridiculous stunt outside Marine Headquarters, his image in Ace's mind had already crumbled—let alone any sense of respect.
Ace completely ignored Garp's reaction. Instead, he looked at Chiga with a gleam of admiration in his eyes, then turned back and stuck his tongue out at Garp.
"Stinky old man, who wants you to teach ? Beep~!"
"…"
Garp's fists twitched with an itch he hadn't felt in years. He was ready to make Ace taste his iron fist of "love."
But Ace wasn't so easy to catch off guard. Anticipating Garp's move, he acted first—stretching his neck forward and biting down hard on Garp's outstretched nose.
"OW!"
Garp let out a scream of pain. His poor nose had suffered too much today: first a self-inflicted injury from too much force, then a 24-karat punch from Sengoku, and now a savage bite from Ace.
What had his nose done to deserve such abuse?
Groaning in agony, Garp released Ace and clutched his nose, wailing like a child.
As soon as Ace landed, he darted toward the office door, feeling imnsely satisfied at having gotten one over on Garp. If only Luffy had been there to witness it—it would've been legendary.
Garp's face turned red with fury and pain. His throbbing nose stopped him from chasing Ace imdiately. Instead, he bent down, searching for sothing to throw.
His hand grabbed onto sothing soft, and without checking what it was, he hurled it at Ace.
Ace was still making faces when—
SPLAT!
A slipper slapped squarely against his face.
A loud smack echoed through the room, followed by Ace's scream. Everyone turned to look and saw a slipper slowly slide off Ace's face and fall to the floor.
A peculiar black imprint, probably dirt from the sole, was now stamped on Ace's cheek—neatly patterned, almost like a tattoo.
Chiga's mouth twitched. He thought of Dragon's facial tattoo for a mont. Although the designs were different, it was hard not to make the connection.
Of course, Dragon's wasn't made by a slipper… hopefully.
Ace, unaware of his new "tattoo," covered his burning cheek and shouted furiously,
"Stinky old man! When I grow up, I swear I'll give you one back!"
Hearing that, Garp's blood pressure skyrocketed. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to teach his grandson a lesson the old-fashioned way.
Sengoku finally had enough. He grabbed Garp by the collar and barked,
"Enough already! Stop causing a ruckus!"
Then, catching sight of Garp's poor nose, Sengoku's tone softened.
"Go to the infirmary and have that nose checked. I'm giving you the day off."
Garp had expected Sengoku to scold him, but instead, this small act of kindness hit him harder than any punch. He sniffled, gave a gruff grunt, and walked off with a grumbling Ace in tow.
As soon as the two left, peace returned to Sengoku's office.
Sengoku calmly walked back to his desk and brewed three cups of tea. He kept one for himself and pushed the other two toward Chiga and Yamato.
He took a gentle sip, sighing with pleasure. Chiga did the sa, slowly savoring the tea's aroma and flavor.
Yamato, however, had no such patience. She picked up her cup and chugged the tea in one go.
Unsurprisingly, she burned her mouth.
"Fuuuh—!" she exhaled a gust of icy breath, instantly cooling her tea. In the next second, she drank again—now transford into iced tea.
Sengoku raised an eyebrow. Interesting… She's a Devil Fruit user too.
Well, considering she's Kaido's daughter, her fruit couldn't possibly be ordinary.
Chiga, noticing Sengoku's curiosity, decided to clarify and explained Yamato's Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit power.
Sengoku's eyes lit up. This was an incredible bonus. A Mythical Zoan! No way was he letting such potential go to waste.
He turned to Chiga and asked,
"How do you plan to train her?"
"My plan is to let Teacher Zephyr refine her Haki."
Yamato pouted at that. She clearly didn't want to be handed off again but kept quiet.
Sengoku shook his head.
"Zephyr's been busy lately—training himself again. He doesn't have ti for new recruits."
"In that case," Chiga said, "she can follow ."
Sengoku nodded. "That's for the best."
"Yay!" Yamato cheered, imdiately scooting closer until she was practically glued to Chiga's side.
Chiga didn't mind. He was already planning to visit Zephyr, suspecting that the old man had finally eaten the Ox-Ox Fruit, especially since Sengoku said he'd been training again.
Sengoku noticed Chiga was about to leave and casually said,
"Get ready, Chiga. I'm planning to promote you."
"…Huh?"
Chiga stared at him in disbelief. Promotion? That could only an…
An Admiral?
Sengoku chuckled, a mischievous glint in his eyes. He'd been waiting for this mont. With Chiga's victory over Kaido, the timing was perfect.
In fact, he was more eager about the promotion than Chiga was.
Coming back to his senses, Chiga asked, "Isn't this a bit… sudden?"
"Not at all," Sengoku waved dismissively. "You took down Shiki and Kaido. What more do you need? Want to go after the remaining Yonko too?"
"…Actually, I already disard Shanks."
"Ha! As expected of you, you really—wait… NANI!?"
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Don't be shy, unleash those Powerstones! (⊙_◎)
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