Disclaimer: If you recognise it, surprise, I don't own it.

Chapter 3– A Ship Arrives.

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I am currently walking through the village while keeping my eyes open for any opportunities that might make my life easier. Still, in a small town like this, there aren't so many of those, so I have just ended up mindlessly wandering through the village and observing the townspeople, who are all very friendly and neighbourly since this village is a tight nit community.

I am ashamed to say that quite a few people in this village actually know my name and who I am. In contrast, I don't remember theirs because I never really paid attention to any of them and mainly just fought with the kids at the orphanage and interacted with the townspeople a few times. Still, I never really paid them anytime as opposed to those who seem to have remembered me, and they shout out friendly greetings as I pass them by.

Eventually, I make it to the docks at the beach, which is a different beach than the one I live at since Shokuyasi Village is a coastal town that is at the very end of the Conomi Islands with it being surrounded on three of its sides by the seas and the other path being the one that leads to the other villages on the island.

Shokuyasi Village itself is more concentrated to the right of that piece of the island, having the sea close by on the north and east, and there is a long old path to the beach to the west, which is where I currently live. So it is pretty isolated from the village and different from the other two beaches, which are heavily populated, with the north beach having the docks of the town.

Walking along the docks, I look at the various buildings where workers are constantly coming in and out of with multiple things and out at the boats where fishermen are standing around on ships that are coming in and out of the harbour with varying shipments on board. Still, mainly they are carrying in fish that they have caught fishing out and seas, and I catch sight of one particular fishing boat pushing out of the harbour.

My eyes trail it as it drifts off into the sea, and I watch it become smaller and smaller, becoming a dot before I can no longer see it. I am just staring out at sea with the sun high up in the sky, shining down and reflecting off of the luminescent waves. I can't believe just how beautiful the ocean looks right now because the sea back in my previous life would not be able to compare to this at all with how polluted it was.

Amazed by the sight, I walk to the end of a dock and sit down, letting my legs dangle off of the side. My toes tip down into the water as I watch the mesmerising wonder in front of me and calmly watch it while feeling a sense of peace that I have never felt before. I can't help but wonder just what other amazing sights there are out there that I haven't seen yet because this world, unlike my last one, is not adequately explored, or at least it is not documented for everyone since in my previous life, everything was pretty much studied. It was all recorded on the internet, but there is nothing like that here in this world.

Of course, I have read a few of the World Economy Newspapers. Still, I was more focused on getting stronger and fighting the other kids at the orphanage, so I didn't pay much attention to any other things that were going on but from the classes at the orphanage. These rumours spread among the children, and I have a pretty basic understanding of this world from some of the newspapers I read.

This world is split up into four different seas called the North Blue, the Sout Blue, the West Blue and the East Blue, which is where I live. Apart from that, a big red cliff separates the East and South blues from the North and West blues. Then even those seas are split up as well because of this big ocean that cuts through the planet, which is somehow perpendicular to the big red wall and then even that sea, which is called the Grand Line, is further separated from the other blues by two strips on either side which is called the Calm Belts which for some reason stop boats going through (It was never really explained, we were just told too never go into the calm belt).

The only sources of information about the rest of the world come from the World Economy Newspapers, and they mainly talk about the significant events and are very focused on the battles between great pirates and marines, which were quite fun to read about and apart from that you only get newspapers that are local on islands, and that is it for information which makes me very curious about what is actually out there to be explored because this world for me is full of mystery just because of the weird set up of the ocean and that is not to mention all of the rumours I have heard.

Rumours about massive creatures in the sea called Seakings, the immensely powered people that exist that can destroy mountains with a punch, the different humanoid species out there, with the most interesting being the mermaids and those people with wings, the apparently magical abilities that can be gained from eating some funky Devil Fruits.

By far the most exciting thing I've heard, which obviously has some truth to it, is the existence of the Pirate King Gold Roger, who has the greatest treasure in the world, the One Piece, which is the cause of the uprise of pirates in the world and the most confusing since people are fighting over something they only know the name of or maybe they are fighting over the title of Pirate King which only belongs to the person who has possession of the One Piece.

I think about all this and more while sitting there looking out at the seas as the sun slowly sets. I daydream and wonder about all the fantastic things out there that are not being put in the newspapers and that the World Government and the Marines are keeping hidden. I can't help but wonder what mysteries and amazing things are out there, just waiting to be found. I can't see myself staying on this island forever since it seems kind of boring, and I want to go out there and see if all those rumours are actually true and if there are actual mermaids out there and if I can find one called Ariel to help me live out my own Disney story.

I continue to look out at the sea, and I finally notice that the sun is actually setting and the day is turning into night. And I have wasted my whole day just sitting here when I should have been improving my situation, so I go to get up and leave. Still, before I do, I spot a dot in the distance directly in front of the sea that slowly gets bigger in my eyes and thinking that it is the fishing boat that went out earlier, I stay sat to watch it so that I have at least gone full circle.

As it pulls in closer and closer, I realise it is much too big to be a fishing boat and the fact that it is blue and white sails and a pale green body with a brown strip. It also has a dog's face on the front that has a bone in its mouth, and did I mention that the World Government symbol is on the front of one of the sails and behind that sail is another that says MARINE.

I sit and watch as the marine ship draws closer and closer and find myself oddly excited because this is the first time I am seeing the law enforcement of this world. If any of those rumours are true, then obviously, some of the people on board that ship should be proof of them since they are tasked with protecting the innocents of the world and should have mighty power to fight off all the pirate scum that terrorise villagers and innocents everywhere, the marine ship has finally drawn close enough that I can see all of it correctly.

I can see that it is a ship made for battle. Still, it also has its quirks, as its crow nests resemble a dog house while the figurehead resembles a dog head with a bone in its mouth and this ship has a lot of sails on it, and the masts are shaped like bones with dog paws with all of this clearly stating the overall theme of this vessel is dogs.

The marine ship is now pulling into the harbour and wanting to get a closer look at all the marines that will no doubt be disembarking (ha, barking, like the ship) the ship and flooding into town to do whatever it is that they have come to do here. So I jump up from my spot at the end of one of the docks and quickly book it over to the dock where the marines have anchored. I slide to a stop as they lay down the plank with a slap of wood meeting wood. I stand awed as marines pour out of the ship and down the plank in neat single-file order, and then they line up on either side of the dock and hoist their guns to the sky against their shoulders as they stand to attention, and I am inspired by the discipline and machismo.

All the marines that came down just now were regular human beings. Still, they were impressive none the less but what I saw next truly broke open the boundaries of my mind because I saw a tall, tanned, broad-chested, muscular old man with a grey beard and a scar over his left eye, blue eyes, and grey hair walk down the plank and then along the dock. Of course, all the marines saluted and shouted at sir when he stepped foot onto the dock. Still, what genuinely shocked me was this man's height as, from a glance, he seemed to be around 9'5", and by comparison, I didn't even make it to the size of his knees, and I was actually pretty tall for my age.

This man was very clearly the boss of this ship as he wore a completely white ensemble having white leather shoes, white pants, a blue shirt with a green tie that strained against his broad chest, over that he wore a white suit coat which was one of those weird ones that had one side wrapped over the others kinda like when you wrap a towel around yourself. It had six gold buttons on the coat, keeping it close, with there being two lines of three which are parallel to each other. His cufflinks are gold too.

Overall, he wears a majestic long white coat that has golden and blue shoulder pads that look kinda regal. But, by far, the weirdest thing about this guy is the bloody dog mask that he wears, which is basically just the cut-off head of a big yellow dog with brown marks and stripes on it, and its eyes have a light yellow fabric on it.

By far, the most maniacal thing is that the dog mask still has all of the sharp teeth in place. So this crazy old man's head is inside the mouth with those dangerous pointy teeth looking dangerously close to his eyes and chin, but he doesn't seem to care as he walks down the dock towards me while munching on some crackers or something.

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"Oi kid, you are blocking the way. Move aside. you know where I can find a restaurant or something to eat some food since these buffoons behind me didn't pack enough supplies for our trip, and I have been starving." First, I look up from his knees, which my head barely reaches.

Then, I move my gaze upwards to see this giant old man having his cookies in one hand and having the pinkie of his other hand digging around inside his nose, looking for something, which he finds eventually as he pulls his finger free with a look of triumph on his face. Still, that look quickly switches to frustration pretty easily as he continues to try and flick the booger out into the sea, but no matter what he does, it stays attached to the end of his finger.

"WHAT THE HELL, IT WAS OUR FAULT!? IT WAS ALL YOUR FAULT, WE STOCKED UP ON MORE THAN ENOUGH, BUT YOU ATE IT ALL BEFORE WE EVEN LEFT THE EAST BLUE!" All the marines that were orderly lined up a second ago suddenly lose all decorum and shout at what I assume to be their captain while chopping their hands down. Still, the man in front of me acts like there's nothing but air and just focuses on trying to remove the booger from the tip of his finger.

At this point, another man comes off of the ship and to my surprise, this man actually turns out to be half a head taller than the man currently standing in front of me. He has short blonde hair and wears a marine coat which is draped over his shoulders, underneath which he wears a matching beige suit and hat, with the hat covering his eyes in a dark shadow.

The man has a katana on his left hip which is attached to his belt with a brown strap, and it has a grey-wrapped hilt, a golden rounded-cross-shaped tsuba and a deep green sheath. The man himself seems to wear an apparently perpetual scowl on his face due to the corners of his mouth always pointing downwards, which emphasises his air of seriousness, and this man is currently walking down the docks towards us.

"HAH" The man in front of me suddenly switches from his dopey face and lazy stance to a severe expression and posture. As he does, I feel him exude an immense pressure into his surroundings which presses down onto me from all sides and makes me feel like the most insignificant thing to have ever existed. Then the burly old man flicks his hand backwards, and he finally succeeds and flicks the booger away, and I can feel the air literally whoosh as the booger flies like a cannonball behind the old man and it is heading straight for the man in the brown suit at an insane speed.

Either that man has incredible reflexes, or he is so light and the booger so fast because as the booger blasts towards him, the man floats to the side and literally flutters around the booger as if a paper bag carried by the wind and the booger continues on past him to splatter against the side of one of the marines faces. The impact is such that the poor man lets out a piercing scream as he is literally blasted off of the docks and out to sea for about 50 meters before he loses momentum and miraculously stays there in the air for a moment before gravity kicks back in. Then, finally, the man falls into the ocean with a large splash.

"Garp-san. Look." The man in the brown suit says as he nods to me, completely ignoring the situation behind him as some of the marines, as if used to the situation, begin to get into a rowboat in preparation to go get the stranded marine as the rest of them laugh at the misfortune of their comrade, the man apparently called Garp directs his serious face down following the man in brown's direction and as his eyes set on me I can feel myself literally wanting to crawl into my self at the pressure emitting from his eyes.

I can feel the sweat pouring down my body and dripping at Garp's intense gaze. Then, I feel myself stumble and nearly drop to my ass when Garp's face returns to its dopey look, and he starts munching on crackers again, with all that intense pressure disappearing like mist.

"Hm, ahh, my bad. Sorry boy, I forgot you were here. you should stop being so short, as no one will be able to see you like that." So you're saying this is my fault, you stupid, disgusting old man, when I am a child, and it's not my decision to be this short, you idiot. Still, while I think this in my head, I don't have the guts to say it out loud, having just felt this man's unbelievable strength and knowing that he could crush my head with his little pinky, which just flung a booger like a cannonball.

At the man's apology, I ended up just nodding and agreeing with what he said, not knowing what else to do in this situation. Still, underneath all of this nervousness and fear, I can feel my blood pumping and my lungs burning at the thought that these feats of strength are actually real and achievable and now that the idea is in my head and festers and balloons up in my head crushing all my other emotions underneath it. Finally, I can't contain my excitement any longer.

"C-Can I do that as well? What you just did?" I blurt out without control, and this takes both Garp and the man in brown by surprise, but while the man in brown maintains his stoic expression Garp tilts his head at me for a second and then looks me up and down before-

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA"

-letting loose a guttural full belly laugh while holding his stomach and leaning back so that his face is looking at the sky. I can see tears begin to sprinkle out of his eyes as he point blankly laughs at my question, and I can feel tears start to leak out of my own eyes as this man who is supposed to be a law-upholding righteous man ridicules me with his savage cackle.

"W-Why, why are you laughing? I-I can do that too. why... wouldn't I be able to do it..?" I stutter out as I wipe my tears away with the sleeve of my arm. I shouldn't be crying like a baby when I still have memories of a time when I was once an adult, but no matter what I do, I can't stop the flow of water from my eyes.

I rub my eyes raw, trying to do so to the point that the skin around my eyes is literally burning as I try to stem my eyeballs and stop this pathetic showing. Still, nothing stops the avalanche of salty water pouring from my eyes. Who does this man think he is to be able to laugh at me like this, make fun of me like this, belittle me like this and ridicule my existence in such a way my anger builds. The more I watch this demented grandpa laugh himself silly, the more my rage festers and builds, and before I know it, I have pulled back my arm, clenched my fist and jumped forward to strike this old man down.

"AAAGGGGHHHHH! AMARRIILLLOOOO PUUUUNCH!"

My fist flies forward faster than I ever thought possible with a roar, and I feel as if lightning itself is coursing through my veins. As my muscles tense and my fist drives forward to deliver a critical blow to this old fart, my punch lands with a deafening crack, and the impact is such that all other sounds cease to be as my fist implants itself against Garp's right knee and he immediately stops laughing, he is obviously in such crippling pain that he hasn't even registered the pain and the momentum and chock hasn't yet carried through so that he can feel his broken kneecap and drop on to his ass and he is-

"Hmm."

-tilting his head to the side again and looking down at me with a pitying look on his face which doesn't make sense since I literally just shattered his right kneecap into pieces, so why the hell is this old fart looking down on me again and giving me such a pitying look when he should be crying his eyes out and regretting that he ever crossed my path and disrespected me.

It is probably just a delayed reaction like in those shows in my past life, and it is going to take a while for the pain to register, so I draw my fist back and look down at Garp's right knee. However, to my surprise, there's no blood or anything as his pants are still a stainless white, and they don't even look crumpled in the least, which doesn't make sense as I just dropped a haymaker on it, confused I move my hand to clasp my chin and...

"AAAGGGGHHHHH!"

"Tch, who told you to punch me, you dumb brat. It's your own fault that you are in this situation. you should show some respect to your elders, shrimp." I am currently sitting on one of the crates lined up along the docks as one of the doctors aboard the marine ship is trying to fix my hand and is now putting some bandages on my ruined fist, which completely ruptured when I tried to break Garp's leg and the pain was so intense that I hadn't even realised what happened until I saw my own fist after which the pain pierced me like a needle straight into the brain. I let out an anguished scream and cradled my deformed hand as I dropped to my knees in horror and passed out from the pain.

When I woke up a short time later, this doctor was already mending my hand as I lay on a crate. He must have given me some pain-reducing drugs or something because I no longer felt that excruciating pain anymore, right now Garp was sitting across from me on another crate munching on crackers and behind him stood the man dressed in brown, who I have learned is Garp's right-hand man and his name is Bogard. He stays silent as he watches the proceedings, which I much prefer to Garp taking the opportunity to ridicule me.

"Haaah? I tried to punch you because you were laughing at me. Tell me, why should I show respect to an old man who ridicules little kids? All I asked was a question, why were you laughing so much?" I try to defend myself as I now know that it was pretty dumb to punch a full-grown man and expect some kind of result, not to mention that this man was the leader or captain or whatever of a massive marine ship.

However, this guy should not have been laughing in the face of a young kid like me. What would he do if this encounter scarred me and I grew up hating the marines and became a marine serial killer that trawled the seas, killing every marine I found until I found this old man that laughed at me as a child.

"Haha, sorry, sorry, it was just too funny. Please, Mr Marine, can you tell me if I can do what you just did? Of course, I am going to laugh, especially when I hear such ridiculous words. You wanted to learn to flick boogers like cannonballs. what kind of idiot wants to flick their boogers as a method of fighting, haha!" Garp begins to laugh again while clenching his stomach, and when he phrases it like that, I can see why he would start laughing and that it wasn't malicious.

However, it still really hurt to be laughed at like that when I just excitedly asked an innocent question. I didn't even mean that as I meant to ask if it would be possible for me to perform such feats and not that I wanted to use my boogers as lethal projectiles to blow people's heads off from miles away with a flick of my fingers.

"That isn't at all what I meant. that would be so stupid. I was just asking if I could perform such feats of strength like you and such power that you can send a booger flying and have it shoot someone off into the distance. that was all." I say to which Garp quietens down and wipes the tears from his face. He looks me dead in the eyes and speaks.

"No way, there is no way you could perform such things. I can do such things because I am strong. You can't because you are weak-" The hope in my heart to be as strong as this man begins to die. I can feel myself on the verge of breaking down, am I destined to live yet another life full of mediocrity and condemned to stay within this small village and live a lacklustre life that is the same as every other idiot on this planet.

What is the point of living if I can't be as strong as this man "-right now. In the future, if you work hard and train, you can be strong like me, and then you can join the marines and help me protect the good people of this world and lock away all the scummy pirates. if you eat right, train properly and get taught by a good mentor, then there is no reason why you can't be as strong as me." He flashes a thumbs up at me, and his grin widens to insane proportions as he lets loose a guttural laugh, but this time it is not as grating to my ears as I can feel my hope returning, and now knowing that it is possible I can feel a new determination within me start to grow to one day reach such a level and even surpass it.

I start smirking at the old man as I know he won't be able to refuse my subsequent request because he is a good (and a bit dumb) man who takes his job seriously. He is a good marine, and from what I know of him, there is no way that he is gonna let a debt he owes go unpaid. "You owe me, old man. I broke my hand and smashed it into smithereens because of you. To repay your debt, you can become my mentor and train me to become a strong person. It is the least you can do."

"HAAAH!?"