Without even needing to open the door, Zerk had already figured out the identity of the late visitor.

"Bwahahahahaha! Is it dinner time?" A booming voice shocked everyone into silence as one big muscular man forcibly opened the door, causing it to be broken. They watched as Garp walked in like he owned the damn place, looking around the messy state of the house before landing his gaze on his grandchildren.

"Here goes the door." Dadan sighed tiredly.

"Arghhhh! It's Garp!" The others immediately scrammed out of the place with all of the food in their hands.

"Couldn't you just open the door like a normal human being, ya d*mn man?" Dadan glared at him. Garp just laughed her off in response. He didn't even bother to look at her, in favor of focusing on the children.

As usual, his three little guys were still trying so hard to pretend that they weren't that nervous in his presence. He could see some improvement in Ace and Sabo as those two was brave enough to actually stare right into his eyes without backing away. While Luffy on the other hand... that brat still continued to sneak some food into his mouth, eyes wandering everywhere but him.

As he had anticipated, the three young troublemakers had already formed an unbreakable bond, sticking together like glue. Their camaraderie and loyalty to one another were evident, solidifying their relationship as true brothers.

The old man's eyes narrowed as he noticed the unfamiliar figure seated among the little guys. With a mouthful of leftovers, he pointed a finger towards Zerk and asked, "And who might this be?"

"Hello, my name is Zerk. I have been entrusted with the honor of becoming the guardian of these little brats, and we are now residing together," Standing up from his seat, Zerk saluted the old man with a mischievous grin on his face, trying his best to appear relaxed. He didn't want to show any signs of tension, knowing that the old man would likely bully him otherwise. Though it was merely a feeling he had gathered from Garp's character in the manga, witnessing it in the real world made him incredibly nervous.

"Ho. Is that so? In that case, I will test your strength," Garp's aura changed after those words escaped Zerk's mouth.

'Sh*t! I messed up.'

Before he could curse too deeply, Sabo muttered through a mouthful of food. "Gramps, Bro Zerk is strong! He could defeat a big boar with a single slap!" he interjected involuntarily, unable to contain his excitement as he bragged about his older brother's impressive accomplishment.

"Yeah, he also saved Sabo from many red bears the other day when we were on our way home!" Ace added, chiming in to highlight Zerk's heroic actions.

"Hm!" Garp's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized him, as if trying to assess him using some sort of eye ability seen in some animes.

"Allright, brat! I've marked you!" Garp said with a laugh.

Glancing at his grandson, he screamed, "WHAT'S THIS?!" making everyone present jolt in surprise.

Then, he slowly approached them as he raised his fist, causing the boys to flinch. "You brats still don't know how to greet your elder? Looks like I still need to knock some basic manners into you two huh?"

"Gramps!" Luffy immediately spoke after he swallowed whatever was left in his mouth. He raised one hand and greeted the old man. "Long time no see!"

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"..How you doin'?" Ace asked halfheartedly.

"Ho? You don't seem to be happy with me being here." Garp raised his eyebrow.

Ace held himself back from saying 'obviously'.

"That's not true," Zerk spoke up, his words tinged with a hint of mischief. The glint in his eyes caught Ace's attention, making him instantly alert. "Luffy and Ace were just telling me this evening how much they missed you. They couldn't wait to show you how much they've improved since your last visit."

Unbeknownst to the consequences of that words would bring, he soon would come to regret his bold statement.

The boys looked at him with a look of shock because of his betrayal. Well, more like Ace, since the slow Luffy was still blinking innocently as he wondered what his big bro was talking about.

"Oho? Really?" With a gleam in his eyes, Garp cracked his fingers and stared fiercely at the three nervous brats. Zerk thought that he pretty much resembled a thug wanting to bully some defenseless kids. "I think that now is a good time for us to have some family bonding time, don't you think so?"

Ace, Luffy, and Sabo gulped as they slowly backed away.

The next thing they knew, they were screaming and running as fast as they could to escape from the lunatic Garp who was laughing like a mad man as he threw a tree at them. "Bwahahahahah! Is that all you got?!"

UAAAAAGHK" The four brats let out a simultaneous scream that echoed through the night, their voices filled with fear and surprise.

.....

Later in the night.

Looking at the sleeping form of his brothers, Zerk shook his head. Honestly, Garp didn't even land a hit on either of them, except for Zerk. Sure he threw a tree and some big rocks at them, but he knew he purposely missed his aims so that he wouldn't actually hit the three boys. The boys themselves were mostly exhausted due to all of the running and screaming they did. But, as soon as Dadan noticed that they wouldn't be able to endure the 'torture' anymore, she decided to take pity on them, told them to stop and go clean themselves before going to sleep. How nice of her.

After making sure that they were indeed sleeping, Zerk left the room to look for Garp. Following his presence, he passed through the many men sleeping on their futon in the living room, and went outside through the broken door that was caused by Garp earlier. Since the piece of wood had been broken, they had to cover the space with a curtain instead.

Once he was outside, Zerk saw the person he was looking for sitting underneath a tree not far from here with the moon as his companion as he sipped a bottle of sake.

It wasn't Zerk's intention to seek trouble of coming here, he was simply following the order given to him by the old man.

"So, what are you doing, drinking here alone?" he asked not beating around the bush.

"Can't an old guy like me enjoy a solitary drink in the middle of the night without being questioned?" He glanced at Zerk from the corner of his eyes.

"Of course you can." He said. "But I recall an old saying that advises that old people shouldn't drink too much, or else they would die faster in the future." He just blurted any words that comes to his mind without proper filter this time because of the earlier beating.

"HAHA! "

Grinning widely, Garp let out a booming laugh. "I'm curious about who you really are," he said, his eyes gleaming with a dangerous light that he typically reserved for his enemies.

"?. What do you mean? I thought we were already done with the introductions. So what exactly are you implying?" Zerk replied nonchalantly, his clothes billowing in the night breeze.

"Don't try to pull a fast one on me, kid. I can tell you ain't from these parts, even though your fancy accent is spot-on. And I can't help but think you're hiding something, aren't you? What's your game, comin' here and cozying up to my grandsons? Choose your words wisely now, 'cause you're treading on thin ice. One wrong move, and you might find yourself catchin' a beatdown right here." Garp said with a dangerous grin across his scary face.

"Eh, I am indeed not from here. But i don't have any bad intentions, rest assured old man." he helplessly said, ignoring the old man's sharp gaze.

Garp casually assessed him from head to toe, downing a bottle of sake in one gulp.

"Really now, would you believe me if I said that I just happened to be stranded here a few days ago, with my memories completely gone?" he said with a soft sigh.

Listening to his words, Garp ended up laughing. "Bwahahahaha! Just as I thought! Do you really think you can casually lie to me like that, kid?" he scoffed, pointing his finger forward. "And where are your injuries? You seem to have miraculously recovered in no time."

"You also give off the vibes of a devil fruit user. Am I right?" He scanned Zerk's torn clothes as if expecting to find bruises that weren't there.

"Well, I'm not trying to hide it tho."

He chuckled along with him. Then the silence came again.

"Quit beatin' around the bush, kid. Spit it out already if you got somethin' to ask." Garp said after a few moments.

He hesitated for a while, but then he asked "Old man, I humbly request to become your disciple!" Zerk saluted with utmost sincerity, assuming the respectful posture of a disciple in the presence of his long-lost master.

"F*ck No!"

'Instant rejection. But all right.

It's not like I actually want to study under him. The damn system is just forcing me into it. I am being forced you know.'

System Mission has been Triggered!

Obtain a disciple-master relationship with Vice Admiral Garp in a 1 week's time.

Rewards:100 System Points, All stats +55, Get a 1% chance of acquiring Super Chest, 5% chance of acquiring Rare Chest, 10% chance of acquiring Big Chest, 25% chance of acquiring Common Chest.

Failure: Get System Penalty(randomly chosen)

Accept(Y/N)

'Sh*t'

I'm not sure about the specific penalties for declining the quest, but I have a fear that the consequences may be severe. Considering the system's tendency to turn every encounter into a perilous mission with excessively demanding requirements, I wouldn't be surprised if the punishment is akin to descending straight into the depths of hell. Who knows.

"Why?" Zerk asked with a nonchalant expression.

"Are you freakin' deaf or what? No means no, dumbass. Don't need no explanation for it." Garp said gulping down the last bottle he brought.

"..."