"Huh?" Aldo looked up, dazed. What did I just hear?
"Huh?" Loya was stunned by the sudden question. What did I just hear?
"WHAT?!" The crowd of eavesdroppers scread in unison. What did we just hear?
Garp dug at his ear impatiently. "You guys are so noisy! It's just taking on an apprentice, what's there to be so shocked about?!"
He said it with such righteous confidence that for a split second, Loya almost felt like his own ability to process reality was the problem. But the crowd felt otherwise: taking an apprentice wasn't strange, but Garp doing it was absolutely bizarre! Back when Kuzan was a re subordinate officer under him, Garp never once ntioned taking him as a disciple. What was he playing at now?
Loya still hadn't fully recovered. Why did Garp suddenly want to take him on as a student? Why did this unfolding scenario feel so weirdly familiar? I'm not nad Zhao Ritian!
In the One Piece world, the master-disciple relationship was largely confined to martial arts dojos. On the open sea, people yearned for freedom; whether they were good or evil, their actions were all a pursuit of that freedom. Therefore, most people on the ocean—especially the n—generally viewed taking on students as a chore and refused to do it.
Mihawk taught Zoro for two years, and Rayleigh taught Luffy for two years. Were they master and disciple? Of course not. According to the mariti viewpoint, "I can teach you, but you aren't my student."
Kuzan only "beca" Loya's teacher because Loya annoyed him so incessantly that he eventually accepted the title, but he had never once publicly declared Loya his disciple. Zephyr taking students was a matter of habit. Before he was the "Black Arm," he was known as the Admiral who "never kills," showing a character far kinder than Garp's "Demon" reputation. That kindness was amplified after he lost his family and beca the Chief Instructor of the Recruit Camp, leading him to view all recruits as his own students.
But Garp? Were you doing this out of love, or because you were being pestered?
Furthermore, Loya couldn't really complint Garp's educational track record. He raised a son who beca the leader of the [Censored] Army. He raised two grandsons who beca pirates—one was a Yonko commander (though he kicked the bucket a few years later!), and the other was, barring any accidents, the future Pirate King. If you take on as an apprentice now, are you trying to supply talent to the pirates or overthrow the World Governnt?
Given all this, Loya made a decisive choice: "I'm very sorry, Vice Admiral Garp, but I cannot be your apprentice."
"EHHH—!!!"
Aldo excitedly grabbed Loya and hoisted him up. Loya was about to punch him, but he stopped when he saw Aldo was already sobbing. "So enviable... no, damn it! You actually rejected Garp-sama! Do you even know who he is?!"
Loya helplessly broke free and stood on a chair to straighten his collar. Before he could speak, he heard Garp's voice, filled with disbelief.
"You actually refused! Kid, tell why, or you're going to have a rough day today!"
Garp's original goal had been to annoy Zephyr. Everyone knew Zephyr had already accepted this student; if Garp stepped in now, would Zephyr have a brain hemorrhage? They were comrades of several decades, so they never pulled their punches when it ca to ssing with each other. He had even prepared several pranks, but he never expected Loya to reject him! His old face couldn't handle the embarrassnt. He was the one who was usually unbothered, and Sengoku was the one who was usually annoyed—when did it beco his turn to be frustrated?
"Sokka!"
Garp suddenly tapped his head, finding an excuse. "You must not know who I am, right? You were just a commoner before. Let tell you: I am Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp of the Marine Headquarters..."
Before Garp could finish his bragging, Loya interrupted him with a look of pure disdain: "The Marine Hero who personally captured the Pirate King, the world-renowned 'Fist' Vice Admiral, the feared 'Marine Demon'—I've heard the na Monkey D. Garp plenty of tis, even when I was just an insignificant odd-jobber."
As Garp stood there stunned, Loya shook his head and sighed. "A master chooses his disciple, and a disciple chooses his master. Vice Admiral Garp, if I may ask an irreverent question: what can you actually do?"
"What can I do?" Garp mused, then laughed boisterously. "Hahahaha, are you worried I can't teach you, Loya? Hahaha, how is that possible! I can do plenty—I've mastered the Six Powers, and when it cos to Armant Haki, I've never feared anyone..."
Garp laughed smugly, but Loya only grew more disdainful, cutting him off directly: "Then may I ask, what can Instructor Zephyr do?"
"He obviously... er..." Garp faltered. It seed everything he could do, Zephyr could do too. But he wasn't soone who gave up easily. "Even if he can do those things, he's weaker than ! To find a master, you have to find soone stronger!"
Loya shook his head again. "I will report your comnts about Instructor Zephyr being weaker than you to him directly. Furthermore, I must correct you: a disciple chooses a master, or seeks a master, with the goal of becoming stronger. The strength of the master does not equate to their ability to teach."
"As you said, one should find a stronger master because a stronger master naturally has thods for becoming stronger... but! Have you considered whether those thods actually suit the disciple? Not necessarily."
He paused to give Garp ti to think, then continued: "Therefore, choosing a master shouldn't be based solely on strength, but on their teaching ability. Otherwise, why wouldn't I go look for Whitebeard, the man recognized as the 'Strongest in the World'? The teacher I want doesn't need to be the strongest; they just need to make stronger. And in my view, the best teacher in this world is Instructor Zephyr."
"In terms of strength, he was an Admiral, not much weaker than you. In terms of instruction, the current three Admirals, as well as Vice Admirals like Momonga and Fire Mountain, were all taught by him. His ability is beyond question. Based on all of this, I refuse to beco your apprentice."
Garp felt exactly what Kuzan had felt a month ago. This kid has a mouth that just won't quit! He was totally outmatched! It looks like I've lived these years in vain! I don't even have a student I can show off!
Aldo's vision traveled back in ti to the day he first t Loya. The scene was déjà vu—it was all so... incomprehensible!
Finally, Loya delivered the fatal blow. He leaned into Garp's ear and whispered, covering his mouth: "Besides, Vice Admiral Garp, your own son is in the [Censored] Army. I'm afraid I can't complint your teaching ability."
Pfft.
Garp felt sothing shatter, sothing that could never be picked up again. The farce of Garp taking an apprentice ended with him suffering the most severe trauma of his life. A devastated Garp didn't even bother asking how Loya knew that secret; he just walked ho in a daze. You could hear him muttering the whole way: "Why..." "Why..."
In truth, Loya had exploited Garp's careless personality to use an argunt that wouldn't actually hold up to scrutiny. If it were truly possible to beco Whitebeard's student, Loya would have gone there a long ti ago! He was the strongest! A monster who could beat Akainu into the dirt even while half-dead! If he had his guidance, who would care about Zephyr?
But luckily, everyone in the Monkey family was like this. As long as it didn't involve their family or comrades, their IQ would drop into a straight line.
After sending Garp away, Loya finally relaxed to enjoy his al. But the way the Marines around him looked at him had changed. Before, they were looking at a mischievous young junior; now, they were treating him like a formidable rival. What he said made so much sense I couldn't even refute it! Even Vice Admiral Garp was 'fooled into limping'—I must never talk to Loya again.
After eating, Loya left Aldo behind. He had chosen to give himself a holiday today, but Aldo—who had been just as "fooled into limping" as Garp—wandered off to stroll around in a depressed mood. Loya lay back on his ice wolf's broad back and headed straight for his dorm for an afternoon nap.
Cultivation required a balance of tension and relaxation. When it's ti to relax, you should relax as much as possible.
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