Time slipped by quietly as Davy threw himself into training, eating and sleeping around his drills.
On this particular day, he was on deck doing weighted squats when he noticed some of the Marines laughing, calling out to each other as they rushed toward the rail.
Finally?
Davy stopped mid-rep, stood up, and followed their gazes.
A warship was slowly approaching, drawing alongside Garp's. After adjusting its position, a gangplank was lowered between the two ships.
"Vice Admiral Garp, thank you for coming all this way. We'll now transfer custody of Morgan to you."
A group of Marines escorted a shackled giant of a man across the plank.
He was nearly 2.9 meters tall, his right arm ending in a massive axe, and his jaw replaced by an iron prosthesis.
Former Marine Captain—"Axe-Hand" Morgan.
He stepped onto the deck in chains.
Garp, however, didn't react at all. His head drooped lower and lower, and faint snores could even be heard.
"Vice Admiral Garp? Vice Admiral Garp!" someone called tentatively.
"Too loud!" Garp jerked awake with a roar, then mumbled, half-asleep, "I heard you… I haven't slept in five days and five nights…"
The Marines who'd come for the handover all looked at him with open admiration.
As expected from Marine Headquarters' "Iron Fist" Garp, hero of the seas.
Not only did he fight on the Grand Line, he could go five days and nights without sleep and still drag himself here to escort a criminal.
A true pillar of "Justice."
"Your duties must be exhausting. Thank you for your hard work!" The officer in charge straightened his back and saluted stiffly, his voice ringing with respect.
"No," Garp corrected him, shaking his head.
"I'm trying to break my personal record for eating doughnuts in a row."
"...Huh?"
Their faces went blank.
Garp seemed oblivious to the strange mood. He grinned proudly.
"After eating eight hundred forty-two without sleep, I started to feel a little sleepy. Wahahaha!"
As he spoke, he dug into his coat, pulled out a doughnut, and shoved it into his mouth.
He didn't even finish chewing before his head sagged forward again, and his snores returned—
louder than ever.
"Old man's full of crap," Morgan snorted. He leaned in, lowering his voice. "Hey, old man, cut the act."
Garp gave no response. His head bobbed, his snoring steady, like he'd sunk into a genuine deep sleep.
Morgan straightened, eyes flashing with calculation.
Then, suddenly—
without the slightest warning—
He raised his axe arm and brought it down with all his strength.
Blood sprayed.
Garp flew backward from the impact, and the surrounding Marines stared, mouths open, pupils shaking.
Captain Norris was the first to snap out of it. He bent his knees and reached for his sword—
But Morgan had already snapped his chains.
He snatched up the nearest person—
Helmeppo—
and pressed the blade of his axe against the man's neck.
The poor Helmeppo had been grieving over his father's impending judgment just moments ago.
In the blink of an eye, he'd become his father's hostage.
"Don't move! Not one damn step!" Morgan barked. "If you move even a finger, I'll kill this errand boy and toss him overboard for the fish!"
"D-Dad…" Helmeppo stammered, trembling, eyes wide with disbelief.
Not far away, Koby shouted, panic twisting his voice.
"Please stop! Helmeppo is your son!"
"Son?" Morgan sneered.
"I don't need something like that. I want freedom. If killing him gets me that, I'll spill his blood right here."
"D-Dad…"
Helmeppo's tears spilled over, despair swallowing his expression.
All this time working as a chore boy had forced him to face reality.
He finally understood that his former life of luxury, of ordering others around and acting however he pleased, had never come from his own worth—
it was because he was Morgan's son.
He'd secretly wished he could go back to the old days, back before his father got beaten by that straw-hat brat.
But now?
Had he really just heard right?
His father was willing to kill him for his own escape.
…
On the other side of the deck, Davy watched this "drama" unfold from a distance, a flicker of joy passing through his eyes.
There we go.
Morgan holding a hostage meant the Marines wouldn't dare act rashly.
Everyone's attention was locked on him—
this was a perfect opening.
A heaven-sent chance.
"Wahahaha—!"
"Help! Someone help me!" Helmeppo screamed.
Using Helmeppo as a shield, Morgan boarded a small boat, laughing madly as he pushed away from the warship.
"Goodbye, you idiots!"
"Helmeppo!" Koby clung to the rail, shouting in panic.
"Prepare the cannon."
The order rang out from behind.
Koby flinched and turned. The Marines were already hauling a cannon into position, its barrel aimed at the tiny, receding boat.
"Load the shot. Take aim," Captain Norris commanded calmly, his face dark. He ignored the confused, hesitant looks of his subordinates.
A man who could snap heavy chains with brute force, still armed, with no remorse for his crimes—
they could not afford to let him go.
If they did…
the consequences would be disastrous.
Norris's hand tightened slightly.
Unbidden, Davy's words surfaced in his mind—
"You really think they'll just go live a normal life?"
Without realizing it, he'd arrived at a conclusion almost identical to Davy's.
Have I been influenced by him…?
He froze in place, just for a heartbeat.
In that instant, Koby hurled himself forward and slammed into place in front of the cannon's muzzle.
"P-P-P… Please wait a second!"
His legs shook so violently they looked ready to give out, and his tongue tangled from fear.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Move aside."
"Hey, that's dangerous!"
Marines shouted, some reaching to pull him away. But Koby just stared straight into the black maw of the cannon, teeth gritted as he forced the words out.
"Please don't fire. My friend—my friend is still on that boat!"
"Get out of the way," Norris said, voice low.
"I won't!" Koby shouted back, using volume to smash his fear. "I refuse!"
"We'll… cut you down if we have to."
His comrades—men who had spent days working alongside him—raised their voices one after another.
"Stop it, chore boy."
"Don't disobey orders!"
"I won't!" Koby's voice grew steadier, his legs finally freezing in place. "Helmeppo is my…"
He swallowed hard.
"He's my friend!"
On the boat, clamped under Morgan's arm, Helmeppo saw all of this.
His tears streamed unchecked.
He thought of how, just a few days ago, he'd punched Koby in anger over the Straw Hat incident.
Shame and a strange warmth tangled in his chest.
For the first time in his life—
He realized someone was willing to risk their own life to protect him.
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