Want to read ahead? Join my Patreon for only $7 to get early access to upcoming chapters!
> > Patreon.com/inkshield <<
----------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 43
After finishing lunch, the group said goodbye to Makino and headed to the mountain bandit hideout.
In front of them stood a small wooden house. Suddenly a group of people came out. Leading them was a broad-bodied woman with orange curly hair tied behind her head, gold earrings, a cigarette in her mouth, wearing a white shirt on top, dark green plaid long pants below, brown boots, and a red beaded necklace around her neck—Big Sis Dadan.
Behind her followed the large, cockatoo-haired bearded man Magra and a shorter-than-average man named Dogra carrying a sword bigger than himself. Behind them was the rest of Dadan's bandit crew.
When Dadan saw Garp had come again, her scalp tingled. Remembering how she had dared to talk back to a Navy Vice Admiral yesterday, she didn't dare step forward.
"You two can stay here. They're bandits, but they're a friendly bunch. Or you can wander around with that little punk Jepack."
Garp said to Nami and Guina, then pointed at Dadan and the others inside the bandit hideout.
"I'm taking this stinky brat deep into the jungle for a proper lesson!"
Then Garp gestured toward Luffy, who was still in his grip and trying to struggle.
"Yes, Teacher!"
Nami and Guina responded.
After hearing their reply, Garp looked toward Dadan's group and said:
"Take good care of these three guests for me! I'm taking Luffy out for a bit."
"No problem, Mr. Garp!"
Dadan quickly replied, thinking in her heart that the Ace matter was finally over.
After that, Garp dragged the monkey-like Luffy and headed into the mountains.
Once Garp was gone, Dadan hurriedly approached Jepack and the others, inviting them inside.
"No need. We'll come bother you later. Right now we want to go for a walk!"
Jepack declined Dadan's invitation, then asked about Ace.
"Is Ace not on this island? I heard Mr. Garp mention Ace earlier—how come we only saw Luffy here?"
Hearing Jepack refuse, Dadan just smiled. Then when Jepack mentioned Ace, she spoke:
"Ace? He used to be on this island, but a few days ago he set sail without leaving any message! Because of that, old man Garp got really angry at us."
"I see. That's a shame—we didn't get to meet him!"
"Then we'll head out first. We'll come back to visit in the evening!"
Dadan's group quickly waved their hands: "No problem, no problem!"
And so, Jepack took the two girls wandering idly through the mountains.
...
On the other side, Garp had already flash-stepped deep into the mountains. Using his Conqueror's Haki, he forcibly summoned a group of massive ferocious beasts to surround Luffy.
His intention was obvious: he wanted Luffy to survive or defeat them in this encirclement of beasts.
After last night's drunken incident, Garp had clearly listened to Jepack's words and thought things through.
He couldn't force his grandson to become a Navy anymore. The best he could do now was teach him more survival skills.
This was the best solution Garp could think of after Ace's unannounced departure. He was also making preparations for Luffy's eventual journey to sea.
"With only a few days left on this island, I can only use ferocious beasts to train Luffy. I hope in the future, when he faces truly dangerous enemies, he can defeat them and escape with his life!"
Garp pondered his plan in his heart while using Observation Haki to search deep in the jungle for suitable ferocious beasts.
...
"Just now that old man told us to go all out against this little monkey in front of us?" The dinosaur-like beast looked at the saber-toothed tiger and black gorilla beside it, signaling with its eyes.
After receiving affirmative looks from both, the three ferocious beasts leaped forward at once.
Luffy looked at the three beasts in front of him, cursing Garp loudly in his mouth. But in his heart, he was already thinking about how to survive and escape their encirclement.
Seeing them all pounce together, he used his small body to quickly dodge their attacks.
This attack-dodging continued for two and a half hours. After Luffy got scratched by the saber-toothed tiger's claws, it became completely one-sided.
Another two and a half hours passed. Luffy now had several more wounds on his body.
In the middle, Luffy tried to fight back and attack the dinosaur beast in front of him, but it was futile. He quickly retreated backward, only able to run away helplessly.
...
On the other side, Jepack, Guina, and Nami were idly wandering, enjoying the beautiful scenery. The ferocious beasts in the mountains didn't dare approach because of Jepack's Conqueror's Haki. Then, after driving away some beasts, they discovered another hidden space inside a cave.
"Wow—it's a beautiful lake! The water is so clear! And so refreshing!"
Nami squatted down, touched the lake water, and her excited voice echoed throughout the cave.
Seeing the lake, Jepack couldn't help but think of the hot spring near the orange grove in Nami's hometown—and the story with Nojiko.
"Kind of miss Nojiko now…"
Jepack thought to himself, but out loud he said something else.
"The weather's pretty hot today. We actually found such a clear and refreshing lake—we have to go for a swim!"
Jepack looked up at the two girls, only to see both giving him the classic Hyuga family glare.
"You think we don't know what you're trying to do? Using 'the weather is hot and I need to cool off' as an excuse."
Nami rolled her eyes at Jepack.
"Hey, hey, hey—what's with that look! Don't tell me you two don't want to?"
Jepack teased them with a playful grin.
Guina and Nami's faces grew redder and redder.
"Look at you two—your faces are already red from the heat. You clearly want to go cool off in the water!"
Jepack, who knew exactly what was going on, teased them even more.
The two girls immediately felt guilty and stubbornly replied:
"It does look pretty nice… Fine, let's go for a swim!"
Then Jepack jumped in with a splash—his sword sheath shining brilliantly in midair.
Seeing this, Nami got even more impatient. The hot weather had already turned her face completely red!
After Jepack entered the water, Guina and Nami shyly followed him in…
Want to read ahead? Join my Patreon for only $7 to get early access to upcoming chapters!
> > Patreon.com/inkshield <<
----------------------------------------------------------