Inside an office within the Marine Headquarters building.
Warm sunlight filtered through the windows at an angle, casting a soft glow over a sturdy man wearing a white coat and a seagull-adorned cap.
As the Fleet Admiral, Sengoku had endless matters to attend to every day.
Whether it was Marine deployments, the movements of notorious pirates in the Grand Line, or other miscellaneous affairs, he had to review them all and issue directives to his subordinates.
The heavy workload and the weight of his duties kept his expression habitually stern. Many Marines hardly dared to breathe in his presence, fearing they might accidentally provoke his ire.
It was clear that he commanded immense authority as the Fleet Admiral.
However, at that moment, a man who completely ignored that authority appeared.
Bang!!
The partially closed office door was kicked open. Before the person even stepped inside, his voice reached the room first.
"Hahaha! Sengoku, I'm back!"
Garp strode in swaggering with his hands in his pockets.
Ignoring the throbbing vein on Sengoku's forehead, he casually grabbed a jar of tea leaves from a shelf, poured them into a cup, added hot water, and sat down on the sofa as if he owned the place, taking a deep sip.
"Ah! Refreshing! Your tea leaves are still the best, Sengoku!"
Sengoku, his face already covered in dark lines, finally reached his limit. He slammed his hand onto the desk and roared, "Garp! How many times have I told you?! Knock before you enter my office!!"
"Hahaha! Don't sweat the small stuff, Sengoku! Here, want a rice cracker?"
Garp laughed, pulled a bag of rice crackers from his coat, stuffed a handful into his mouth, and gestured toward Sengoku.
Sengoku gritted his teeth, but he was ultimately helpless.
Garp was an old comrade. After working together for so many years, they knew each other's temperaments perfectly.
Garp knew Sengoku wouldn't actually get angry over something like this.
Sengoku knew that even if he gave Garp a proper scolding, the man wouldn't change. He'd do the exact same thing next time.
Thus, he could only resign himself to grabbing a handful of rice crackers and chewing them vigorously, as if he were grinding Garp between his teeth.
"So, what was the result of that investigation?"
Once his irritation subsided, he asked casually.
"It matches the reports from the local office. The soldier's father was bullied by several villagers and left with a permanent disability," Garp said, his smile fading into a somber expression.
"When the soldier went home to visit, he discovered this. In his rage, he beat those villagers severely. He didn't expect that he'd accidentally kill two of them."
"I asked him, and he said he doesn't regret it, but he feels he's failed the Marines after all their training, so he wants to resign."
"Sigh, what a waste of potential."
Garp shook his head, looking nostalgic and regretful.
A young man who should have had a bright future in the Marines had his prospects ruined by such an incident.
Although his motives were understandable—those villagers did deserve a lesson—killing them was crossing the line.
"I see,"
Sengoku nodded without further comment.
In truth, to him, this was a trivial matter that didn't require his personal attention.
He only asked because Garp was the one who handled it.
As for why a figure like Garp would bother with such a small case, it was simply because he was too bored.
Of course, it was more likely that he just wanted to visit that sea for some food and handled the matter along the way.
"Oh, right! Sengoku, I have one more thing to tell you. You'll never guess what I brought back this time!"
After ending the heavy topic, Garp's smile returned as he spoke cheerfully to Sengoku.
"Oh? What did you bring? It's not food, is it?" Sengoku replied offhandedly while flipping through documents on his desk.
"No, no! How could it be food? I brought back a promising recruit! A talent who will definitely shine in the Marines in the future!" Garp laughed.
"A promising recruit?"
Hearing this, Sengoku finally looked up.
"It's rare for you to bring someone back, let alone praise them so highly. Tell me, who is it and how did you find them?"
Garp took a large gulp of tea before speaking slowly: "It's a long story..."
He then recounted what had happened when he first met Goku.
"I'm telling you, with this kid's character, courage, and strength, he's definitely a natural-born Marine!" Garp praised Goku excessively.
"Wait, wait! Hold on a second!"
Sengoku noticed a detail that didn't sound right and raised his hand to stop him. "You said he's only twelve? You want a twelve-year-old child to join the Marines? Are you joking?"
Normally, they recruited people who were at least eighteen. Occasionally, a genius might break that limit and join a year or two early.
Even in the most exceptional circumstances, the age limit would only be lowered by four years at most. Anything beyond that was impossible.
But now, Garp actually wanted to lower the threshold by another two years, letting a twelve-year-old child join. This was absolutely ridiculous!
"Hey, listen to me. I know you have your objections, but this kid's situation is special."
For once, Garp put on a conciliatory smile, even standing up to refill Sengoku's tea.
Sengoku took a sip and looked at him sideways. "Go on then. I want to see what kind of tall tale you're spinning."
"First of all, it's very likely the boy was abandoned by his family."
Garp explained how Goku woke up on a strange island and could no longer find his relatives.
"Secondly, this kid has incredible talent!"
Garp raised a finger and looked at Sengoku with shining eyes. "You wouldn't believe it, but the kid learned three of the Six Powers just by watching them once!"
Sengoku had been listening half-heartedly, but he froze instantly at those words. He looked at Garp in shock. "What did you say? He learned them just by watching?"
"That's right! He only saw someone use them once and he learned Soru, Moonwalk, and Tempest Kick. The whole process took less than ten minutes!"
This time, the normally composed Sengoku was truly stunned.
In his decades in the Marines, he had never heard of such a thing.
Learning the Six Powers—techniques that many excellent Marines spent their entire lives struggling to master—after just one glance? Was that even possible?
At that moment, a commotion of exclamations rose from outside. Garp seemed to sense something with his Observation Haki. He walked to the window and looked down for a few seconds.
Then he turned back and waved Sengoku over. "Sengoku, come take a look. The kid I was telling you about is right down there."
—