Chapter 11: Chapter 11
Disclaimer: If you recognise it, surprise, I don't own it.
Chapter 6– Hellish Training.
Edited: 14/03/2023
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"Have you sorted everything out, brat? Because we will be gone for a while, shrimp, do not blame me when you come back and find that your house isn't where you left it." Garp says, sitting on a crate. We are at the docks right next to his Marine Ship, and Garp is currently sitting staring out at the ocean and picking his nose, flinging his boogers out to sea and watching his bogies skip along the surface of the sea as if they were stones.
Sometimes I doubt my own intelligence for thinking that this senile old man would be a good teacher for me, but I just have to remember that what he is flicking isn't what is important. It is that he is blasting it off over the horizon with just his finger.
"Yep, I sorted out everything, and I'm not dumb enough to forget where my house is. I also brought some clothes for the trip, and I even brought a book to read." I say, bursting with enthusiasm, quickly forgetting the questionable actions performed by the man in front of me. I lug the big sack up off of my shoulder and pull out the carpentry book for beginners that I bought from the bookstore, holding it out for Garp to see with a big smile on my face.
The only thing I had to sort out on this island was the weekly stipend I received from Mummy Mee, which I won't be able to collect while on this trip. So I told Mummy Mee that I got some non-paying work experience on a ship for a couple of weeks and would have no money when I returned. So that she could save my money for me, and when I return, I can collect it, having a surplus built up as Garp will be putting me up for free, food and board.
"Hm, your bringing stuff? Give it here. now, let us see." He suddenly snatches the bag out of my hands and he loosens the string holding it close. He peeks inside and reaches a hand in, and begins to ruffle a hand around through all my belongings.
"Huh, wait, what? T-That's mine, that is my bag! What do you think you're doing? Give it back to me! This is a violation of my human rights. give me back my bag, you shitty old man!" Then, feeling the empty air in my hand, I come back to my senses and realise that Garp just stole my bag. Quickly reacting, I rush at him, reaching for my bag, wanting to safeguard some of the only things I possess in this life.
But instead, Garp casually puts his hand out and puts an end to my goal by smushing it against my face keeping me from coming any closer with my arms just being painfully out of reach from the only thing I care about right now.
"Hmm, human rights? What are those? Is it food? Can I eat it? Anyway, look at all this useless stuff. You have a winter hat and jacket, some shorts, and dress shoes, you have all these clothes for different climates, and none of it matches. Why do you have slippers in here? Whatever, it doesn't matter." He states, and then still holding my head at a distance, he flings the bag behind him out quite a stretch, where it splashes into the ocean and sinks to its depths. I immediately stop struggling, and Garp, sensing that, lets my face go.
A-All my clothes, gone, sunk to the bottom of the sea. All those countless weeks I spent saving up my allowance at the orphanage and then purchasing any and all cool clothing I found from the merchants from overseas selling, gone, laying at the bottom of the ocean. So now all I have left is the stuff I left at home and the clothes I am wearing right now, that being a bright orange sunhat, some cool swimming goggles strapped to my forehead, a blue tank top with an open green vest on top, some blue jeans and red flipflops on my feet.
"Y-You crazy old man, do you know how much I spent on that stuff!? Are you going to pay me back for that stuff!? Just- Just, why did you do that, you old fogey!?" I shout at him once reality sinks in, and I come to terms with the fact that my fashionable wardrobe has been destroyed, and I am going to have to start buying more clothing in the future to build it back up to its once magnificent state.
"I did it because you do not need any of that stuff. It is just going to slow you down when you start your training, and the fewer distractions you have, the more training you will get done. Ah, that reminds me, drop that book in the ocean as well and then we can set off, hurry up." Hearing him, I quickly clutch the book to my chest. This is my most priceless possession, with a price of ฿400 lowered to ฿300.
I can't let him destroy it. This is to help make me a mansion in the future, I need this book. I stifle the urge to shout like a brat and complain to get my way because that doesn't work on this man as he is an even bigger brat, so I need to convince him rather than face his stubborn brain head-on.
"Hey, uh, you will be eating those crackers and snacks while we train, right?" He nods his head.
"And those help you relax and destress whenever you are, uh, stressed, right?" He thinks for a moment, then nods his head again.
"Well, that is what this book is for me. It is a way for me to relax and destress, which will be especially helpful with training as I know you have to make sure you rest as much as you train, so can I keep this book and take it with me, please?" Garp hums for a second and tilts his head to the side, fixing his free hand to his chin as he ponders my request.
He stares at me, and then down to the book in my hands and then to the crackers in his own hand, and then back to my book, and then back to the snacks, his heading moving rapidly between the two before finally coming back up to stare at my face.
"It would be better for me to read this book while we rest instead of me annoying you, right? If I don't have this book, I will need another way to relax. I might have to partake in some of your snacks to relax." Getting worried that my argument was not strong enough, I added some more to try and reinforce it and drive it through his thick skull, putting a personal stake in it for him so that he would be more liable to see things from my point of view.
"Hm, okay. You can bring the book, but that is it. It will be better than hearing your annoying complaints later, brat, and that way, you won't want any of my crackers. Now, hurry up and get on the boat." He says, much to my relief, this way, I will be able to do my training and then focus on this book in my spare time so that I can actually start learning. I know I don't have any of the materials or tools, and I can't do any actual work with the book, but reading it should prove to be enlightening anyway and help me better understand the craft I want to learn.
Holding my book with one arm to my chest, I turn to my right and begin to make my way towards the ship, ready to start my journey. I wonder what amazing sights I will see on this trip, what food I will taste and what kinds of people I will meet, and I think about the next time I step back onto this dock where I will be a stronger man. And it all begins with this step, this one step which will thrust me forward into a new era, and so my foot lands on the plank leading up to the ship, and I-
"Hey, where do you think you're going, shrimp?" Suddenly my feet lose contact with the ground, and my body is raised up off the ground. When I look behind me to see what is happening, I realise that Garp is lifting me up off the ground by the scruff of my neck and stopping me from continuing my journey to greatness, even though he just told me to get on the ship.
"Huh, what do you mean where am I going? You told me to hurry up and get on the ship, so that is what I am doing. Can you let go of me now, or are you going lug me up there?" I ask, crossing my arms while still hanging in the middle of the air from his grip and turning my head as much as possible so that I can shoot him a stern look that doesn't do anything and makes no impact whatsoever, but I don't care. So first, this guy dropped all my clothes into the ocean, and now he is stretching out my awesome green vest, which he is using to pick me up,
"No, brat, I told you to get on the boat, this boat down here. We will not take the ship since I want to get away from those annoying- I mean, because the Marines on board would interfere with your training, so we will be going alone, just the two of us." He says, walking a bit further along the dock with me still in his grasp and holding me out over the sea and allowing me to see the small rowboat docked right in front of the massive Marine ship, a tiny little thing that looks good enough and there is a big sack upon the boat. Still, I would much prefer to be going on the big ship just for the sake of comfort. This little thing looks uncomfortable.
"Now, get in." He says, letting go of my cool green vest- ah, wait, what?
*Splash* I crashed down into the ship upsetting the waters with my sudden presence and making a big splash. I didn't even say anything, as everything happened too fast for me to utter anything, and Garp's actions were so out of the blue that I didn't even realise what had happened until I was halfway through my descent.
Thankfully the boat does seem to be quite sturdy as it easily held against my body, impacting it, though that doesn't mean it didn't hurt. I let out a groan as I work my way to my feet and put my hand on the side of the boat to steady myself.
*Splash* "AGGGHH!" This time sound escapes my mouth as something else falls down into the small rowboat, and I release a loud shout as my balance is disrupted, and I feel like the entire sea is trembling as the impact sends the water roaring. I fall back down onto the boat, my back smashing against the sturdy wood, though I can feel it groaning from whatever it was that impacted it.
Laying against the wood, I close my eyes and remain still as the water in the air comes back down and splashes against my still body, soaking my fresh clothes with the cold water and chilling me to the bone. Then, after a moment, with the water having settled and the boat steadying, I opened my eyes.
I was greeted by the sight of Garp standing tall above me with his coat bristling in the wind with the fresh breeze soaring through the air, a magnificent view, to be sure, for those not aware of the idiotic mind residing within the staunch body.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone