One Piece: My code name is Green Bull

"Jon, now you've seen how amazing I am, haven't you?"

After everything was settled, Garp strutted over with his usual swagger and bragged to Jon with great pride.

Dragon, standing nearby, couldn't bear to look.

A Marine Vice Admiral boasting in front of a young Marine—it was so ridiculous.

Jon was torn between laughter and frustration. Garp's personality was truly unique. The best way to describe him was "childlike at heart."

Anyone else his age wouldn't act this way. But Garp could, and it felt so natural that no one even found it annoying.

Jon gave Garp a thumbs-up and sincerely praised him:

"Incredible! Vice Admiral Garp, that punch was amazing! That so-called Chinjao the Drill, with his legendary invincible headbutt—wasn't he still smashed to pieces by your fist?"

"Wahahaha!"

Hearing Jon's praise, Garp looked even more pleased with himself, a proud expression plastered across his face as he patted Jon on the shoulder.

"You've got good eyes, kid! My fist is powerful, right? As long as you follow my training methods, even if you don't reach my level, you'll still become a top figure in the world—way stronger than relying on your Devil Fruit ability alone."

Jon rolled his eyes—Garp's bragging had gone overboard. Sure, Jon agreed that Garp's iron fist was unmatched, but that didn't mean his own abilities were weak. In fact, Jon believed that once he fully developed his powers, his potential would be even greater—he might even surpass Garp one day.

"Since we're already here in the West Blue, we're not leaving in a hurry. Let's take our time and explore."

Garp wasn't the type to miss out on enjoyment. Even though the mission was complete, he had no intention of returning immediately. Instead, he wanted to roam around the West Blue and have some fun.

When Garp made a decision, no one dared to object.

In the following days, Jon witnessed Garp's true gluttonous nature. Whenever they passed an island, Garp would seek out the best food spots—and he never went alone. He always took his subordinates along, yet he never paid for meals himself—it was always his men who footed the bill.

After tagging along a few times, Jon lost interest and preferred to stay on the warship or train on the islands.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed.

Jon finally understood why Garp refused the promotion to admiral. It wasn't just because he didn't want to serve the Celestial Dragons—freedom was likely the bigger reason.

If Garp had become an admiral, he wouldn't have this kind of freedom—to spend two months without reporting to Marine Headquarters, wandering around as he pleased.

Jon couldn't help but envy Garp's lifestyle. Perhaps this was what true freedom looked like.

But Jon also understood something important—Garp's freedom was a direct result of his immense strength. Without enough power, how could anyone live so freely?

When they passed another island, Jon disembarked and went to a secluded coastline.

Lately, under Garp's guidance, Jon had been focusing on physical training, leaving little time to practice his Devil Fruit abilities. Since Garp wasn't around, Jon decided to find a quiet spot to work on his powers.

Standing atop a massive rock, Jon used his ability to create a tree several meters tall. He then concentrated on reshaping the tree.

The branches slowly shrank under Jon's control...

His face flushed red with effort. After a moment, he exhaled heavily.

"Ugh, still a failure. Why? I can easily control trees and retract branches, but turning the tree into a humanoid shape is so difficult."

Jon had been trying to turn his created trees into wooden humanoids, imitating the Wood Style jutsu from Hashirama Senju in Naruto.

He thought it wouldn't be too hard, but when he tried to make it happen, it was much more complicated than expected.

Despite repeated experiments, Jon still couldn't precisely create a wooden humanoid.

Well, not entirely—he could create small wooden humanoids. But whenever he tried to create a large one, he failed.

Sometimes the shape would be off and incapable of fighting. Other times, it would be so fragile that it wasn't strong or flexible enough for what he wanted.

He could easily shape wood into planks or spikes, yet creating a large wooden humanoid felt nearly impossible.

After each failed attempt, Jon reflected on what went wrong. Though he occasionally succeeded in forming the shape, the wooden humanoid would still be no stronger than ordinary timber.

"What's missing? What exactly am I overlooking?"

Jon knew there was a flaw somewhere in the process, but he couldn't figure out where.

While Jon was deep in thought, a group of boys was approaching his location.

"Hey, Shanks, are you sure about this? You really want to come with us out to sea? We're going to be pirates—it's not a game."

"I don't care! I want to be a pirate too. I'm going to become the freest pirate ever!"

There were five boys in total, all young and inexperienced. The oldest looked around 17 or 18, while the shortest among them was only about 1.45 meters tall and looked no older than ten.

Their conversation was shocking—such young kids already talking about becoming pirates.

"Shanks, you're only nine years old! Even if you want to be a pirate, wait a few more years. You're too small—you'll just slow us down."

"Yeah, Shanks, you're still too young. Let us make a name for ourselves first. We'll come back to get you after that."

"I don't believe you! If you leave without me, I'll report you to the Marines and have you all arrested!"

"Wow, Shanks, you're getting bold, huh? Thinking about ratting us out?"

"If you weren't so small, I'd beat you up right now! Don't get in the way, Shanks!"

"Pfft! You beat me up? More like the other way around! You're older than me and still can't beat me—how dare you say you won't take me with you? Without me, you guys will be caught by the Marines in no time!"

"Shanks, you little punk! You think I can't beat you? I only went easy on you before because you're a kid. Want me to show you my true strength right now?"

"Come on, then! Let's fight one-on-one!"

"Oh, you're on! Let's see who's stronger!"

The group of boys argued as they walked along.

From their conversation, it was clear that they were planning to set out as pirates. However, the youngest of them—Shanks—wanted to go with them, while the others refused, leading to a heated dispute.

"Alright, enough! You two, stop arguing. I'm telling you—"

"Wait… there's a Marine up ahead!"

One of the boys suddenly shouted in alarm, pointing ahead. The rest of the group immediately panicked, quickly looking for cover as they nervously peered toward the Marine in the distance.

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Powerstones?

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