Raising Legends in Roger’s Shadow

You never know what'll arrive first your new ship or Garp. At this point in time, Garp, like Rayleigh, is in his prime. He's already reached the rank of Rear Admiral, but don't be fooled being a Rear Admiral doesn't mean he's weak. This old man was terrifying even when he got old.

And Garp's "Vice Admiral" isn't just any Vice Admiral.

Look into my eyes.

Answer me this is the same man who chased Roger across the entire sea when they were young.

Roger was standing on the prow of a stolen battleship, docked on a small island for a break.

"Ku hahahaha! Rayleigh! Isn't this ship magnificent?"

Rayleigh adjusted his glasses. "Captain, naturally, a Navy ship is going to be well-made."

Jabba was busy prying open a wine barrel with his axe. "Who cares? Let's just have a feast first!"

Ritter came running up, his face plastered with a mischievous grin. "Bad news! The Navy sent a Rear Admiral after us!"

The deck fell silent.

Roger dug at his ear. "What's the Rear Admiral's name?"

"Garp! Rumor has it he can sink an island with a single punch!"

There was no way Ritter wasn't excited folks, this was some premium real-life shipping right here. Garp was everywhere in Roger's life.

He ran, Garp chased. Wings or not, he never escaped. Hehehehe. And I'm right here on the frontlines, family!

A Navy warship tore through the waves, speeding toward them. The dog-headed figurehead on the bow gleamed under the sunlight.

"That is…" Jabba squinted.

Ritter's hair stood on end. "Why… why does this ship give me such an intense sense of pressure?!"

Inside Ritter's mind, his inner self was screaming:

"It's him! It's really him, people Young Garp in the flesh!"

"That muscle! That dog-head ship! That finger-up-the-nose pose!"

"The kind of scene that One Piece Chapter 0 didn't dare draw I'm seeing it with my own eyes! WAHAHAHAHA!"

Then Ritter pictured something ridiculous: Garp forming a Rasengan and yelling "Roger!" while Roger held a Chidori and shouted "Garp!" a secret past between Uzumaki Garp and Uchiha Roger, hehehe...

Just as Ritter was mentally spiraling into this nonsense, his captain called out to him.

"Little Ritter, why aren't you the first one jumping out today? That's not like you."

"Ahaha, I might not be feeling too well today, Captain. You go ahead." Ritter scratched his head and pretended to have a stomachache.

Me? Take on Garp?

You want a child to take on the future Hero of the Navy at his peak?!

Do I look like an idiot to you??

"Ku hahahaha! Little Ritter getting a tummy ache?" Roger burst into laughter and ruffled his hair. "Don't tell me you're scared?"

A vein popped on Ritter's forehead. "Who's scared?! I'm just... strategically conserving my strength!"

Rayleigh adjusted his glasses again. "Oh? And who was it yesterday yelling 'I'll take on ten Vice Admirals!'?"

"That was different!" Ritter yelled, hopping mad. "This is Gar—"

Before he could finish, a distant whoosh cut through the air. The four of them looked up to see three jet-black cannonballs flying in a triangular formation toward them.

Ritter recognized it immediately Garp's signature hand-thrown cannonball technique.

Without warning, Roger grabbed Ritter and hoisted him over his head. "Little Ritter! Time to show off that strategy of yours!"

"W-wait! Roger, you crazy bas—aaAAAHHHH!!"

Before he could react, Ritter was hurled like a baseball toward the incoming cannonballs. He flailed in the air, instinctively surrounding himself with fog.

Mid-air, he drew his wooden sword and coated it in Armament Haki.

"Slice! Slice! Slice!"

BOOM!

All three cannonballs exploded in the fog, and Ritter was blasted away by the shockwave. He crashed into the beach like a falling star, legs twitching out from the sand.

"Cough... I hate you, you bastard Roger…" came a muffled voice from beneath the mound.

"Well done!" Roger gave a big thumbs-up.

By then, the Navy warship had docked. A towering man in a justice-branded Marine coat descended from the sky using Geppo. His cloak whipped in the wind.

"Gol D. Roger!" Garp's fists crackled with tension. "I'm Garp, and I'm here to bring you to justice!"

Then he noticed something squirming in the sand.

Ritter had just managed to dig his head out. His eyes locked with Garp's.

Silence fell.

Garp blinked. "They're recruiting child labor into pirate crews now?!"

"I'm not child labor! Your whole family is child labor!" Ritter leapt up, still covered in sand. "I've got a bounty of 50 million! I'm the Crimson Mist! And you're coming after the Roger Pirates and don't even know who I am?! Are you looking down on me?! You bastard!"

Garp's shocked expression turned to confusion, then settled into an odd sort of excitement. "Interesting! Hey, kid, wanna join the Navy? Full meals, a bed, and—"

"No!" Ritter shouted without hesitation.

Garp scratched his head. "Oh, so you don't. That's too bad."

Then he remembered, "Wait—I'm here to arrest you! Bringing you back as a recruit works too!"

"Iron Fist: Falling Star!"

Ritter was stunned. Dude, are you seriously trying to abduct me because I said no? What kind of logic is that?!

The jet-black Armament Haki-coated fist came screaming toward him. Ritter's hair stood on end, and he instantly turned into fog.

"Mist Release: Art of Playing Dead!"

From the mist came Ritter's frantic scream, "Uncle Rayleigh, help! This old coot's serious!"

Rayleigh sighed and drew his sword to block the attack. "Captain, our little guy's mouth is as reckless as ever."

Roger was laughing so hard he slapped his thigh. "Ku hahahaha! That's the spirit!"

Garp suddenly turned his fist toward Roger. "Let's deal with the one corrupting kids first!"

"Divine Departure!"

Their clash sent shockwaves that ripped up half the beach.

Ritter rolled to Jabba's feet. "Brother Jabba! Quick, use your invincible twin axes and think of something!"

Jabba, cool as ever, puffed on his cigarette. "What're you panicking for? You're a Logia-type."

"That's Garp!" Ritter flailed. "Fighting Logia-types is like playing with toddlers to him! He slaps us around like it's nothing!"

As if on cue, Garp shouted from afar, "The kid's got a point!" and casually caught a flying sword slash from Rayleigh. Then he hurled it like a boomerang toward Roger in the sky.

Ritter: (艹皿艹 ) He's cheating! Who throws sword energy back like that?! Not even pretending anymore, huh? You see this, you damned author?!

Ritter curled up in a ball. "We're done for. This old man's hacking…"

Jabba suddenly grabbed Ritter by the collar. "Come on. I'll show you a good place."

Ten minutes later, inside the Navy ship's kitchen.

"This is your so-called good place?!" Ritter clutched a whole roasted turkey in shock.

Jabba had already cracked open a wine barrel. "You need a full belly to run fast."

The ship shook violently. Dust rained from the ceiling. Garp's furious roar echoed from above: "Roger! You better fix my ship's mast!"

Ritter paused mid-chomp. "Shouldn't we go help…?"

"Relax." Jabba poured him a glass of juice. "Our captain's not going down that easy."

"…Fair enough."

After they'd eaten their fill, the two of them dragged aside the unconscious Marines on the floor. Don't get the wrong idea Ritter didn't kill anyone. They were all knocked out by Conqueror's Haki.

Right now, Garp's ship didn't have anyone that powerful on board. In the future, when Garp becomes a Vice Admiral and brings guys like Bogard and hot-blooded youth Aokiji along, it'll be way harder to deal with him.