Heroes of the High Seas Chapter 9

I don’t own either franchise. I don’t have quite as much dedication to the pure shounen that is One Piece, and I know how to actually do character growth and end stories relatively well, unlike the other guy.

This chapter doesn’t cover the island-based conflict that I had hoped. I realized halfway through I wouldn’t be able to do it justice, hadn’t put in any romance scenes, and I wanted to show more Marine-type world building. I also decided that I wanted to show more bits of romance, introduce the other young gentlemen aboard Garp’s ship, and show some more of how Momo has grown since coming to this world along with Izuku and a few of the others.

This has been Grammarlied but hasn’t been checked by any other editors.  I sent it off to Tomon and Primordial Vortex, but neither go it back to me.  PV said he might not work on it because his MHA muse is on life support, and Tomon is still having RL issues, but I had hoped.  Ah well.  I hope you enjoy it regardless.

Chapter 9: A Lengthy Journey

With the ringing of the ship’s bell signaling the start of the day and the bellows of the watch officer shouting them into wakefulness, Izuku woke up, and slid out of his hammock quickly, his hand automatically going up to one of the small rungs set into the outer hall of the main bunk area of the ship to steady himself as his feet landing lightly on the deck beneath them. “Bunk area, hah.” He snickered to himself, staring at the cannon which separated him, Shoto and Tenya from where Kirishima and two other midshipmen slept. “I’ve really got to get better at labeling segments of the ship in my own head.”

He turned as Shoto rolled out of his own hammock, the stoic youth cocking his head in query even as he pushed himself to his feet. “I still call this just the bunk area, not the gun deck in my head,” he explained.

Aboard the Hound the midshipmen were all given bunks on the first of three gun decks. Unlike on most other vessels, there were actually a plethora of midshipmen rather than the normal four or six such youngsters, although as they had already formed cliques before Izuku and his friends had joined, Izuku barely knew any of them beyond a few by name and a few who already had specialties. Izuku had also learned that Garp always kept at least three times the number of ‘baby officers’ aboard his ship to train them up further, not just in terms of fighting, but things officers needed to the extent that the hound was called ‘Garp’s School of Hard Knocks’ among the marines.

Up to this point, though, only a few of the midshipmen had earned further titles, including two of the corporals who worked under the Master at Arms, and Thomas, the sniper who was seconded to the Sail Master. However, that was going to change in the next three weeks, as all of them had been warned. Those three weeks were going to be extremely hard, Izuku knew. Especially for the girls. I hope they’re ready for Garp’s training today.

“I think in terms of problems, that would hardly rate in the top ten, particularly for you,” Shoto said, interrupting Izuku’s thoughts. There was a little twinkle to his eyes that Izuku had come to notice over the time they’d been together in this world, signifying he was joking around. In his old world, Shoto had seemed almost entirely unemotional, cold, but since coming to this world, he’d begun to show a sly sense of humor under his cool exterior.

His next words confirmed this for the greenette. “After all, how exactly are you and Melissa supposed to be doing boyfriend-girlfriend things on a ship as crowded as this one is? Surely that must place far higher in that list of problems. Where do you think? Three? Five? I doubt it can be lower than eight, given what I’ve heard about how girls dislike being neglected. I ask only with a certain amount of academic interest, you understand.”

Izuku stood there for a moment, flushing at the memory of the kisses he and Melissa had shared since getting together several days past, along with his usual morning realization that, yeah, they were together, something Izuku was very much not used to even thinking of as a possibility, let alone reality. However, pride in his friend’s progress pushed through his normal giddiness for a second, and he smiled, holding out a fist for the other youth to bump. “You have a point, and the delivery was pretty darn good. If you had said something like that while I was still getting out of the bunk I’d probably have banged my head on the floor.”

“I will work on my timing then,” Shoto said, and for once, he allowed an actual grin to cross his scarred face. Even now that kind of look wasn’t exactly normal for Shoto, but it was a further sign of his emotional growth since he had left Endeavor and everything to do with him behind.

“While I am as pleased as Izuku is about your growing familiarity with the strange world of humor, I would much appreciate it if you took this conversation somewhere else,” Tenya groaned out from where he was still lying out in his specially made bunk, pulling his small pillow out from under his head and pressing it into his face in a very un-Tenya-like move.

As Tenya had learned soon after coming aboard, a normal hammock had proven to be somewhat impossible for him. The mufflers pushed the hammock’s cloth down too far in one area, resulting in a very haphazard method of sleeping, and more strain on both Tenya’s back and the rope holding the hammock in place. Worse, Tenya had proven that he couldn’t really get out of a hammock very quickly with the mufflers in the way. He’d tried for days when they had first boarded Garp’s ship, but it just hadn’t worked.

During their time on the last island, the carpenter had created a special bunk just for him, one which could be folded back against the outer hull. This special treatment had caused Tenya real mental trauma at the time until the Master at Arms had sat on him hard about trying to refuse. He’d still been teased about it by the other midshipmen aboard, but Tenya had dealt with that without any help from his friends, so it had barely registered.

Not needing to wake up at dawn was also hitting Tenya hard, but there, at least, he understood the why of it. It was called The Midshipman’s Assessment, and despite the fact the teens hadn’t been aboard nearly as long as the others, they were not going to be exempt from it.

The Midshipman’s Assessment or the Reefer Tests, as some called it, were a series of tests, assignments and evaluations given to the ‘young gentlemen’ aboard the navy’s ships to see if they were ready to be given specific duties aboard ship or to be raised to the next rank.

While Mei had been seconded to the carpenter, Foril, that had been unofficial, just like Melissa working under Yama, the Chief Gunner. The MA would make those appointments official, giving them real ranks, just like the corporals assigned to Garland or Timothy, the Second Sail Mate.

The Assessment was going to be a long, lengthy process, not a single series of tests, and it was due to begin today, made worse by the losses the ship had sustained in its battle against the pirates in the Dead End Race.

Because of this, the teens would be given more duties per watch. How this had been done was completely random, and had thrown the kids a bit, but they had gotten used to Garp’s foibles by this point in terms of their training, so it hadn’t taken them completely by surprise.

Tenya had never been happy about sleeping in, but he was as conscientious about getting as much sleep as he could as he was about everything else.  “I’m on night duty tonight, and I’d like to get as much sleep as possible if you don’t mind,” he mumbled around the pillow.

The three of them, along with Kirishima, who was already gone, had all been put in one segment of the upper gun deck between one of the cannons and the hatch into the deck from the stairwell. Most of the sailors and midshipmen who were on duty this morning had already exited the room all around them as Izuku and Shoto stood there, while the ones who weren’t on duty hadn’t even stirred from their bunks at the shouts from above, the tramping of dozens of feet or anything else.

Even before the latest shift in how their time aboard was organized, Izuku and the others had begun to learn that sleeping like that was a skill. Sailors needed to learn how to drown out and ignore certain noises, while reacting instantly to others. Izuku and his friends weren’t quite there yet, although Kirishima was probably the closest of all of them to that point among the boys, but all of them would need to become so by the time the MA was done.

Mei was probably the closest among the girls, but there it was more just Mei being Mei. “Sleep is for the weak or those without babies to build!” she had said more than once since coming to this world, her targeting reticle eyes wide and manic. “And that will never be me!”

Izuku and Shoto hastily joined the small stream of sailors in the hall outside heading to the galley for breakfast, his thoughts shifting to Melissa for a moment. Unfortunately for the couple, she wouldn’t be on duty this morning. Melissa had been assigned night duty with Mei and Tenya and would be waking up in the afternoon for training, then be on duty throughout the night.

That state of affairs would not continue. They had been warned that every Midshipman aboard was going to be in various subtle ways along with more obvious ones during the Midshipman’s Assessment, up to and including dealing with total lack of sleep and random changes to their sleep schedules. They were also supposed to be able to act the role of junior officers they would be in the future in various ways, such as standing watch alongside the more senior officers.

Izuku was fine with that. He figured they’d all deal with it one way or the other. On the other hand, despite having had five days to get used to it, Izuku still wasn’t certain about this whole girlfriend thing.

Oh, he certainly wanted a girlfriend, and Melissa was utterly fantastic! Being with her was literally a dream come true. But in the quiet moments, when Izuku was left alone or didn’t have anything else to think of, that was part of the problem. A large portion of Izuku’s mind was still trying to tell him that Melissa was way out of his league. That someone like Izuku could never be worthy of someone as wonderful as Melissa.

Even the fact that Melissa was Quirkless didn’t really matter to that part of his brain; the part that had been, well, since coming to this world, Izuku had been forced to acknowledge that his time with Katsuki, with Aldera and even, to a lesser extent, his mother, had been the equivalent of emotional indoctrination. Izuku had been indoctrinated to think of himself as lesser, as worthless. Even his mother hadn’t really acknowledged his worth, his dreams as something realistic, before All Might gave him his Quirk.

That indoctrination had begun to break when he started to attend UA up to a certain point, but even there, Izuku’s worth had seemed to be wrapped up in his Quirk. Despite having Eraserhead as a hero, it was quickly clear that only Quirks and what you could do with them mattered. Or else Katsuki would never have gotten away with nearly killing Izuku in their first hero training. Or even Shoto with turning a whole building into an icicle, something that would have been horribly expensive to repair.

After so many months in this world, where Quirks were unknown and where normal men could become far stronger than had ever been the case back on Earth, those thoughts were but a whisper at the back of his mind, only occasionally coloring his responses, Izuku’s actions and thoughts. Yet Izuku’s conscious mind could not stop his dreams, and in the night and occasionally in the morning, his past self came back to him.

Now, though, Izuku was indeed awake, and he could tell his past self, with its destructive level of lack of self-worth, to lump it. I’m no longer that person. I wasn’t even that person to begin with. Aldera, Katsuki, the rest of them, they were wrong in the first place! They were wrong back on Earth, because I still had worth, I still had my mind and my drive. They’d be even more wrong here! Here, those born without power, or even without Devil Fruits, can become strong; just look at Garp! Izuku thought, shaking his head just a bit as he got into line for food.

By this point, Izuku knew that Garp’s raw power was far higher than All Might’s. And that wasn’t because of a Quirk, or even a Devil Fruit. No, it was just that Garp was that strong. That his willpower had allowed Garp to attain a level of strength and ability that was amazing to think about.

And I’ve got willpower, Izuku thought to himself now, clenching and unclenching his hands at his side. Just because we’re not in a world where heroes exist doesn’t mean I can’t be one here! I’m going to train, I’m going to grow, and that little voice that keeps trying to tell me I’m worthless can, can kiss my ass!

“Hah, that’s the way, nine!” Bando’s voice interjected. “Although, monologuing in your own head is a bad sign, you know that, right?”

Izuku shook his head, deciding not to respond to that as he stepped into the mess hall. As he did, he quickly realized that there wasn’t as much talking in the mess as there normally was, with the sailors coming off duty gripping with those who were going on, exchanging reports of what happened during the night, and so forth. Rather, everyone, officer and sailor alike, was quiet, and going about eating their meals quickly and efficiently, stealing glances towards where Garp, who Izuku had just been thinking about, sat.

Momo and Tsu were already seated with Kirishima, with Kiri and Momo glancing sideways towards where Garp sat at another table all on his own except for the acting second in command, who was ignoring Garp stoically, writing in a small notepad as he ate. Momo looked bulkier than normal, her uniform pushed outwards from a specially reinforced chest cast, one shoulder in particular built up to protect the still-healing bones within. Tsuyu lacked that bulk, but even she had been fitted with a specially created compression shirt underneath her uniform to keep the wounds on her back from reopening, which showed up as a black band of cloth sticking out from under her uniform.

At this point, that wasn’t so much a worry any longer. Tsuyu’s injuries, the long gashes torn in her back by the strange rabbit-polar bear hybrids they’d run into, had mostly closed by this point, but she still needed some help. Momo’s injuries had been worse from the start, but were apparently healing very well. Honestly, Izuku wondered why she’d been given such a bulked-up cast, then decided to not wonder. It’s Garp’s training. I really hope they are ready for the unexpected.

Glancing sideways at the admiral, Izuku instantly realized it was Garp who was unconsciously bringing down the rest of the commissary at the moment, or rather, his expression. Rather than his normal morning newspaper, one hand was working rhythmically on the table, his fingers gouging into it. Such was Garp’s strength that despite the gentle nature of the movements, his fingers were acting as if the wood was more wet mud than solid oak, while his other hand had visibly bent the heavy-duty spoon specifically designed for Garp that looked more like a ladle for anyone normal-sized.

Combined with these signs of his ill-humor was a glare fit to make any of the kids or even any of the more experienced sailors quail. That was what they were all doing right now, shying away from even looking in Garp’s direction as he stared out unseen towards one of the portholes nearby.

Izuku stepped away from the line, hesitating for a few moments as he looked towards Garp. His face firmed, and he made to walk in the older man’s direction, unable to stop himself from trying to butt in and maybe make a Garp feel better about whatever was bothering him. He had barely taken a step, though, before a hand gripped his shoulder, lightly, but with enough strength to stop Izuku in place.

Turning, he looked up at Garland, the Master at Arms, who smirked, lowering his hand away from the taller Izuku’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, my young gentleman.”

“But, if something’s bothering the captain, maybe getting off his chest would…” Izuku began, before he paused as Garland shook him gently.

On board ship, Garp was either called Garp, something he demanded despite the rules and regulations to the contrary, something Tenya often complained about. Beyond that, his rank reverted to captain aboard his own vessel, as at sea on its own no one could have more power than the ship’s captain.

“Garp’s not gonna talk about it and pointin’ out how much it’s makin’ him look like a sour old seadog will only make his mood remain like that fer longer.”

“What’s wrong with him? And is it likely to bother him enough that he’ll take it out on us in training?” Shoto asked in his typical blunt fashion.

“Probably,” Garland answered dryly. “But don’t worry, he won’t break you in half or anythin’ similar. And even if he does, our sawbones is good at putting people back together.”

That had Izuku and Shoto both gulping a little, looking at one another slightly wide-eyed, wondering if the Master At Arms was joking, and fearing very much that he wasn’t. The training that Garp and Garland had created for the normal sailors was already hard enough to cause issues for the less physically inclined among the Midshipmen. When it came to Garp’s personal training, though, it was the hardest training regimen that any of the would-be heroes had even dreamed of. Even Izuku, who had lived through All Might’s Dare to Dream Plan, routinely had gone to his hammock since coming aboard aching and so sore that he could barely get to sleep on more than one occasion.

The idea that Garp could even be harder on them was horrifying to contemplate. Worse, it isn’t just us he’ll be personally training with today.

 With one hand on Shoto’s shoulder, and the other pressing into Izuku’s back, Garland guided the two of them towards their friends. Izuku’s mind idly noted that the term gentle was not something that anyone would ever think to think of in conjunction with Garland, but oddly enough, it seemed to work. Despite his craggy features, his visible muscles and the way he routinely spoke in various levels of ‘shout’, Garland always treated the midshipman Izuku, his friends and the others with a modicum of respect.

Even while shouting at them, ordering them about, and overseeing portions of their physical training not handled by Garp. It was a truly bizarre dichotomy that Izuku put down to Garland’s respect for all officers rather than anything more personable, while the vestiges all thought it was what passed for the older man’s sense of humor coming out.

Momo looked up from her food, nodding at the two boys. “Morning. I would not say it is good considering what is going to happen this afternoon or the fact I feel as if I’m wearing a suit of full plate armor thanks to this cast.”

Izuku almost automatically sat next to her, smiling faintly. “Well, look at it this way. At least we know that Garp won’t actively be looking to put you back into the infirmary.”

“I haven’t actually needed to spend any long length of time in the infirmary, but I take your point in the spirit it was offered,” Momo said mock-primly, elbowing him lightly as she smiled at the greenette.

Garland also sat with them, looking at them all before he continued to speak, answering Shoto’s earlier question. He kept his tone light and his volume very low as he imparted more wisdom to the youngest members of the crew. “As for what’s botherin’ the cap’n, call it office politics. You, my little tadpole officers, don’t need ta worry about it now, and won’t for a long, long while.”

Turning away from Izuku, Momo hummed thoughtfully at that, tapping her chin, glancing towards Garp then away, her mind visibly working for a few seconds, while Izuku dug into his food along with Shoto, willing to let her think for a few moments. While Momo wasn’t nearly as analytical as he was about certain things, Izuku knew that she had a far better grasp of social niceties, in particular anything that could be called politics.

 Which Momo proved now. “Does it have anything to do with why we were in such a rush to leave? I got the impression that we dodged meeting someone that Garp doesn’t see eye to eye about in terms of his duties as a Marine, or someone who thinks he can give Garp orders.”

Garland actually had to hold her hand over his mouth to stop a bark of laughter coming out. “Okay, my young officah, point one. There’re only three people in this man’s navy who think they can give Garp orders and even have ‘im consider followin’ ‘em, let alone obey ‘em. He’s that much of a legend. Point two…”

With a sigh, Garland shook his head. “Yer right. There’re other officahs out there who go about their duties in a way that Garp doesn’t exactly like. It ain’t so much they can give him orders as he isn’t allowed to just break ‘em in half and has trouble stoppin’ his fists from itchin’ when they’re around.” Garland sneered for a moment, his eyes going far away before he shook himself and assayed a smile at the Midshipman around him. “But like I said, you and the other young gentlemen aboard don’t need ta think about that kinda thing yet.”

“So long as we’re traveling with Garp, I presume. His presence will deflect any such office politics from impacting any of you, and perforce all of us,” Momo guessed, thinking about what wasn’t being said here just as much as what was. And, although Momo really didn’t want to, her mind did link some of it back to what Nico Robin had warned Melissa and Izuku about back on Elena. The Tenryubito and the various crimes that the marines are forced to look away from… that kind of mentality can both build and attract certain personalities…

“Got it in one. The cap’n don’t even like to think about politics or that kind of thing, and Garp’s reputation is enough to ignore most of the office politics that rear admirals and above need to deal with. As long as you’re sailing with Garp, you won’t need to care at all about it,” Garland said, with the placid air of someone who was talking about someone else’s problem that had never truly affected him, and he was quite happy about that. “Now, get it out of yer heads, and get yer minds on the work of the day. Izuku, you’ll be with Sail Master Whitman this afternoon. Shoto, you’re with me and Yama down on the gun deck today. Yama’s runnin’ drills on the guns for half you young gentlemen in the mornin’, and I’ll be runnin’ the whole crew through enclosed space hand-to-hand combat drills over the next few weeks, shiftin’ from boarding actions to city fightin’.”

Kirishima grinned up at that, turning from his food to look over at the officer with a smile, which the officer quickly wiped off his face by adding a bland, “without your Devil Fruit powers. People who rely solely on their Devil Fruit powers only get so far in this ocean.”

Izuku hummed thoughtfully at that, although something in Garland’s tone made him wonder if that training was part of the Midshipman’s Assessment or not. It could be a case of preparing for the worst, or the city on that last island made him realize we needed more training in that kind of thing. Regardless, that sort of training could easily be likened to what we’d be getting at UA.

“Speaking of the ocean,” Momo began with a frown. “Where exactly are we going? I don’t believe that any of us were actually told that just yet. If we’re following one of the courses through the Grand Line from the last island, I’d assume we know a great deal of our destination.”

Garland hummed for a moment, then, looking around the room, saw that Lieutenant Roland had just stood up from the table he’d been sharing with Garp. He gestured the other man to join them, and the Second Lieutenant, acting first mate and navigator, ambled over, sliding into a chair next to the Master at Arms. “Decided to turn this into a teaching moment, Garland?”

“Hah, o’ course I did. Midshipwoman Momo over there asked where we’re going.”

“Which proves that she certainly isn’t going to ever wind up on the gun deck with Yama or with your band of knee breakers,” Roland said deadpan, and the disciplinary officer growled mockingly at him, before the navigator turned away from him, looking over at Momo. “We’ve gone over what navigating on the Grand Line is like…” He said leadingly.

Momo, realizing she was being put on the spot, quickly listed what they had been told. This is almost certainly a part of the MA! I know that they don’t think we will pass, but I’m not going to let that stop me from doing as well as I can.

Essentially, in terms of how Momo thought of it anyway, the Grand Line was a long, wide rectangle wrapped around the world that was essentially split by the Red Line at the equator, and whose edges were created by the two Calm Belts. There were only seven set routes through the first half of the Grand Line that wound from one end to another, with numerous dead ends sticking off of them in various places. Those routes came together at the Red Line, then split up again into three different routes.

The dead-end routes could only be reached if the Log Pose locked onto them rather than the normal course, which didn’t happen all that often and only did happen if a crew was lucky or unlucky, or if they were on one of those islands where you could naturally lock onto multiple different magnetic zones and knew the conditions to do so. Clockwork Island had been the end of one such actually quite lengthy dead end. Elena was where that branch met one of the main routes through the Grand Line.

Roland nodded, his eyes gleaming with that particular gleam of a teacher who was quite pleased with how well someone had memorized their lessons. “Now, assume something. You have an Eternal Pose. Can you go from one route to another?”

“… I want to say yes, quickly; however, you would need to know precisely how long such a voyage lasted in terms of logistics needs. Scurvy, starvation and disease are a real danger when aboard a ship, and you’d need to be aware of both that, the weather, and of course further supply needs,” Momo said thoughtfully. “You’d be talking about a trip that, while faster than the other method available, would be very tough on both ship and people, and any deficiency in your onboard stores could end in danger.”

“Mr. Crawley is going to be very happy working with you during the MA,” the navigator smiled. “Your mind went straight to the logistics aspect, as it should. However, you missed one point. You’d have to have an Eternal Pose in the first place. Something that we Marines tend to have a monopoly on. Only the largest groups out there, the Shichibukai and the Yonko crews, have access to Eternal Poses most of the time, and even they don’t have anywhere near as many as the World Government has access to. It’s why we can get to most islands so much faster than pirate vessels most of the time, making that monopoly a strategic advantage.”

“Would be better if we had a monopoly on steam or coal, too, but that ain’t happenin’,” Garland grunted.

“Is that what we’re doing? Moving from one course through the Grand Line to another now? Why?” Izuku frowned pensively, glancing subtly over at Garp. “Are we really doing this to just get away from, um, office politics as you put it? That seems a bit much.”

“You’re right. Normally, we’d just keep going and avoid anything to do with Dobermans. However, we also received a demand to head to a specific island called Popernickel. We’re going to deal with a problem there that’s apparently been brewing for a while. Specifically, religious nut jobs making problems for the local World Government-aligned administration,” Roland drawled, his own irritation at this news coming out.

That drew blank stares from the dimensionally displaced teens. Even Tsuyu pulled out of her doldrums for a moment to gaze unblinking at the second lieutenant.

Religion was very much not a thing in modern times on Earth, as most of the world’s religions had collapsed in on themselves with the proliferation of Quirks and the dozens of wars that they had caused. There were only a few enclaves in the Middle East and parts of Africa where religion was at all important.

Moreover, religion had not been all that important even before the dawn of Quirks in Japan, and some very odd religions had since popped up based on Quirks themselves. Shintoism still existed in a vague form, but there was also a Church of Holy Fire that said all fire-based Quirks were a sign of favor from Amaterasu, the Sun God, and thus divine. There was another based on rejecting mutation-based Quirks, and then there was the Church of All Mighty, which actually had more followers nationwide than any of the others.

Surprisingly, Izuku had not been a member. He hadn’t actually worshipped All Might like he was an omniscient deity. All-powerful, yes, at the time. Omnipotent, no. Something that the vestiges in his head were currently ribbing the still-silent form of Shadow Toshinori about in his head right now.

Of all the dimensionally displaced team, only Momo had ever traveled outside Japan before their trip to I-Island, and even she had never met anyone who could be called religious. Well, besides a rather nice young woman with vines for hair who was a member of their fellow Hero Class at UA.

The two officers snorted quietly at their blank expressions, with the navigator adding an eyeroll. “I’m not going to get into it right now, but we’ll give you a full briefing when we enter Popernickel’s weather system. Suffice it to say it’s going to be a whole thing, and the problem’s been building for a while. Regardless, the important thing is that Popernickel is essentially near the start of one of the routes through the Grand Line, while we’re about halfway through another toward the Red Line.”

Everyone at the table bar Kirishima nodded at that, even the silent Tsuyu. She tended to be quiet at morning meals. Izuku and the others knew that was because Tsuyu was still missing her family back on Earth. The displaced nature of their lives here in this new world hit her harder in the mornings than any other time, because breakfast had always been a big family moment for her, with both her parents at home before starting work, along with her two younger siblings.

“Which means it’s going to take us nearly a month to get there,” the navigator finished.

Everyone’s eyes widened at that, and Kirishima shook his head. “Wow! That’s gonna be… interesting. I can’t imagine that this route’s taken all that often, if ever, and that means none of the monsters along the route will have been winnowed down or know to avoid us, so we’ll run into some of the same problems we did coming out from Clockwork Island. No stopovers at any islands in between, either. Did we take on enough food? My family’s fishing vessel is out at sea for longer than that, and I know that a time or two they’ve had issues with that kind of thing.”

“We did, and there’s a reason why Midshipman Jirou isn’t here with you right now. She was specifically pulled out of bed last night to go through our stores with Mr. Crawley and a group of ratings. With her sound-based attacks, we were able to find and slaughter dozens of rats and cockroaches we had no idea were aboard. She’ll be randomly pulled off of her other duties to do the same periodically.

At that, Momo pouted a little, crossing her arms. Normally that would have caused several second glances due to what it would have done to her chest, even with a bra on, but given the heavy-duty cast she was currently wearing, it did nothing at present. “We noticed,” she grumbled, almost sounding tart for a moment, which was somewhat new for most of the people at the table coming from the rich heiress. “The creepy crawlies and rats gave her nightmares the whole night through. I doubt she got more than an hour’s sleep at a time even after returning to our room.”

“It really died. When Kyoka returned, we were all occasionally woken up when she thrashed or screamed about rats where there shouldn’t be any. Kerokero, if we were just talking about cockroaches or flies, I’d volunteer to keep them away, kero,” Tsu volunteered, tuning into her surroundings now, her memory of her family shelved once more.

“Heh, we’ll second you to you the Chef once a week as part of your MA rotation,” Roland answered, mentioning the only officer on the ship the teens hadn’t had anything to do with. The Head Chef was in charge of the mess, pantry, galley, and cold room. Since most of his cooks were specialists, the teens hadn’t been ordered to take a stint in any of those sections, bar Tenya and Shoto once taking a turn as servers.

That had honestly surprised and pleased all the teens. Of all of them, only Melissa and Izuku could cook, and Izuku could only cook various Japanese dishes. Without rice, he was lost, and there wasn’t any rice aboard the Hound.

He then looked over at Garland. “But speaking of a certain quartet among our midshipmen, have you had your talk with them just yet?”

“Nah, though you just warned ‘em we will be. You sure you don’t wanna take over for me?”

“No, no. This distinctly falls under your authority as disciplinary officer,” Roland quickly demurred.

Sighing, Garland shook his head and leaned forward, staring between Momo and Izuku for a moment. “I’d prefer to have this conversation with all four of you here, but I’m not gonna have it twice, so you can pass it on to your fellow midshipmen. And before either of ya try to act all… what’s the word?”

“Coy? Obtuse? Stupid?” Roland supplied with a smirk as Momo and Izuku stiffened.

“Eh, all those’ll do. Yeah, if ya want to act all stupid, then I’m talking about your girlfriends, Midshipmen Kyoka and Melissa,” Garland snickered, the sound both grating and almost salacious.

Momo and Izuku tried not to catch one another’s eyes as they flushed, while Kirishima, Shoto and Tsu all ostentatiously turned back to their food. All of them were intelligent enough to come to know where this was going, and didn’t want to get involved here at all. “We, we don’t need to be told to keep our relationships under wraps or anything similar, sir,” Momo said, keeping her voice low. “We don’t want people to be jealous or anything like that.”

“Good. Relationships aboard ships occasionally happen, but they are very rare, like a kind pirate rare, because there are so few female Marines. On a marine ship there’s a general rule not to make fun of such, but don’t take that as an excuse to have any public displays of affection or anything like that. Izuku, ya might also be subjected to low-grade pranks and taunts in the gun deck during your downtime. Dildos left in yer hammock, doodles on yer face, smelly items put into yer laundry and so forth from jealous reefers, the kind of thing we can’t police or enforce rules against.”

As Izuku scowled, Garland kept going, his voice becoming even more serious. “Beyond that, if your relationship gets in the way of yer duties aboard ship, either in terms of training, or in terms of on-duty time at yer stations, you’ll be kissing the gunner’s daughter.”

“I’ve heard that mentioned a time or two; what exactly is that, kero?” Tsuyu asked, one finger pressing into her lips for a moment. “It sounds painful.”

“It is. On most marine vessels, discipline is a lot more rigid than on this one,” Garland answered, while Roland snickered as if he had just said water was wet or the sky blue. “That’s all Garp’s influence, o’ course. As for kissing the gunner’s daughter, that means yer bent over one of the guns and given lashes for whatever infringement you were up in front of the first mate for. Normally they’d be just wet lengths of rope, which’d leave bruises and welts. But if you did somethin’ that got the captain’s attention, well… for that you’d be getting the real whip, and then have seawater splashed on yer open wounds.”

“T, that’s barbaric!” Momo exclaimed, while the other teens all looked horrified as well, bar Kirishima, who had known from the start what that phrase meant thanks to his family having been fisherfolk for so long. In the modern day back on Earth, that kind of disciplinary measure wasn’t used. But in the past, it for certain had been in practically every navy across the world. Especially those who used press gangs to put crews aboard their ships.

“Discipline needs to be rigid because most marine vessels don’t have someone like Garp, Devil Fruit users, or what have you able to help them deal with problems as they come around. Discipline and rigid attention to orders can be the difference between life or death on any ocean, let alone the Grand Line, and thus discipline needs to be kept,” Garland said, shaking his head firmly, his normal accent in stark abeyance as he made to emphasize every word. “And just because ya all have Devil Fruit powers don’t mean that you’d be excused from such among normal marines.”

“Here on this ship though, we don’t go into using whips or lengths of rope on your back. Garp just smacks your ass with varying degrees of energy,” Roland explained with a snicker. And if this emphasized to the young Devil Fruit users how lucky they were to serve with Garp once more, all the better.

“… So instead of having your back being black and blue in streaks, it’ll be your rear that’ll be sore from one side to the other?” Izuku mumbled, shaking his head. “That doesn’t exactly sound any better, sir.”

“Hah, bruises heal, lad!” Garland said with the voice of experience. “Wounds from a cat o’ nine tails leave scars like the ones young Tsuyu is gonna have from her wounds. Just don’t let yer relationships get in the way of work and don’t do anythin’ in public spaces either, no public displays of affection. Or worse, no leaving anything behind, or yer behind’s gonna be the one payin’ for it,” Garland chortled.

Not at home with either innuendo or puns, both aspects of that last sentence flew over Momo’s head for a moment, while Izuku blushed so red he resembled a tomato, before the Master at Arms continued. “If you want to spend time together when yer off duty and not training, that’s yer own business, as is whatever you do when you’re scheduled to sleep. But again no public displays of affection. Especially on a long cruise like this. The longer away from shore, the more the lads act out.”

He paused, then shrugged. “I suppose the lady’s quarters doesn’t quite count, but even there, you’d have to ask them.”

“Hah, I wonder what Bogard would think of that,” Roland murmured, snorting. The original first mate had been left behind on Elena to help Commodore Jonathan, and his room had been rearranged to serve as the women’s quarters. Normally, there wouldn’t be enough women aboard to make that a viable solution, but this time it had been warranted.

Tsuyu shrugged her shoulders, her own bluntness exceeding even Garland’s. “Clear it with us ahead of time, and we wouldn’t mind giving you the room for a little while, so long as neither couple does anything on our actual bunks or hammocks, kero.”

Both Momo and Izuku blushed, with Momo hastily saying that they weren’t going to be doing anything untoward, only, in her terms, cuddling, for a while. “Kyo-chan and I have talked it over, and this is a first relationship for both of us. We’re not going to run into things.”

Izuku had barely a moment to stutter “s, s, same here” before a large hand clamped down on his shoulder. As he stiffened, an equally large arm reached across to where Kirishima sat, Garp plucking him out of where he’d been sitting as easily as a fisherman would’ve pulled a small minnow up out of the ice box.

 “Come on, boys! You two’ve had more than enough time to eat. It’s time for training, and I’ve got some things to work out, BWWAHAHAHAH!” Garp bellowed, very much not using his indoor voice. “You too, Shoto. Garland, I’m stealing him from Yama this morning. You can still have him in the afternoon.”

As both grabbed boys began to whimper, their normal gung-ho attitude in stark abeyance at present, Shoto stood up, moving to join them without protest, his expression shifting from its usual stoicism to one of resignation. “Well, at least this slave driver is unlikely to include fire in his training regimen for us,” he said philosophically.

That drew a few odd looks, but the girls said nothing, simply watching the trio of boys go. As they exited the mess hall, the two girls glanced at one another, the phrase ‘better you than me’ going through their heads, despite their best efforts.

Chuckling, the second lieutenant stretched out his legs as he glanced at the girls. His body was still dealing with the exertions of the Doping Pill he’d imbibed back on the island where the Dead End Race had been launched from, but he was more than well enough to take up his duties again despite his knees. “Come on then, up you get. You’re on duty this morning, and I believe that means that you, Tsuyu, are with Whitman in the rigging, and you, Momo, are with me.”

“Yes sir,” the girls chorused, quickly finishing their meals.

OOOOOOO

When she came out on deck, Momo had been joined by Jirou, Melissa, and Mei, all of whom had woken up for their first shift, that being the afternoon-to-night one. They would be training with her and Tsu under Garp that afternoon, then be on duty along with Tenya that night.

The five ladies stopped in the hatchway, staring at where Izuku lay nearby. The greenette’s heaving chest was the only sign he was still alive, more resembling a mass of pounded goo than a person. Kirishima was a little better, bleeding, battered and bruised, kneeling beside his friend, his legs very visibly having given out on him. The last of the three, Shoto, lay half-on, half-over the gunwale nearby. If not for a safety rope latched around his waist, the girls would have feared he was in danger of going over the side.

Garp stood over them, laughing happily as he slammed his hands together, his earlier doldrums having been completely worked out, or set aside at the very least. “Excellent, excellent job all three of you. Shoto, you need to keep in mind the need to move and build up yer speed switching from hot to cold. Next time we do this, I’ll be aiming some of those corks at ya the moment ya stay in one place too long.”

Shoto groaned, and Momo only now noticed that, over his body to the port side of the ship, the remnants of what looked like a giant iceberg were slowly being left in their wake, about two thousand yards away. The wind was barely pushing them along today, so the ship wasn’t exactly making good speed. Because of that, it was going to take a bit to leave the iceberg in their wake.

As they watched, Yama, no fool, decided to add live firing to his training exercise. Soon, cannonballs slammed into the side of the iceberg one after another from all three decks, finishing the job of destroying it while his bellows of fury at the dozens of missed shots came from within the Hound.

“Izuku, you’re showing good signs of Geppo already, so we’ll keep emphasizing your lower body work for a little while longer… say a week? Eh, something like that. Kirishima, great job. You’re ahead of both of the others in terms of taking damage, which means you’ll soon be able to add Tekkai to your Devil Fruit power. But you need to work hard on your lower legs too. Hmmm… come ta think of it, I think we’ll emphasize that across the board for a few weeks for all ya reefers for a while as the MA goes on. I’m certain the girls’ll need it as well.”

The other four Midshipmen in view, none of whom had been forced to spar with Garp but had been busy with their own physical training, groaned. Garp boomed out laughter at that before gesturing. For now, Seeman Fetterman, help Shoto get a drink, then down into the gun decks. Shoto, remember ta talk to the chef about getting some special drinks to help keep you hydrated during your off-duty time. Kirishima, get up, and get yer ass down to Quillo for those bruises before reporting to the middle gun deck. If ya don’t, Quillo will be on my ass, and I don’t want that. You both’re with Garland this afternoon. Izuku, I think you’re replacing Tsuyu up in the rigging, right?”

The mass of silly putty that currently answered to that name groaned, but wearily pushed himself to his feet, looking over to the mast where Whitman was waiting for him up in the rigging, Tsuyu having just made her way down to the deck to join the other girls. “Yes, sir. Midshipman Izuku reporting for duty, sir.”

Whatever answer Whitman gave to their friend was lost to Momo and her companions as Garp turned to the girls, glancing over them in such a way that all of them quickly came to attention, even Mei. “All right, you lot! It’s time for some training. Let’s start it off near the prow, that’ll give us some room.”

With trepidation filling their hearts, the girls followed after the giant Marine, worry building in all of them. ‘Er, what kind of endurance training are we going to be doing today, sir?” Melissa asked hesitantly.

“Eh?” Garp looked at the girl in confusion, and their worry only increased, with Momo cursing herself for her wishful thinking. “Endurance training? Oh, that’ll be fer later with Garland. Right now…”

Feeling the air around Garp shift thanks ot her jacks was the only warning Jirou had, but it was enough, as she ducked under a punch from the man, yelping in shock.

Garp bellowed, “The best way to learn is by doing! Good job dodging, but let’s see if you can actually take a punch. Don’t worry. I haven’t had you up in front of me for any sparring, even those of ya who could do it before, and it’s time I make up for that, but I’ll take it easy on ya in terms of actual strength.”

“Is that supposed to mean anything when coming from someone who can turn the ship into kindling without even trying!?” Kyoka shouted back, dodging again as the others spread out.

Mei and Melissa both raised their arms in boxing stances, the two engineers looking reluctant but somewhat well-trained as Tsu crouched, her arms spread wide, her legs tensed. “Time to see if Frog kenpo helps me here, kero.”

It was Momo, though, who surprised them all. She didn’t wait like the others. Instead, she darted in, lashing out with a punch which Garp didn’t even bother trying to block despite the fact she had materialized brass knuckles on her hands a second ago when she stuck them into her pockets.

Even with those, it was Momo who reeled away, wringing out her hand while Garp laughed. “OWWWW!! G, gracious, what are you made of?”

BWAHAHA, eh, ya did good to not break your wrist; whoever taught ya to throw a punch did a good job at least. As for what I’m made of, that’d be justice, bone, gristle, and Fuck You, That’s Why! BWAHAHAH!” With that, one hand flashed out, grabbing at Momo’s forearm. “Interesting that you’re the first one to try and take a swing at me. Not exactly a good idea, though.”

“Mistakes have been made,” Momo admitted in a near squeak, staring at where her forearm was just engulfed by Garp’s grip before she found herself launched upwards with an almost lazy motion from Garp’s arm. “EEEEEEP!!”

“Don’t worry!” Garp shouted after her. “I’ll catch ya if I have ta, and I won’t target your body or Tsuyu’s. Can’t let either of ya get hurt again, or Quillo will make a purse out of me balls! BWAHAHA!!”

Growling, Momo flipped herself in midair before she reached the aphelion of her ascent. As she began coming down, Momo then held out her good arm, the one without a still-healing clavicle and a large mass of cast built up around it, shouting, “TSU!”

Tsu obliged, her tongue flashing out to wrap around Momo’s arm, gently pulling her down. As she came down, Momo watched as Mei and Melissa were tossed the length of the ship, slamming into the wall leading up to the poop deck. Her face firming, Momo rolled as she landed, grateful for the cast under her sailor’s outfit. “Mei, Melissa, keep to the starboard side of the ship! Kyo-chan, try to get in earjacking range! Is this spar anything goes?”

“Already tryin’ to take charge, yeah?” Garp responded with a low chuckle, his hands on his hips, resplendent in his white uniform, showing no signs of his earlier exertion against the three boys despite it being somewhat hot out. “Good. Maybe by the time we reach Popernickel, we might have ya leadin’ one of the watches rather than seconded to one of me officers as part of yer Assessment. Fer now, ya can work together obviously, but let’s keep it civil, no aiming for my junk, or throat, and like I said, I won’t aim fer yer bits either. At least not with the intent to land a physical punch.”

Cursing at the fact that left so much room, Momo wondered if she could get away with using her Devil Fruit here but decided against it. She had not known that Garp would demand a spar from them despite Quillo fitting her with a specially reinforced cast, and honestly, despite that precaution, she felt it was too soon given her injuries, at the least. I know that Mei and Tsu are further along than me, but still! Drat it all, nothing to do but go for it. “Spread out and come at him all at once, and Mei, Melissa, grab some of those cudgels and swords!”

“This is so unscientific!” Melissa growled, but obeyed, grabbing at a few swords that were ensconced nearby, tossing one to Mei. More for sudden beast attacks than anything else, there were always a few swords or cudgels kept in stands around the masts, where the majority of men were currently busy running drills of their own, including a still-exhausted-looking Izuku.

“UGH! If I’d known we’d be actually fighting the old guy, I’d have brought up one of my own babies!” Mei agreed.

As the others were getting armed, Garp flashed towards Momo, but she was already dodging by the time he arrived, his fist stopping an inch from where she had been standing a moment ago, a laugh bubbling up. “BWAHAHAHA, Good, girl! Keep your situational awareness at all times. I won’t start pummeling ya to build you up to Tekkai until you’re healed up, but I’ll work ya harder in other ways to make up for it!”

Momo swung for his face, then dodged to one side, lashing out with a kick which he blocked with a knee. She whirled around the man before Melissa, Tsuyu and Mei charged in. Kyoka circled, waiting for an opening, then her jacks flashed forward over Melissa’s shoulder, stabbing into Garp’s forearm as his hand made for a grab on her shoulder.

Garp blinked, staring at where the jack had slammed into and through his forearm right behind the wrist. “Huh. I honestly didn’t think yer weird power would work like that…”

A second later, he felt something like a thrum going through his limb, but whatever that was meant to be, Garp’s body, which was far tougher than a normal Tekkai user’s body when they called on that technique, dealt with it without Garp needing to do anything. Whatever it was, the sound-based attack blew back into Kyoka, forcing her jack out of Garp’s body as she yowled, reeling back, her earjacks twitching wildly in agony. “GAHHH!! Seriously!? How does that even work!? I’ve never gotten reverb like that from stabbing into steel or concrete!”

“What did I just say to yer girlfriend? Fuck you, that’s why, bwhahaha!” Garp chortled, blocking a downward strike from a leaping Tsuyu with a piston shot that blasted air into a furious Momo’s face.

To say that day was painful for all concerned was an understatement. As evening came to an end hours later, Izuku came down from the rigging, his hands burning, his thighs in serious revolt, to the point where he nearly lost his footing as he came back down onto the deck. Only leaning against the mast saved him, and he looked forward to where the girls had been left by a once-more laughing Garp, who had given them dozens of pointers to go along with the massive beatdown he’d given them all.

Lights were being lit in lanterns all around the ship now as evening bled into the night, and the girls were more visible from several lanterns lit forward within the waning light of the sun as it dipped low over the horizon. Yet Izuku could still make each of them out as they lay there, gasping. Melissa’s blonde hair in particular caught the light, and he paused, staring at it, mesmerized by the dichotomy between her semi-glowing hair and her curves in the darkness, watching as she gasped.

The only one looking as if she had any energy left was Mei, though she also looked like one big bruise. Judging by the mumbles that Izuku could barely hear over the background noise, she was either trying to figure out a way to create a robot that could fight Garp for her, or some kind of torture device. Possibly for the same reason.

Pushing himself forward through sheer willpower, Izuku moved over to Melissa, reaching down and helping her to her feet. Like Mei, she looked badly battered, although honestly, Izuku doubted Garp had actually hit any of them. Probably battered them around with simple air-pressure attacks, just like I saw he was doing with Yaomomo. “How’re you holding up, Melissa-chan?”

“I think the better question is, how am I still in one piece?” Melissa nearly whimpered, shaking her head. “First the spar, then the weight training, then more sparring?” Izuku winced at that, having seen the large cannonballs used as weights come up onto the deck, but not having time to watch the girls as Whitman had been ordering him and the sail monkeys around all day to both deal with the weather and test their knowledge of the various rigging arrangements.

“Then hand-eye coordination, then more sparring! Are we altogether certain that Garp is human?” Melissa demanded, only half-jokingly. “He worked through all the same things at his own weight level. We didn’t even hurt him once in the spars, and I swear he wasn’t even sweating by the time the watch officer signaled the end of the watch!”

“Now there’s a question for the ages,” one of the older sailors nearby said with a chuckle, looking at Izuku and Melissa with a little jealousy visible in his face. He said nothing, though, knowing that doing so openly on the deck like this would get him in trouble with the officers.

“Well, don’t feel bad. I don’t think Garp’s even felt some of my punches up to this point,” Izuku answered with a shrug, then a smile. “I’d um, offer to help with sore muscles and such, but the best I can do is help you down to the mess and then go to get you some ice.”

“And who is going to get you some ice, humm? We’re both in the same boat,” Melissa snickered.

“We might be, but I’m the boy in this relationship, so that means I need to take care of you sometimes when you’re in pain,” Izuku said firmly. “My mom might never have, well, but um, she still taught me some things about how relationships should go.”

Leaning heavily into Izuku, Melissa smiled up at him as the two of them wound their way down into the ship, both of them holding onto the rails of the stairwell for dear life as above them, rain began to spatter. “That sounds good to me, Zuk. But first, food. I could eat as much as Momo does normally right now.”

“Hey!” Momo whined, to chuckles from the others, before a flash of lightning across the sky had them all hurrying, as best they could, inside.

OOOOOOO

Chuckling as he followed after the youngsters into the ship, Garp ran a hand through his short, very grey and now-drenched hair, watching as Tennya made certain the sailors on the deck were all issued with rain slickers. Yep, Master at Arms for sure. As for the rest of my young reefers, this group is really, really interesting. I expected Izuku to call it quits in the rigging this afternoon, but he finished a full shift up there after my training! HAH. As for the girls, there were a few surprises there. Kyoka found out the limits of her little jack-stabbing trick, and didn’t that just frustrate the little alss to work all the harder. Tsuyu is already very close to learning Geppo, thanks to those legs of hers. Mei’s surprisingly strong, Melissa and Kyoka decently agile.

But Momo… her attitude from start to finish was quite surprising. She kept on getting up, even with those ribs of hers, and I swear I saw her using her broken shoulder a time or two to boot. Momo just refused to stay down, refused to take a step back. And… weirdly, I think she weighs a good deal more than she looks. Bizarre.

Heh, I thought that Izuku might have a chance at awakening Haki pretty damn quickly, but now I’m wondering if Momo will too. And Kyoka too, if only the Kenbunshoku type for her, just like I predict Kirishima will go from Tekkai to Busoshoku quickly. The other two, though… they might be real diamonds in the rough…

OOOOOOO

Over the next few weeks, the two couples and their friends once more settled into life aboard ship, a task made all the harder by the now-random nature of their daily routines. Some days the majority would be on duty in the morning and training in the afternoon, and sometimes not. Sometimes they’d be allowed to sleep through a full shift, that is, eight hours or as much of that as they could while still spending time on their clothing and so forth. Sometimes not, their sleep cycles uninterrupted by drills. Twice they were on duty for almost twenty-three hours of the day.

For Kirishima and Mei, who couldn’t care less about most of it, worse was the mental side of things. The senior officers began posing random questions to the Midshipmen about rigging, navigation and how to read the ocean and the weather. If they were not answered correctly, the midshipman thus questioned was either put on punishment duty in the mess hall or forced to do sit-ups until they could correct their answer. It didn’t matter if they were already badly drained by their training, or not. The Midshipman’s Assessment was beyond grueling for everyone, even Thomas the sniper and the two corporals who helped Garland.

Thus, the next three weeks became a literal blur of training, working, testing, and, for the two couples, little stolen moments. Tiny hugs, little moments of cuddling, a few stolen kisses here and there, mostly in the girl’s room. But most of the time, the couples were just too damn tired for anything more. Even kisses weren’t fun when one of the participants started to yawn mid-kiss.

With her injuries healed to the point where she could join training to work full time, Tsuyu quickly became a bigger hit than before with the crew for her looks and for her ability to swim along the side of the vessel at full mast and return with fish to help their larders. As one sailor put it, “She’s like a mermaid and a fishman in one. As cute as a mermaid, and as tough as a Fishman!”

That line had Tsuyu blushing in her own manner, not that most could tell, but she wasn’t the only one. The other Midshipmen, perhaps due to proximity, nerves, or just getting to know the girls, began to try to flirt with her and Mei, but the pair dealt with it in their own ways. Tsuyu, with her deadpan appearance and blunt manner, warded them off with ease even as she enjoyed some of their lines. In contrast, Mei and her more esoteric threats actually seemed to garner further interest, as if they were simply interested in seeing at what point she’d go through with some of her threats. Eventually Yama and Foril, the ship’s carpenter, stepped in, cursing all and sundry until things settled back into the previous status quo.

Meanwhile, Izuku did have to start dealing with some pranks thanks to the shared space of the upper gun deck. Here, though, his time at Aldera served him well. None of these pranks were malicious or painful, and he could see them coming or wake up in time to easily ward off the perpetrators.

After that first day of sparring, Garp returned to playing favorites, but everyone understood that this was probably to the good, given his training style. He took inordinate delight in pounding on Kirishima and Izuku, but it was a shock to everyone when Momo was forced to join in. Her enjoyment of her knuckle dusters had been recognized, and he wanted to add her into his “Way of kicking ass with just your fists!” group.

He didn’t hit her, yet, at least not directly, but air pressure attacks weren’t exactly gentle, and more than once, Momo was grateful for the specially reinforced chest cast to protect her ribs from them.

Although that cast did open Momo up to some teasing from her friends.

“I mean, I know you’re impressive up top, Yaomomo, but that’s just ridiculous. You look like one of those old-time ecchi anime side characters,” Melissa teased. “If you could wear it over your uniform, that’d be one thing, but right now…”

“If I had a chest that big, I’d have a lifetime’s worth of back pain. I doubt even your ridiculously cheaterific Quirk could help you there, kero,” Tsuyu chuckled.

“I’m gonna be calling you Boobs again in short order, or maybe Yayo-boobs,” Mei joined in, grinning cheerily.

Kyoka mock-growled, pointing at Mei before flashing “OY! The real Yayo-boobs are mine, thank you, and I’m all for anything that protects them.” She then turned to the pouting and now blushing Momo, a sly smirk crossing her face. “But seriously Yaomomo, does the cast have to be that big?”

“You felt some of Garp’s air pressure punches. You tell me,” Momo answered tartly, as her flush faded. “This way, all I feel is a slight twinge of pain when I get hit with one of them, and it isn’t coming from any of my actual wounds. To that end I’m all for it—”

“Even if you might not be able to see your feet for a few weeks?” Melissa interjected, causing much laughter among the girls.

“You’re taking this remarkably well. Is this what you have to look forward to, kero? Is your mother this big?”

At that, Momo drew herself up, truly affronted for the first time in this discussion. “Heaven forbid! My mother is not only barely two sizes larger than I am normally in terms of her waist, but her chest size is barely a single size larger. The few times we’ve been out and met people who didn’t know who we were, we were often called siblings.”

“That’s good. There’s such a thing as too big,” Kyoka murmured.

The girls were entirely unaware of the fact that, as Kyoka spoke, a very large, horned girl with severe mental and physical issues at the moment sneezed, startling the lizard she’d been trying to hunt in the cave she was currently being kept in.

In terms of lower body training over those two weeks, which Garp emphasized as he said he would, Tenya and Tsuyu both started well behind Izuku, yet rapidly caught up to him, to the point where Garp joked at one point that Tsuyu, “Leave it to a girl with frog powers to really have a leg up on the competition… Get it?”

The sound of seagulls was the only sound heard for a little while, and Garp’s face turned red as he roared out at his crew, “Laugh you, idiots!” To which only a few did so, laughing almost mechanically at the horrible pun, if such it could be called in the first place.

However, the real improvement was seen among the more senior Midshipmen. Corporal Salvidor, the young reefer who had come across to Momo and Melissa as a bit of a tiny tyrant when they first came aboard, began to show evidence of Tekkai, Geppo, and the harder Soru. He found himself behind three other young men, though, whose names Izuku and the others only learned now, such was the insular nature of their own group and the older clique among the young would-be officers. Matsuhama, Derek and Leon all started showing a greater understanding of the same three skills as Salvidor, and each had also shown the ability to use Kami-E for a few minutes.

Beyond that, each of the trio had a specialty. Matsuhama showed he was able to use Shigan, making his finger as potentially deadly as Kyoka’s jacks. Derek’s Tekkai was able to rival Kirishima’s Quirk in its basic defensive ability, and Leon was able to use Soru and Geppo at the same time.

How the other Midshipmen were doing with the mental side of things, Izuku and the other boys had only the vaguest of ideas. The upper gun deck became a makeshift study area as every reefer, bar the girls, obviously, took what downtime they had to study and quiz each other as much as possible. Izuku and Tenya, the only ones among the boys who cared overmuch about most of the mental tests, felt they were doing well, but Leon was easily the reefer with the most sailing knowledge.

For themselves, there were still a lot of questions, both specific and broader ones, that none of the dimensionally displaced teens could answer. None of them were showing much of anything in the more esoteric skills of the Rokushiki school; however, seventeen days into the Midshipman’s Assessment, Float activated.

This allowed Izuku to actually be able to fly, as Nana Shimura’s mental avatar told him he would, something she was ecstatic about as Izuku flew around and between the ship’s masts. “Woohoo! That’s the way, Izuku! Now, remember to keep your weight centered. You’re not going to be able to do a barrel roll in midair or shift wildly from side to side without losing height; even buffed up, I doubt Float is going to be comparable to fully-controlled flight, but I wager once you can start to use Soru with Float, you’ll have a monster of a combo move.”

“Th, thanks, Nana-san.” Trying hard to not let Nana know how much her words meant to him, feeling the same depth of emotion as the few times that his other had acknowledged his dream, as evinced by the need to squint really hard to keep his Midoriya tear ducts from reacting. “That. Using your Quirk, don’t worry, I’ll do my best with it!”

For just a moment, it felt like someone was running her fingers through his hair. “I don’t doubt that, Izuku,” the vestige responded, sounding as if she was a little teary-eyed herself.

Banjo cut in, his tone almost diplomatic for a moment. “Well, with Float now fully active, I think that’ll have… huh, what’s the right analogy? It’ll have evened the flow, so there’s no more pressure on either side of the dam. It’ll take you a while to build up to the point where another Quirk comes in.”

“Um…” At that, Izuku flinched, then started to Float down, as if his legs were giving out on him. “Erm, is there any way to know what Quirk will come in next? Only, er, no offense, but Danger Sense is—”

“Worse than useless while you’re on the Grand Line,” That particular Quirk’s owner, Hikage, interjected, his own tone morose. “Hopefully we’ll be able to sense which Quirk is next in the lineup, or it’ll be Banjo’s because he was the holder before Nana. If not… we’ll figure out a way to hold Danger Sense back somehow. No way are we going to let you get crippled by migraines full-time, Nine.”

While Nana no longer called Izuku anything but his name, the others still used that moniker.

With a somewhat overdone groan, Izuku set down, raising a weary hand to the cheers of the sailors around him. “That sounds good. Thanks, everyone.”

Thankfully, Izuku was able to pass this off as Geppo, and Garp, Roland and the other officers cheered his progress just as much as the crew. Well, so he and the other teens thought, anyway. In reality, all the officers who could use Geppo could tell that whatever it was Izuku was using, it wasn’t Geppo. His movements in the air didn’t quite match, and although he moved his feet right, they didn’t make the puffs of air those who knew the technique best could see. Yet they didn’t say anything. So long as Izuku didn’t slack off his training, whatever power he could use, which was probably tied into his weird green lightning, was Izuku’s own business, and Garp and those officers who followed his idea of justice, which had very little to do with the World Government and the Tenryubito, would keep them for him.

Beyond the physical training and the shouted questions that strained their navigational, rule-based and sailing knowledge, all of the Midshipmen were given the opportunity to second the officer of the watch, the officer in charge of the running of the ship during one of the three watches. That meant working with Roland, Whitman, and Yama. Normally, the captain would also take a turn, but that wasn’t the case on Garp’s ship. He took over during combat or specific, large-scale threats.

Most of that responsibility petered out near the end of the three-week Midshipman’s Assessment. The first to be dropped entirely from real officer duties was Kirishima, who simply had no real care or understanding of how to be an effective officer. Mei quickly followed, having only been haphazardly brought into that kind of training in the first place. Both of them had also already earned a place as assistants to the ship’s carpenter, an appointment that would become official after the MA was finished.

Melissa, Kyoka and Tsuyu were next to be dropped from that part of the Assessment, with Shoto, who had simply gone through the motions, joining them rapidly. He had good instincts and a very good memory, and could project his voice pretty well when given command of a watch, but had “the sailor’s instincts of a camel,” as one officer put it. Kirishima, meanwhile, had excellent instincts, but his first instinct beyond that was to deal with whatever problem came their way on his own. It was manlier that way in his opinion, something that the officers groaned about a lot.

Melissa, in stark contrast, was personable, intelligent, and outgoing, and had already proven not only to work well with others but also to know when to delegate. She had little to no seaman instincts but made up for it in other ways, and, along with Tsuyu, Izuku and Momo, was the most well-liked among the common sailors.

Tsuyu and Kyoka simply lacked training across the board, which, in a way, meant they were the most normal among the group, given how short a time they’d been aboard compared to the other midshipmen. Kyoka’s growing affinity with sensing changes in the weather gave her a leg up, as did Tsuyu’s prior knowledge of sailing, but that wasn’t enough.

Izuku, on the other hand, who had taken over an officer’s role during the battle against the pirates in the Dead End Race continued to excel. Momo also showed a predilection toward leadership. Not just in terms of logistics, planning or navigation, but in all of them, putting her a little bit ahead of Izuku, thanks mainly to Garp hogging Izuku’s training time so he didn’t get as much training from Roland.

Nearly three weeks into the voyage to Popernickel, the topsy-turvy training schedule for the midshipmen ended, and all of them were given two days off to recover. That first evening, Garp and his officers met, talking about the midshipmen aboard and going through the paperwork necessary for the decisions they had all mostly reached already by that point. It was annoying, but even Garp couldn’t get out of such things.

They had started by talking about the most senior reefers, going through the twenty-odd midshipmen that had already been aboard the Hound when the ‘Devil Fruit’ users and their friends had come aboard. Here, there were a few standouts, but chief among them were Leon and Matsuhama. The pair of them would be leaving the ship the next time they came to a marine base, with full commissions as second lieutenants.

Beyond them was another young man named Patrick. He lacked in the combat department, but Mr. Crawley was willing to go to bat for him. “Patrick is even better with numbers than Mei or Momo, although not quite as good at pure math as Melissa. He does, however, have a far better command of organization and an almost preternatural understanding of space and its use. He has both my and Head Chef Matias’s endorsement to switch to a pure logistics corps line,” Mr. Crawley said, smiling faintly as he thought of his most favored protégés aboard ship, that being the aforementioned Patrick and Momo, if for very different reasons.

Patrick was incredibly good with numbers, logistics and keeping track of things, which is why he was recommended for the logistics department. In contrast, Momo was hard-working, respectful, and personable, the kind of officer that any good bursar would like to serve under because she would never take them for granted. Thus, Mr. Crawley knew that recommending her as he had Patrick would be a waste of her talents.

“In contrast, Derek and Salvador don’t have much in the way of sailor’s instincts,” Roland grumbled. “They aren’t alone in that, but their combat skills mean they’ll be able to make their way anywhere. I’d recommend they be transferred direct to HQ for further training.”

“Hmm… any of ya wrinkly assholes want ta to keep their fellows, Shahir, Priel or Narde fucking around?” Yama nearly demanded, a faint scowl on his face. “Note I’m not talking about yer fucking boy Thomas, Whitman.”

“Ya damned well better not, Yama,” Whitman grumbled. “That boy’s gonna go places as soon as he gets some actual leadership skills smacked into his fool head.”

The others, particularly Garp, had their own concerns on that score, given Thomas’s introverted, almost shy manner, but it was a fact that Thomas was easily the best climber and the most knowledgeable when it came to the way of sails and rope among the reefers, and he’d already been assigned as a Master’s Mate to Whitman after the last MA. Thus, none of them said anything. There was no need to wreck a good thing, even if his combat abilities and leadership skills left much to be desired.

That was the case for the aforementioned trio as well, but in their case, neither Shahir, Priel nor Narde had any redeeming qualities to make up for it. If anything, they were among the most disappointing reefers aboard.

“I’d say kick those three, Adrick, Loman, and Forester to the curb,” Garland said firmly. “Forester’s shown he’s got a wandering eye I don’t like nor trust wit’ so many ladies aboard, even if any one of ‘em could deal with his fool ass. Adrick and Loman still occasionally get seasick. Willin’ enough, the pair of ‘em, but they’ll never make it as ship’s officahs.”

None of the other officers were willing to speak up for any of the six, and the group of officers worked their way through the remaining names of the older Midshipmen aboard. Only four others would be transferred to other ships. Their nautical knowledge was impeccable, but they needed much more time to get up to speed in terms of combat ability and had yet to exhibit leadership potential. However, to remain for another four-month tour on Garp’s ship, combat ability was more important. All four had actually asked to be transferred once it became clear that Izuku and his friends were already performing better than they were in combat training. Rather than remain aboard and become jealous or annoyed at their lack of progress (none of them had shown any ability with the Rokushiki, and were only passing at musket and sword use), the four had shown the maturity to decide to head somewhere else for more training.

Finally, though, it came to talk about the odd group of teenagers they’d taken on after Elena. Here, Garp broke protocol by being the first to speak. Normally, he spoke last, either giving a final opinion, or talking about how he felt the midshipmen’s training was going and whether or not it would be good for them to remain aboard ship or be transferred off. He’d done that for the quartet, and backed Garland up when he spoke about the six ‘blahs’ as he called them.

Now though, that training touched on something they needed to clear the air about ‘unofficially official’ between all of them. “All right, let’s get it out now. Some of us have had suppositions, some of us have concerns, but whatever powers these kids have, they’re not Devil Fruits. And I hereby order ya all not to put that in any official log or anything else that the higher-ups will ever see, even Tsuru or Sengoku. We all know why.”

The way Garp was knuckling his desk as he stared over it at his officers, who were lounging around his office in various chairs, they could tell he was serious, and Roland nodded firmly. “Garp’s right, we need to keep that under wraps. We all know the World Government. We all know the Tenryubito. No good can come from letting them get their mitts on these kids, and you know they’d want to. That means keeping them together, and under Garp’s protection for as long as fucking possible.”

The doctor slowly nodded, taking a sip from a large glass of whiskey, Garp having broken out the good stuff for the midshipmen reviews, a time that also served as an opportunity to shit talk about the youngsters and generally make fun of the youth aboard in general, both the would-be officers and the common sailors. “Agreed. Particularly in the case of young Momo. Thankfully, I think all of them understand the need to keep her powers under wraps, whatever they might be.”

“I find it fascinating that she’s actually been able to get away with the whole ‘what have I got in my pockets’ strategy for so long,” Whitman quipped, before becoming serious and nodding his head. “I agree though. There’s bound to be a lot of interest in Shoto for his raw power, but Momo’s abilities are even more amazing when you think of all she’s been able to pull out of those pockets of hers randomly.”

It would’ve galled Momo to know that none of the officers had been fooled by her little trick. Indeed, it would have worried the teens to understand exactly how much they had failed to fool the officers aboard the Hound. But at the same time, they would’ve been gratified to know that every officer aboard was determined to defend them from further scrutiny. Garp and those he kept close believed in justice and in defending those who couldn’t defend themselves above all else, even against the World Government and its so-called masters.

“Since none of us have any wish to be transferred or promoted, I don’t think we need that order in writing, Garp, but it can’t hurt,” Garland said, frowning. “Ya know damn well that occasionally ya can’t stop promotions from going through, and Sengoku’s been after Bogard, Roland and Yama often enough. Hells, he’s even asked about me!”

“I know dammit, that’s why I accepted this order to head to Popernickel. I figure stopping at the nearest Marine base after that to drop off the folk we’ve named and maybe taking aboard a few more to replace them will keep Sengoku quiet about all of you lot staying aboard with me and Bogard rejoining us. But I think after that, we might have to head into the New World just to make it plain why I still keep a solid core or real fighters around,” Garp answered.

The officers thought about it for a few moments, then shrugged their shoulders almost in unison, with Mr. Crawley speaking up. He wasn’t the best of fighters, but he had come aboard to work directly with Garp and had no desire to accept any promotion that would shift him away from the Hound. “Honestly, if we stay at that base long enough to let Yama, Foril, Mei and Melissa make the changes to our gun decks they want to, I’d be fine with taking the rest of our current crew into the new world, naval ratings and midshipmen alike.”

The other officers would’ve said simply sailors instead of the more formal term of naval rating, but Mr. Crawley was a stickler for that kind of thing. He was also one of Garp’s firmest allies within the Marines. He, like Roland and the others, was more than willing to bend the rulebooks into origami right alongside Garp to keep such promising youths away from the darker aspects of the World Government.

However, Roland had something else he had to say. “You do realize though that that means you won’t be able to go on your little East Blue sojourn for a while, right?”

Garp grimaced, running a hand through his short-cropped hair. “We won’t stay in the New World for long, and we’ll make for East Blue right after. But still, I know I’ll be late for my annual meeting with my grandson. It can’t be helped.”

He then grinned a little, shaking his head wryly. “Not like the little shit is liable to miss me. And I’ve still got two more years before his self-imposed day to leave Dawn Island. Also maybe bringing along Izuku and the rest of them along will actually help convince him to join the Marines.”

“Doubtful,” Quilo, Whitman, and Yama, all of whom had met the Young Monkey D. Luffy, said as one. With Whitman going on dryly. “He’s got your family’s stubbornness for sure, ya old fart, even if he hasn’t developed any of the brains.”

“Then again, with all of the Fists of Love you’ve smacked him with upside the head, perhaps you’re to blame for that aspect too,” Quilo snickered.

“Why you little bastards! How dare you be so accurate with me!” Garp growled, then all of them broke into laughter, turning to take longer sips from their drinks. When they put them back down, Garp continued, shifting back to the actual topic of the night. “Well, with the more senior members of the Midshipmen all dealt with, that leaves Izuku and the rest to step up into their slots. Personally, I think Izuku and Momo are both ready to stand watch with a more senior officer officially, but I’d like your opinions about the rest of them.”

“In terms of book smarts and knowledge, Tenya’s ready for sure, fuck me, but he knows the rule book inside and out, and all the proper calls, ensigns and signals, but he lacks the personal touch ta really be an officah along with his sailor’s knowledge,” Garland said, shaking his head. “Still, if we offload one of my helpers, I’ll take him on as a Corporal. Some time in a smaller position of power and watching out for infractions will either show us he’s too damned by tha book, or pull the last o’ that stick out of his ass by showin’ when ta look the other way.”

Grumbled, but nodded his head, and the discussion continued from there, delving into each of the teen’s issues, where they needed to get better, where they shone, and their natural positions aboard a ship’s crew. Melissa was going to become an official Gunner’s Mate under Yama, while Mei and Kirishima would work with Foril in an official capacity from now on as Carpenter Mates to go with the work they had already been doing, much like Melissa.

While Mei had proven to be a far more accurate shot than Melissa, Yama made no effort to fight with Foril over officially taking her under his command going forward. Mei-day occasionally forgot to wait for commands during live-fire exercises and was just hard to work with. She wasn’t very good with people, and had made no effort to get to know anyone beyond her own group. The fact that she was easy on the eyes, and unlike Melissa, didn’t mind them staring, and had more than once accidentally gone without a bra, made her more popular with the gun crews up to a certain point, but not nearly enough to offset all of the negatives with working with her.

“None of Izuku’s lot have any real gift for medicine or medical work,” Quillo sighed theatrically. “It’s kind of sad, really. I think that’s actually the only position our group of very odd ducks doesn’t have among their number. Shoto’s just… odd, and while Tsuyu or Melissa could do the work, Melissa’s place is on the gun deck, and Tsuyu is better served elsewhere and has no medical knowledge to build on.”

“True. Still, maybe we’ll get lucky and run into some more aspiring Marines when we hit Popernickel,” Roland said sympathetically, trying hard not to be too smug about the fact that Momo and Izuku would start to work with him on a more official level going forward.

Garp groaned, shaking his head from side to side like a bull that just been smacked in the forehead. “Don’t remind me of that place! I know we’re heading there, and I even agreed to do it without arguing, but goddamn, freaking religious nutbags!”

Several of the other officers nodded, grimacing. Popernickel was always annoying with its homegrown religion, which still existed there despite the best efforts of the World Government to stamp it out, or at least modify it to suit the World Government’s view of the world.

But they hadn’t had much success. They’d modified a lot of the religious texts and had erased everything in terms of local history beyond a certain point, a very… fraught certain point from the World Government’s perspective. But the simple belief structure of the One God still existed there, and had resulted in a lot of friction over the centuries, especially given the island’s technological level.

“Well, look at it this way, it’s not likely you’ll have to replace the royal family again, yeah? They’re the ones asking for us to step in and help them keep power, after all,” Foril soothed.

“Bite your damn tongue!” Garp groaned, shaking his head. “That just makes it worse, because that obviously means the locals are incompetent, and I might have to replace them because of that!”

The other officers grimaced and turned their attention back to the task at hand, going over the paperwork as the night wore on.

OOOOOOO

On the second day of their two days off, all of the midshipmen were called into Garp’s office one after another. Each of them was given an official copy of their midshipman evaluations and told what would be happening going forward. They were then given copies to put in their sea trunks, small, ubiquitous trunks that held all the worldly possessions the ‘young gentlemen’ were allowed to have. The more senior officers had larger ones, but you could have multiple such trunks only at the first lieutenant rank and above. Izuku and the others had been issued theirs by Commodore Jonathan back on Elena.

This process seemed to be done by seniority up to a point among the reefers, meaning the rest of the young men were called in first. The dimensionally displaced teens waited around on the main deck, or, in the case of Kirishima, Tsuyu and Melissa, slept. Of the group, they were the only ones to master the art of sleeping on a dime, much to the envy of their friends. When it was time for their group to be called in, they went in at random, with Tenya being the first, followed by Melissa. By that point, it was lunchtime, and the rest of the group headed down to the mess hall.

Near the end of the meal, Jirou, who had been called away, rejoined the others, having passed Momo and Izuku in the hallway, the last two of their group to be called in for their exams. Huh, doesn’t that mean that creep Forester and his lazy-ass friends are the only ones who haven’t been called in already?

Shaking that observation away, Kyoka made her way over to her friends. Kirishima and Mei, who had been called in before her, sat with scowls on their faces, which made sense, as they had been bluntly told they lacked the leadership ability to become more than the Carpenter’s Mates they were now officially. Kiri didn’t seem to like hearing that, but Kyoka thought he’d get over it quickly.

Tenya, Shoto and Tsu simply looked thoughtful as she slid into the bench alongside Melissa, the only one to look entirely pleased by what they had heard. Tsu, like Kirishima, had been told she lacked leadership skill, but had taken it stoically, along with her placement as a medical orderly until the next Midshipman Assessment. Beyond with the sail monkeys, where they already had all the Mates they needed, Tsuyu didn’t really fit in anywhere else as well as the others did, which she was fine with. Indeed, she’d been told it was a good thing, as there was always a place for jacks of all trades aboard a fighting vessel.

 Shoto, in contrast, had barely passed enough in terms of noncombat to not be brought up on a charge for laziness. He was far and away the worst when it came to seamanship, although he at least had a better handle on knowing the signals, the calls, and the marine rules and regulations than Kirishima. Like Tsu, he didn’t really fit in anywhere aboard bar in combat. Thus he had basically been told to keep training and getting stronger, so he could be assigned to a ship in the future where his crew and first mate would see to getting him to the fight. Much like Garp did, in other words.

“Well, how did your review go?” Melissa asked, her uniform already marked with the tab for a Gunner’s Mate. Her fingers rose and touched it, as it had during the meal, a faint smile of accomplishment on her face. Of the current batch of Midshipmen, she had been the only one raised to that rank, joining two older men in their late twenties, members of previous reefer groups, to serve under Yama as a gun deck officer. In battle, she would be the one to relay orders to the gun captains on the lower gun deck.

“Eh, So-so. I’m not showing as much progress in terms of physical abilities as Garp would want, but I’m well ahead of everything in terms of navigation, reading the weather and so forth. I’m not quite to the point where they want to make me a Navigator’s Assistant, but I’ll be getting more personalized combat instruction from Roland from now on.” Jirou shivered. “On top of everything Garp’ll be having me doing. UGH.”

She then smirked, shaking her head as she poked the older girl’s shoulder lightly with an earjack. “But I won’t be given officer’s duties. Not like you, Miss Gunner’s Mate.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t let it go to my head. So far, Tenya was the only one to get a good officer’s review grade, and even there, he was called out about how he was too judgmental,” Melissa said teasingly, looking over at Tenya. “Don’t let those corporal tabs go to your head.”

Tenya grumbled a bit, shaking his head, but he still looked inordinately pleased with himself. “Is it wrong that I believe we should adhere to the rules and regulations of the mark of this Marine Navy as they are written? If they are written down, they must be obeyed!”

While Melissa grimaced, mumbling about how the term Marine Navy was just weird, Jirou rolled her eyes at that before turning her attention towards the doorway before the others did. Momo had a very distinctive gait, particularly aboard ship, and Jirou had long since learned how to pick it out from the background noise.

Moments later, Momo and Izuku walked into the mess hall together, moving quickly to sit beside their respective girlfriends. “How did it go for you two?”

“No change in my training schedule, but I was given several books to read about public speaking, voice projection and sailing. Beyond that…” Izuku slowed, still looking a little stunned, old instincts once more warring with new ones as he recalled what had happened a moment before.

Flashback:

He and Momo were called in together, and marched in, as they had been shown to do by Jonathan, saluting the Marine Emblem on one wall before Saluting Garp and his officers. “Midshipmen Momo and Izuku reporting as ordered, sir.”

“At ease,” Garp smiled widely. “Alright, you two, we’re not gonna beat around the bush. Both of you need to work on your seaman instincts. We’ll go over more specifics at the end of this review. But you’re both showing incredible progress in combat training and have strong leadership abilities. You’ve both got problems there, too, but a lot of that can be smoothed over by specific lessons and by doing. So from now on, you’re both going to be labeled Watch Seconds. Midshipman Momo, what’s that mean?”

“Sir, it means we will be, technically, second-in-command of a watch, that is, helping the officer in charge of the ship in its entirety for a time,” Momo answered, her back straight, which, given the fact she was still wearing the heavy-duty cast, did truly biblical things to her chest. Not that it mattered much. As large as the cast made her chest appear, it also removed any kind of detail or intrigue.

“Close enough, although on this ship, we take a more sink-or-swim approach to things. That means, after a few days, you’ll be given full command of a watch.” Garp looked at the pair as they both stiffened but said nothing, just staring back at him. “One of my officers will still be there- myself, Whitman or Roland- but we won’t be looking over your shoulders unless you make a mistake big enough to endanger the whole ship.”

“You’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to make errors in judgment, read the wind, the wave, or a monster attack wrong,” Roland said bluntly. “Be prepared for that, and more importantly, understand that mistakes like that are how we learn. Good officers don’t make the same mistake twice. Not when their ship or the lives of their crew are on the line.”

“Sir yes sir!” Izuku and Momo said as one, straightening even further despite already being at attention. Then, to Momo’s surprise at the time, Izuku’s lips had quirked into a smile. “I think I’ve got learning from mistakes down pat already, sir. Goodness knows I’ve made my fair share.” Even if most of them came in the form of emotional and social mistakes rather than physical ones.

Garp laughed. “Excellent. Now, let’s start your more in-depth review…”

End Flashback

“…So I’ll be up for more officer and seamanship training. Enough so that Garp’s going to cut down on my pure strength training,” Izuku shivered a bit. “Although, that just means that me, Momo and Kiri will all be sparring with Garp one-on-one. Yay…”

“I still have no idea what I did to be included in that group,” Momo mumbled.

“Really? You keep on using those knuckle dusters of yours, and you don’t think your tendency to enjoy punching things won’t have grabbed Garp’s attention?” Jirou teased, leaning into her taller girlfriend’s side. Ugh, I can’t wait until she stops needing that caste of hers. It was annoying when it was just a normal cast, but now it’s taken all the fun out of cuddles, damn it. “So did you get the same overall report?”

“Somewhat, although I didn’t need anything about public speaking. Instead, Garp and Roland both said I need to work on thinking on my feet, planning and acting quickly rather than making long-term plans. Essentially, they’ll continue the whole shouted question type training with me, only with more elaborate scenarios. If I fail… well, Garp said he would become more and more inventive in his punishments,” Momo shivered, before happily taking Jirou’s hand underneath the table, pulling it into her lap where she could clasp it with both hands, and much closer to actual skin to boot. “He also said something about wanting to see something specific from both of us in the future… I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the fact that he said that it was something he couldn’t test for while aboard ship, though.”

“Yeah, that was a little mysterious and worrisome,” Izuku agreed with a nod, shivering a little. “Considering all the testing we’ve done so far in terms of physical stuff, that’s more than a little scary to think about.”

“Right!?” Momo exclaimed, while the other students all grimaced in agreement. “But regardless, much like Izuku, I need to get better at sailmanship. I’m not very good at knowing how to react to weather changes, and my commands to the rope monkeys leave much to be desired. I’m much better at the commands to the gun crews, the various signals and so forth.”

“GRAAAH!!!” Mei growled, clenching and unclenching her hands.  “Wind power, those blasted fucking jumped-up camp tents they call sails, fucking illogical bullshit! So much time and effort spent on something so stupid and out of your control and inefficient and, and ARGHH!”

Mei nearly screamed, loud enough for other sailors in the mess hall to flinch. But when they saw it was just Mei-day having another moment, something that occurred with worrying frequency, they turned back to their own discussions as she ranted on. “Don’t bother memorizing any of that stuff, Green, Boobs. The moment I’m able to get to a dockyard, I’m building us a proper ship, one that runs on electricity and gas. There is no damn way we will ever need those damned sails ever again! Wind power can eat my ass!”

Deciding it was an appropriate time to simply smile and nod, Izuku did just that, but as Mei’s rant began to get technical, he and the other teens were almost thankful when the door to the mess hall banged open, and Garp stood there. Evidently, he’d finished with the reviews of the last two six midshipmen aboard all at once and far faster than any of the others, all of whom followed him into the mess hall looking completely blindsided and downtrodden.

This sight caused the more socially aware Momo, Melissa and Jirou to blanche slightly, knowing that they probably hadn’t gotten very good reviews if they had been finished with so quickly. In fact, all three girls worried about what that meant for crew unity going forward. Six young men could do a lot of damage to morale if they really tried.

In actuality, the disappointing sixsome were even now being removed from the upper gun deck. They would be placed in the lower gun deck, a very visible sign of the senior officers' disapproval. This put them under Yama’s direct control, and he would not be gentle with them. They had been reduced to simple seamen, and any trouble would find them facing severe punishments.

“All right, you lot. Now that your first MA is over with, it’s time to start seeing what specific styles you’ll be going into from now on. We’ve already been working on that a bit through physical training, including specific Rokushiki techniques and so forth. We’ll be giving you a few tests over the next few days to start pulling that all together, but before that, we wanna see what you lot lean towards in terms of weapons training. Once Bogard links up with us again, he’ll want to know what he’s got to work with, and both Shigan and Rankyaku can be used with weapons to boot.”

He guffawed then, pointing to Kirishima and Izuku, carefully excluding Momo despite the fact she’s joined most of his boxing-type sparring lessons. “Except for the two of you. You’re going to keep learning the Garp method of kicking ass with your fists!”

“Manly!” Kirishima shouted, throwing up his arms, his earlier doldrums disappearing instantly, much like Kyoka had known they would. Izuku simply nodded, his eyes determined, while Momo watched Garp through narrowed eyes, frowning thoughtfully.

He’s bringing me along despite, as Kyo-chan said, noticing my liking for brass knuckles. Does this mean something, or is he just being thorough?

“For now, while I get this lot situated, you two are up on deck. You’ll find the prow set up for sparring. Get to it,” Garp ordered, still looking at the two boys.

“Sir, yes sir!” Both of them shouted, heading out the way they came.

Soon, Garp had led the other teens into one segment of the weapons locker that had been set aside. This was an area of the ship none of them had been given access to before, even during battle, as simple rifles and sabers had been handed out from the more open area of the weapons locker. This segment, though, was both separate and seemed to be set up more as a trophy room than a storage area.

It had examples of dozens of different weapons all around the room, from simple rapiers to giant broadswords and a strange gun-glaive thing, to which Garp gestured laughingly. “There’s space enough here for you guys to spread out. Look at the weapons, hold ‘em in your hands, and start taking stances with them. Let’s see what feels natural and which will fit with your current training.”

He then looked down at Momo. “I heard from Kiri that you used to use a staff. See which you like more, that or some of the gauntlets, brass knuckles, and what have you here. I’ve seen what you can do with just your own, lets see if something else grabs you just as much.”

“Yes sir,” Momo answered with a slight frown, more for Kiri’s loose lips than anything else. “I… honestly haven’t even thought about using a staff since the fight with Gasparde.”

“Good! That means the shift to a more agile, mobile style with your brass knuckles just feels natural. Still, let's see how far that goes,” Garp ordered. “You can have a secondary weapon, you know. A lot of people I know do.”

And I for sure am not going to make you simply rely on your weird powers like so many DF users do, or just force you to build up until you can use the Rokushiki or Haki techniques. That would be a waste, the Hero of the Marines added mentally. “When Bogard gets here, he’ll start training you all in specific martial arts styles fit to what we’ve learned of how you fight to that point.”

Walking beside the slightly taller girl, Melissa hummed thoughtfully. She’d taken a few classes in her time on different weapons instruction, mostly gun-related during her time in America with her father. Whereas Momo had been taught staff fighting, but as she had just told Garp, she’d left them behind and hadn’t even noticed the lack.

Seeing how lost the two girls were as the others moved forward with varying degrees of eagerness, Garp laid a massive hand on each of their shoulders. “Don’t worry about any prior weapons training, gals. A lot of trainers make assumptions about people’s various combat styles for them ahead of time, and those assumptions stick with the person being trained. Here, I’m looking to see if anything matches with you automatically, not something you’ve necessarily got any training with. I want to know if any weapon calls to you, if you can see yourself wielding it as a primary or secondary weapon going forward.”

“It almost sounds quasi-mystical when you say it like that,” Jirou muttered, staring out around the weapons, then pulling out a strange-looking blunderbuss-spear thing. “Where the hell did this come from? Is that supposed to be a bayonet? Damned large bayonet if so. ”

“Ah, you run into a lot of really odd weapons on the Grand Line. That one was… Some weird pirate trying to make a name for himself, can’t remember his name right now off the top of my head,” Garp waved a hand airily. “Definition of a small fry basically.”

Jirou looked at the weapon thoughtfully for a few moments, then set it aside. She picked it up at first with the thought that maybe a long-range weapon like the sonic spear Momo had made for her with Izuku’s help that one time the rest of them had let the pair of big brains on duty at night on their own. I like the idea of everything important happening at the other end of a long pole. Isn’t that the whole point?

But after holding the thing for a little while, Jirou decided that wasn’t her. Despite her dismissive tone, she had listened to Garp’s words closely. She eventually decided on a very odd set of tonfas. “These… these feel good.”

She moved to a semi-open area, going through a few strikes, shifting this way and that, while Garp watched intently. “Huh… you’re flexible, ain’t ya?”

“Tsuyu’s the only one who could do more sit-ups,” Kyoka mrumrued, staring down at the weapons. “Damn… maybe there is such a thing as a weapon just clicking for you. Hey, Mei, Mel, ya think you could do something with these?”

Melissa hummed as she looked at them. “If I can take apart your staff for parts. Do you want me to add something with an edge?”

“A hidden blade, maybe?” Jirou said, grimacing. It had been more than two months since the first time she’d used a sound-based blade against an opponent, but she still remembered. Yet that didn’t mean that she should close the door entirely on such things. Especially if there are other physical monsters like Garp out there.

Mei, on the other hand, crossed her arms and scoffed as she stared around. “I can already tell that none of these are going to fit me. They’re not nearly dangerous or baby-like enough. I wanna make my own.”

“We don’t have that big a smithy girl, but if you want to wait until we get to Popernickel, I’m fine with continuing to put you through the basic training,” Garp said, half-understanding, half-warning.

Mei grinned though, flexing a little, showing visible muscles on her forearms and biceps, which none of the girls, even Momo, could match. “Fine by me. The stronger I am, the bigger the baby I can carry! For now though, I noticed a lot of revolvers and that strange multi-barreled harpoon thing over there. That might be good for a start.”

“Maybe, but remember you’re here to find a hand-to-hand weapon as well,” Garp advised.

“Bah, until I make my own, I’ll do with just a big old wrench!”

“HAH. How about a mace then?” Garp advised, pointing to where a series of such weapons lay. One of them looked as if it had been hacked off the half of the far larger weapon, possibly some kind of mounted cavalry mace?

Now it was Mei’s turn to hum thoughtfully, pulling it off the rack. The way she swung it around made all of the others wince, most particularly Shoto and Tenya, who had chosen a series of heavy gauntlets and armored boots for himself. “Nice weight at least. Yeah, I can maybe make something of this.”

The weapons review continued for some time, with Melissa next to find something that fit her, choosing two weapons. A short-bladed cutlass with a heavy basket hilt went into her belt, and a rifle with a sniper scope was taken off of one of the shelves, with Melissa seconding Mei’s opinion on building their own weapons.

“This dirk’s nice, I mean, I think it’s one of the better-made weapons here given its balance, edge and everything else I can tell without testing it, but I think I’d prefer something with a sneaky ace in the hole. As for the sniper rifle, it’s got a good scope, but it’s still only single shot, even if it’s loaded from the side. Yeah, that needs to be changed.”

“Not a bad choice. With you following a Gunner line, any personal combat you’re faced with will be up close and personal like the training you’ve been doing for ship-boarding. If you’re fighting on an island, being able to provide cover fire from afar or snipe enemy officers is always a good idea,” Garp mused. “Speak to Yama about his own combat style while ashore. Geppo and Soru will be a priority going forward for ya so you can keep the range open if you want to, and close when ya don’t.”

He looked over at Mei, who had listened to that intently, but she shrugged. “When I build a baby, I’m gonna be able to bring the hurt at any range. I don’t really care about keeping the range open.”

Tsuyu was next, picking up a Trident, twirling the trident in her hands, making to block attacks, then thrusting it forward a few times, blinking as she stared at the weapon. “This feels almost cliché given the many comments I’ve gotten about mermaids and Fishman and from what I can remember of seeing mermen in comic books, but this feels right to me.”

“We’ll start training you in spear techniques then, as well as underwater fighting. I can do that to a certain extent, as I actually used a spear for a little while when I was going through a phase as a youngster,” Garp volunteered, grimacing a bit at his own horrid past. “Although I wish I had a Fishman aboard, then he’d be able to teach you Fishman Karate. It’s a pretty damn good combat style, and makes extensive use of the water itself as a weapon. Unfortunately, there aren’t that many Fishman who joined the Marines.”

Tsuyu blinked, but Garp didn’t seem to want to elaborate on why that was. Instead, watching Tenya enthusiastically practice kicks and short, speed- assisted punches, Garp turned to where Shoto was moving around the room. Unlike the others, who had all found something that seemed to grab their attention, he was picking up weapons desultory one after another. He would hold them out, then wave them a bit before putting them down, a sneer on his face.

Shoto flinched as a massive hand slapped into his back, stumbling forward almost to the point where his head hit a line of weapons. “You look about as comfortable as a cat in a rocking chair factory!” Garp chortled. “But you’re not leaving this room until you choose a weapon, kiddo!”

When Shoto made to object, Garp waved a hand in front of his face. “You’re not built to fistfight like Kirishima and Izuku, and you lack the closers instinct’s Momo’s shown. You also haven’t shown any real progress in building up to the point you can use Gepp, let alone any of the other Rokushiki. If you think for one minute I’m going to let you keep on relying solely on your Devil Fruit power, you have another thing coming!”

Shoto growled a little at that, scowling as he would have before coming to this world at any mention of his Quirk’s fire side, or, as he had thought at the time, his Father’s fire. But he couldn’t argue with the admiral there. Unlike Tenya, Tsuyu or even the more normal girls like Melissa and Kyoka, he hadn’t put on any muscle since coming aboard. It seemed as if his body type just didn’t lend itself to putting on muscle.

At that thought, he smiled, and shared some more than he would with anyone bar Izuku. “I think that’s my mother’s side coming through. She was stronger than she looked to be sure, but I’ve seen pictures of that side of the family and none of them had much in the way of shoulders or muscles.”

“Then don’t use something that needs muscles. Find something that you like the weight and reach of now, and I’ll modify it to work in some way with your, your Devil Fruit,” Mei interjected, stumbling over the need to use the local term rather than the more familiar one.

Kyoka could tell Garp had noticed this slip thanks to his heartbeat, but he said nothing, humming thoughtfully. “You’re decently flexible, but maybe you’d be better with some kind of gun?”

To one side, Tenya and Tsuyu scowled but didn’t object. They had seen Mei and Melissa both choose guns, and knew that this world was nothing like back in Japan. But even so, their dislike for guns was still there.

“Oooh, how about a mortar gun? A portable cannon,” Melissa suddenly exclaimed, pointing at Mei who jerked to attention more like a hunting hound at a scent than a sailor. “I’d bet I could build one if I got access to a smithy, and Mei could come up with specialized rounds.”

“That could work in the future. For now, I want you to have something at hand for when you’re too tired to use your powers, Thermostat boy,” Garp ordered. “Or worse, are jumped faster than you can call on them.”

Scowling, Shoto looked around, then nodded and began to put more effort into trying to find a weapon.

“Might I ask a question?” Momo asked, holding up a short-hafted hatchet connected to a long, thin and very well-made chain. It was a thin-bladed thing on one side, with a spike at the back and a smaller one on the top. She held it up, making a few cuts and strikes, and began to smile before shaking her head and looking over at Garp. “Is this something you do with all your Midshipmen?”

“Yep. You’ll see more weapons out and the other reefers usin’ em once Bogard gets back, and those like Mastuhama, Leon and the others were in here earlier today. Still, Bogard’s the weapons trainer, not me. I consider sharing from my trophy room here a kind of reward for those Midshipmen who perform at a certain level. Ya all did, if barely in a few of your cases, and I figured bringing in all of you ” Garp blinked, having turned away from his attempts to find something for Shoto. “Interesting choice.”

“I think I can figure out some tricks with this,” Momo answered with a smile. “And it’s nice. This and a revolver to go with my brass knuckles.”

“That’ll do,” Garp snickered. She’s growing in a very interesting and odd way. It’ll be fun to see how she uses her weird creation powers with those weapons. Maybe hiding the chain under her clothing? Ehh, we’ll see. I’m looking forward to seeing how she can take a real punch, though.

Turning back, he found what he’d been looking for. It was a simple rapier, with a heavy tip and a basket hilt like Melissa’s dirk, only even more built up. “Here. This and a few pistols will do for now, Shoto. We’ll wait to see if Bogard can give you any weapons-type advice going forward.”

He looked around, pleased, and ordered the kids to bring their weapons up onto the main deck. “Let’s see how well ya chose. You’ll be sparring with one another and the other reefers who’ve also been given weapons this time round, along with Foril. Although obviously, we’ll load your guns with barely a smidge of powder and corks rather than real musketballs.”

“Yes sir,” they all answered, following after him, some eagerly, some with distaste.

As they came up out of the hatch leading up onto the main deck, all of them were hit by a wave of heat so violent that it had caused a heat haze to rise up from the deck beneath them. It was so hot they reeled even in the steps leading upward, but Izuku and Kirishima were out there already. Both of them and many of the other teens had discarded their white overshirts, leaving them in form-fitting muscle-t shirts, a sight all the girls enjoyed to a certain extent.

The two teens were far and away the most changed since coming aboard the Hound and the current state of dress showed this to an amazing degree.  Both boys had already been in incredible shape thanks to training to become heroes, yet they had bulked up considerably.  Kirishima hadn’t grown much in height, but his shoulders had widened, and his upper body was now built like a heavy-weight boxer, but one who had very little in the way of fat or extra pounds.  Izuku, meanwhile, had sprouted up like a weed.  He was at least a foot or more taller than he had been, while his shoulders were now wider to boot. Not quite as wide as Kiri, but still far more than before. He also had muscles, but rather than being like a boxer or weight lifter, his body was more sculpted, a MMA fighter maybe, built for both speed and strength rather than just strength.

And right now, both boys were sweat-streaked, their white undershirts near-painted on, showing every muscle in their upper body. They were also wearing shorts, as part of their hot weather uniforms, showing the definition of their lower legs, a sight that had Tsu in particular releasing a low “Keroo….”

It was no wonder that all the girls, even Mei, stared, even if in her case she seemed more interested in taking all the men on the main deck, to the point they blocked Shoto and Tenya behind them, and didn’t even notice as Tenya began to remonstrate with them. And seemed to be muttering about what kind of babies would serve them each best. Not even Kyoka, who was more Momo-sexual than anything (or so she thought), couldn’t help but stare.

After a second, however, Momo stiffened, her mind and a sudden worry overcoming her hormones. Oh, this is not going to be pleasant! Sweating in this cast is always horrid, and this is going to be even worse.  Tenya was also looking at her new armored boots and gauntlets with some dismay, as Tsuyu let loose a quiet kero. Melissa also groaned, thankfully that she had a bra on, which prompted her to hiss a question at Mei just in case.

“Oh sure, a sports bra today,” Mei answered wit ha laugh. “Which is probably a good thing since our undershirts are all white.”

Melissa and Kyoka both blanched, while Tsuyu let loose another kero and Momo’s thoughts on her cast became far more positive. Before any of them could point out the inevitable issues this might cause,

Garp just laughed as he continued on his way to the main mast. “Sir! Beg to report that it is at least a hundred and twenty degrees Fahrenheit out here by the thermometer, the sun is high in the sky, with nary a cloud in view. Magnificent day here on the Grand Line.”

“And what do we do with a day like this?” Garp shouted.

This was responded to with a shout from many of the sailors up on deck and in the rigging, although Jirou noted mentally that Izuku and Kirishima didn’t join in. “Sir, it’s a fine day for training, sir!”

“That’s right!” Garp shouted back, then turned to look down into the stairwell. “Well, what are you lot waiting for? Get up here! You heard the men, it’s a fine day for training.”

All the newcomers, with their weapons, looked at one another, even Mei looking as if she’d rather retreat into the hold, before Momo, with a sigh, shook her head and led the way upwards, followed by Tenya, who huffed as he pushed through the still immobile girls. “Come on, the longer we wait, the more punishment we’ll be given.”

The others all groaned, but agreed, and followed her upward onto the main deck.

OOOOOOO

The very next day, the Grand Line decided to show the Hound and all its denizens that the monstrous heat of the day when the teens were allowed to choose a weapon for themselves was not going easy on them. Rather, it was a most harsh mistress, and the moment you neglected to realize this was when it came back to bite you.

First, the wind died. It didn’t decrease, it didn’t slow, it just plain old died, going slack so suddenly the shift in the sails from full luft to slack fast enough that Whitman and Roland couldn’t react in time. The shift caused several of the rope monkeys to nearly fall out of the rigging. The ship slowly lost any momentum it had, bobbing on the water rather than moving through the waves.

It stayed that way for an hour, during which Garp pushed at the ship from behind, chortling all the while. Unfortunately, he had one of his narcoleptic attacks during this and then had to be fished out of the water by Tsuyu, who saw him fall asleep. This was quite a task, but thankfully, the ship’s sailors were able to get a rope down to the pair and drag them both back aboard.

“HOW the heck is he still asleep, kero!?” She huffed, wiping seawater from her eyes and pulling back her hair. “Shouldn’t a normal narcoleptic wake up the moment they’re splashed, kero?”

Melissa, who had been sparring with several of the seamen nearby as part of her ongoing cutlass training, would’ve said something about the name Garp being in the same sentence as the term normal being an impossibility. But she was interrupted by a low “Damn me…” and stared around at the sailors who had helped pull the admiral and Tsuyu back aboard. Growling as she realized where the men’s eyes were straying, she roared. “ATTENHUT! Eyes to the prow!”

All of them snapped to, and twisted away from where the ten men had been staring like a pack of hungry wolves at Tsuyu despite the fact that at least half were scarred, aggressively tanned oldsters who looked more like they could be Tsu’s father than anything else. “I know our resident frog-girl’s attractive gentlemen, but this is a marine ship, and we have standards. Now, dismissed, or else I’ll start writing you up on charges,” Melissa growled.

“Yes ma’am, sorry ma’am!” the sailors chorused, racing away.

“Kerokero, I don’t mind if they look. Especially when I am all wet like this. I know what I look like, and it’s been nearly a month since they last saw any women, kero.” Tsu chuckled, just as Garp woke up with a gasp.

“There’s still propriety to consider, and I wouldn’t have taken you for an exhibitionist,” Melissa answered tartly. I’d have thought Yaomomo was more into that kind of thing given what everyone’s told me about her hero costume back on Earth.

“Kerokero, I have a swimsuit on under my sailor’s uniform, kero,” Tsu retorted. “They won’t ever see anything I’m uncomfortable with, kero.”

The next day, they were hit with a cold front that stayed for several days. Before, this would have driven Tsu inside. She would have been joined there by several of the older officers and sailors who had old wounds that acted up in the cold, like Roland’s knees. Thankfully, Momo had re-Created the heated wetsuit for Tsu, so while it wasn’t pleasant, she could at least move around the ship and the main deck.

Thankfully, the wind had come back with it, and the ship began to make better time.

However, the weather wasn’t the only part of the Grand Line that was truly frightening, a fact that reared its head quite literally the first time Izuku was given command of a watch. This occurred in the morning as dawn broke over the ship, a slightly overcast morning that promised rain, but wasn’t going to deliver just yet.

“Midshipman Izuku, do you stand ready to command your watch?” Whitman growled, staring at Izuku. The greenette had gone through a hilarious growth spurt since coming aboard, but Whitman was pushing eight feet, and could still stare down at Izuku, now the tallest of his group, quite acceptably.

Gulping, Izuku breathed in deeply a few times, his eyes flicking past where Whitman was standing by the wheel, while one of the eight helmsmen aboard manned the actual wheel. “I do, sir. You stand relieved.”

“I stand relieved, the watch is yours,” Whitman said, before his formality bled away like rain off a raincoat. “Right, I’ll be right here just in case, but I ain’t gonna take over unless you fuck up by the numbers. Like Roland said, ya learn best by makin’ mistakes, alright?”

“Erm, yes, sir. How, um, how did Yaomomo do last night?”

“Eh, she had that Tenya guy with her overnight, and the two of them seemed to do pretty well. Regardless, yer up, Bushy Hair.” With that, Whitman, who was as bald as an egg and disliked the fact intensely, shifted forward, leaning against the gunwale over the wall that grew up out of the main deck to the poop deck.

Izuku stood still for a moment, staring out over the grey mist coming off the ocean as the sun started to slowly burn it away, then breathed in, and began to make his rounds around the deck.

The last of the mist had been burned away, and Izuku had almost finished his first patrol around the main. He was just moving forward to the prow when he spied something in the water, or rather the water behaving oddly. It was shifting to one side, several large waves going against their fellows as something stirred beneath the surface. He stared in that direction, then saw a head the size of the ship’s away boat breaking the surface as it made for the ship.

For a second, Izuku thought to leap out towards it, to challenge the monster on his own, but he knew that if it got past him, he’d be in trouble. Besides, this is the kind of thing a Watch Officer needs to handle.

“See monster on the starboard, coming in from forward amidships!” he shouted instead, causing sailors all around the main deck to rush to their duties. “Muskets at the ready, reel in the rigging!” He shouted. “Gun deck officers to your guns!”

“Sound battlestations, gunners to your stations,” Whitman corrected mildly, causing Izuku to start, turning to look at the old man leaning against the gun well behind Izuku. He hadn’t moved from the poop deck. His eyes were on the rapidly closing monster, watching it rise from the ocean, causing him to raise an eyebrow in some surprise. “Good grief, a real Sea King. That’s quite rare.”

Part of Izuku wanted to ask what the older man meant by that term, but the rest of him was too busy looking back at the monster, looking for weaknesses even as he took in its incredibly odd appearance now that it had pushed itself half out of the water to attack. The massive beast looked almost like it was a chimeric amalgamation of a Brontosaurus, a shark and an octopus.

Izuku knew there was a sea-based version of the Brontosaurus, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what it had been. Other kids might have gone through a major dinosaur stage, even in the days of Quirks, but for Izuku, his fascination with the ancient lizards had barely lasted a few days before his fascination with Quirks had pulled him back in.

This monster had the long neck of a Brontosaurus, the first thing to come out of the water, as tall as the main mast and mizzenmast placed end to end. Its head was small in comparison to the rest of the body, but it was that of a shark, with more teeth than any other feature, and the back of the head looked like a hammerhead shark, with wide eyes able to look entirely around the monster.

It also had giant octopus tentacles bursting up off its back. Some were waving them around, others trailed in the water alongside, while those towards the front of the beast were reaching for the ship. Whether or not such tentacles continued along its stomach, Izuku couldn’t tell, nor any other details, as the beast very clearly didn’t need to rear up out of the water further with those tentacles and the length of the beast’s neck.

The thing's dimensions were honestly astounding to Izuku. It was easily the largest sea monster that Izuku had yet seen. Wow, that thing looks as long as two Mount Lady’s laying head to foot!

“Boathooks to the starboard midships. Work together in groups of three!” He shouted. “Starboard gunners, fire as you bear. Snipers, aim for the eyes, always aim for the eyes, boys!”

While a few of the sailors were pondering why they felt like they should be shouting something along the lines of “Butt kicking for goodness” right now after that line, the sail monkeys who had been able to grab muskets began to fire from their lofty position among the rigging, while more of the sailors rushed out onto the deck to join those already grouping up in teams of three with further boathooks or cutlasses.

“Gunners, one to seven, all decks, fire for effect!” Izuku ordered, and the order was relayed down to the ship's various gun decks, including Melissa’s position on the upper gun deck. The named guns, those forward of the midships, counted toward the aft, starting from one, were the only ones that could range on the beast given the direction it was coming from.

There was a sudden loud thrumming boom as the cannons went off one after another. This close, the guns that could aim at the monster at all couldn’t miss, and several of them hammered into the massive creature. But its size was such that its blubber acted like rubber armor, bouncing or simply absorbing the shots.

Poking her head out of one of the gunports, Melissa hissed. “No damage to the target!” Makes me wish we had penetration rounds, or that Mai had convinced Yama and Foril to let us rebuild these guns! “Reload!”

A second later, the guns of the Hound fired once more in a rolling volley. More of their shots embedded themselves in the monster, but did nothing. What did do something, though, was when Izuku used his own version of the Finger Bomb, launching a small penny at the beast.  “One for All, 35% Finger BOMB!” he hissed, a finger flicking in a move reminiscent of how he had passed Aizawa’s P.E. tests.

The small thing hit with enough speed to create ripples in the monster’s blubber, and to hurt it for the first time in the fight. A second later, the monster’s comparatively tiny head reared back in pain, warbling a cry as loud as the beast’s lungs could make; it was loud like a bullhorn, but ended at a decibel level most couldn’t hear.

Alas, Kyoka, who had just run out onto the main deck, could. She screamed, reeling back into Kirishima, her hands going up to her ears as they both fell back through the hatch. Only Kiri’s hardening his form kept them both from being badly bruised from the fall down the stairs.

While a part of Izuku was worried about his friends, he knew he needed to concentrate on the here and now. He released several more finger bombs, this time aiming up towards the head with one hand, and a few of the tentacles with the other. The tentacles took real damage, large chunks of blubber and muscle blasting off the beast, but a second later, he was forced to shout, “Gun crews, abandon your guns, shift inward. Incoming!”

Melissa instantly relayed the order, and helped pull two stumbling men away from their guns just as the first of the beast’s tentacles. “Get away from the sides, and the guns, damn it!” she roared, even as a stray elbow nearly caught her in the face.

A second later, the tentacles slammed into the side of the Hound, smashing several of its cannons back into the ship and off their rails. Despite her shouts, one man was still nearly crushed by a cannon, but then one of the older reefers, Leon, was there, battering the cannon back.

Izuku’s finger bombs aimed up at the monster’s head missed, as it dodged around. Then it darted down, faster than even Izuku could track, it’s mall open to snap up sailors from the main deck.

Izuku leaped forward, grabbing at its open maw, holding it in place, then Kirishima was there, leaping up out of the hatch, one of the boathooks in his hand. He hurled it at near point-blank, only for the hook to not penetrate the thing’s eye as he had hoped. It still reared away though, and at that point Garp, who had been taking his breakfast, had finished, and decided this had gone on long enough.

Just as two of the tentacles grabbed at the masts, the beast ate a knuckle sandwich. One moment he was down in the mess hall. The next, he was in the air above the ship, using Geppo to stand almost equidistant with the crows nest, as his fist impacted the head of the monster despite its best effort to dodge.

The monster’s head literally exploded with the impact, sending bits of tooth, bone, brain matter and eyes everywhere, to the great disgust of many of the sail monkeys still in the rigging despite the reefed sails. That destruction continued down into the creature’s neck by several yards, yet almost instantly, the rest of the neck and several of its tentacles began to fall. Not all of them fell towards the ship, but enough did to be a real secondary threat.

Dashing forward and shouting, “Geppo!” Izuku activated Float, blasting off the deck. He grabbed at the side of the large monster’s neck, grunting as he hit 45% of One For All. Green lightning crackled all around him, and, gritting his teeth, Izuku flailed the remains of the neck around to batter aside the falling tentacles endangering the ship.

Thanks to the training over the past few weeks, Izuku reached up to 48% of One For All without injuring himself. Any more and he would still put pressure or tension on his body in various ways, enough to cause him to hurt himself just as he had in the past. Thirty-five percent remained his daily norm for now, as the control of his strength hadn’t quite kept up with how much he could actually call upon. But now, his super strength stood Izuku in good stead, and soon the last of the tentacles was battered aside. Only two tentacles that had wrapped around the ship forward and aft remained, and already men were prying them up and pushing them away.

Landing, he shouted, “Sound off. Any injured make yourselves known and head to the infirmary. Kiri, help the sailors with the aft tentacle. I’ll help with the prow-most. Sail Mates to the masts and report damage. Carpenters, over the side.”

Several of the topsail gallants had been broken, but they had spare spars aboard. Nearly every gun on that side of the ship had been smashed out of its runs, but there were no wounded, thanks to Melissa, Yama and his other Gunner’s Mate. Most of the cannons themselves were also fine, but Yama would need to go over them carefully. Only four of the guns had been damaged, their steel barrels warped.

Soon, the ship’s carpenter, Mei, and Tsu were over the side with a dozen sailors, working on repairing the damage.

“Hmm…Normally I’d wait until the end of your watch to give you a review, Izuku, but here, I think you already know what you did wrong,” Whitman said, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked at where Izuku had just pushed the prow-most tentacle off the ship’s side, causing a splash that had several sailors working on the damage cursing at him. “And nah, splashing those ingrates doesn’t count.”

“Sorry, sir. I wasn’t giving out the proper orders; I needed to shorten them and do a better job working with the rest of the crew. If not for Garp, we might’ve faced real losses among the crew.”

“That was one of your mistakes, although I suppose working with the crew could tie into the biggest mistake you made. What else?” Whitman inquired, no judgment in his voice nor any hint.

Izuku wracked his brain for a few moments, then looked down at the wheel with sudden realization. “I…I made the mistake of tying the sails down too quickly, preparing to fight when we still had room to maneuver. I should’ve tried to lead us away from the monster the moment I saw some disturbance in the water, open the range and ward it off rather than assume we had to fight it.”

“Exactly. You gave out orders as if the ship was standing still. We weren’t,” The ship’s Sail Master said, scowling a bit, since Izuku’s mistake had directly impacted his area of expertise. “The wind was carrying us at a good clip and was even coming in at an angle that could have allowed us to wear away from the monster. That would’ve given the gun crews at least a few more salvoes before it could close. Further, you should’ve assigned someone else to the wheel. You didn’t before rushing off.”

He then poked Izuku hard in the chest. “You also didn’t call upon your companions or any of the other reefers, which, as Watch Officer, you could have. Calling up Shoto to help scare away the monster with his fire would’ve been a perfectly acceptable tactic, even if he was assigned to the medical wing today like our resident mer-girl.”

Whitman smirked just a little bit. “I’m glad that you didn’t give in to your first instinct to simply leave the ship and race to engage the monster away from us all. I could see your legs tense as if you’re about to jump into the air. But that would’ve been the wrong call.”

“Why would that’ve been the wrong call, sir?” Izuku asked, wondering if Whitman, like Izuku, thought the monster might have been able to get past him.

Whitman rolled his eyes internally, then reached over and grabbed Izuku by the shoulder, shaking him lightly. “Because that monster would’ve been able to take some of your best shots, and it only would’ve needed to land one. Not to knock you out or kill you, simply to knock you into the ocean where your Devil Fruit power would have made you vulnerable. Honestly! You have to keep that in mind, kid. A simple splash can sometimes cause a DF user to have trouble, and being dunked into the ocean, you’d be helpless.”

Chagrined, yet also somehow suspecting that the officers knew that his power didn’t come from a Devil Fruit, and worried what that might mean for the others, Izuku nodded again. “Yes, sir.”

By this point, the work party had begun to make real headway on repairing the damage to the side of the ship by the monster’s tentacles, although replacing the cracked gallants was going to take longer. Meanwhile, Garp had pushed the monster away from this ship. The monster had begun to float belly up on the surface like a dead fish, and as Garp finished pushing it away from the Hound.

Izuku stared at it, even as Whitman continued to go on, telling him what he had done right, ordering the gun crews away from the side before the tentacles slammed into it, preventing them from being injured when their guns were smashed out of their traces, the use of boathooks from the start, how quickly he responded and so forth. Even the use of the finger bombs and how he dealt with the falling neck and the tentacles was, “Very Garp-like. Pretty good for a rookie who hasn’t been in the navy for even half a year yet.”

Izuku only heard all of this with half an ear as he stared at the giant floating monster. When Whitman finished, he asked, “Sir, permission to speak?”

“Guh, you can ask any questions you want, brat. Like Roland told ya, to err is human, to learn from those mistakes is what makes us officers,” Whitman grimaced. He wasn’t like Yama, but he still had a severe aversion towards formality for most things.

“I actually don’t have any questions about the fight. I know I screwed up, and why. I understand all that, and I’ll remember a ship’s mobile rather than stationary in the future,” Izuku shook his head wryly at that, both because it was such an obvious mistake, and the fact he knew if he’d blundered like that before meeting Melissa on I-Island he’d have probably broken down and cried or spent several long, torturous minutes until he got control of himself. Thank goodness I’ve gotten better than I was!

Right now, though, Izuku’s curiosity was getting the better of him way more than anything else. “I’m just wondering something. That is by far the biggest Sea King I’ve ever seen; are we going to see more like that all along this route or as we travel the Grand Line?”

“No. This is a real Sea King, one of the ones that are normally found only in the Calm Belt,” Roland answered for Whitman, having come up behind them from deeper in the vessel. “However, this particular variety is known to travel from one Calm Belt to the other during mating season. They have apparently vicious battles mid-Grand Line and only the survivors get all the way across to the other calm belt to mate.”

“And don’t ask either of us why Sea Kings in the Calm Belt are so much larger than any that come to the surface elsewhere,” Whitman snorted. “That’s something no one can tell you.”

“… You know, sir, if I was given to horror, what you just implied- that Sea Kings like that routinely moving around deep under the waves- would be enough to terrify me,” Izuku drawled, while Garp bounced over the upturned stomach of the monster, grinning evilly.

Having been turned to look in that direction, Roland and Izuku both saw that expression from where they were on the poop deck. Because of that, Izuku flinched, worried about

He was right to be concerned. “Greeny, get my little Mini Me, and Momo. There’s training to be done.”

Whitman frowned at that, but when Izuku looked at him, he shrugged his shoulders and gestured. “You heard Garp. I have an idea of what he’s going to do, so I’ll simply wish you good luck.”

“This does not fill me with confidence,” Izuku mumbled, before shouting for Kirishima to stay on the main deck. He then headed into the ship, where he found Kyoka where Kirishima had pushed her to the side of the hallway.  She was barely aware of her surroundings, but no other seamen had come by yet.  “Jirou-san, are you alright?”

“No, ugh, whatever that thing was screaming about, it wrecked my ears something fierce, Zuk,” Kyoka moaned. 

Leaning over, Izuku examined her ears, then shook his head. “You’re not bleeding from your ears, so it didn’t shatter your eardrums, at least I don’t think so.  Still, let’s get you to Quillo.” With that, Izuku gently lifted Kyoka into his arms in a princess carry, flushing a bit as he felt her body pressing against his chest, and the feel of her thigh under his hand.

While her ears were hurting like blazes, they still worked just as well as ever.  Now, hearing Izuku’s heartbeat speed up, Kyoka fought back a flush. The heck? He’s reacting like that to me despite having Melissa as a girlfriend? That’s… huh. I know Yaomomo finds me sexy, but having someone else reacting like this is… its nice.  “You’re a good guy, Zuk.  Thanks. Though I noticed ya backslid a bit there.  Calling me Jirou-san after so long? Come on.”

“Eh, I’ll take my punishment when you’re better,” Izuku retorted, and Kyoka laughed quietly.  

Once Kyoka was being seen to in the infirmary, Izuku headed to wake up Momo in the girl’s cabin. Thankfully, he didn’t need to enter it, as the battle had already woken her up, but it still took too long for Garp’s sensibilities, judging by his bellow of, “Why am I waiting, why am I waittttiiinng… I’m gonna start singing soon if you two aren’t out here in two minutes!”

Momo hastily joined Izuku, for once not looking quite as immaculate as normal in her sailor’s outfit, but Izuku pulled his eyes away from where her tie was loose enough to let a bit of her neck and decolletage visible. “I really don’t want to know what passes for Garp singing!” she said, her hair in disarray from where she’d been sleeping.

“Heh, um, I wholeheartedly agree. Though I’ve been told my singing voice is like a cat being tortured, so I’d say I’m not exactly an expert,” Izuku joked.

Soon, the two of them were up on the main deck, joining Kirishima. Seeing them, Garp laughed. “Hah, the old singing threat, it can really move mountains. For now, get over here.”

“Erm, by over there, what do you mean, exactly?” Momo asked, frowning. I am not nearly awake enough to deal with this if he wants us to somehow help him to carve that monster up.

“I mean get over here. This beastie’s given us a great, if temporary, training area. So get over here, all three of ya.”

Blinking, Izuku shrugged. “Um, over the shoulders or under the arms, which is your preference, guys?”

A moment later, Izuku, once more imitating Geppo, landed lightly on the blubbery mass of the monster’s stomach. He then went to one knee, as if his legs were protesting the effort. Thus, he didn’t see the narrow-eyed look in Momo’s eyes for a moment. That wasn’t Geppo, I don’t think. Could it be something to do with his Quirk? I know he hasn’t shared any of its details with anyone but Melissa. Hmm… well, it’s his secret, I suppose.

“Come on, you three, let’s put some distance between the ship. Wouldn’t want the rest of the crew caught up in what I’m going to be doing,” Garp said, hopping off over the blubber.

“Ominous and more ominous,” Momo muttered, turning away from peering at Izuku to look down at where her feet were slowly sinking into the Sea King’s blubber. She pulled her feet out of the indents she was currently making, and followed after the others, finding the going quite difficult, as the blubbery monster seemed to almost give under them as if she was stepping on a beanbag.

Kirishima and Izuku were having a hard time, but they were also pushing forward. Seeing that, Momo growled and continued on her way, at one point needing to go on her hands and knees for a moment as they wound their way around fins that had not been visible during the battle until the monster went belly up.

“Honestly, what kind of evolutionary madness led to a creature looking so strange and have so many bits and pieces of other monsters?” She grumbled, shaking her head.

“I know, right?” Izuku snorted with laughter, reaching back to help her over some kind of strange ridge thing that crisscrossed the monster’s ribs. It looked vaguely like scar tissue, but not quite, or, if it was scar tissue, it was caused by some kind of attack Izuku had never seen before. “I think that the Marines should put up signs. Warning: you are entering the Grand Line, leave your common sense at the door.”

“Or Grand Line, it will be everything you expect, yet nothing like you expected,” Momo said, taking his hand in hers and smiling faintly as she was pulled forward.

Kirishima snorted. “Too wordy. I’d just go with Grand Line: only real men get to plumb its depths.”

Izuku stared at him, while Momo, shaking her head in disagreement, as the line didn’t seem to truly convey the fact that the ground line was a crazy place to her. “Kirishima, no. Just no.”

Eventually, Izuku estimated they’d come at least two full lengths of the ship from where he had deposited Kirishima and Momo onto the upturned monster’s chest when Garp turned. “All right, this should be far enough.” He gestured, and the three teens lined up in front of him, grimacing as they felt their feet slowly sink into the blubber as they stopped moving. Garp’s feet were too, but judging by his expression, you wouldn’t think that it mattered at all.

“So, tell me what you three’ve figured out so far about Haki.” He ordered. “We’ve none of us given you any specific lessons, but I’ve hinted to Kiri about its defensive properties, and I know Roland mentioned its usefulness in helping with the weather.

The three of them looked at one another, wondering why the heck he was asking this before Izuku hesitantly said, “We’ve been told that Haki is, generally speaking, a way for one’s willpower to interact with your body and the environment around you. If it interacts with your body, you can use your own willpower to sort of armor yourself up to a degree. We haven’t actually seen any examples of that. Whereupon the sensing side of things is how your mind interacts with the world, allowing you to perceive or predict events to a certain extent, according to Roland. It doesn’t make you entirely clairvoyant, but it allows you to read your opponent or opponents to a degree that allows you to dodge their attacks.”

“Pretty basic, but also pretty spot on. Yeah, at base, Haki’s willpower, or rather, willpower as if it was a muscle ya can train and build up over time. The harder you strive for something, the harder you wish to achieve something, to do something or to get stronger, the more willpower you have, if you have the talent for it at all. Not a lot of people do, and those that do have such talent tend to specialize in one skill or the other.”

Garp grinned. “However, to become a vice admiral like yours truly, you have to have both Busoshoku and Kenbunshoku. There isn’t any set way to teach how to use Haki, except for the general learn-by-doing. That’s why I think that Kirishima here, he flipped a large figure towards the former redhead, “will be able to shift from Tekkai to Busoshoku relatively quickly. If you’ve got the talent for it at all. Don’t feel bad if you don’t though. A lot of people don’t, or like I said, can only do one type of Haki rather than both of those two.”

Momo and Izuku’s ears twitched upwards almost visibly at that turn of phrase, but Garp went on smoothly. “And as I showed you Busoshoku...” He held up a fist, and it instantly gleamed black, a strange, almost liquid-like armor coating it. “This is what it looks like. I haven’t shown it to you before because, well, this is Paradise. Why the heck would I use Busoshoku against these weaklings?”

Garp continued on, not noticing the scowl on Momo’s face, or the starry-eyed looks in both Kirishima and Izuku’s. While the two of them were united for once in thinking it was incredibly manly and awe-inspiring, Momo was more inclined to think it said something about the kind of enemies that were out there. And also, while Garp was serious in a fight, it was only up to a certain point, not to the point where he would break out all the stops to end fights more quickly.

“In a lot of ways, the training for these two types of Haki are pretty similar. In one, you try not to get hit. You fall into a meditation stance, you try to feel out the world around you, to feel the blows coming, until you can. Until then, you’re getting your butt beaten. But that’s the entire point of Busoshoku. You keep taking a beating until your own willpower rises to the surface to help deal with whatever is hurting you.”

“You said these two types, sir, implying that there are more than those two. Is that why we are currently sinking into this monster’s blubber up to our knees?” Momo asked tartly.

Kirishima and Izuku broke off from their hero worship of Garp for a moment as Garp also looked down, the three men muttering, “I hadn’t even noticed,” causing Momo to develop a bit of a twitch over one eyeball, and mutter ‘men’ under her breath.

Quickly, Kirishima and Izuku pulled themselves out, then helped Momo out of where she had been sinking into the blubber. Momo was actually a great deal heavier than she looked, particularly these days, her body having reacted to the exercise she was getting by becoming even more defined and heavier than normal thanks to her Quirk. Yet thanks to their own training, neither man seemed to notice.

“Right, well, to put it simply, both Kenbunshoku and Busoshoku have advanced forms; if you master them to a certain extent, you can take them even further. I won’t go into detail on how that’s possible, since only myself and Bogard among my officers can be said to have done so. Yet there’s a third type of Haki, entirely different from the other two. It is called Haoshoku, the Conquering Will.”

For just a moment, Izuku blinked, feeling almost as if that word itself had made the world pause for a second, but Garp kept going, his eyes nearly flashing as he barred his teeth in something that was very much not his normal smile. It almost reminded Izuku of how All Might had looked when he arrived at the USJ.

“A lot of people believe in a certain amount of mumbo-jumbo about it, about how someone with the Haoshoku is destined to challenge the world, to bend it to their whims or whatever. I’m not sure I believe that most of the time, but it is a fact that it’s shown up in a lot of people who want to or have changed the world, for good or bad. It’s also rare as hell. Only one in a few million have access to it, but it can make you an unstoppable monster if you’re able to start training it, building it up, and using it consciously.”

“…” Izuku was silent as he thought, then looked around themselves with trepidation, then back to Garp. “Is, is somehow testing for this Haoshoku why we’re out here?”

“Oh, dear…” Momo muttered, pulling at her ponytail for a moment before straightening her shoulders. “This isn’t going to be pleasant, is it?”

“Nope. Because the only way to test to see if any of you could possibly develop your own Haki to the point of Haoshoku is to use mine on you, and see what happens. Don’t worry, that’s why he moved us so far away from the ship, so that no one else or nothing else can be broken,” Garp explained, giving the trio a thumbs-up.

None of the three youngsters knew how to respond to this statement until Garp glared at them. Yet there was so much more than a simple glare there. A visible ripple seemed to blast out from Garp like an explosive cyclone, the whole world freezing for a second as if his will had stopped it. The monster blubber underneath them rippled, like someone had punched it again, while the large fins to either side were flung so violently sideways away from Garp that they shattered at the point where they intersected the rest of the body.

That same ripple effect blasted into the three teens, and instantly, Kirishima’s eyes rolled up in his head, and he collapsed forward. Foam appeared from his mouth as his will was completely subsumed, conquered by Garp’s.

Momo withstood it for a few seconds, stumbling back, gritting her head at the pressure that had suddenly slammed into it. To her, it almost felt like when she had been around her father when he was angry. His Quirk was called Domineering Eye, and while he had never fully explained how it worked to Momo, it allowed him to simply cow others to a certain degree even if he wasn’t consciously using his Quirk on them. When he did, it was utterly terrifying, as if the person it was being used on was suddenly faced with some kind of higher-level being, or was a mouse facing a mongoose.

He’d never truly trained to master it to any degree, and his emotions had very clearly had an impact on how Domineering Eye was used. Given his personality, it was a very odd week that Momo wasn’t at least in the periphery of her father when he accidentally lost control. She’d even been directly subjected to it a time or two to herself, mostly in middle school directly after puberty. Now, that experience came into play, giving Momo’s mind time to rally, time to gather her willpower and push back.

For his part, Izuku also stumbled back, but, growling, he started to push through it, pushing against the willpower trying to beat down on him. That will reminded him all too much of the pressure of being at Aldera. As if the whole world was against him, as if the whole world had told him no. You are small, you are worthless. You do not matter.

But Izuku didn’t care, not any longer. I’ve proved Katsuki and the rest wrong every day since the slime monster. I, I’m not nothing, I’m Me, my dreams matter, my hopes and drive.  I’m going to be a hero, maybe not a symbol of peace for Earth like All might, but whatever kind of hero this world needs, I’m going to be it! He thought, gritting his teeth.  And that means not being knocked out by whatever freaking pressure this is!  It’s not going to beat me!

For a second, he could feel the vestiges in his head cheering him on, their hands almost pushing at his back. A second later, he had sufficiently gathered his will to press back and out against Garp’s mental assault.

After several interminable moments, the attack snuffed out, and Garp stared at them before laughing. “Yes! Yes, I knew that Izuku was likely to have it, and I’d hoped one of you, you or Kirishima, would also have it, but to see it like this, excellent. Well done, Izuku, Momo!”

Momo didn’t answer, gasping for air, as Izuku stumbled to the side, almost collapsing to his knees like Momo had, but catching himself at the last minute. Admittedly only because his ankle had smacked into the collapsed form of Kirishima, but any help in the storm he figured, staring down at his unconscious friend without actually taking it in for the moment.  “I, I don’t…”

“It’ll take a bit to sink in, don’t worry about it. And before you ask, yeah, that’s basically the only way to see if you have Haoshoku without you discovering it on your own,” Garp guffawed. “The two of you do. I’m still not going to train you in it for a long while yet, but it’s something for the pair of you to shoot for. Damn, not even Bogard has Haoshoku, fuck, what marines you’re gonna make!”

Garp snorted then, shaking his head, and moved over, hauling Momo up and onto one of his shoulders, then did the same with Kirishima, and then Izuku, setting Izuku on Kirishima’s back, earning a muttered, “how undignified” from Momo, before Garp, still chortling, raced back to the ship. And as they went, both Momo and Izuku could not help but notice how distorted, distended and pulverized the blubber of the monster was. There was a very clear reason why Garp hadn’t released his Haoshoku while aboard the ship.

They were almost back to the Hound when Izuku mumbled, “You’re gonna need to explain what just happened to Kiri, you know,” to Garp, causing the admiral to pout just a bit, not looking forward to apologizing to the younger man.

OOOOOOO

After they left the carcass of the sea king behind them, the weather of the Grand Line came back with a vengeance, in the form of ice spears the size of a normal person, coming down hard enough to embed themselves into the woodwork of the ship. It was so bad that most of the officers were out on deck along with Shoto, Izuku, Tenya and all the reefers who had practiced Geppo to the point that they could use Rankyaku, all of them trying to keep the ship from being damaged.

Meanwhile, Garp was pushing the ship along from behind, all of the sails fully tied down and away, so that they couldn’t be damaged. Even so, despite all of them working on it, the ship came out of that storm with a good deal of accumulated damage and with several members of the crew in the infirmary. As the sun finally came out, Foril and Garland swung into action.

“Reefers! All of you are on carpentry duty along with my men. And Mei, that doesn’t mean you can get away with changing whatever you want like you did after the Sea King fight,” Foril ordered, causing a weary Izuku and the others to snap to, and Mei to scowl.

“It’s not my fault that your guns suck and your ship’s design is lame!” Mei argued back heatedly, causing the nearby Tenya and Izuku to wince. “We had all those cracked boards we were gonna replace anyway; I figured why not!”

“Damn your pink-haired head, Mei,” Yama growled, smacking her upside the head. Like the other officers, he’d been roped into protecting the ship from the ice spears. “We’ve both fuckin’ already blusterin’ barnacled agreed ta look at your designs when we fuckin’ get to a drydock. Yer like a fuckin’ shark with the smell o’ chum in its mouth.”

“…I have no idea what chum is, and I can’t tell if you’re complimenting me or not,” Mei muttered.

With a sigh, Tenya came over and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Mei, an officer’s orders are absolute. You’ve already gotten as much out of them as our superiors are willing to give. Now is the time to work.”

“UGHHH…. Fine, Legs, but you better let me at those gauntlets and boots of yours,” Mei grumbled. “I wager I could do a lot with them if given the chance. I need some baby-making time, damn it!”

This was the first time since coming aboard that Mei had used that line in front of the crew, and the response was immediate. The other reefers on the deck and every common sailor there stared at the two, their jaws dropping. One of them even muttered, “Fuck me, it’s always the ones ya least expect.”

“Mei-day shouting like that I can almost see, but Tenya?” Leon shook his head. “Wow. Just wow. Respect, man.”

“DAMN it all! I will have discipline on this ship,” Garland roared out, coming onto the deck from below just in time to hear that line. “The next one that says anythin’ about any of the young gentlewomen among ya, I will have up on a charge!”

“Besides, that’s just what she calls her inventions, boys. Sorry to disappoint,” Melissa added, having followed the older man out of the hatch, although unlike him, she was just shaking her head ruefully at her friend’s words and the response to them. “Chief Foril, we’ve got the bracers ready below!”

“THANK YOU. Fuck at least some of this crew is still doing their jobs. Right, let’s get the ship repaired.” Foril growled. “And anymore lines along those lines, you bastards, and I’ll do worse than putting you on charges; I’ll put ya in the bilges. Stacked like wood!”

The crew had barely a few hours before another storm hit the ship, but the crew, with Melissa helping on the inside, and Tsuyu helping down near the waterline, were able to fix almost all the damage before it hit. That was a good thing, as Roland estimated this one would follow them for a while.

It was one of the heavier storms that the dimensionally displaced teens had seen that didn’t include life-threatening oddities. Rather, it was just a regular storm, simple rain and wind. However, the rain quickly intensified, and visibility began to fade.

This wasn’t the first such storm that the other officers had seen, though, and shouted orders roared out in quick succession from Garp. Soon, tarps were set up around the hatches at the forecastle, near the center of the main deck, and near the poop deck. After that was done, more tarps were laboriously carried aloft to the crow’s nest and the three lowest rifle nests, a truly horrendous task in that weather.

These were like the crow’s nest, but lower down, set above the first yards of each mast, and combined were called the fighting top of the ship. They served in combat as a place where sailors could fire down or across at other ships. Now, under Timothy’s instructions, each was set up with a tarp, the last set over the crow's nest, giving those on duty surcease from the rain.

Sailors clad in rain gear moved around the deck miserably, barely able to see more than a foot ahead of them. One of them was Kyoka, who had been assigned to deck duty after the MA.

“I can literally not see my hand if I stretch it out,” Kyoka muttered, shaking her head before nearly slipping on the horrendously wet deck. Sand had been used to help with footing, but it was still slick and nasty. “GAH!”

Momo caught her, pulling the shorter girl against her for a moment. “Are you alright, Kyo-chan?”

“UGH… I don’t like this rain,” Kyoka muttered back. “I can’t see, and there’s so much damn rain it’s drowning out even my hearing!”

“True but… hmmm…”

Blinking at that sound and wondering what it meant, Kyoka tried to peer up at the other girl but found she couldn’t make out Momo’s features despite being in arm’s reach due to the rain. Both of them were actually talking quite loudly to be heard over the rain; it was so intense.

Before she could ask what Momo was thinking, a loud bell tolled, its tones able to cut through the rain with some difficulty. A second later, Garp’s voice boomed out, the sound more akin to a whale than a human, showing no such strain. “Alright you lot, training’s off for the day. One watch on, two watches off for sailors and officers alike. Roland’s got the watch tonight; I’ll take over in the morning. Timothy, turn over the crow’s nest for now to Melissa.”

“OY!” Yama roared from below.

Despite there being several decks between them, the two officers didn’t have any problem having a shouting match, while Kyoka found herself being tugged toward the prow of the ship despite Garp having just said they could head below. Both she and Momo were on their second rotation for the day. “Get over yerself, Yama! She might be your new Gunner’s Mate, but it’s either her or Mei-day to spell Timothy up there thanks to Creole getting hurt.”

Creole was another reefer, one of the oldest aboard, who served among the Sail Monkeys under Whitman. However, he had been injured in the ice spear storm, his shoulder being broken along with his knee, making it impossible for him to climb the ropes. That didn’t mean Yama wanted Melissa up in the sails, though, and he let Garp know it in a way that could only happen on Garp’s ship.

Kyoka’s attention on the ongoing argument ended abruptly when Momo, who had been pulling her forward with one hand, now pulled Kyoka into her body. “Gah, w, what? Yaomomo, what’re you doing?”

Momo’s arms, far more defined and powerful feeling than they had before Garp’s training, wound around her, and the taller girl leaned down, pushing her hood-clad head against Kyoka’s. Despite the insanely heavy rain falling all around them, she smiled, her rain-wet lips quirking into a hopeful smile. “Well, I thought that perhaps, well, it isn’t like anyone can see us unless they bump into us, so…”

“Um, OH!” Kyoka’s eyes widened, and she smiled snarkily, gazing into Momo’s eyes, their foreheads pressing against one another. It had been so long since they’d been able to cuddle, let alone get away with more, that it hadn’t even occurred to her. Now that it had, though, and she could feel Momo’s chest pressing into her own as the taller girl leaned down to put her face with Kyoka, well, suddenly, Kyoka couldn’t think of anything but. “Well, damn, girl, I’m all for that.”

Suiting action to words, Kyoka leaned up, finding Momo already turning her head and leaning forward. Their lips met, and Kyoka’s arms wound around Momo, one hand going down to her rear as her jacks moved forward on their own. One wound under Momo’s hood, and the other around the taller girl’s waist. Momo’s own hands gripped Kyoka’s rear, squeezing and pulling the shorter girl up onto her toes for a second before Kyoka’s back hit and then slid down against something.

This was either the prow of the away boat, or the forecastle deck’s side; Kyoka wasn’t sure. She also didn’t care, as moments later, she found herself lifted into the air. The next moment, she was sitting in Momo’s lap facing her. Her legs stuck out, getting drenched by the rain, but again, Kyoka didn’t care, wrapping her legs around Momo’s waist. Her mouth was open and their tongues roiling around one another, and Kyoka decided the rest of the world beyond Momo and her could just go hang for a little while.

As Momo had predicted, no one saw this little moment, and night fell around the ship, making it even harder to see than before as the rain showed absolutely no let-up. From where she was ensconced in the now-covered crow’s nest, Melissa had to wonder what the hell she was doing up here. Even with the scope on her sniper rifle, there was no way she could see any damn thing. Maybe now that it’s dark out, I can see another ship’s lights out there, but that’s it, and even that’s only a maybe. I know Timothy deserved a break, but I honestly don’t know why he had to be replaced, especially by little old me.

She stared out into the rain-soaked night through her sniper scope for a time, then sighed, pulling back, sitting against the main topgallant mast behind her where it went through the center of the crow’s nest. As she did, she saw some motion below as the group of sail monkeys on duty in the rifle nests switched out with some from below. From here, she could barely make out that movement, but the yellow of the raincoats made it easier to see than otherwise.

While I still have a lot of doubts about the World Government and the so-called Tenryubito, I have to say the logistics of the Marines is phenomenal. Everyone aboard has the same uniform, the same warm weather uniform, the same kind of raincoats and cold equipment. Of course, that doesn’t leave much room in their assigned sea trunks, and Momo provided most of us with better, but that isn’t really the point, is it?

She chuckled for a moment, stretching a little, smiling up at the tarp that had been secured above and around the crow’s nest. It left small triangle-like areas free, so she could look out, while keeping out the rain. A tiny, fully enclosed brazier with a single bit of coal made it pleasant in here. Getting in and out was still annoying, but it meant she was actually dry and warm enough to take off her raincoat and use it to cushion her rear.

The blonde stretched her arms out in every direction, then hummed as she looked at her biceps, one hand falling to her stomach. Like the visible muscles starting to appear on Melissa’s arms, her stomach, which had only been flat before, now had begun to gain actual definition. “I might not like a lot of the training we’re being put through, and Tekkai training in particular was designed by sadists, but I can’t argue with the results,” Melissa murmured, her voice nearly lost to the sound of the rain hammering down into the tarp above. “And I’ve only just begun to show results. Izuku and Kiri have changed so much, it's incredible.”

Sighing, Melissa grabbed her sniper scope again, peering out through all the openings around them. “Yep, still can’t see anything. Honestly, I don't know why we aren’t dropping anchor and just riding out this storm. Are we in that much of a rush to get to Popernickel?”

Outside, Roland’s voice came to Melissa as a dull roar, his words indiscernible and a second later, the main mast shivered a bit as the sail monkeys went to work to shift the sails. Why, Melissa didn’t know. Unlike Kyoka, I’m getting nothing out of those wind and weather classes. I’m a gunner and inventor, thank you very much. Kyoka can be our navigator, Izuku and Momo our captain and first mate, and… huh… Tsuyu and Shoto can figure out the infirMei? UGH. That sounds like a recipe for disaster. I suppose I could fill in better there, like I did with Tsuyu’s injuries, but damn it, I don’t wanna!

Snorting at the whiny tone her thoughts had taken for a moment, Melissa shook them off, staring out into the darkness again. Darkness and rain once more collaborated to make her as blind as a bat, but she still did another full rotation before sitting back once more.

She started as a noise of something knocking against the side of the crow’s nest sounded from her left. “Permission to come aboard?” Izuku asked, his face appearing through one of the slits. “I bring coffee and food.”

“OOOH, such a good boyfriend,” Melissa answered, torn between cooing at his smile and the blush that flashed over his face at her words and delight at Izuku’s actions. “Permission granted. Get in here, Zuk.”

It took a bit to lift one of the tarp edges to create an opening large enough for Izuku to slide inside, but he did, holding out a small bag in one hand and a thermos.

Melissa opened the thermos and smelled that lovely Marine coffee. Logistics again, coffee, glorious black coffee, the kind that my dad used to live off of, and enough on a ship like this to let everyone have their fair share. She gleefully took a pull from it, setting it aside, as she helped Izuku batten down the tarp overhead once more.

When he was finally sitting next to her, and Melissa had taken another opportunity to look all around them through the view slits, Izuku stated hesitantly, “I knew you hadn’t eaten dinner, what with all of the work we were doing around the ship, and you’d probably need the coffee to get you through the night. I, um, well, I also wanted to see you.”

While many a girl might have thought those words were kind of lame, Melissa could feel the heartfelt nature of them, and the look in Izuku’s eyes as he stared at her made Melissa feel as if she was 20 feet tall. She reached over quickly, pulling him into a hug, kissing his cheek, then his lips briefly, before pulling back, her eyes twinkling as she looked at him through her glasses. “I very much appreciate the sentiment, and I very much wanted to see you, too. Although this poses a problem for me. I want to have some of the coffee, but I know coffee breath is a thing, so should I make out with you now, or later?”

“Is that a quick trick question?” Izuku mock-frowned, leaning in quickly to steal a kiss. He’d gotten a lot better at initiating that kind of thing, and indeed, this whole episode was a great sign that he’d come a long way since the first few days of the relationship, where he’d been a stuttering mess whenever Melissa had given him hints she wanted him to initiate something romantic. “I think the proper answer is we can make out whenever you want.”

Melissa smirked, nodding, and gave Izuku another kiss, this time leaning in to kiss him lightly on the neck. She’d learned that was one of the places where Izuku was most sensitive, and the light little gasp that came out of his mouth made her smile even wider.

Then her stomach rumbled, and Melissa scowled a little as she pulled back.

It took them a few moments to get more situated, but eventually, Izuku put his back against the main topgallant mast, and Melissa leaned back against his chest, letting loose a little purr of contentment at the muscles there. Smirking a little, she cocked her head to one side to look up at him. “Have you noticed how much you’ve grown since we joined Garp’s crew? I don’t mean just in terms of strength; I mean in height. When we first met, you were a little shorter than me. Now, I think you’re at least a foot taller. And wider in the shoulders to boot.”

And aren’t they very yummy shoulders, and that’s not all, she thought, one hand shifting behind her to feel up his stomach for a moment. As she had noted the day of the heatwave, Izuku had ABBSSSS, and she loved it. My super hunky boyfriend with a heart of gold and a cute face, complete with freckles. What a combination!

“Er, um, I didn’t realize that actually happened until you just pointed it out now. I suppose the appropriate response would be ‘all the better to cuddle you, my dear?” Izuku said, his arms going around her stomach and pulling Melissa into him lightly. They were very warm those arms, despite still being clad in the rain-wet coat he’d been wearing before, getting her uniform a little wet.

“Ha, nice one, and I’d actually agree with the sentiment, but don’t tell me you came up with that line yourself, Izuku,” Melissa laughed. “I know you, and that was far too pat.”

“Er, I heard it from one of the other reefers when he tried to flirt with Tracy. He failed, of course, but Tracy actually rated the line pretty high, so I figured I could reuse it. Sorry if that came off as trite,” Izuku answered earnestly.

“It’s fine, I liked it, just remember you don’t need lines like that with me, just be yourself. It was your actions, your mind, and your character which first drew me in. You don’t have to act like someone else to keep me,” Melissa said, leaning up lightly and kissing him. The kiss deepened quickly, as she half turned around in his lap, flinging one arm over his shoulders, and when her tongue tapped at his lips demanding entrance, Izuku opened his mouth to allow access.

For several moments they made out, before Melissa’s stomach rumbled again, and she reluctantly pulled away, reaching back around and leaning back against his chest. “You just keep your arms where they are, Mister,” She mock-ordered, as she leaned sideways just a bit to grab at the small bag Izuku had brought with him.

Melissa pulled it open to reveal two sandwiches within, consisting of sausage, peppers, and some kind of green vegetable, spinach maybe? Melissa had never really studied plants or vegetables after leaving elementary school, and while she was an okay cook, that didn’t mean she knew her vegetables by sight.

Whatever it was, it worked, and both sandwiches rapidly disappeared, leaving the thermos behind, which she took a sip of as Izuku took her rifle and peered out into the darkness through the slits left in the tarp above them. “This is nice,” she murmured, turning her head a little sideways to lay her cheek against his pec as he sat down again.

When she did, Melissa could feel Izuku’s heart thump a little faster, biting her lip for a moment at that noise, at what it meant. It made her have some thoughts right now about what they could do up here, cut off from the rest of the world by rain, wind and the night, that no good, self-respecting girl should have while, technically speaking, being in a public space.

On the other hand, we have been going out for more than a month now. Going by that logic, moving on to second base at the very least would be acceptable, I suppose. Still, I don’t even want to think about what any of the officers would do if they caught us up here doing more than that when I’m supposed to be on watch, regardless of whether or not I can actually see anything out there.

“Yeah. I love training under Garp, the progress we’ve made and learning about the world, sailing and so forth. I just wish there were twenty-six hours rather than twenty-four in a day so we could spend more time together,” Izuku agreed, his arms tightening around her.

“That’d be fine by me, but we’ve seen time and time again that for all its fascinating differences from our old world, this one certainly isn’t perfect,” Melissa drawled, her voice turning into a purr of pleasure as Izuku nuzzled into her shoulder and her hair. “We’re just going to have to get used to grabbing what little moments we can.”

“Maybe, but when we have time in port I want to make it up to you. What kind of date would you like to go on?” Izuku asked.

“Rock climbing,” Melissa answered promptly. “I’ve lived most of my life on I-Island, and I honestly kind of enjoyed it when we were roughing it out on that first island we reached after coming to this world. Taking away the whole need-to-survive thing, to just leave the fun bits, just going rock or tree climbing would be a lot of fun. I also kind of like being up high. It’s why this is so much more romantic than it would otherwise be, even if the view is very blah right now.”

“Blah?” For some reason, Melissa’s use of that term tickled Izuku’s funny bone, and Melissa felt him chuckle, his chest shifting behind for a moment, before her inner clock warned her she had to take a gander outside.

Melissa shifted forward, grabbing her sniper scope and peering out through the view slits, hearing a gulp from behind her as she did. That gulp, and the feel of someone’s eyes on her, specifically on her rear, caused Melissa to grin a little, and she very deliberately wiggled in place, hearing Izuku whimper a little. When she looked back at him after finishing the circuit, having to shift around the main topsail mast and Izuku to do so, he was staring straight up at the ring that the tarp would have been set into above them, a blush still suffusing his features.

“You know you can look, Izuku. You’re my boyfriend. I want you to look, or else I wouldn’t have wiggled my butt like that, you,” Melissa teased.

“I, I know that. It’s just a kind of struggle to figure out where the line between looking at your girlfriend and looking at her too much is,” Izuku confessed.

“With both of us dressed, and without you doing anything, I don’t think there’s such a line right now. But thanks for always being a gentleman regardless.” She leaned in and captured his lips for a second, before pulling back, then shifting around, Melissa once more settled down in front of him, leaning back against his chest.

As she did, Melissa allowed a smirk to appear on her face, which he only saw when she leaned sideways to look up at him as she had earlier. “I’ll tell you when I want you to stop being a gentleman.”

Izuku blushed again at that, and internally, Melissa fist-pumped a little. That kind of line or even what it implied wasn’t something she would have been at all at home with using before they’d gotten together, but being with Izuku was almost as good for her self-esteem as it was undoubtedly good for Izuku’s.

Not that I was starting as far in the hole as Izuku was, she thought tartly, her mind suddenly shifting from romantic to violent for just a few seconds, before she once more swore off thoughts of Bakubrat and what kind of experiments he would serve as a target for. He’s not worth thinking about any longer, she thought, before asking Izuku what his idea of a good date would be.  Moments later, she was unsurprised it would involve katsudon, but the night progressed well enough from there.

Later, Izuku left her with the still-warm thermos of coffee. He needed sleep, and both of them silently acknowledged that if they stayed up there for much longer, things were going to start happening that shouldn’t happen where anyone else could find them.

The rain was still hammering down when he left the crow’s nest, making for a very slick trip down to the deck. Visibility was so poor that he wasn’t surprised that none of the other sail monkeys called out to him. He was surprised to smack right into someone ahead of him as he moved to duck under the tarp over the forecastle hatch.

“Sorry I…” He and two other voices spoke as one. He, Jiro, and Momo all stopped, looking at one another, then Izuku very deliberately stepped through the hatch, holding it open for the two girls.

They looked back at him for a second, then darted in, and he closed the hatch behind them, before saying simply, “We see nothing, right?”

Both girls, who looked as if their lips were a little bruised, nodded rapidly, and the trio headed deeper into the ship, splitting up quickly.

OOOOOOO

The near-biblical level of rainfall continued for two days, before abruptly cutting out with the suddenness that everyone aboard knew meant they had entered an island’s weather system. This was a signal to Garp and his senior officers that it was time to fill in the crew on the pertinent information for their mission here.

When work to look over the ship for damage and return it to more normal operation was finished, Garp did so in his typical bombastic fashion. As Roland directed the helmsman, he stood on the forecastle deck, staring down at the main deck, where more than two-thirds of the crew had been gathered. but raising his voice so that he could be heard from the crows nest all the way down to the orloff deck, where the chef and his men were cleaning up after breakfast. Yama was also down there directing teams of men who had been found wanting for minor infractions to bring up bags of powder to the various gun decks.

Melissa and Tsuyu, having been on duty with her that day on the upper gun decks before they had been ordered to the main deck, wondered whether or not that was a bad sign. It was, a fact made clear by Garp’s explanation as it rolled through the ship. “All right, you lot, as all of you know, we basically cut across the Grand Line on a diagonal to get here to Popernickel. The rumor mill being what it is, I’m sure a lot of you salty sea dogs and young idiots have an idea of why, but I’ll fill in some of the blanks. So open your ears, close your mouth and listen.”

“How can he project his voice like that?” Shoto mumbled from where he stood at attention near the poop deck.

“It is a mystery, but one I intend to solve. When I take a rule breaker to task, I want whoever it is to feel it in his bones,” Terry answered. From someone else it might have been a joke, but from Tenya, Shoto knew it was simply fact.

“Popernickel is a weird place. It’s one of the most technologically advanced islands within Paradise, and none of the nearby islands are all that close to that level. Expect to see mechanical men moving around the place, including being used to defend the island. Beyond that, Popernickel also has its own homegrown religion, called the One God Faith. Don’t ask me about their scripture; all I know is that at times in the past a ‘Most Holy Bishop comes along and demands a crusade against the nearby islands to convert the heathens.”

A lot of the listening sailors and reefers winced at that, while Mei scowled angrily, staring over at Momo where she was standing on the main deck, having come up onto the main deck with the Ship’s Carpenter, Foril. “Robots. You hear that? When I start building my babies, I don’t want you or anyone else to comment on how we should hold back on anything! If they’ve got robots and what have you here…”

“Let’s wait until we see what we’re actually dealing with before we make such announcements, Mei, and please keep your voice down. This is a semi-formal moment, after all,” Momo soothed, grimacing as more than a few sailors turned to Mei, glaring at her for how loud she was speaking. “If such islands are out there. You’re right, we might’ve been far too restrictive about what we allowed you and Melissa to build when we first started out. But now isn’t the time to try and correct that mistake.”

Mei subsided a bit, muttering about how she just wanted to make certain that she had told them so, before tuning back into what Garp was saying, having missed something about the religion there along with their tech level.

“— Therefore, they also have pretty good defenses. We’ll be seeing solitary sea towers soon enough, and how they respond to our arrival will tell us a lot about what’s been going on here since last report. As for that last report, Simon, the local bishop was getting a little too big for its britches and was demanding that the king step down and let him rule directly in the ‘Gods’ name. Since that King and his family have continued Popernickel’s tradition of allying with the World Government, and the threat that another crusade could mean for the islands around here, I was asked to come here to settle everything down.”

Garp smiled widely then. “By that, I mean that Sengoku wants me ta step on the bishop’s hat so hard that his head and hat are fused into one along with the ground underneath. What little we’ve got about this guy, Simon, doesn’t paint a good picture, and I’ll cheerfully smash him into tiny pieces.”

At that point, Garp clapped his hands loudly, sending reverberations through the air and through all of the people on the main deck, enough that several sailors, Forester, and the other weakest reefers stumbled just a bit. “That’s enough background or whatever. Now, for the particulars. If the king is still in power when we arrived, we can expect some reinforcements from the local defenses to deal with the religious rabble Simon’s whipped up. If he isn’t, and if Simon is taking over the whole island, it’s going to be tougher.”

Garp sighed, some of his enthusiasm leaving him. “Like I said, the locals are heavily religious, and if the Bishop is the one calling the shots, then we’re going to face a local civilian population that isn’t going to be on our side at all, will throw in with any fighting going on. But our duty’s clear here, and however we shut this rebellion down and take Simon into custody, we’ll do it. We’ll find out which way the wind blows when we first hit those sea towers. If they attack us, we’ll know right away.”

“Sir!” Izuku barked from where he stood in the front row of the sailors. He’d been acting Officer of the Watch again when this formation had been ordered, and as such knew he could ask questions. Garp encouraged that all the time, and never more so than when they were going into a battle. “Are there any specifics known of the enemy? Its composition, weapons, training? If they have clockwork soldiers, are their weapons equally advanced?”

A notebook had appeared in his hand, and Garp stared down at it, tempted to hop down and shake Izuku to see where it had come from. He shook that thought off, though, and took the question seriously. “Alright, so first, Simon the bishop’s followers may be nutjobs.”

The blunt phrase took Izuku aback, and Garp could see he wasn’t alone. “By which I mean they might be willing to suicide as long as they take one of us with you. That was a thing the last time the Marines had to step in here on Popernickel. I hope it ain’t gonna be that bad, but I’ll make it an order now. Keep any of the locals at least three yards away from you at all times.”

Izuku shivered, and in that too, he wasn’t alone. All of the marines looked worried now, and Melissa, the only one of the teens to have studied world history before the Quirk Age, hugged herself in fear. Please, no suicide vests or charging hordes of religious crazies…

“That happened late in the conflict to bring Popernickel to heel again, so again, hopefully it won’t be a thing here,” Garp pushed on swiftly. “As for specifics on what we’ll more likely be fighting. Simon is a known Devil Fruit user. For some reason, he thinks it came from their One True God, but anyone with an ounce of sense knows that’s bunk, and he’s in pure denial about it.”

“The report said it has something to do with paper, but it wasn’t exactly clear. If Simon can control paper like a Paramecia or turn into paper like a logia, we don’t know,” Roland interjected. “Regardless, Shoto, you’ll be part of any team that tries to fight him.”

“He’s also supposed to have a group of ten incredibly good soldiers, who he calls his Holy Guards. Again, the reports weren’t really clear about how good they were, but the locals apparently think they’re formidable,” Garp took up the tale. “The one thing I will say I approve of about Popernickel. Beyond their whole tech level, which is pretty cool, I’ll admit, is the fact that they also welcome fishmen and mermen so long as they convert to the faith of the One True God. So expect to run into some more fishmen like we did when we put a stop to the Dead End Race.”

“Which means we’ll have me and others watching the water line for movement, and will need to ready some of Mei-day’s… What did you call them, Mei?” Roland asked, looking over to Mei from the poop deck.

“Depth charges. I perfected the design since, so will only need to input the depth we want them to go off at, and they’ll do the rest,” Mei said enthusiastically, almost bloodthirsty for a moment. “They’ll make a mess of anything underwater within a certain area around them.”

“Nice. Beyond the religious nuts, Popernickel’s military leans heavily on their clockwork soldiers…”

From there, Garp continued to describe a few of the more ubiquitous clockwork soldiers, a name that had Mei bouncing in place and Melissa humming thoughtfully. These consisted mainly of several spiderlike constructions. One type was small but fast, able to jump from one building to another, armed with guns that poked out of their forward quadrant, almost like the fangs of a spider. Another type was a larger, spiderlike centaur thing, with a humanoid portion built into its front. It was armed with a large tulwar and a handgun that was more like a hand cannon than anything else. “If you can’t use Tekkai, don’t get hit by those things. Thankfully, the locals only know how to maintain the clockwork soldiers, not build ‘em, so they won’t be able ta make good any losses.”

Similarly, the human portion of the defense force of Popernickel was pretty well armed, as such things went, with a pistol, a musket, and a rapier. Indeed, the rapier that Shoto had been forced to start practicing with despite his objections that he didn’t feel any weapon was really necessary came from Popernickel. “Don’t go into this fight with any kind of notion that rapiers are for women or weak weapons. They’re deadly at pinpoint accurate slashes with their tips, and are even better at thrusting. Again, those of you without Tekkai had best dodge.

“Rules of engagement,” Garp continued. “Since Popernickel, whatever its current status, is a member of the World Government, we’re to keep damage to its port and important facilities to a minimum. Personally, I like not to damage anything beyond my opponents, and you all know that, so keep whatever damage to the rest of the island to a minimum, all right? However, with that being said, any of the clockwork soldiers that attack us are fair game; tear ‘em apart. Among the defenders, prisoners are preferred. Although, again, that’ll tie into what we actually find when we arrive. The higher-ups would like Simon himself to be captured, but I’m not going to shed a tear if that proves to be impossible. Beyond that, any more specific plans will be opposition we’re going to face. Any questions?”

Izuku had a few questions, mainly about what kind of territory they’d be fighting through if they needed to and the overall layout of the island in terms of size, weather and other factors. A few of the other more senior reefers also asked a few questions, specifically about what naval forces the island might have, how dangerous the sea towers were, and if, in a worst-case scenario, how big the population of the island was.

As the questions started to taper off, a shout from on high caused them all to look up at the crow’s nest where Timothy stood, a spyglass to one of his eyes. “Land ho! Correction, tower ho. Two large square things coming out of the ocean, just like I was warned to look for.”

“Someone get me our communication snail. Crew, dismissed, to your stations. Timothy, tell me when we’re within range of any details. Mei-day, grab a dozen sailors then head down to the lower gun deck and prepare those depth charges of yours. But you’re only to use them when Yama tells you,” Garp said severely, moving forward through the rapidly dissipating crowd of sailors to wag a large finger in front of Mei’s face.

Her reticule-like eyes locked onto the offending appendage for a moment, before she nodded, whirled, and pointed at various sailors on the deck. “You, you four, and you five. Come with me, minions!”

“And right there is why she’s never going to be officer material,” Momo murmured under her breath, shaking her head, surreptitiously patting the hatchet at her side. She hadn’t quite mastered using it alongside her Creation powers just yet, but she was certain it would come to her in time, and until then, it was just a nice weapon to go with her revolver and knuckle dusters.

However, she did need to cover her bases a bit. With that in mind, she moved to the poop deck, where Roland stood. “Sir, permission to go and prepare for battle, Sir?”

The officer looked back at her for a few moments, then smirked just slightly, knowing now that Momo knew that the officers were onto her, but hadn’t said anything. “Granted.”

By the time Momo rejoined Izuku and the others on the deck, Timothy was able to see a lot more detail of the sea towers than before. These were large, blocky guard towers built out of the ocean, which, here, wasn’t nearly as deep as it had been elsewhere on the journey. Even so, each tower represented a decent level of engineering ability, to say nothing about actually constructing them.

Each of them was armed with at least twelve cannons facing in the direction the ship was coming from, with more probably facing the other sides of the rectangle. After reporting that, Timothy paused, then shouted, “They’re flying two flags that aren’t known to me, sir. Although, I don’t know Popernickel’s Royal flag, so one could be it.”

“Describe them, lad,” Garp ordered.

The socially awkward and introverted teen replied swiftly. “It’s all in white, with a gold star towards the front, and a book in each corner open to show the pages. Below that is another flag, one that is of a mailed hand holding up a sword.”

“I don’t know what that second flag might mean, but the first is the religious symbol of the One True God faith,” Garp muttered. “Roland? Tell me that second flag is the sign of the royal family here.”

“I wish I could say so, but I don’t think it is.” Garp’s acting first mate stared forward from where he was on the poop deck, then shook his head and said formally. “I’d recommend we roll out the cannons and set for battle.”

Nodding at his acting first mate, Garp pulled the back of the communication snail off, holding it in front of his face. “This is Vice Admiral Garp of the Marines. Were here to give our respects to King Endo, pick up provisions, take into custody a certain Simon, and move on. Are we gonna have trouble here?”

Izuku and Roland both winced, then exchanged glances before a wry chuckle passed between the older man and the younger. That’s Garp for you.

“By the grace of the One True God, this is Tower 5. Drop anchor while I consult with my superiors.”

“AHAHAHAH, no.” Garp guffawed. “Get in touch with ‘em all you want. I ain’t stopping, and you lot aren’t near big enough to do it by force.”

There was a click, and Whitman, from his position at the bottom of the main mast, snorted. “Truly, Garp, you’re a marvel of diplomacy.”

“Eh, if Sengoku wanted this handled delicately, he’d have called in one of the Cipher Pols. I am what I am, and what I am is a battering ram of justice!”

Whatever response Garp’s officers, or the groaning sailors, would have mustered at that went unsaid as the Den Den Mushi spoke up once more. “There is no God but the One God, and I speak for him on this mortal plane.”

This voice was deeper, more controlled, more poised, and far, far firmer than the first. That didn’t mean its words were any less worrisome. Indeed, it was the opposite. “This island will follow the will of he who reigns in heaven as told by me. You are welcome to push on if you wish to become believers. If not, we are all obliged to turn you away with force. There is only the One, and the One is above all. No longer will we bend to the Empty Throne.”

At that, Garp stiffened, trying hard to keep any expression from his face. THE FUCK?! How the hell does this Simon guy know about the Empty Throne?! Fucking hell, now I need to take him prisoner. Damn it.

A second later, both towers began firing at them. The defenders hadn’t measured the distance very well, though, and all of their shots went wide save one that would’ve smacked into the doghead-shaped portion of the prow. Instead, it exploded in the sky thanks to a wave of air pressure from Garp.

He glared angrily at the forward towers, already bouncing up into the air. “Right, well, troops, it seems as if we might be faced with a worst-case scenario here. Gird your loins, boys and girls, we’re in for a fight!”

End Chapter.

So, yeah, the next chapter’s going to be a much larger thing than I initially outlined. I’m going to show Tenya, Shoto, Mei and the others doing a lot of the fighting, with Izuku and Garp doing their own things elsewhere, so they don’t take as much screen time.

Beyond that, I have a question for you all: what should I do for the chef and doctor positions aboard the crew? Melissa and Izuku can sort of fill in at chef, but it isn’t their natural position, and Melissa isn’t a doctor either, for preference. Maybe have Traffy join them somehow? Or Rieju? That’d be interesting…

Regardless, I hope you all enjoyed this. It was fun, but tough to get back into. Lets make sure it doesn’t go so long before getting updated again, okay?

… Now watch it not be updated until December.