One Piece: SSS-Rank Haki at Age Seventeen

At the Marine Hospital.

Inside a crude ward, thirty to forty Marine soldiers lay in their beds. Most of them were severely wounded—some even permanently disabled.

Now they gathered in small groups, their gazes drifting toward the corner of the room, their eyes filled with disgust.

"That bastard… his name was Koby, right?"

"Damn scum. Someone like him should be sent straight to a court-martial. Why is he even here?"

Why had they joined the Marines?

Aside from youthful ambition and dreams of achievement, most of them had come after their families or homes were slaughtered by pirates. They carried deep hatred when they joined the Marines.

They longed for revenge.

At the same time, they had been instilled with the belief in justice—protecting civilians from pirates.

But what had Koby done?

When the Marines had been on the verge of victory during the war, he had boldly shouted:

"You're trampling on human lives!"

To them, those words were nothing short of humiliating the justice of the Marines.

If such words spread outside, what kind of damage would it do to the Marines' reputation?

In the eyes of these soldiers, Koby was even worse than a deserter.

They simply couldn't understand why such a disgusting person was allowed to share the same ward with them.

He didn't even have a single visible injury…

Yet he was occupying one of the precious hospital beds?!

"You probably don't know," one Marine sneered.

"That Koby guy… he's apparently Vice Admiral Garp's disciple."

"What?! The 'Hero of the Marines,' Vice Admiral Garp?!"

"Why him? How is he worthy?!"

"Vice Admiral Garp must have lost his mind…"

The soldiers continued discussing it heatedly.

If word spread, it was easy to imagine how many loyal admirers Garp might lose.

Meanwhile, deep inside the ward, Koby slowly opened his eyes.

"Where… am I?"

He held his forehead as his head throbbed with pain.

"Koby! You're finally awake!"

Beside him, Helmeppo, with his blond hair, smiled in relief.

He had been guarding Koby for who knew how long—at one point he had even thought Koby might have died.

The worst part was that while Koby remained unconscious, the other Marines had turned their anger toward him.

No matter how much he tried to explain, it was useless.

It nearly drove him into depression.

"Oh? You're awake?"

A curvy female doctor with golden wavy hair approached Koby's bed while holding a medical chart. Her expression was unreadable.

In an instant, Koby's face turned bright red. Even his speech became stuttered.

"Th-thank you very much for taking care of me!"

"Oh, it's no trouble," the doctor replied with a faint smile.

"But since you're awake—"

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Could you please move somewhere else and stop occupying such a valuable hospital bed?"

Koby, still dazzled by the doctor's beauty, nodded instinctively.

But the next second—

BAM!

A burly Marine grabbed him and threw him straight out of the room.

"W-why…?"

Koby knelt on the hard stone floor outside, clutching his head in confusion.

Helmeppo tried to comfort him.

"Don't worry! This isn't your fault. Those guys are just jerks… Let's go find Vice Admiral Garp and have him judge this!"

Inside the ward, laughter erupted.

"Hahaha! That bastard finally got kicked out. Just seeing his face makes me lose my appetite!"

"Doctor Natsume is amazing! I'm seriously in love!"

"Doctor Natsume is just too cool!!"

The Marines all gave enthusiastic thumbs-up, praising the doctor's actions.

Hearing their compliments, Doctor Natsume blushed slightly.

"It's nothing. I just hate people who act like deserters. Keeping someone like that in the Marines is just wasting resources…"

She puffed her cheeks slightly as she spoke more and more passionately, the motion causing the waves of her chest to sway.

The soldiers couldn't help but stare.

They all looked up at the ceiling blankly.

"This wall is huge—uh, I mean… so white!!"

"You guys—?!"

Seeing their shameless expressions, Doctor Natsume clenched her teeth, her cheeks burning red. She stomped her black high heels angrily and stormed out of the ward.

After all, she was a young woman not even thirty yet—

And she had to deal with a group of shameless perverts!

Watching her graceful figure leave, the soldiers burst into loud laughter.

At the same time, inside the Fleet Admiral's Office.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku was furious.

He slammed a newspaper onto the desk.

"Look at this! That's your grandson again, Garp! Can't you give me even a moment of peace?!"

"Hahaha!"

Garp happily munched on rice crackers, laughing until tears almost fell.

"As expected of my grandson! He's getting more and more impressive!"

"Damn you, Garp!!"

Sengoku slammed the table, his eyes blazing red with anger.

Then he suddenly lunged forward.

"Let me beat some sense into you!"

"You damn Sengoku! You think my fists have gotten weak?! I'll smash your glasses, roast your goat, and eat all your rice crackers!"

"Try it if you dare!!"

Nearby, Vice Admiral Tsuru watched the two elderly men wrestling like children.

She rubbed her temples helplessly.

Because of the endless work at Marine Headquarters, the once long hair she had was now mostly gray.

Even her once smooth skin had grown wrinkled.

Without her, the entire office would likely fall into chaos.

"That's enough. Stop it already! You're both grown men acting like children!"

The two glared at each other before reluctantly letting go.

Both of them were panting heavily, their old faces flushed red, their uniforms wrinkled and messy.

"Alright, stop blaming Garp," Tsuru said calmly.

"He's not feeling great either. Besides, you know Luffy's personality better than anyone. Stop focusing all your anger on him."

Sengoku glanced at Garp—who was currently making faces at him—and grumbled:

"I don't see him suffering much…"

Still, the topic eventually faded.

Then Tsuru pulled out a stack of documents and gently pressed her temples.

"There's another matter that needs to be handled."

Her gaze turned toward Garp, hesitation visible in her eyes.

"It's about your disciple—Koby."

"There are many voices among the lower-ranking Marines. About 80% of them want him court-martialed."

"Even the hawks led by Admiral Akainu are suggesting immediate execution."

"Koby… huh?"

Garp frowned slightly.

What Koby had done really was difficult to forgive.

If he hadn't been known as Garp's disciple, he might have been killed on the spot for those words.

"Sigh… Tsuru, do you have a better solution?"

In the end, Garp couldn't completely abandon him.

Even animals develop feelings after spending enough time together—let alone people.

"Garp, the Marines must give everyone an explanation."

Sengoku spoke firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"The court-martial can be avoided."

Tsuru spoke slowly.

"But from now on… he'll spend the rest of his life as a menial soldier at Marine Headquarters."

This was already the greatest compromise possible.

Garp let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"That kid made a huge mistake. As long as he doesn't die… that's enough."

"Very well. Then we'll implement it immediately."

Tsuru lowered her head and began drafting the official order.

Sengoku, however, stared directly at Garp.

"Remember this. Don't have anything to do with that kid again."

"His reputation is already ruined."

"Deserter King."

"Coward."

"Scum."

"Nepotism case."

All kinds of labels had been attached to Koby.

Now he was like a walking pile of trouble.

Anyone who associated with him…

Would become unlucky as well.

They might even become public enemies among the Marine rank and file.

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