I'm at the top of One Piece

"Alright, that's it for our morning warm-up. Let's go swimming and practice."

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Chapter 44 Are you going?

Fifteen days later.

"Boom!"

A ten-meter-high wave of water descended from the sky. Although it was not a natural disaster, it was as bad as one for Moses at this moment.

With a helpless expression, he strained all his strength and threw a punch. "Smack!" The punch only hit the water surface about one meter in diameter in front of him, creating a hollow depression. Then he was slammed hard to the bottom of the lake.

Lying flat on the mud and sand at the bottom of the lake in a starfish shape, Mercer squinted for several seconds before floating with the undercurrents in the lake.

He exhaled a series of tiny bubbles, gripped the mud and sand at the bottom of the lake with his feet, and used his waist to lift himself up with the help of buoyancy in the water.

Mercer pushed off with his feet, swinging his arms and legs, and floated upwards.

Whoosh!

Its head popped out of the water, its mouth wide open, greedily inhaling the fresh air.

He tossed his hair, looked around, and saw Garp about ten meters ahead, as well as his two little brothers floating in the shallows not far away.

Looking at Garp ahead, he gave a wry smile, "You really don't show any mercy at all."

Upon hearing this and the use of the formal "you," Garp's face twitched, and he looked at Messer somewhat awkwardly. Messer had just rushed to within two meters of him, which should have been considered acceptable.

But something went wrong, and in a moment of impulsiveness, Garp unleashed a wave with his palm, forcing Mercer back, and then created a ten-meter-high "giant wave" that swept towards him.

Logically speaking, he committed the foul.

Karp hurriedly explained, "Mercy, you can't blame Grandpa for this. Grandpa just wants to tell you one thing: never let your guard down just because you think you're about to succeed. You know, people outside won't listen to reason."

Upon hearing this, Garp was immediately pleased with his own cleverness and continued his "nonsense" with a straight face:

"When dealing with an enemy, you must completely eliminate his ability to resist. Never let your guard down during battle."

You should know that the most dangerous time is usually when you're close to success.

"For example, about ten years ago, there was a great battle between your dead father and another great pirate, Shiki."

The Battle of Eit Wall, where your dad could have easily died, is a prime example.

Somewhat guilty, Karp began quoting scriptures and trying desperately to instill his idea in Moses.

Mercer listened to Garp's stories with great interest, too lazy to investigate whether Garp had been taking the opportunity to retaliate.

Golden Lion Shiki.

A person who only exists in our memories.

Now, with Garp's objective narration, free of personal bias, the image of Shiki (Golden Lion) comes vividly to life in my mind, from his rise to power to his departure from the current world "stage".

He is cruel, ruthless, cunning, domineering, ambitious, courageous, and also a bit of a goofball.

People of this type are often portrayed as protagonists in storytelling, regardless of whether they are good or bad. It's a very captivating narrative.

Mercer was quite excited as he listened.

"Grandpa, what about the Golden Lion now? Is he still in Impel Down? That world's number one deep-sea prison?"

Ace had arrived as soon as Garp started speaking, his hand raised, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Garp with anticipation, curiosity, and excitement. Garp's vanity was satisfied like never before, and he immediately picked his nose and laughed heartily:

"That bastard Shiki was locked up for a short time before he cut off his own legs and escaped. He was the first escapee in the history of Impel Down."

As for now, I have no idea where he's hiding his mischief.

Okay, let's not talk about him anymore. Just remember what I just said.

The three men, including Moses, immediately nodded.

"We absolutely cannot let our guard down until we succeed, right? As long as it's an enemy, we must completely eliminate their ability to resist, right?"

Mercer concluded with these words, and Garp nodded with a smile:

"That's right, that's exactly it. There are plenty of bizarre Devil Fruit abilities in this world. It's better to be careful than to make a big mistake. It would be incredibly stupid to capsize in a ditch."

Did you all remember that?

The three men nodded again.

Garp finally breathed a sigh of relief, having managed to fool them all. As for the Golden Lion, he couldn't just say anything about it.

nonexistent.

For Garp, none of this matters. Is there a problem with me explaining the "badness" of pirates to my grandson?

Is it wrong for me to tell the truth through case studies?

Absolutely not.

This is something I'm handling internally.

Thinking of this, a smile appeared on Garp's lips.

At this moment, Mercer said calmly, "Grandpa, did you say those things just now to make me treat you as an enemy?"

Garp's face twitched upon hearing this, but this time he didn't hear "you" (formal), which relieved him. He immediately replied helplessly:

"I was just sharing some life lessons with you. We're not enemies, so why are you talking nonsense?"

"Oh!" "Oh!" "Oh!"

The three of them, Moses, said in unison.

Garp rolled his eyes, glanced at the sky, and said to Ace and Sabo:

"You two should cultivate diligently from now on. I will come back to see your progress next time. Let's leave it at that for now."

Sabo looked puzzled, but Ace frowned. "Are you leaving? Today?"

Garp nodded, then shrugged helplessly. "Yeah, it's almost time. I have a lot of things to do."

"Hmm." Ace fell silent for a moment. "Then you guys go. See you next time."

"Snapped!"

Mercer slapped Ace on the back and laughed, "It's not like we're going to die, what's there to be sad about?"

Messer looked at Garp: "Grandpa, let's leave Ace a Den Den Mushi, so he can call us if he misses us."

Garp slapped his forehead, somewhat embarrassed, and said:

"How could I forget about that? No problem, you can leave your phone number with Ace so you can keep in touch later."

“I’ll call Bogart and have him deliver it to Dardana later. Let’s go up first.”

Although the sun was shining brightly and the temperature was not low, being soaked in water for a long time inevitably caused the skin to turn white.

Freestyle swimming.

breaststroke.

Dog paddle.

Each showing off their skills, the four quickly reached the shore, dried themselves off briefly, put on their clothes, and Garp took a moment to make a phone call using the small Den Den Mushi he carried.

Because it was autumn, the afternoon sun was exceptionally warm, making me feel cozy and comfortable.

……

Dadan's Home.

The three men, including Moses, each carried a prey—a wild boar, a bison, and a large crocodile—and dumped them all in the yard.

With three loud thuds, Dadan and the others came out, their faces beaming as they looked at the plump prey.

They worked feverishly, dismembering, cleaning, and heating oil in a wok, while the four of them chatted under the shade of a tree.

Click click click!

Click!

A palm-sized lock was pried open with a thin piece of metal. Mercer locked it again and continued playing with it.

Mercer lowered his head, seemingly looking at the lock in his hand, but actually looking at the light screen panel projected onto his retina.

Gifts and Abilities section.

[E-Rank Gift: Lockpicking] (Can be freely upgraded)

[Blessing Effect: Improves dexterity and sensitivity of fingers, enhances sound localization, and slightly improves understanding of mechanical creations.]

[Grace's comment: You thought I was unlocking a lock? Actually, I really was.]

A year ago, I took some time to exercise, and then, in a moment of naturalness, this gift was truly manifested.

Moses did not suppress it, but let it take its course.

Over the course of a year, on and off, whenever I had free time, I would pick up a lock and play with it. In this way, the gift naturally grew to the E-grade quality.

The Gift ability is quite ordinary and almost useless in combat. Even if it were useful, it would be overridden by other Gift abilities. But it is still a Gift ability nonetheless.

Moses believed it too.

"There are no gifts of useless people, only useless people with abilities."

"Speaking of which, if this kind of blessing continues to improve, could it develop into a conceptual ability, where once activated, anything possessing the concept of a 'lock' can be unlocked?"

"Hey!" Mercer chuckled and shut down the light screen panel. "To be honest, with this ability, my finger dexterity and sensitivity are getting better and better."

Not only the fingers, but also the entire hands and feet, and all the parts associated with the "fingers" became dexterous and sensitive.

Bogart has arrived.

I brought a small Den Den Mushi (snail phone).

He then left, and the bandits there became extremely nervous because of his arrival.

This is a case of professional suppression.

The mouse saw the cat.