"Go, Garp!" screamed Tsuru, waving her gun at her fellow soldiers. Zephyr and Sengoku charged forward, and Garp almost fell behind. 'If only I could get this to work!' he thought, shaking out his hand. His Haki kept failing him, time and time again. He didn't have time for mistakes. In battle, it would cost him marines and that was something he couldn't afford. If he were to go up against Kosui like his superiors intended, he would be crushed if he couldn't perfect this.

"Garp! Watch it!" shouted Sengoku, leaping in front of him and punching away a pirate who had almost striked his target.

"What is wrong with you?" said Sengoku, shifting his musket onto his back.

"I'm sorry, I just—"

"You'll get killed if you keep going on like this. Get it together!"

Garp nodded at Sengoku and rushed another pirate, trying again for an Iron Fist punch. His hand felt solid when he pounded the man into the ground, but it wasn't good enough. It wasn't where it needed to be. Garp groaned and kept running. He could see a large mountain up ahead. Kong had informed the marines that this was Kosui's base. Garp looked to Tsuru for instruction. Tsuru was analyzing the situation. The mountain was too tall for them to climb, and there was no visible way to enter it. Tsuru signaled to her teammates, indicating a change in attack plan. They were aiming for stealth now. She waved them over to the base of the mountain.

"Garp, you're going for Kosui, right?"

"Yeah," said Garp, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "Kong wants me promoted."

"Hm," said Tsuru, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, "Zephyr, Sengoku, we're taking on his subordinates. But we need to get into the mountain. Luckily, we have this." Tsuru pulled from her pocket a glowing vial. "One of the rookies has an interesting devil fruit. They're trying to find a scientist to manipulate it, but for now, we have this one-use-only light bomb."

Garp scoffed.

"What's it going to do? Blind the mountain?"

"I suggest you step back and take a look for yourself," said Tsuru, aiming the vial at a weak spot in the mountain's surface. Just as a precaution, Garp took a few awat from the mountain. Tsuru threw the vial against the rock, and it exploded into a scintillant burst of yellow. When the smoke settled, Garp could see that a hole had been blasted through the thick rock, directly leading to the main chamber of Kosui's base.

"The Pika-Pika no mi is not to be underestimated," said Tsuru, calmly brushing herself off and picking her way through the rubble. 'Damn' thought Garp, following closely behing. He was weaker than a mere rookie! And said rookie wasn't even in his vicinity. Which was a good thing otherwise Garp might've strangled him for damaging his pride. But he could only grit his teeth and follow Tsuru into the room.

"Alright," said Tsuru, "I trust that you can handle the rest yourself?"

Garp nodded, and Tsuru waved his companions towards the far hallway. Garp walked down the near hallway, listening closely for any telltale signs of Kosui's powers. Suddenly, he saw golden flecks littered on the ground, identical to those retrieved from a previous investigation. 'So this is Kosui's famed 'Midas Touch', huh?' thought Garp, inspecting the small shreds of metal. Suddenly, Garp whipped around and saw a dark-haired woman reaching for his neck with her left hand. Garp jumped back, thankful for his Kenbunshoku Haki.

"So you're the famed 'Golden Kosui'?" he asked, readying himself for battle.

"I am she," replied the woman, placing her right hand on her hip. 'Interesting,' thought Garp, 'Her Devil Fruit powers only exist in one hand.'

"I'm afraid I'll have to kill you now," said Kosui, smiling, leaping towards Garp. Garp side stepped, and Kosui spun around to face him. Garp tried to activate his Busoshoku, but he failed. Kosui lunged at him, and Garp dodged once more. 'I can keep evading her, but I won't be able to land an attack on her unless I can get this to work!' Garp tried again to activate his Haki, but his hand only became spotted with black dots before returning to normal.

"Come on!" shouted Garp, aiming a punch at Kosui's head. Unfortunately, the woman was too quick, and Garp barely managed to pull away his hand before she grasped at the air in front of her.

"You won't get out of this alive, you know!" screeched Kosui, darting towards Garp. 'She's right,' thought Garp, 'The others need me to do this. I can't fail them.'

With one final effort, Garp pushed himself to the limit until finally, finally, his hand was coated in black. He wanted to scream in excitement, but refrained, knowing he would lose focus.

"You seem to have a bit of paint on your fingers, sea brat," said Kosui, "want me to make it worth something?" Kosui began swinging at Garp, and Garp caught her fist. Kosui smiled. Her powers were working. His black fist was slowly turning gold. But Garp pushed himself, and slowly his hand turned black again. He opened his fist, and caught Kosui's hand. Kosui tried to pull away from him, but he gripped her other hand, and forced her hands behind her back. He pulled out the sea stone cuffs, and chained her. Immediately, Kosui sunk to the floor, drained of her energy. Garp deactivated his Haki. He was almost sad to see it go. But now he knew he could use it.

A.N.: Funny story. Someone decided to switch around the birthdays on the wiki, and Garp ended up being a victim. I'd originally penned him down for July 6th, but found out just today that it was his real birthday. So I spent the majority of the day trying to work this out. I feel like I could have done better, but it was rushed. Just a reminder guys, don't be afraid to call me out if I forget someone important on the birthday list. That's what it's there for! In any case, Reviews, Favourites, Subscriptions, and Requests are welcomed and much appreciated. See you tomorrow for Arlong!