As the Going Merry continued on its journey through the Grand Line, the wind suddenly calmed to an abrupt halt.

"Did we accidentally hit the Calm Belt again?" Bella asked.

"No, it's just a local weather phenomenon," Nami assured her. "We're still on course for the next island. Judging from the direction the Log Pose is pointing, our next destination is Little Garden."

"I hope the wind picks up soon. Time's running out even as we speak." Vivi said.

Down below, Luffy and the Children of Whitebeard were helping Carue train with his new Devil Fruit powers.

"Well, since we have a lull in the wind, we might as well do some fishing for food," Sanji said.

"Sounds good to me!" Carue said excitedly, "So what's our bait?"

Sanji grinned. "Oh, we don't need bait. We have two of the world's best predators to go deep sea hunting for us."

As if on cue, Kuishi and Romaz dove into the water to start gathering fish.

"HECK YEAH! I'M HAVING FISH TONIGHT!" Kuishi cheered as she dove in.

"Good thing we picked up those two. Otherwise Luffy would have likely eaten all the bait." Usopp said.

"How are our prisoners doing?" Zoro asked.

"Behaving for the most part. The otter and vulture are still too terrified to try anything, and Gem and Mikita seemed to have resigned themselves to failure." Delphia said. "Double-D brought them lunch earlier."

"I gotta say, all things considered, this crew doesn't seem so bad despite your combined bounty exceeding Crocodile's," Vivi said.

"It's more the enemies Luffy, Lithos, Merone, Ferros, and Ariala have defeated," Nami clarified. "Saw Tooth Arlong, Foul Play Don Krieg, Buggy the Clown, Kuro of a Thousand Plans."

"Don't forget Iron Mace Alvida!" Ariala spoke up.

"And Crab Leg Ganzack, too." Ferros added. "Man, that was so long ago. Back when it was just the four of us and Luffy."

"Ed, Double-D, and I beat El Dorago all by ourselves!" Eddy said proudly,

"There's one more bad guy we defeated; Axe Hand Morgan." Zoro pointed out.

"The Marine Captain of Shells Town? You guys beat him?" Bella asked. "Not that I'm surprised, but I didn't think you'd run into a low-level captain like him."

"Funny bit of fate, that. When Alvida mentioned Zoro during our first meeting, I figured he's the sort of person I wanted on the crew." Luffy said.

"So we headed for Shells Town where he was being held, and helped him deal with the corruption Morgan was infecting the Marines with," Lithos added.

Merone became thoughtful. "That reminds me. I wonder how Koby's doing."

As it happened, Koby had been going through a recurring dream about becoming a sub-lieutenant in the Marines, being confronted with a watery version of Morgan, and then rescued by a giant Luffy. Then he promptly fell out of his hammock and right onto Helmeppo.

"Ouch! Again, Koby?"

Koby just chuckled sheepishly. For the time being he was still a chore boy, but it was still leagues more satisfying than when he was on Alvida's crew. Apparently, Alvida had wound up joining Buggy the Clown's crew, according to the recent wanted poster updates. He was shocked at how much the woman had changed just from eating a Devil Fruit.

"Keep it up, Helmeppo!"

While Koby was diligent, Helmeppo still hadn't gotten out of his lazy attitude. Most of the Marines kept praising Koby for his hard work while berating Helmeppo for slacking off.

"This sucks. Neither of us is even qualified for the Marines, yet here we are swabbing the mess hall."

"Hey, it's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it. I'm sure even Luffy and his crew have a Cabin Boy among them." Koby said.

"Probably another monster like those siblings or Zoro," Helmeppo muttered.

Back on the Merry, Delphia wound up sneezing before frowning, feeling as if she had just been insulted.

"And then there's you!" Helmeppo continued. "You go out of your way to do even more work than you need to. Just how dedicated are you?"

As the days continued, Helmeppo couldn't help but lament his situation.

"I used to have a good life. Being the son of a Marine Captain let me goof off whenever I wanted. Not to mention commanding respect and fear from the soldiers. Though to be fair, a lot of that was just my father."

He sighed, his next words being out loud.

"Thanks to those damn Straw Hats, my dad got stripped of his position. Because of that, I got stuck being a chore boy in this crummy base."

"Hey now, it's not good to just blame Luffy and the others for that. Blaming others for your fate is just a sign of weakness." Koby pointed out. "How long have you spent living your life just using your father's power? It's about time you stand on your own two feet and search for your own dream!"

"Easy for you to say. Besides, how could a wimp like you ever become a Marine officer?" Helmeppo said.

"Hey, I won't know if I don't try. Seeing those guys and how they live their lives helped me make up my mind. Just like them, I'm going to put my life on the line for my dream." Koby said.

Helmeppo scoffed. "And just what could you learn from those despicable pirates?"

That set Koby off as he tackled Helmeppo and the two got into a fight. Though amusingly Koby was turning out to have the clear advantage. That wound up getting Ripper's attention.

"All right, break it up you two, before you wind up setting off a cannon and blowing up a building!"

Later Koby and Helmeppo visited Ririka's bar.

"Hey, did you guys hear? Apparently Luffy and his crew have their own broadcasting network." Rika said.

"Oh yeah, I remember overhearing that. Their communications officer is hosting it. I think his name was Grahambel." Koby said.

"How did they even get such a Transponder Snail?" Helmeppo wondered. "Most only communicate one-to-one, not a whole network."

"The most recent broadcast was from a town called Whiskey Peak in the Grand Line. So it looks like they reached it." Ririka noted.

Koby beamed. "Yeah. Luffy and the others are heading for their dream!"

The next day, Morgan was being escorted to his trial, now dressed in prison garb and with his limbs shackled. His broken axe hand had been replaced with a standard prosthetic. Seeing his father in such a state, Helmeppo was hit hard with reality.

"So this is it, then. Dad's officially getting court-martialed. It is weird to say I still respect him on some level." He sighed. "But... It's true that he was taking things too far."

Koby saw Helmeppo start to tear up from the situation before turning to him.

"Hey...What do you think's going to happen to him?"

"I'm not sure. But whatever his sentence, he'll certainly be sent to the infamous Impel Down prison."

"All hands on deck!"

The duo headed up as a ship with a dog figurehead approached. They then saw the man who would be escorting Morgan to his trial, Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp the Fist. With him was his right-hand man Bogard.

"The hero of the seas. He's traveled all over the Grand Line!" Koby said in awe.

Morgan was brought over as Garp boarded the prison ship. The man was wearing a dog kabuki mask, looked half asleep, and was snacking on a doughnut. Not to mention he was only half Morgan's size.

"He doesn't look so tough. Even without my weapon, I could probably take him."

Spotting Helmeppo nearby, he quickly moved and grabbed him, much to everyone's shock.

"Nobody move or I throw this chore boy to the sharks!," Morgan demanded.

"W-Wait, Dad! It's me, remember!? Your son!"

"I have no need for a son, just my freedom! Your life means nothing to me!"

Garp looked over to Bogard readying the ship's cannon but motioned for him to cease.

"Do you really think you can keep your freedom... In this situation?!"

Suddenly a massive wave of force seemed to emanate from Garp. Most of the Marines as well as Morgan fainted from it. But Bogard, Coby, and amazingly Helmeppo managed to stay standing, though Helmeppo found his knees knocking regardless. Still, Garp smiled.

"Well well, we got a couple of chore boys with some backbone. I could use some strong recruits like you at Marine Headquarters."

Koby was shocked to hear that. Helmeppo even more so.

"Are you two okay with this?" Garp said, "You only get one chance to run."

Koby showed no signs of wanting to run, and to his surprise, Helmeppo stepped forward.

"Sir, if I may? I learned something important today. That I really am a weakling. I've just been riding Morgan's coattails this entire time. But I want that to end! I want to become capable of standing on my own two feet! So I won't run! Not now, not ever!"

Garp grinned. "It takes real strength to admit to weakness. You've got guts, kid."

He looked over to Coby.

"As for you, you seem like you came to terms with your weakness long ago."

Koby nodded. "In many ways, I'm still weak. But I know I can get stronger! Just like Luffy, Lithos, Merone, Ferros, and Ariala!"

"Oh, so you know those brats. Well, you might just get the chance to see them again. You see..."

He took off his mask, revealing his face.

"Well, let's just say it's better said in private."

As Garp prepared to lead Koby and Helmeppo away, he saw Morgan coming to, the ex-captain glaring and looking like he was about to attack again before the Hero of the Marines scoffed and kicked him down.

"Listen, 'Captain', turns out your first promotion was unwarranted: The man you caught was Kuro's idiot look-a-like. A patsy. The real Kuro was killed a few days ago in Syrup Village."

"W-What...?!" Morgan choked out.

"Are you deaf? Your so-called greatness was all a terrible lie. Kuro nearly killed you and left you to take a fake in his place. You're just an arrogant bully who got rewarded for something he didn't do." Garp said, a look of contempt on his face.

Morgan's arrogance and confidence vanished in a split second. His actions started to dawn on him: He'd been a tyrant. Enabled and abused his son. Killed good men and innocent people over trivial things…and that power hadn't even been earned.

The once unfeeling giant of a man began to sob, breaking down as the guilt of his actions finally hit him. Garp released him and sighed: It was sometimes fun to see the corrupt brought down, but this? This was just pathetic.

"Kill me…Please. Let me at least die with a scrap of honor." Morgan begged.

Garp glared at Morgan before shaking his head and turning his back on him.

"That's the easy way out. Impel Down will be good for you."

And with that he turned and returned to his students and best friend, ignoring the sobs of Morgan the whole time. As for Helmepoo, he could only watch the pitiful sobbing wreck his father had been reduced to and instead of feeling some petty satisfaction...he just felt nothing.

Back on the Going Merry, the wind had picked up again and the crew was off.

"So what sort of place is Little Garden?" Usopp asked.

"An explorer's paradise. The island is nearly untouched by civilization." Lithos said. "You've read books on dinosaurs, right?"

"Sure, plenty," Usopp replied.

Lithos chuckled. "Well, Little Garden is one of the few places in the world, if not the only place, where dinosaurs still exist and thrive. It's considered a vacation spot for Giants, as well."

"Sounds like a chance to cook some unique ingredients. I wonder what dinosaur meat tastes like." Sanji mused.

"Oh, Dad swears by those dino steaks," Ariala assured him.

"Now I'm getting really hungry!" Luffy said excitedly. "Speaking of which, when's lunch."

"Just finishing up," Sanji said.

Merone stepped out of the chamber with the water pump.

"Water's ready. I'll draw up the baths later."

"Merone being able to generate her own water that doesn't weaken a Devil Fruit user's body is a godsend," Bella noted.

"News Coo coming in! Grahambel called out. "How's it going there?"

"Mail call!" Coo said, his voice sounding high-pitched and scratchy. "Main headline is a couple of Marine Captains stripped of their rank and sent to court-martial at the HQ."

He handed over the paper after receiving payment.

"Pleasure doing business. See ya in the funny papers!"

"I like his voice!" Ed said.

Ferros started going through the paper. "So, Grahambel, are you going to translate for every animal we come across?"

"Only those I think are going to be interacting with us frequently. Besides, some don't have an inner voice to bring out like Carue and Coo have."

"So what's in the news?" Double-D asked.

"Well, thanks to the broadcast, Baroque Works got a quick blurb, but nothing big. Likely because no one really knows much about them." Ferros said. "Bigger news is that Old Man Garp successfully transferred Morgan for his court-martial."

"So Grandpa was put in charge of Morgan's transfer, huh?" Luffy asked.

The rest of the crew looked at him in shock.

"YOUR GRANDPA'S A MARINE?!"

"Yeah, his name's Monkey D Garp, also known as Garp the Fist. The guy's a hardass, but genuinely dedicated to helping others." Ariala said. "It's why no one says that finding a genuinely decent Marine is like looking for a needle in a haystack, because people can just point to Garp and that's the game."

"So what does the D even stand for?" Zoro asked.

"It doesn't stand for anything, it's just part of our names." Bella said.

"Oh hey, Koby's picture is in the paper!" Luffy spoke up.

The Children of Whitebeard looked, and sure enough, Koby was shown in full view in a picture.

"And Helmeppo too, it looks like. Ah, now I see why. This is about the old man taking these two on as apprentices."

"I hope they can survive it..." Ariala said, shuddering. "I still have nightmares about Old Man Garp's training..."

"You know, Grandpa originally wanted us to join the Marines." Luffy pointed out.

"Yeah, until we reminded him of who your dad is. Not to mention our dad, Ace's dad, and... Well, the less said about Sabo's family the better." Ferros said. "Though the old geezer did insist we at least get trained enough to survive a pirate's life."

Merone perked up. "Huh... This picture was apparently taken right after Garp's ship crossed over Reverse Mountain."

"So they're in the Grand Line now. How do they look?" Romaz asked.

"They're hugging each other in abstract terror. They've got a long way to go." Ferros stated.

"Well regardless, Old Man Garp is sure to make a man out of them," Ariala said.

Koby and Helmeppo felt like they had entered hell. The training for the regular Marines was intense, starting at two thousand push-ups, a hundred round trips of rope crossing, running two hundred laps of a hundred-meter track, and Kenpo matches that kept going until one or the other fainted.

"Bwahahaha!" Garp laughed when he saw the duo's faces. "Don't worry, you won't be doing anything this intense until you get some actual meat on your bones. You'll be starting off with 100 sit-ups, 100 push-ups, 100 squats, and 10 kilometer run. With proper meals and rest in between, of course."

Helmeppo breathed a sigh of relief. That still sounded tough, but at least it wouldn't kill him. As for Koby, he was determined to face whatever trials awaited him.

Garp had the duo start training in earnest. One day they'd be going through the base training program, spread out over several hours. The next they'd be doing chores around the HQ. And things would cycle like that. In that time, Helmeppo decided to ask his partner something.

"Hey, Coby, there's something I've been wondering."

"What's that?" Koby asked.

"Just what was that thing Garp did back in Shells Town?" Helmeppo wondered. "Like, he just started down Morgan and almost everyone fainted. I nearly did too, but somehow, I managed to stay on my feet."

"Yeah, I hear ya. I felt it too. I have no idea what Garp did." Koby admitted.

Garp walked up to them. "Train hard enough over a year or so, and you may just learn something about what I did back there."

That night, the duo turned in.

"So why is Garp known as a hero?" Koby wondered.

"From what I hear he defeated a notorious pirate from before the time of Gold Roger," Helmeppo explained.

"And now we're training under him. Well, if I'm going to die for my dream, then at least I'll go doing what I want." Koby said.

Helmeppo couldn't help but think he was starting to feel the same way.

The days continued to pass, and the duo slowly started to change physically. Once the early training proved easy for them, Garp stepped it up a little. Eventually, Garp took them to a small beach outside the headquarters.

"Boys, you two have been doing well with your training. Now there's something important to address... The fact that you seem to be friends with Luffy, Lithos, Ferros, Merone, and Ariala. Or at least on good terms with them."

"Well, I can't speak for Helmeppo, sir, but I can certainly call them friends." Koby said.

Garp nodded. "I appreciate the honesty. Under normal circumstances being friends with a notorious pirate would bar you from ever getting into the Marines. But as I'm sure you know, there are such things as corrupt Marines and such things as heroic Pirates. The system as it stands is broken, and the only way to fix it is to scrap it, recycle the good parts, and rebuild it from the ground up. And doing that starts with hiring recruits that have the capacity and understanding for Moral Justice. And over the course of these last few weeks, I've come to realize that applies to the both of you."

He grinned at their shocked expressions.

"You've proven this whole time that you're strong both physically and mentally. You never gave up once, and you've never compromised your beliefs. And you, Helmeppo, have managed to outgrow the stigma instilled in you by your father. Hope you boys are ready to take the training wheels off because from this point on you'll be assigned to my unit!"

Koby and Helmeppo were shocked but happy.

"Oh, and one other thing; Keep your friendship with my grandson Luffy a secret in front of the others. At least for now."

The two new friends nodded and saluted, as Garp walked away laughing, knowing he had two truly promising recruits for the future.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Little Garden, over the sounds of mighty battling and the roars of dinosaurs, three individuals were heading back to a makeshift cabin of their design after a long day of hunting.

The first was a young man whose entire body was concealed by a black zipped-up hoodie, black slacks, and black boots as well as a black mask that covered everything except his eyes, which were orange with a red texture and had black serpentine slits.

The second was also male with lightly tanned skin, sunglasses, a red beret, tattoos on his arms, a dark grey tanktop, camouflage pants with black knee pads, and black boots.

The third and final member of the trio was a girl with black hair tied in a bun, red facial markings on her cheeks, a white tattoo on her forehead, and clad in orange and yellow robes with a black bodysuit underneath. She was also barefoot.

Their names respectively were Tezuka D. Haruo, Merian D. Hunter, and Shobijin D. Katsu. They had all been the best of friends for as long as they had been on Little Garden, perhaps a little something more in Haruo and Katsu's case.

"So, what number is today's duel, you think?" Hunter asked while sitting down in a hammock outside the cabin.

"I lost count after a while. Besides, it's been going on long before we came here." Haruo shrugged.

Katsu hummed as she listened to her friends chat before looking up at the sky at the setting sun.

"I believe that the wheels of fate are turning to bring us away from this island soon."

"Is someone coming?" Haruo asked. "The Marines? The World Government?"

"No...PIRATES."

"Morganeers or Peace Mains? There is a difference, after all." Hunter pointed out.

Katsu hummed. "From the light of the sun as it sets...I believe we will be in good hands."

It seems the Straw Hats will be getting three new members on Little Garden very soon. If you look into the names I gave them, you might be surprised at what their Devil Fruits are...