Garp's words hung between us like charged particles in the damp forest air. "…the price they'll put on the head of an Archangel walking the earth." Archangel. The word felt alien, too large, too mythical for a girl shivering in borrowed clothes, caked in mud. Yet, the power I'd tasted, that faint resistance against gravity during the Geppo attempts, the warmth that had flared from my palm against the bear… it was real. A terrifying, unknown potential coiled within me, marked by a fruit the world's most powerful organization desperately hunted. Eighty million beri suddenly felt like pocket change.
His intense gaze held mine for another second, then he abruptly turned away, dismissing the gravity of his own warning with a casual wave. "Right! Less standing around gawking, more hunting! Lunch won't catch itself! Move it, brats!"
Ace, who had clearly overheard Garp's low growl about the price of an Archangel, shot me a look sharp with questions, but Garp's bellow left no room for immediate interrogation. Luffy, oblivious as ever to the undercurrents, just cheered. "Yosh! Hunting! Let's get a HUGE one this time! Bigger than that bear!" He stretched his arms wide for emphasis. Boioioing!
We plunged back into the dense green labyrinth of Mt. Colubo. This time, the objective wasn't speed, but stealth and strategy – concepts Luffy seemed only vaguely familiar with. He crashed through the undergrowth, yelling "Here piggy, piggy!" or trying to stretch his neck above the canopy to spot prey, effectively scaring off anything smaller than a house.
Ace moved with focused intensity, scanning the tracks in the mud, listening to the rustle of leaves, his metal pipe held ready. He was a natural hunter, accustomed to surviving in this wilderness. He ignored Luffy's antics for the most part, his brow furrowed in concentration. But occasionally, his gaze would flick towards me. I could almost hear the gears turning in his head, trying to piece together the puzzle of the girl with the glowing sword, the impossible bounty, and the Vice Admiral grandfather who spoke of Archangels and government lies.
I followed Ace's lead, trying to mimic his quiet steps, my senses on high alert. The forest felt different now, knowing Garp's eyes weren't directly on us. The shadows seemed deeper, the sounds more distinct – the chatter of unseen monkeys high above, the scuttling of lizards underfoot, the distant roar of some unseen beast echoing from the higher slopes. I clutched the Kaenken's hilt, its familiar weight a comfort. Garp's warning about mastering the Tenshi fruit echoed. How? I didn't even know how to consciously call upon its power, let alone control it. It felt like having a sleeping giant inside me; poking it felt dangerous.
"Shh!" Ace hissed suddenly, holding up a hand. Luffy, miraculously, shut up mid-sentence ("And then I'll use Gomu Gomu no Bazooka and—"). Ace pointed towards a thicket of bamboo ahead. Barely visible through the dense stalks was the dark, bristly hide of a massive wild boar, easily triple the size of the ones they roasted back in Foosha Village, its tusks long and wickedly curved. It was rooting aggressively at the base of the bamboo, snorting contentedly.
"Okay," Ace whispered, his voice low and urgent. "Luffy, you circle around behind it, wide. Wait for my signal. Akane," he looked at me, his eyes serious, "stay behind me. If it charges, dodge left. Got it?"
I nodded mutely. Ace gave Luffy a sharp nod, and the rubber boy grinned, stretching his legs silently (fwip!) before disappearing into the foliage with surprising stealth when actually trying. Ace took a deep breath, gripping his pipe tighter. He crept forward, using the bamboo stalks for cover.
The boar must have sensed something. It stopped rooting, its head lifting, small, piggy eyes swiveling, nostrils flaring as it sniffed the air. It let out a low, warning grunt.
Now! Ace burst from the bamboo, swinging his pipe in a wide arc towards the boar's head. WHAM! The boar squealed in rage, shaking its massive head, the blow seemingly only annoying it. It lowered its tusks and charged straight at Ace.
"LEFT!" Ace yelled, sidestepping nimbly.
I reacted instantly, scrambling aside as the enraged beast thundered past where I'd been standing, its tusks gouging deep furrows in the earth. It skidded to a halt, turning, ready for another charge.
"GOMU GOMU NO... PISTOL!" Luffy's fist shot out from the trees behind the boar, slamming into its rump. THWACK!
The boar squealed again, momentarily confused, spinning around to face this new attacker. That gave Ace the opening he needed. He leaped forward, swinging his pipe with all his might, connecting solidly with the side of the boar's thick skull. CRACK!
The boar staggered, its eyes rolling, before collapsing onto its side with a heavy thud, kicking feebly for a moment before lying still.
"SHISHISHISHI! WE GOT IT!" Luffy cheered, bouncing out from the trees. "Meat! Lots of meat!"
Ace leaned on his pipe, catching his breath, a triumphant smirk briefly touching his lips before settling back into his usual stoic expression. He glanced at me. "Good dodge."
"You gave good warning," I replied, sheathing the Kaenken I hadn't even needed to draw this time. Working together, even in this chaotic trio, felt… different. Less lonely than facing the world alone.
Getting the massive boar back to the hut was an ordeal in itself. Luffy tried to stretch his arms to carry it, nearly dropping it multiple times. Ace and I ended up rigging up a sort of travois using sturdy branches and vines, dragging the carcass slowly through the forest, our muscles screaming in protest after the morning's 'training'. Luffy 'helped' by pushing from behind, mostly just getting in the way and complaining about being hungry.
By the time we hauled our prize back into the clearing, sweating and exhausted, the sun was high overhead. Garp was sitting on a log, sharpening a knife the size of my forearm. He looked up, saw the boar, and let out a booming laugh.
"BWAHAHAHA! Now that's more like it! Finally caught something worth eating!" He eyed the carcass critically. "Bit sloppy on the takedown, heard that squealing a mile away, but passable! Passable!"
Dadan emerged, took one look at the giant boar, and her eyes widened, first in shock, then in something that looked suspiciously like greedy calculation. "Hmph! About time you useless brats made yourselves useful! That'll feed us for a week!" She immediately started barking orders about bleeding it and hauling it to the smokehouse.
Lunch was, for once, not brown stew. It was thick slices of freshly roasted boar, charred on the outside, juicy on the inside, seasoned simply with salt Garp produced from a pouch. Even Dadan seemed marginally less grumpy as she gnawed on a hefty chunk of meat. We ate ravenously around a crackling fire Garp had built in the clearing, the rich, fatty meat replenishing our energy stores.
Luffy, naturally, ate the most, stuffing his cheeks until he looked like a chipmunk. Ace ate with focused intensity, clearly enjoying the reward for their hunt. I savored each bite, the simple act of eating fresh, hot food a luxury I hadn't experienced often in the past four years.
"So, Gramps," Luffy mumbled around a mouthful of pork, "are we gonna learn how to disappear again? Or fly?"
Garp finished gnawing the meat off a massive rib bone, tossing it aside. "Nope! Your movement is pathetic! Need to toughen you up first!" He grinned, cracking his knuckles ominously. "Time for Lesson Three: Tekkai!"
He stood up, gesturing for us to do the same. "Tekkai! Iron Body! By hardening your muscles to the consistency of iron through sheer force of will and spirit, you can withstand incredible blows! A master of Tekkai can shrug off cannonballs!" He puffed out his chest proudly. "Like this!"
He nodded to Ace. "Hit me, brat! Hard as you can! With the pipe!"
Ace blinked, surprised, but a predatory glint entered his eyes. He hefted his metal pipe, took a solid stance, and swung it with all his might, aiming straight for Garp's exposed stomach. CLANG!
The sound wasn't the dull thud of metal hitting flesh. It was the sharp, ringing sound of metal hitting metal. The pipe bounced off Garp's abdomen, leaving absolutely no mark. Garp hadn't even flinched. Ace stumbled back slightly, his arms vibrating from the impact, staring at Garp's stomach in disbelief.
"See?" Garp grinned. "Iron Body! Now, your turn! Brace yourselves!"
Before we could fully process, he lashed out with a fist aimed at Ace's chest. Not a 'love tap' this time, but still clearly controlled. "Focus! Harden! Tekkai!"
Ace gasped, trying to tense his muscles instinctively, but the blow still sent him stumbling back, coughing. WHUMP! "Ow! Hey!"
"Not good enough!" Garp barked. He turned to Luffy. "You next!" He threw a punch at Luffy's rubbery chest. FWUMP! The punch sank in, stretching Luffy's skin backwards before snapping back, sending Garp's fist rebounding slightly. Luffy just giggled. "Shishishi! Doesn't work on me!"
Garp scowled. "Tch! Rubber constitution... always makes this one annoying..." He seemed momentarily stumped, then grinned wickedly. "Guess I'll just have to hit harder!" He delivered another punch, much faster and harder. FWUMP-THWACK! This time, Luffy yelped, though he still didn't seem truly hurt. "Okay, okay! That one kinda stung!"
Finally, Garp turned to me. Those calculating eyes swept over me again. "Your turn, Archangel. Let's see if you're hiding iron under those feathers. Harden!"
His fist shot towards my stomach. Panic flared. I didn't have rubber skin. I didn't have Ace's wiry strength. Harden? How? I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact, desperately trying to will my muscles to tighten, to resist. I instinctively drew on that inner warmth, that strange energy from the Tenshi fruit, picturing a shield, a barrier…
THUD!
The blow connected. It hurt. A lot. It knocked the wind out of me, sending me staggering back a step, gasping. But… it didn't feel like I'd expected. It wasn't the bone-jarring impact Ace seemed to experience. It felt… dampened. As if something invisible had absorbed part of the force. Opening my eyes, I saw Garp staring at his fist, then at my stomach, a deep frown creasing his forehead.
"Hmm…" he murmured, rubbing his knuckles. "Interesting..."
He didn't elaborate. He just yelled, "Again! Brace yourselves! Focus! Feel the impact! Resist it! Turn your bodies into IRON!"
The afternoon descended into a brutal cycle of Garp punching us, yelling at us to harden our muscles, and us failing miserably, punctuated by Luffy's rubbery resilience and Ace's increasingly frustrated grunts of pain. Garp seemed particularly focused on me, hitting me repeatedly, watching my reactions intently. Each time, I instinctively tried to channel that inner Tenshi energy, and each time, the blows felt slightly less devastating than they should have, though they still left bruises blooming under my skin. It wasn't Tekkai, not the way Garp described it, but it was something. A different kind of resilience.
By the time the sun began to dip towards the horizon again, painting the sky in fiery colours that painfully reminded me of home, we were all bruised, battered, and utterly drained. Even Garp looked slightly winded, though he'd deny it.
"Alright! Enough for today!" he finally declared, wiping sweat from his brow. "Still weak as newborn kittens! But…" He looked us over, a grudging approval in his eyes. "You didn't break. That's something."
Ace collapsed onto the ground, groaning. Luffy was poking at a new bruise on his arm, fascinated. I leaned against a tree, trying to catch my breath, every muscle aching.
Garp walked over to me, stopping close by. He looked down, his expression unreadable in the fading light.
"That thing you're doing," he said quietly, his voice rough. "When I hit you. It ain't Tekkai." He peered closer, his eyes sharp. "Feels like... light. Like you're cushioning the blows with condensed sunlight."
I swallowed hard, unsure how to respond. He knew. He could feel it.
He grunted, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "The fruit's waking up faster than I thought. Maybe..." He trailed off, lost in thought for a moment. Then he shook his head, clapping me roughly on the shoulder, making me wince. "Keep practicing! Whatever it is, make it stronger! Might keep you alive longer than trying to turn your scrawny body into iron!"
He started to walk back towards the hut, calling out, "Dadan! Meat! The brats survived another day!"
As Ace pushed himself wearily to his feet and Luffy bounded after Garp demanding food, I stayed leaning against the tree, watching the first stars prick the darkening sky. Condensed sunlight? Was that what the Tenshi fruit did? Protect? Heal? Garp's words about the price on an Archangel's head echoed again. Maybe mastering this fruit wasn't just about survival. Maybe it was about fulfilling the potential Grandpa saw, the power to judge, to protect…
A twig snapped nearby. I turned, hand instinctively going to the Kaenken. Ace stood there, his expression serious, silhouetted against the twilight sky.
"Akane," he began, his voice low, ignoring the calls from the hut. "Gramps talked about lies. About proof. About why they burned your home." He took a step closer, his dark eyes searching mine. "What aren't you telling us? What is the World Government so afraid of?"