8 Lieutenant Rank at 10 years old

The ship docked and the Marines came down, getting greeted by other Marines.

Suddenly, everyone fell silent as they watched a boy covered in blood, holding a sack with a shotgun on one shoulder, and a severed head in the other hand.

He followed Kong and Jonathan followed him as they passed through the crowd of Marines.

Galan looked around at the Marines, making them back up as he snorted, turning back to the front as Kong said "Stop scarin' 'em, kid. They're not like you." Galan replied "Dickless pussies, sir?" Kong nodded, "Exactly." Jonathan chuckled and added, "Scared 'em shitless too."

Galan replied "I just want to know the ones on the list." Kong snorted smoke, thinking about the list as he said "I'll handle the list. You stay out of trouble. Last thing I need is a brainless asshole ventilating Marine skulls in base. Clear?"

Galan nodded and replied simply "Crystal." as he looked up at the large Marineford building, smiling slightly. Jonathan patted his head and said "I'll be waiting for you when you're done, Galan." Galan smiled at him and nodded as Kong said "Hurry up, you little puke. We're going to see the Fleet Admiral."

Galan nodded and Jonathan took the head from him, smiling "I'll get your merits." as he walked away.

Galan followed Kong and looked around at all the buildings and barracks, the training grounds, shops, housing, even restaurants. It was like a big city.

A few young people got into a scuffle, smashing into the pathway right in front of Kong, shouting "Damn it, Garp! You ate my Senbei again!?" the young man named Garp just laughed, "It was Zephyr, Sengoku! Bwahahaha!"

Sengoku turned to the purple haired man laughing on the side, he abruptly stopped and said "Hey… Don't look at me like that…" while a blue haired woman saluted "Vice-Admiral Kong."

The three others froze and turned their heads to see Kong looking down at them with Galan, holding a shotgun behind him. They scrambled to their feet and saluted "Vice-Admiral Kong!" while looking at Galan curiously.

Kong snorted "You troublemaking pricks are always in the way!" Galan rested the shotgun on his shoulder and looked at the group quietly, blinking with a straight face. Kong smacked Galan in the back of the head, smashing him face first into the ground as he said "Salute! You little bastard!"

Galan stood up and saluted "Hello, troublemaking pricks." the group's lips twitched and Kong nodded, "Good boy. Let's go." as he walked away, Galan following him in silence.

Garp scratched his head, muttering "Who's the kid? You think it's the old prick's son?!" Sengoku frowned "I don't think so. How old is he? 40?" Garp slapped his back and laughed, "You're already 30, old man! Bahahaha!"

The woman giggled and Sengoku shouted "I'm 29! You stupid bastard! What are you laughing at, Tsuru? You're gonna be 30 real soon!" Tsuru froze and Zephyr held his head, muttering "Oh no… Not again…"

Garp started running while laughing "Bwahahaha! Sengoku, you fucked up this time! BAHAHAHAH!" Zephyr chased after him as Sengoku snorted "I said what I said." Tsuru smiled widely "I heard you, Sen." before kicking him in the face.

Galan and Kong were walking away, Galan turned back and watched the group they just passed fool around while laughing. He stayed silent and Kong suddenly said, "Galan." Galan turned back, looking at Kong's back as he continued "You don't have to be so miserable all the time. It's okay to laugh and cry. You're not an animal like the people who did this to you. How many times have I kicked your teeth in and how many times have you gotten back up?"

He turned his head slightly, side-eying Galan as he went on, "You're stronger than those scumbag pirates. Stop acting like an asshole or you'll become one." before turning back as they entered the huge Headquarter Building.

Galan fell silent and looked at the ground as he followed Kong up stairs, going to see the Fleet Admiral.

Galan didn't speak and Kong sighed to himself, figuring that the kid was still neck deep in shit, it would take some time for him to lighten up a little and mature. Kong thought about Galan's emotional recovery, he wasn't the emotional type. Smart people like Jonathan were good with that sort of thing…

Maybe even Sengoku, Tsuru, and Zephyr could help too… As for Garp, that guy was dumber than a box of rocks in Kong's opinion. Unfortunately, there were no kids the same age as Galan at the base, but Kong had heard that Garp's kid was 5 years old, maybe in a few years he could make Galan interact with kids close to his age instead of adults.

The kid was only 10 for god's sake. Kong frowned, feeling a headache coming… There was a reason he never got married and had kids…

The duo arrived at the Fleet Admiral's office and walked inside.

Galan saw a big man with a brown beard and a bald head, a real mean and tough look to him. Kong saluted "Fleet Admiral Bear." Bear looked up and replied "Vice-Admiral Dickless." before noticing the bloody kid in the room, adding "You brought your own little prick?"

Kong wasn't phased at all, replying "Found 'im on an island full of ash heaps. Kid boarded my ship and took a Petty Officer hostage by himself, been a year now. Called you about it a while ago." Bear put down his pen, scratching his beard as he eye'd up Galan, saying "Oh… Right, the boy who ventilates brains. Nice to meet ya, jerkoff. Quite a service you did, killing those rat faggots."

Galan saluted and replied "I see evil, I kill it, sir." Bear laughed, "Even if it's me?" Galan didn't even hesitate, replying "No matter who it is, sir. If you're evil, I will kill you." as he grabbed his shotgun.

Kong grabbed his hand and Bear laughed, slapping the desk and splitting it in half as he said "Good! Good kid! I like you already! You got the balls to draw your weapon on me, I can only imagine the scum out there! Gehahahahaha!"

Kong let Galan go and said "I want his starting rank to be Lieutenant." Bear grinned and looked at Kong, saying "You do, do ya? How do you figure?" Kong replied simply "He killed 5 pissants in 10 seconds, 2 of 'em were Lieutenants already. Not to mention he has a rough understanding of Armament and Observation already, able to display both." Bear raised his brows and looked at Galan, saying "That true?" Galan saluted again and his hand turned pitch black as he replied "Yes, sir."

Bear hummed and looked at Kong, saying "I don't mind the rank, but he doesn't see combat until 16." Kong nodded and said "Not a problem, Fleet Admiral." Bear chuckled and his grin turned sinister as he asked "Now about that list…"

Kong clenched his fist and crackling pops sounded as he replied "I got a bunch of 'em just waiting to taste their own shit." Bear grinned and said "Good. All of 'em, dead. Ya hear me?" Kong nodded, replying "No problem, Bear-sensei." before dragging Galan out of the office with him as Bear went back to work, sneering as he thought of those rats.

Kong brought Galan down as he said "You'll stay with Jonathan tonight, I have to do something." Galan looked up at him and asked "Can I come with you?" Kong frowned and shook his head, replying "No. This needs to be done quickly and cleanly, otherwise if we alert the other rats, they'll just run away. I'm gonna clean them all up in one night with a small team. I don't need you fucking things up. Got it?"

Galan sighed and nodded, muttering "Yeah…" Kong looked at him for a moment before patting his head as he added, "Next time." Galan smiled slightly and nodded, Kong nodded and continued "If you sneak out to bust skulls, I will kill you myself, how about it?" Galan nodded again and Kong ruffled his hair, going on to say "Jonathan will take care of you tonight, then I'll have some new things for you to do…"

He paused for a moment before adding "We train tomorrow in the morning, I'll bring a few people you already met and you'll all train together. In the meantime, Jonathan is getting more books for you, okay? Be a good bastard and read 'em." Galan nodded and smiled a little, feeling the warmth from Kong's palm on his head.

When they reached the exit, Jonathan was waiting with a crate on his shoulder. He smiled and took Galan from Kong, who walked away as Jonathan brought Galan to his house, putting down the crate and smiling "Chess?"

Galan smiled happily and nodded as he sat down, Jonathan took out the board, saying "You know, Galan. You need to work on your emotional control. Vice-Admiral thinks you're like an open book… and after getting my Observation Haki, I can see it too." Galan snorted and replied "I don't know how."

Jonathan smiled gently and rubbed his head, saying "I'll teach you. It's kinda like playing chess…" as they started. Jonathan went on to say, "If you reveal all your cards look how easy it is for me to win. I can anticipate your every move, even with a corner of your hand showing, you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Galan nodded and reset the chessboard, not phased by his loss, replying "Never reveal your true intentions. Not even a little bit." Jonathan nodded and smiled "Good. Of course, for allies you can show a bit of your hand, but for people you don't trust, it's very dangerous to leave your heart out in the open. Just like those motherless fucks on the deck that day, it's quite easy for them to stab you in the back."

Galan played a move and asked "How can I trust someone?" Jonathan laughed and stroked his chin, replying "How can you trust anyone? By learning about them, studying them, understanding them, engaging with them. Just because someone plays the fool, doesn't mean they're retarded. Just like this."

Galan froze as he stared at the chess board, Jonathan only had a Queen, King, and Rook left but he checkmated Galan, who had nearly all his pieces still! Galan muttered "I see." Jonathan reset the board and smiled "Good. Now we were learning about strategy last time, right?"

The night came and went, before they knew it, it was the morning.

Galan was standing in a training ground with Jonathan as Kong walked over, his arms covered in blood along with Sengoku, Zephyr, Garp, and Tsuru. They were more or less the same, but Tsuru was cleaning the butt of her rifle with a bloody rag and the others cleaned their hands.

Kong looked at Galan and Jonathan, saying "Everyone's here. We'll begin." Garp stood in front of Galan and laughed "You brat, you're pretty good! I heard you pulled your gun on that old fuck, Bear! BAHAHAHA!" Kong punched Garp in the head, smashing him into the ground as Galan stepped out of the way.

Kong snorted "We're training, not spouting bullshit like women!" Tsuru looked at Kong, who added "Shut the fuck up and fall in line, pissants!" the 6 of them fell in line and Kong snorted smoke from his nose, saying "Let's get started."