Marineford

Ray and Garp were stood at the port of Foosha Village where a large marine ship was docked, presumably Garp's personal ship as Ray saw the iconic dog head figurehead at the front of the ship.

Having turned around to the village, Ray saw a horde of villagers which included Dadan's crew, Luffy and Ace who was on the verge of tears. As they had spent years together it wasn't easy watching someone they considered a friend leave.

"Don't cry now, you knew I had to leave eventually" said Ray

"Who'd cry for you, bastard!" said Ace, trying his best to cover his tears.

"Ace" said Ray bluntly.

"Huh! You actually called me by my name" Ace looked shocked, throughout the 4 years they spent together not once had Ray not called him by his nickname.

Ray smiled, "Get stronger kid, I know it bothers you hearing folk talk about your father, but that's the reality, you have to accept it. You want get out of his shadow? Fucking simple, just surpass him"

Ace didn't comment, he just looked lost in his thoughts.

"Right, lets get moving brat! Dadan, take care of my grandkids for me" said Garp as he dragged Ray onto the ship.

As the ship sailed, Ray stared back at Foosha village and saw everyone waving goodbye, he also waved back as he knew he wouldn't see them for a while. His duty as a marine would keep him occupied for years to come.

An hour later...

"Garp, is this the boy you've been raving about?" hearing someone mention him, Ray turned around, spotting a man wearing a marine coat, which draped over his shoulders. He wore a matching beige suit and hat, with the hat covering his eyes in a shadow.

"Ah yeah I forgot, hey brat let me introduce you to my right hand man and an old friend, Bogard" said Garp as he pointed towards Bogard.

Ray bowed down slightly, Bogard was a mysterious character in the anime, all we knew was he was Garp's right hand man and presumably a vice-admiral.

"Nice to meet you sir" said Ray politely

"Likewise"

After a brief chat with Bogard, Ray's assumption was correct, Bogard was a vice-admiral and a strong one at that. Then Ray was handed his uniform, it was the traditional sleeveless marine uniform. 'Looks a bit shit, I'm changing this as soon as I get a few promotions' thought Ray.

"Vice-admiral Bogard, could I ask for a favour?"

"Go ahead, kid"

"I recently became a swordsman and was seeking advice on how I could improve, I've heard you're one of the best swordsmen in the Marines sir"

"No problem, lets do a little spar with just swordsmanship"

Ray wielded an ordinary katana as Foosha village didn't have rare swords, still, it would suffice for practice. After their little spar, Bogard got a gist of what Ray lacked.

"Listen Ray, there's typically two styles in swordsmanship, it's called the strong and gentle blade. One emphasises power and the latter speed, however, the very best utilise a combination of the two"

"A combination?"

"Yes, a perfect balance between power and speed, those capable of this are able to slice ships with sheer power while also deflecting bullets with their graceful speed"

"You possess enough physical strength to produce a flying slash, however, you completely lack the technique, from what I noticed you weren't able to unleash all the power in your slashes despite your physical ability." explained Bogard.

"I see, thank you sir, you've been a massive helped" replied Ray thankfully.

"No problem, even though we didn't use Haki, I can tell you have a lot of potential"

About a month later...

It seemed Garp wasn't in a rush for Marineford, instead the ship sailed towards Marineford in no hurry, not that Ray minded anyway. Ray had kept training during his journey, spending his days training with Garp and Bogard as well as hunting any sea beasts they encountered.

The meat from those sea beasts actually improved Ray's physique quite a bit, now stood at 6'5, his growth was most due to age but eating sea beast meat still helped, he also possessed a lean and muscular physique, one suited for combat.

His Haki had gotten more potent, as his range with Observation Haki increased and he was able to perceive movements faster than before. For Armament Haki, it was tougher and now he could effortlessly harden it around his fists or katana.

Garp commented on how rapid his observation Haki was progressing, indicating that perhaps Ray had a talent for it. He had spent the longest on Observation Haki , but he found improving Armament Haki was harder even though his Observation Haki was clearly a step ahead.

As for Rokushiki, Ray had finally mastered them all, he felt they were all useful and they complemented his fighting style perfectly. As he gradually improved his body's physical capabilities, his utilisation of the techniques would also therefore increase alongside it.

As they approached their destination, Ray finally got a view of the place where the most exciting arc in One Piece took place. In front of Ray was a crescent moon-shaped island that was composed completely of bricks and steel, with cannons on the edges. At the back of the island, standing large, tall and proud was the Marine Headquarters building.

Garp approached Ray and put a hand on his shoulder, "Brat, you'll be under my command until you become a vice-admiral or whenever Sengoku decides to transfer you somewhere else"

"Got it, old man" replied Ray casually.

Garp punched Ray's on his head, making Ray cry out in pain.

"It's Vice-Admiral Garp here punk, be respectful"

A short while later, Garp went ahead to report to Sengoku that he was back on duty, Bogard stated that apparently we would be stationed at Marineford until further notice, it seemed Garp was usually just stationed here as he was THE Hero of the Marines.

Then he mentioned what Garp wanted me to do, and to put it simply, it was to train. Usually seamen would be patrolling the 4 blues, but since I was under Garp and was clearly superior in strength I was to stay in Marineford.

'Well, let's make the most of this, my strength isn't enough yet, vice-admirals were simply fodder after the time skip and I don't plan on being a useless pawn' thought Ray as he was determined to work harder to strive in this world.

'Ah, I may as well request Garp for a decent katana, this shoddy thing will break in a few hits in a real fight'

And just like that, time continued to flow until 4 years had passed...