Chapter 20

Alright, I think I have enough distance on the gorilla now. I have been running for about a quarter of an hour now, making sure that I was going in the right direction, the same way I was going before I ran into the gorilla. I slow down now, convinced that the gorilla will no longer trouble me, and I take a seat on the ground and lean back against a tree. Tired from the quick sprint I just made, I slowly close my eyes and begin to rest. I am just too tired.

"Gruh." My eyes shoot open at the sound to see the gorilla standing in front of me, and I quickly shoot backwards in shock-

"Ugh." Only to hit the back of my head on the tree I was resting on. I bring a hand to the back of my head to nurse the pain while looking back up at the gorilla to see that it hasn't moved at all, but seeing that I am watching it, the gorilla points towards the ground in front of me.

There, on the floor in front of me, is a fruit, the same kind of fruit that I had just peeled ten minutes earlier, sitting there between the gorilla and me.

"You- you want me to peel this for you? Is that why you followed me?" I ask, and in response, the gorilla nods its head. Seeing that it followed me all the way for this, even after I sprinted with my all and this gorilla didn't look at all tired, and it would probably keep on following, I reached out and plucked the fruit off of the ground and then I start to peel it.

With the fruit peeled, I move to hand it over to the gorilla and reach my hand out, but I pull it back when I remember what happened earlier, where it very nearly took my arm off. So instead of repeating the same mistake twice, I chuck the fruit in the air towards it, where the gorilla opens its mouth and chomps the fruit out of the air, swiftly devouring it.

It swallows the fruit whole in a split second and then just stares at me again as if waiting for more, and then t points to the makeshift bag that is on the floor to my right, clearly requesting the fruits within. No way am I going to start feeding this gorilla. It expects me to just peel my own hard-earned fruit and hand it over to it.

If I do that, then it will just keep coming back for more. I will basically be its slave, constantly gathering and peeling food for it. I refuse. I am already at risk of becoming a slave to a random woman in this world, but that is just a single woman in this world of millions.

The chance of me actually meeting them is a billion to one, not to mention that I am supposedly lucky. So there is no way I am going to willingly become a lackey for someone when I may be forced into that position in the future by a higher power.

"You want more fruit? Well, these ones are mine, I got them for myself, and they are for me to eat. I need these to survive. bring me some that you scavenge yourself, and I will peel them for you, and then you can eat those, sound fair?" I say because I don't want to seriously anger the beast, but I am not going to give in to its demands either. However, I have learned that there is a brain in that thick skull, and it understands me, and it at least has some civility, so maybe we can deal with this rationally.

"Gruh." The gorilla grunts again, and then it starts to walk over to me, but I don't scare because I know that this gorilla needs me now. It requires me to peel its fruits because it can't do it with its big fingers, and I know it is clever enough to understand that. It stops right at my feet, and then it pulls back its arm and clenches its fist, is it just me, or does it look like this gorilla is about to throw a fist? Okay, maybe I was a little hasty-

*SMASH*

I stare on blankly as dozens upon dozens of fruit appear from the sky, falling down from the canopy above following the massive gorilla fist making a severe impact on the bark of the tree behind me. The gorilla slowly removes its big fist from the tree, and I look up to see a massive imprint on the tree. And then I look back at the gorilla, which is now staring down at me.

The gorilla then reaches down to the side and picks up a fruit before holding it out for me to take. Stunned, I reach out and take it with both hands. I look around at the dozens of fruits littered all over the ground, and then back to the gorilla, the same gorilla that is so big and strong, and not only is it all that, but it is fast as well since it followed me all the way here and it has a lot of stamina.

"Well, I think me and you can come to a deal. What do you say?" I ask while getting started on peeling the fruit because right now, my brain is coming up with a solution that will make my life much easier.

"Geh?" The gorilla tilts its head to the side, confused. I chuck the unpeeled fruit into the air for it, and it snaps it out of the air like a fish jumping out of the water before it looks back down at me, waiting for me to continue speaking.

"Here's the deal. I need to get to the beach, which is that way, behind me." I jab my thumb behind me towards the beach. "But the thing is, I am very tired, and I have been up for several days straight, and I really need to sleep. So here is what I am thinking, you are going to help me get to the beach." I point towards the gorilla, which looks very confused.

"Meh?" The gorilla points to its own face in confusion, with a dumb expression on its face.

"That is right, you. You will carry me down to the beach, which will allow me to get some rest. In return, I will keep peeling fruits for you to eat. So you just take me down to the beach and keep punching trees every so often, and I will sleep and peel the fruits you knock down for both of us to eat. Does that sound fair to you?" I ask, wanting to finalise the deal.

"Hmm?" The gorilla looks to be pondering over it, and I watch as it lifts a hand to its chin and stares up at the sky, its eyes constantly shifting from left to right as it considers its options. Then, finally, it seems to make a decision as it looks back down at me and slams a fist into its palm with a firm expression on its face.

"Hng." It nods with a determined expression on its face, which makes me smile, knowing that my worries are pretty much over now.

"Great, well then, let me just grab my bag and gather up all these fruits, and we can- Woah!" The gorilla reaches down and grabs me, its right hand fully enclosing around my waist, and it picks me up and plops me right down on its back onto its surprisingly soft hair.

"Oh, alright then. I suppose you can just punch a tree anytime you want some fruit, and I didn't really have anything crucial in that bag. Oh well, do you have a name then?" I ask as the gorilla starts to trudge off down in the direction which I pointed to earlier. The gorilla does not respond to my question, not even a grunt.

"Oh, right, stupid question. Of course, you don't have a name. You have never really needed one before, have you? I suppose I will give you a name then: let me think- oh, you are going in the wrong direction. Go more to the right." The gorilla doesn't respond, but it does make an alteration to its path, showing that it did hear me and it is acknowledging my words.

"Good. Now to decide on a name, what to be, what to be? You are not quite so curious, and you are also not a monkey, but who cares? How about George? What do you think? Do you like it? You are a boy, right?" I ask though I don't put much thought into it. Honestly, I am pretty tired right now, and I am just trying to stay awake to make sure that this gorilla is heading in the right direction and that I am not somehow going to wake up back at the top of that cliff.

"Greh." I nearly fall off when the gorilla grunts in affirmation and nods its head, but I manage to grab hold tight of its hair. But also, pretty much the moment I slipped slightly, the gorilla- George- reached behind him and pushed me back onto his back.

George seems to be reasonably reliable, actually. I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful relationship, at least till I get to the beach, at which point there will be no reason for our continued acquaintance.

-----------------------------------

Ahh, this is the life. No Sengoku constantly telling me to behave, none of those stupid elders telling me what to do, none of those silly holy chickens whining and crying. Just me, the beach and crackers, what a truly perfect life.

This was what my retirement was supposed to be like, except I can't retire, not with all those idiot brats like the hot dog trying to do stupid things, as well as all those stupid pirates that have continued making messes even after Roger's death.

It was all supposed to stop after Roger's death, no more piracy and everybody could live in peace, and I wouldn't have to keep going out and smacking those arrogant assholes. But Roger had to go and mention the One Piece and have a little speech before his execution, goddamn it. But then again, he wouldn't be Roger if he didn't do something big, haah.

Oh well, I am just going to keep relaxing on this beach and eating my crackers, at least until the kid gets back. Speaking of the kid, it has been a few days now. He should be close by now, right? He should be fine. I didn't even give him a demanding job. He just has to walk, that is all. I will give it another day, and then I will go check on him, hopefull-

"Hmm." I look behind me to the forest, where there is some rustling happening. Maybe I should check it out with my- No Garp, remember this is supposed to be your vacation, even if you are looking after a brat, so just relax, and there is nothing on this island that can hurt me anyway.

"Hey, old man, I am back! Now let me have some crackers. I think I deserve it after all this crap you put me through!"

"YOU ARE NOT HAVING ANY OF MY CRACKERS. THEY ARE MINE. IF YOU WANTED ANYTHING, THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE PACKED IT AND BROUGHT IT WITH YOU. THESE ARE MINE. I BROUGHT THEM WITH ME!" I shout, turning around to see-

Oh, the boy is back, and he is on top of a gorilla. Cheating little shit, I should have had at least one more day to relax before having to deal with the shrimp. Oh well, I guess my relaxation time is over.