Chapter 24

It has been a really long time since that day. In comparison, that day was actually close to the day we came to this island, and now it has definitely been at least a couple of months. I haven't ever started on making my boat yet, focusing on my own training first as well as waiting till I was strong enough to actually start chopping down trees with my hands, but obviously, that was not going to happen.

I knew that, but I still tried. Every day, I try to chop a tree down with my own hands, going at it with the sole focus of chopping it down, but all I ever do is chip away at the bark. But, what Garp said really stuck with me, and so I wanted to try it this way first, to try and do it with just my own body, but after these months of training, I feel like I am in a good enough place with my training that I can start on the boat.

I knew that the chances of me bringing down a tree with my own fist were negligible, but I still tried, but it was not going to happen anytime soon. I was just not old enough or strong enough to do so.

Garp was angry that I was giving up before I even started and that I was not even thinking about trying. He didn't want me to actually make a boat with my own hands and nothing else. he just wanted me to try, to try and do build the boat before I even gave up. I think Garp might have been projecting his own problems at me because he seemed to be more talking to himself when he was screaming at me that day, he is a powerful man, but he seems to also have his own share of problems.

So it is time to try another way again. I can not chop down the trees to get the resources to build a boat, but I can get the resources to create tools, and I am going to make my own tools to help me build the boat.

So, what do I need to build a boat? I need wood and nails, and that is about it. The wood is easy since there is an overabundance of it on this island after all, but the nails won't be found here, and so I need a substitute for it. But somehow, I don't see myself finding anything on this island to act as nails, so I need to find something to do the job that nails would do.

Nails are there to pin two or more things together and hold them firmly in place, so I just need to find something that can keep two or more things together, and I have already seen the perfect thing. The same thing that I had used to make my makeshift bags, twine. While thin, they are pretty strong, and if you gather enough of them, you can bundle them into a cord and twist them around to make some makeshift rope.

With that taken care of, I now need to get wood, but I won't be able to do that with my bare fists, which means I need to make a makeshift axe. To do that, there is a rockface not too far away from here with loads of stones all over the place. So Garp sometimes makes me do my training over there on the sharp rocks.

I can probably find a sharp rock over there, and if I can't, then I can just start bashing rocks together until one fractures and gives me a sharp stone. Then I can use some of the aforementioned twine rope to secure that to the head of a tree branch, and voila, a makeshift axe.

With that axe, I can chop down wood, and using another sharp stone, I can shave down and carve that wood, shaping it into something I can make use of. A plan is coming together. I can see this all working out quite nicely.

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"There, finally done." I speak aloud, relieved to finally have finished my boat. I have spent ages working on it and fine-tuning it till it was perfect, and finally, the day is here.

"Would you look at that? I knew you had it in you. Let me just get my crackers, and we can be on our way." Garp says, looking down at my boat in amazement, and who could blame him? It is a work of art. I worked hard to make something practical, but also, since it was the first thing I ever built with my own two hands, I made it look good as well.

A sleek wooden boat, clean and smooth, with nothing jutting out or anything, I took extra care to sand it all down to size. I even managed to shave down two branches to make good solid oars to row the boat with, and now we can get off of this island and go back to Shokuyasi Village.

"Alright, let's get out of here." I am brought out of my mesmerisation by Garp returning with his smaller sack of crackers, having seriously dwindled his massive supply over the many months we have been here. He drops his bag into the boat, jumps in, and takes a seat, lying back to rest his head on the sack, clearly not going to help with the rowing, just like on the way here.

"Alright, bye, George, have a nice life on the island!" I shout to George, who sits on the beach eating a fruit, the last one I will ever peel for him, and he looks back at us confused, so I ignore him.

"Greh?" I hear George grunt confusedly while laying my hands on the back of the boat. I start to push it off of the sand and out onto the waters. I keep doing so until I feel the water rise to my knees, at which point I hop into the boat as well.

I grab the oar and dip it into the water, feeling it hit the sand underneath, at which point I start to push. "Alright! Let's go-"

"GRAAAAH!!" Hearing a roar coming from right behind me, I turn around, and I see a big black mass moving rapidly towards us before-

*Splash*

I am submerged under the water for a second before I jump back up out of it and gasp for breath, confused as to what just happened, only to see a wet gorilla face staring back at me blankly.

"Grah?" George grunts and I find myself feeling tired. This dumb ass gorilla just ran after us and jumped on our boat, smashing the thing to pieces and ruining all of my hard work. But seeing his dumb face that doesn't seem to comprehend what he has just done, I remember that George is basically a child, and there is no point being angry at him since he doesn't know any better.

Sighing, I pick up the one oar that survived and start to wade back through the water towards the beach, resigned to starting my boat again and building it again. Lifting my heavy legs out of the water, I step back onto the beach, only to suddenly feel a shiver journey down my spine as I feel an ominous presence at my back.

"You..." I quickly turn back to see Garp standing there in the shallows, water dripping off of every inch of him, but more importantly, the sack in his hand is drenched through, the sack that carried the snacks that he spends all day eating and water is dripping from it.

Garp begins to stalk towards me, walking normally as if the water wasn't even there. I prepare myself for him to berate me for having ruined the only thing that Garp actually enjoys on this island besides me hurting myself in training.

"Make a bigger boat. The monkey is coming too. He won't take no for an answer, damn dirty ape." Garp walks past me and back towards the beach, dropping the wet sack on the sand and then walking back towards the campfire.

"Wait, what? Why are we taking George?" I ask, looking towards George, who has now pulled himself out of the water and started to vigorously shake himself, spraying water everywhere. What are you, a dog?

"The monkey wants to stay with you for some reason, and it will keep trying to come with us and breaking the boat, so just let him come. he isn't much trouble anyway." Garp says, having already started the fire back up and drying himself in front of it.

"God, Garp-San. I thought you would be much angrier since all of your crackers are gone, and you will be eating no more of them till I build another boat and get us off of this island." So I speak, coming to sit next to him to dry myself as well.

"You know what shrimp? Since we have so much extra time now, we can step up your training. You have really come into your own since we got here, so let's make you even stronger." Garp says, staring straight into the fire.

"Oh wow, okay, great! So what are we going to do? Are you going to teach me how to jump into the air like you did or how to make those cool wind blades you did with your legs?" I cannot wait. I will be truly awesome with those at my disposal.

"No, no, you are already on your way to doing that stuff. No, what I am talking about is experience. What is the use of training if you have never actually used it? I think it is time you get some real hands-on experience." Garp turns to look at me, and I am scared at the truly wide unfriendly grin on his face. I don't think he has so easily forgiven me for ruining his crackers.