Chapter 9 - A Monster beyond Legends? A Storm Brewing in Mary Geoise!
The news of Akainu's fleet retreating swept across the ocean like a Category 12 hurricane.
The new Fleet Admiral's first iron-fisted operation had ended in humiliation, forced back by the combined pressure of the former Fleet Admiral and the Great Staff Officer.
The prestige of the World Government, already cracked by the Summit War, had been stomped on once again.
The internal conflict within the Marines was now completely public.
And because of this fissure, the dark undercurrents of the world began to surge even more violently.
The New World.
Blackbeard Teach, taking advantage of the Navy's instability, frantically annexed the territories left behind by Whitebeard, his power expanding at a terrifying rate.
** The Revolutionary Army.**
In corners of the world where the Government was too distracted to look, the flag of the Revolution was planted on the soil of kingdom after kingdom.
The sea had entered an era of unprecedented chaos.
Time slipped away quietly within this vortex of confusion.
Another year passed.
Amazon Lily, a secluded training ground cleared by Rayleigh.
BOOM!
A figure moved as fast as lightning, blasting a boulder weighing several tons into a cloud of scattered gravel with a single punch.
"Not enough!"
Rayleigh's voice came from the side.
Luffy, his entire body coated in jet-black Armament Haki, flexed his bulging muscles and launched a storm-like barrage of attacks against another massive rock.
Every punch caused the hard stone to shatter, sending debris flying.
Garp sat on a beach chair not far away, loud crunching sounds coming from his mouth as he chewed on senbei crackers.
He looked at his grandson—who had shed his childishness and become truly reliable—with undisguised satisfaction.
Just then.
The electronic voice that had been silent for two years finally rang out in his mind.
[DING! MISSION "THE JUSTICE OF PATIENCE" COMPLETE.]
[REWARD ISSUING: PROFICIENCY IN ALL THREE TYPES OF HAKI DOUBLED. ABILITY "PERFECT PRESENCE CONCEALMENT" PERMANENTLY SOLIDIFIED.]
The instant the voice faded...
An unimaginable, terrifying power erupted from the depths of Garp's soul.
That torrent of power washed over every inch of his bones, every meridian, every drop of blood.
In that moment, his body seemed to transform into a bottomless black hole, frantically devouring this power that had appeared out of thin air.
It lasted only a split second.
Then, all that surging power returned to the void, perfectly locked within that seemingly ordinary, aging body.
Rayleigh, who was instructing Luffy, suddenly froze.
Every muscle in the Dark King's body went rigid. A single drop of cold sweat slid silently down his temple.
A terrifying aura—one strong enough to freeze a soul solid—gripped his heart like an invisible hand.
The sensation lasted only for a heartbeat before vanishing without a trace.
Rayleigh turned his head stiffly, inch by inch, staring dead at the direction the aura had come from.
Garp was still lying leisurely on the beach chair, taking another cracker from the bag and popping it into his mouth.
CRUNCH.
The crisp sound was exceptionally ear-piercing in the deathly silence.
"You..."
Rayleigh's voice was dry. His Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty, but he couldn't force out a second word.
"Grandfather..."
Hancock's imperial aura had been shattered into pieces in that split second. She subconsciously took a half-step back to steady herself.
She looked at Garp as if she were looking at an unknown creature wearing a human skin.
"What?"
"That power I just felt... was that you?"
"Power?"
Garp chewed on his cracker, looking at the two of them with a face of pure innocence.
"What's wrong with you two? Seeing ghosts in broad daylight?"
He held out the bag of crackers.
"Want one? Freshly roasted. Sea salt flavor."
Rayleigh looked at the bag of crackers.
Then he looked at Garp's harmless face. A chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his skull.
Ghost?
No!
"Even Roger... even Whitebeard... at their absolute peak, they never gave me a feeling like this!"
That wasn't just strength. That was something from another dimension entirely.
"A monster... no, he has transcended that category..."
Rayleigh's hand, resting on his sword hilt, trembled slightly from gripping it too hard.
The Next Day.
The Kuja Pirates' ship docked at the shores of the Sabaody Archipelago.
Luffy, carrying a massive backpack, flashed a brilliant grin at the group on the shore.
"Alright! I'm off!"
"Luffy."
Garp stepped forward and patted the straw hat.
"Remember. If you can't beat them, run. Protect your crew."
"And remember, I've always got your back."
He paused, then added one more sentence.
"Once I finish settling some old scores with a few old geezers, I'll come find you."
Luffy nodded heavily.
"Got it, Grandpa!"
The ship slowly sailed away from the port.
The figure of the Straw Hat boy disappeared into the distant horizon.
Rayleigh watched the ship leave, then turned to look at Garp beside him.
"Luffy is gone."
"What do you plan to do now?"
"Find a place to continue your retirement life?"
Garp didn't answer.
He slowly raised his right hand. Under Rayleigh's gaze, he slowly curled it into a fist.
CRACK!
K-KRACK!
The sound of his knuckles popping was frighteningly crisp.
But what made Rayleigh's scalp tingle was what he saw next.
With those few pops, the air around Garp's fist actually created visible, distorted ripples.
That was pure physical strength, now powerful enough to interfere with the fabric of the environment itself!
A dangerous grin stretched across Garp's face.
He turned his head.
His gaze shot over the treetops of the Sabaody Archipelago, fixing directly on the massive Red Line that bisected the world.
"Retire?"
"No."
"The real show is just getting started."
He lowered his fist and shoved both hands back into the pockets of his beach shorts.
"I think it's time I went to the Holy Land, Mary Geoise, to collect some interest."
(To be Continued)