Chapter 13 - Lazy Justice: I Can Outlast You Lot Now!
The dust settled, leaving the plaza of Mary Geoise in absolute ruin.
The Five Elders, still in their demonic forms, stood in the center of the debris.
Their auras were violent and chaotic, but they could no longer find a trace of the figure that had just humiliated them.
"SEARCH! TURN ALL OF MARY GEOISE UPSIDE DOWN!"
Saturn roared in fury.
However, they were destined to find nothing.
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The Holy Land, Celestial Dragon Slave Quarters.
This was the filthiest corner of Mary Geoise, where the air was thick with the stench of despair and rot.
Dozens of guards in black uniforms were leaning against the walls, bored out of their minds.
Suddenly, a figure appeared before them without warning.
A floral shirt, beach shorts, and a pair of sunglasses.
It was Garp, fresh from his escape from the Five Elders' encirclement.
"Who goes there?!"
A guard captain reacted first, shouting sternly.
Inside the cages, slaves with numb, dead eyes looked up, staring in terror at this sudden stranger.
"How did you get in here?!"
"Alarm! Intruder alert!"
"Take him down!"
The guards instantly drew the weapons at their waists, swarming him from all sides.
Garp didn't speak.
He simply raised his hand and waved it lightly at the air three times.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
The guards rushing at the front suddenly froze.
Immediately after, their bodies were twisted like pretzels by an invisible giant hand!
Snap! Crack!
The sound of bones shattering rang out in succession as they slumped softly to the ground.
The remaining guards froze in their tracks.
"W-What did he do?"
"I didn't see anything!"
"A monster! He's a monster!"
"Run!"
Fear instantly crushed their will to fight.
But before they could even turn around, Garp's figure flickered and weaved through them.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A series of dull impacts echoed.
In less than two breaths, every single guard lay on the ground, silenced forever.
Garp walked up to the row of massive cages made of Seastone. He reached out with both hands and grabbed the cold bars.
The muscles on his arms bulged slightly.
CREAAAK...
BANG!
The Seastone bars—hard enough to turn any Devil Fruit user into a helpless mortal—were forcibly torn apart, twisted, and ripped open by sheer brute force, creating a massive gap.
The slaves inside the cage stared blankly at the scene, their minds unable to process it.
"Come on out."
Garp's voice snapped them out of their shock.
"You're free."
The slaves looked at each other, then at him, their faces filled with disbelief.
One bolder slave trembled as he walked out through the gap.
He touched his own body, then looked up at the sky.
Then, with a thud, he fell to his knees before Garp.
"Thank you, my lord! Thank you for saving our lives!"
The other slaves reacted then, pouring out of the cages and kneeling in a massive wave.
"Letting you out is the limit of what I can do."
Garp waved his hand dismissively.
"It's chaos outside right now. Whether you can escape or not depends on your own skills."
The slaves weren't disappointed; instead, they were filled with gratitude.
"Just regaining our freedom is already a heavenly grace!"
"Yes! Even dying on the road to escape is better than being a slave here for a lifetime!"
"We understand! We won't cause you any trouble, my lord!"
"My lord, I know a secret path!"
A small, scrawny Fish-man slave suddenly shouted.
"It leads to the underside of the Red Line! It's an escape tunnel I dug secretly before I was caught!"
"That's great!"
"Quick! Let's follow him!"
The flame of hope reignited in the slaves' eyes. Led by the Fish-man, they quickly vanished into the dark corners of the complex.
Garp watched their retreating backs, turned around, and vanished once more.
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The Edge of the Sabaody Archipelago, a deserted coast.
Garp's figure appeared out of thin air.
He exhaled a breath of turbid air, a trace of seriousness on his face.
"So they really are unkillable, just like I remember... what a troublesome bunch."
He looked down at his fists.
"My Haki still isn't strong enough!"
He had clearly felt that under the suppression of his Conqueror's Haki, the Five Elders' regeneration speed had slowed down.
But it wasn't enough.
Just then, that familiar robotic voice rang in his mind.
[DING! DETECTED THAT THE HOST HAS HEAD-ON CLASHED WITH THE WORLD'S HIGHEST POWER AND SUCCESSFULLY RETREATED UNSCATHED. JUSTICE DICTIONARY SYSTEM UPDATED!]
[PLEASE SELECT YOUR NEXT JUSTICE TRAIT:]
Three light screens unfolded before Garp's eyes.
[OPTION 1: THE KING'S JUSTICE.]
Gain the one-time active skill "King's Judgment." Deals massive damage to a single target that ignores all defense. However, the user will enter a weakened state after use.
[OPTION 2: THE SCHOLAR'S JUSTICE.]
Gain the ability "Eye of Truth." Allows the user to see through the essence and weaknesses of all abilities. No direct combat power increase.
[OPTION 3: LAZY JUSTICE.]
When the body remains stationary for more than 3 seconds, physical defense doubles! upon moving again, the next attack gains a 30% boost based on the current Conqueror's Haki level.
Garp stared at the three options, falling into deep thought.
Sunny analyzed the situation rapidly.
"King's Judgment" has massive power, but the cost of weakness is too high. Against five unkillable monsters, killing one just to leave myself vulnerable means death.
"Eye of Truth" can spot weaknesses, but I've already guessed their secret (immortality/regen). Knowing the specific mechanics doesn't help if I can't out-damage their healing.
Head-on brute force isn't enough. Knowing their weakness isn't enough.
His gaze finally landed on the third option.
Double defense. Attack buff.
This was practically custom-made for those five unkillable punching bags.
"Since I can't kill you, I'll just outlast you."
Garp's face stretched into a grin like an old fox.
"I choose three!"
[DING! SELECTION SUCCESSFUL! TRAIT "LAZY JUSTICE" ACTIVATED!]
A wondrous sensation flowed through his entire body.
Garp could clearly feel that the moment he stood still for three seconds, his body seemed to connect with the earth itself.
A feeling of indestructibility rose spontaneously!
What is a "Tekkai" (Iron Body)?
Now THIS is what a real Iron Body is supposed to be!
And when he took a step forward...
A surging wave of Conqueror's Haki spontaneously gathered on his fists and feet, waiting for the next explosive release!
"Interesting."
Garp stood up and dusted off his beach shorts.
He turned his gaze toward the direction of the horizon where the Thousand Sunny had disappeared.
"I've collected some interest on the old geezers' debts. Now, it's time to go see that troublesome grandson of mine."
His figure flashed, vanishing from the coastline.
(To be Continued)