Chapter 26: Garp's Hellish Training! Haki
The Great Hall of Ryugu Palace fell into a deathly silence, even more oppressive than the crushing pressure of the ten-thousand-meter deep sea.
The music stopped. The dancers froze in place. The movements of every royal minister seemed to be locked in ice.
"You... You guys..."
A scream laced with sobbing finally tore through the solidified air.
Nami rushed in front of Garp and Luffy, clutching her hair with both hands. The blood had drained from her beautiful face, and she looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused?!"
"That was one of the Four Emperors! That was Big Mom!"
Her voice was shrill with extreme terror.
Luffy patted his round belly, his face the picture of indifference.
Garp spat out a shred of meat from his teeth, tossed the rib-bone toothpick back onto the plate with a crisp ding, and spoke.
"What about the Four Emperors?"
His voice wasn't loud, yet it traveled clearly throughout the entire hall.
"When I was young, I used to chase three of them around by myself."
"I might be a bit older now, but do you think I'd be scared of them?"
As for why there were only three?
Because out of the four, one was still a little baby sleeping in a treasure chest back then!
With a single sentence, the hearts of the ministers, who had just managed to catch their breath, were seized again by an invisible hand.
What arrogance.
But the person speaking was Garp.
So it wasn't arrogance. It was a fact.
In this atmosphere, tense to the breaking point, a steady voice rang out.
"Mr. Garp."
Zoro stood up from his seat and walked over to Garp.
He didn't look at anyone else; he simply stated his request calmly.
"Since you are here, could you please oversee our training?"
He had thought that after two years of training, he possessed enough strength to climb to the top of the world.
But after facing a true legend, they realized just how massive the gap still was between them and the entities who stood at the true apex of the world!
If Garp was this strong, then what kind of power did Kaido, Big Mom, Whitebeard, and Red-Haired Shanks possess?
He wanted to become stronger!
Stronger than everyone else!
Only then could his name echo all the way to the heavens!
So that the girl he made that promise to could hear it!
As his words fell, everyone's gaze focused on Zoro.
This man...
At a time like this, he's actually thinking about training?
Garp paused his tooth-picking.
He slowly raised his head, his gaze landing on Zoro.
"Oh? You've got a good eye, kid."
"You know how to seize an opportunity."
Hearing this, Luffy's eyes instantly lit up.
The expression of savoring the aftertaste of the sweets was immediately replaced by immense excitement.
He bounced up from the floor.
"That's right! Grandpa! Teach us how to get stronger!"
"Me too! Me too!"
Garp stood up.
He casually loosened his muscles, his entire body emitting a series of crisp crack-pop sounds.
The sounds weren't loud, yet they made the surrounding guards subconsciously take a step back.
"Fine."
"I've got nothing better to do anyway. I suppose I can play with you brats for a bit."
Outside Ryugu Palace, on a wide coral plaza.
The Straw Hat crew had fully assembled.
Garp stood before them with his hands behind his back, looking like an ordinary old man preparing for morning exercises.
"Let's get one thing straight first."
"My training is extremely strict."
The moment his voice fell, three figures voluntarily stepped to the front.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji.
The three stood side by side.
The aura radiating from them was a mix of fatigue from unhealed injuries and an even more blazing will to fight.
Garp grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
"Very good."
"Then let's start by getting beaten up."
The instant the words left his mouth.
His figure disappeared from where he stood.
It was as if a breeze had swept across the plaza.
In the next moment.
BANG!
A muffled, heavy impact echoed.
Sanji didn't even have time to lift his leg before a callus-covered fist was already imprinted on his abdomen.
"How can he be this fast?!"
"My Observation Haki couldn't even catch his movement!"
His body instantly bowed into the shape of a shrimp.
It felt as though he had been hit by a battering ram. His feet left the ground, and he was sent flying backward.
BANG!
Almost at the exact same time, Zoro only managed to cross his three swords in front of his chest.
An irresistible, colossal force transmitted through the blades.
"What terrifying power!"
"Is this really an old man?"
He felt as if he had crashed into a mountain moving at high speed. His three famous blades let out a wail of being overburdened, and he was blasted away along with them.
BANG!
The final muffled sound.
Luffy's reaction was the fastest. He coated his entire body in Armament Haki, preparing to tank the hit.
"Quick reaction time. Rayleigh didn't waste those two years teaching you!"
"It's just a pity that in front of me, your cultivation is still too green, brat!"
A seemingly slow palm strikes down.
It was just a light knock on his head.
The force was gentle, yet completely unreasonable.
It easily shattered his Armament Haki defense, sending him spinning a dozen times in the air.
Three figures turned into three cannonballs!
They smashed three deep, human-shaped craters into the hard ground of the plaza.
Dust and smoke billowed.
"Is... Is this training?"
"Scary! That's too scary! That's murder!"
Nami and Usopp hugged each other tightly, their teeth chattering as they let out distorted screams.
Garp retracted his fist.
He stood there as if he had never moved.
He glanced at the three smoking craters.
"Get up."
"That was just the warm-up."
"Your Haki is still too weak. Especially your Armament Haki—it can't even block ten percent of my strength."
Sounds of struggle came from the craters.
Luffy was the first to crawl out, a massive bump swelling on his head.
He rubbed his numb forehead, but his smile was brighter than anyone's.
"That hurt!"
"But that was awesome! Grandpa, do it again!"
Immediately after, Zoro and Sanji also stood up from their respective pits.
A trace of blood hung at the corner of Zoro's mouth, and his hand gripping the swords trembled slightly.
But his fighting spirit burned like a raging fire.
Sanji clutched his abdomen, coughing violently a few times.
Then, he straightened his body and lit a fresh cigarette.
All three were covered in dust and bruises.
But their auras were more condensed and dangerous than they had been just moments ago.
Garp looked at them and nodded with satisfaction.
"Very good. Looks like you have some backbone."
"In that case, continue."
From that day on.
The entire Fish-Man Island could hear inhuman screams coming from the direction of Ryugu Palace at regular intervals.
"Ah! My bones are going to break!"
"Damn it! I can't see his movements at all!"
"Again! Do it again!"
At first, the residents of Fish-Man Island thought Hody's remnants were causing trouble, and they were too scared to leave their homes.
Later, they learned from the guards that it was the former Hero of the Marines, and now the savior of Fish-Man Island, Garp, personally training the Straw Hat crew.
Panic turned into curiosity.
Curiosity turned into numbness.
They gradually got used to waking up to screams and falling asleep to the sound of explosions every day.
A few days later.
On the Coral Plaza.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji lay on the ground, beaten black and blue. Every inch of muscle in their bodies screamed in protest.
But the Armament Haki wrapped around them was several times more solid than it had been a few days ago.
That pitch-black sheen looked as if it could swallow the surrounding light.
Their auras, through repeated near-death experiences and breaking past their limits, were enhancing at a terrifying speed.
(To be Continued)