Chapter 29: One Slap Sends a Tobi Roppo Flying! That is Grandpa's Logic!
The carnival music came to a screeching halt.
The smiles froze on everyone's faces.
The Great Hall fell into a deathly silence once again.
The Beast Pirates.
That name, like the crushing water pressure of the deep sea, instantly sucked all the oxygen and joy out of the banquet hall.
"The... The Beast Pirates?"
Nami's voice was laced with sobbing.
The tears of joy she had just shed for Jinbe joining the crew hadn't even dried before they turned into cold sweat from sheer terror.
"You've got to be kidding me! We just finished provoking Big Mom, and now Kaido's people are here?"
"Is there something wrong with this world?!"
"Why are all the Four Emperors chasing after us?!"
Usopp's legs gave out, and he collapsed directly onto the floor.
Foam bubbled at his mouth, his eyes losing focus.
"It's over, it's over, it's over! We're going to be made into roast meat skewers!"
Chopper hugged the unconscious Usopp tightly, shivering uncontrollably.
"This shouldn't be happening! His subordinates shouldn't be coming to Fish-Man Island, which is nominally the territory of another Emperor!"
King Neptune's massive body swayed, nearly slipping off his throne.
He looked at the old man who was still picking his teeth, acting as if he hadn't heard a thing, and felt like his heart was about to give out.
"Mr. Garp... this..."
Garp spat out a shred of meat.
He tossed the clean rib bone back onto the plate with a crisp ding.
"What's all the noise about?"
He stood up and walked toward the exit of the Great Hall.
"If we go take a look, we'll know."
Luffy's eyes lit up, and he immediately followed.
"Oh! Is it Kaido's underling? Is he strong?"
Jinbe looked at the retreating backs of the grandfather and grandson.
Then he looked at the surrounding royal ministers, who were frightened out of their wits. A layer of fine, cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
Just what kind of family have I pledged my loyalty to?
The Port of Ryugu Palace.
A massive black ship lay quietly docked there, resembling a vicious beast coiling in the deep sea.
On the bow was a hideous figurehead of a roaring beast.
Flying from the mast was a flag depicting a skull with horns.
The Beast Pirates.
A man with an exceptionally tall build, wearing a mask that covered the upper half of his face, walked down from the ship.
With every step he took, the coral ground beneath his feet let out a muffled groan of being overburdened.
A fierce and tyrannical aura shrouded the entire port upon his arrival.
The surrounding Fish-Man residents had long since fled into their homes in terror, daring only to peek secretly through the cracks in their doors.
By the time Garp, Luffy, and the others arrived at the port, the masked man had been waiting for quite some time.
Behind him stood a row of menacing pirates.
"Are you Monkey D. Garp?"
The masked man's voice was raspy and arrogant.
He looked Garp up and down, making no attempt to hide his scrutiny.
Garp didn't answer; he just dug his finger into his ear.
The masked man didn't seem to care.
He took out a box from his robes and opened it.
A Devil Fruit with a bizarre aura, covered in spiral patterns and looking somewhat like a failed product, appeared before everyone.
An artificial Zoan Devil Fruit—a SMILE.
"Lord Kaido has heard of your deeds, Mr. Garp."
The masked man held the fruit up in front of his face, his voice dripping with condescending charity.
"He appreciates your strength."
"Lord Kaido specifically sent this gift to invite you to join us."
"Let us create the strongest world together—a world where only the strong can survive!"
"Join you?"
Garp finally spoke.
He stepped forward, picked up the SMILE fruit from the box, and tossed it up and down in his hand.
"With this piece of trash?"
One sentence instantly solidified the atmosphere in the port.
The masked man's voice suddenly turned ice-cold.
"What did you say?!"
"This is a favor bestowed personally by Lord Kaido!"
"You dare call it trash?"
"You are insulting the prestige of Lord Kaido!"
The pirates behind him drew their weapons one by one, their faces filled with rage.
Crunch.
A crisp sound, like a rice cracker being bitten, rang out.
Right in front of everyone, Garp's five fingers slowly tightened.
The SMILE fruit, regarded as a treasure by the Beast Pirates, was crushed into powder in his hand as easily as a fragile biscuit.
The dust trickled down through the gaps in his fingers.
"What?!!"
The pupils beneath the masked man's mask contracted violently.
"You dare... You dare destroy Lord Kaido's gift!"
"You are declaring war on Lord Kaido! On the Beast Pirates!"
"Kill him! Let him know the terror of the Beast Pirates!"
"Offer his head to Lord Kaido!"
"This old fool doesn't know the meaning of death!"
The accompanying pirates exploded with rage instantly.
Roaring, they waved their weapons and charged forward like a tidal wave.
"Too noisy."
Garp took a single step forward.
His figure disappeared from where he stood.
BANG!
The pirate at the very front didn't even see what happened.
A fist was already imprinted on his chest.
The steel armor he wore caved in instantly as if it were made of paper.
His sternum shattered completely, and he was sent flying backward!
He was dead before he even hit the ground.
BANG!
Garp's body spun with the momentum.
An elbow strike smashed precisely into the throat of the second pirate.
The crisp sound of shattering bone was clearly audible in the noisy port.
BANG!
He swept out a leg, striking the third pirate squarely in the legs.
Those two thick, sturdy thighs bent backward at a grotesque angle.
Three figures flew backward almost simultaneously, smashing heavily into a distant building and kicking up a cloud of dust.
The entire process flowed like water, executed with extreme speed.
The port fell silent instantly.
Only the masked man, Page One, remained standing in his original spot, his body trembling slightly from sheer shock.
"You... You bastard..."
He finally realized what kind of monster he was facing.
Fear was overridden by anger.
He roared, and his body began to undergo a drastic change.
Muscles swelled.
Hard scales emerged on his skin, and his hands turned into sharp, giant claws.
Ancient Zoan: Spinosaurus Form!
"Die!"
He transformed into a black blur.
Accompanied by the whistling sound of tearing air, he charged fiercely at Garp.
Garp didn't even look at him.
He simply swung a backhand slap, casual as could be.
"Scram."
SMACK!
An incredibly crisp, loud slap echoed.
The hard scales on the face of that powerful member of the Tobi Roppo...
Along with his mask... were shattered directly by this single slap.
His massive body felt as if it had been hit head-on by a high-speed train.
He was lifted off the ground, spinning seven hundred and twenty degrees in the air.
BOOM!
He smashed through a dense coral forest in the distance, plowing a deep trench dozens of meters long into the hard ground.
Finally.
He lay motionless in the ruins, unconscious on the spot.
"Oh my, looks like I damaged the local ecosystem a bit."
The port fell into a deathly silence once more.
The remaining members of the Beast Pirates felt their legs turn to jelly, and their weapons fell to the ground with a clatter.
They looked at the old man who was dusting off his hands as if he had just shooed away a fly, and couldn't even muster the courage to run.
Garp walked up to them, grinned, and revealed a mouthful of eerie white teeth.
"Go back and tell Kaido."
"I have no interest in his trash."
"Next time he sends someone, tell him to bring something decent."
With that, he turned and walked toward the direction of Ryugu Palace.
"Let's go. Back to eating!"
(To be Continued)