It was as if, in an instant, the person opposite him had been replaced by someone else.
That intense, oppressive aura had given him goosebumps all over.
This was something that had never happened since he ate the Ice-Ice Fruit.
He couldn't imagine what had happened to Cyrus in that instant.
"Hahahaha, Cyrus, so you're talking about him. He went to the West Blue?"
Garp was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Yeah, he came to the West Blue. And we fought."
Aokiji raised a hand to scratch his head, his tone a bit dejected.
"You fought? Did you capture that kid?"
Garp was taken aback and asked subconsciously.
"Capture?" Aokiji's expression was strange.
"If I hadn't run fast, I might have been the one who got captured."
"Hahaha, I told you that kid runs... wait, what did you say?"
On the dog-headed warship returning to Headquarters, Garp raised his hand and cleaned his ear with his pinky.
"Teacher Garp, that guy is not as simple as you said."
As Garp's student, Aokiji was still very close to him.
Aokiji had naturally heard Garp talk about Cyrus, the man who had made Garp chase him twice, a suspected user of the Logia Type Flame-Flame Fruit.
Speaking of which, his fruit had a somewhat suppressive relationship with Aokiji's, so he had been quite interested and curious.
But from Garp's words, he could hear Garp's appreciation for Cyrus.
However, if Cyrus had the strength he displayed in their earlier fight, this old man Garp would definitely not be so calm.
"What exactly happened?"
Garp's voice came from the Den Den Mushi.
Aokiji didn't hide anything and recounted what he had just experienced.
"You didn't just fall asleep and dream this up, did you?"
After Garp finished listening, it took him a long while to squeeze out a sentence.
"Vice Admiral Garp!"
Aokiji's voice became solemn. "Do you think I'm joking?"
"But that's impossible. I fought him before, and he definitely wasn't at the level you're describing."
Garp was clearly confused, his tone uncertain.
"Teacher Garp, you fought him?" Aokiji was stunned.
"Yeah, we had a little bout on the warship. Although I wasn't serious, I should have a good read on the kid's situation. While his strength is decent, it's definitely not at the level you're talking about."
Garp was also baffled.
He knew Aokiji's personality; he definitely wouldn't talk nonsense.
What was the deal with this Cyrus?
The Den Den Mushi fell silent. After a while, Garp spoke again.
"If you went all out, would you be confident?"
"No!"
Aokiji answered decisively, then hesitated slightly.
"His strength increased in an instant, and he seems to have Conqueror's Haki. After that change, I have no confidence. Not only that, if it were a fight to the death, I estimate I would be at a disadvantage."
"In that case, the kid was hiding his strength."
Garp muttered to himself for a while, then his voice came through again.
"This time it was because of that little girl. In that case, don't tell anyone about this."
"Understood!"
Aokiji scratched his hair upon hearing this, feeling a bit helpless.
Even if he wasn't told, he wouldn't have said anything.
Putting Robin aside, for a guy like Cyrus, given the strength he had just displayed, the Navy would absolutely not issue a bounty lightly until Cyrus declared himself a Pirate.
Especially since the other party had always called himself a Pirate Hunter.
For a guy like this, as long as he didn't do anything the Navy and the World Government couldn't tolerate, the Navy would carefully consider the matter of a bounty poster.
"This is troublesome. If Sengoku asks about it later..."
Garp muttered before the Den Den Mushi was hung up.
The lifelike Den Den Mushi in Aokiji's hand drooped its eyes, looking as if it were about to fall asleep.
After putting away the Den Den Mushi, Aokiji stood up and looked out at the sea.
In his eyes, the image of a blazing island seemed to appear.
...
"Relax. You don't need to be on guard against everything anymore."
Cyrus suddenly said, looking at Robin lying beside him.
Robin, who was curled up and seemingly asleep, opened her eyes and looked at Cyrus, who was sitting beside her, leaning against his sword.
She had never felt this way before and couldn't get used to it yet.
Since Cyrus had spoken, Robin simply sat up, hugging her knees as she looked at him.
"Since you know so much about me, are you really not worried about provoking the World Government? They're a behemoth."
"They're a behemoth, true, but given your situation back then, how did you manage to evade them for over a decade?"
Cyrus sized up Robin, whose skin was still a bit dark, wondering when he could get her complexion to lighten.
"Why?" Robin asked subconsciously.
"You're important, but not as important as you think."
Robin was stunned.
With her intelligence, she could naturally figure it out.
But she couldn't understand why someone would ignore the threat of the World Government for her sake.
"Sir!"
Just as the two were talking, a voice came from outside.
Cyrus stood up and tossed his sword to Robin.
Robin was startled and caught it instinctively. Feeling the weight of the sword, she subconsciously hugged it to her chest.
"Let's go. We need to change ships and have someone escort us out of the West Blue. The World Government has probably blockaded some areas."
Robin stood up at his words, hugging Flame as she followed behind Cyrus.
After opening the door, Capone Bege was already waiting outside.
He sized up Robin, who was following Cyrus, then looked at Cyrus.
His underlings had already told him what had happened.
Although his men had fainted and didn't see everything, based on their description, he already knew that Cyrus had encountered and fought the Admiral Aokiji.
Although the specific details were unclear, Cyrus was standing here perfectly fine and had even brought Nico Robin out.
This favor was worth quite a lot.
"Hahaha, my friend, congratulations on achieving your goal."
Capone Bege's mind raced, and then he laughed heartily.
"I'll have to trouble you again after this!"
Although Capone Bege's bounty was high, he had indeed helped him.
Otherwise, if he had to find her himself, who knows how long it would have taken.
He might not have found her even by the time Robin sought a chance to leave the West Blue two years later.
"Of course. But are you sure you want to go to the North Blue?"
Capone Bege was a little curious.
With Cyrus's strength, he could easily go to the Grand Line and make a name for himself.
Of course, though he was curious, he wouldn't casually ask for the reason.
"Yeah, I had a small conflict with Doflamingo before, so I'm going to the North Blue to negotiate with him." Cyrus said with a smile.
Doflamingo!
This name made Capone Bege freeze.
Shichibukai Doflamingo, the Underground Emperor of the North Blue.
He had even conducted quite a few deals with Doflamingo before and was still in contact with him now.
Many of the weapons he used to arm his subordinates were purchased from Doflamingo.
A minor conflict?
Looking at Cyrus's expression, Capone Bege was unconvinced.