Thud!
Ace kicked off the tree trunk, using the momentum to leap forward. After a few jumps, he landed beside Luffy.
"Ace!" Luffy, who had been hiding behind the tree, was overjoyed. "How did you get here?"
"I said I sensed your distress signal from here. Do you believe me?"
Ace pointed to his heart, smiling, but then noticed two figures engaged in a fierce battle in the distance.
"Who's that guy?" Ace was stunned, unable to help but gasp. "He's so strong! He's actually trading blows with that old man?"
"Can't you tell? It's Brother Xiano!"
"Him?"
Ace frowned, carefully observing for a moment.
Indeed, he had grown much taller and more muscular, but from the side profile, it was unmistakably the same guy who had effortlessly knocked him out with just a few punches.
"So he's this powerful!"
Gulp! Ace swallowed hard. Last year, he had been knocked unconscious and felt utterly humiliated. He had trained hard all year, hoping to one day get his revenge.
But now it seemed that Xiano had been holding back a lot back then. Even if Sabo were still alive, the three ASL brothers together wouldn't be able to withstand a single punch from him.
...
Boom!
With a fierce backward kick from Xiano, Garp's body slammed into the cliff, causing the entire mountain to rumble.
"You little monster, you can actually change direction mid-air several times!"
Garp laughed heartily, dispersing the dust with his booming voice. His rough knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists. "You've mastered Shave and Moon Walk so well! Where did you steal the Six Styles from?"
"No one taught me! It's all from my own hard work and sweat!"
Xiano also laughed. This old man was really something. After a brief exchange, he had immediately adjusted his strength and speed to match Xiano's level.
And so, the battle had turned into a pure contest of physical prowess, combat reflexes, and raw muscle power.
For half an hour, they had been trading blows, each punch landing with a satisfying thud, making the fight exhilarating.
The only pity was the surrounding forest, with countless trees crashing down, leaving the area in complete disarray.
"No, no, if this keeps up, we'll be fighting until nightfall without a winner," Garp scratched his head. "Increasing my strength wouldn't be fair to you, so how about this..."
As soon as he finished speaking, his right fist suddenly turned pitch black, as if dipped in ink. He then grinned at Xiano, who was perched on a tree.
"Kid, watch out!"
Holy crap, he's serious!
Seeing Garp charging toward him, Xiano's pupils contracted sharply. He stomped the ground, and the afterimage of Shave seemed to linger in place as his real body flashed behind Garp.
He had decided to strike first, delivering a steady and powerful punch aimed at Garp's neck.
But just as Xiano's fist was about to make contact with Garp's skin, the old man, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, grabbed Xiano's wrist and executed a perfect shoulder throw. At the same time, his ink-black right fist slammed into Xiano's chest!
Thud!
Xiano was sent flying backward like a cannonball, crashing into the ground. Spiderweb-like cracks rapidly spread out, even reaching the feet of Ace and Luffy.
At the center of the cracks, a cloud of dust rose, and for a long time, there was no movement.
"Brother Xiano!"
Luffy was startled by the scene and rushed over to help Xiano up, shouting angrily, "What are you doing, you old geezer! How could you hit him so hard!"
"Heh..." Garp landed on the ground, ignoring Luffy, and fixed his gaze on the center of the dust cloud.
He didn't believe for a second that the kid couldn't handle that blow.
The boy's strength and speed were indeed impressive, but what surprised Garp the most during their fight was his astonishing physical toughness and defensive capabilities.
His bones seemed to be made of iron. Several times, Garp had almost broken them, but the kid would just shake his arm and quickly recover.
And his head? It was as hard as a steel ball. Before Garp had even used Armament Haki, his punches would rebound with a dull ache.
Fourteen years old... just fourteen years old!!!
This kid was only two years older than Ace, yet his strength was at least ten times greater.
Garp was now feeling a bit of regret. He shouldn't have been so harsh earlier.
He could have just taken the kid by force and slowly guided him later. Letting such a promising talent slip away was a waste.
As for being a Navy Rear Admiral? From the looks of it now, this kid could qualify as a Vice Admiral by the time he reached adulthood!
The dust gradually settled.
As expected, Xiano just shook his head and stood up as if nothing had happened.
Although blood was trickling from the corner of his mouth and his chest was slightly caved in, his aura remained fierce and steady. The look in his eyes as he raised his head was still filled with fighting spirit.
"You're really something," Xiano grinned, "Using Armament Haki is one thing, but even Observation Haki too?"
He touched his chest, where the lingering aura of Garp's powerful Armament Haki still seemed to swirl around the wound, clearly palpable.
Xiano closed his eyes for a moment, then suddenly licked the blood from the corner of his mouth with a greedy expression.
"Again!"
He tore off his tattered shirt, revealing a body of twisted, terrifying muscles that shimmered with a metallic bronze hue under the sunlight.
"Whoa!!!" Luffy and Ace's eyes widened in awe.
Under the envious gazes of the two boys, Xiano stomped the ground, using Moon Walk to propel himself into the air above the forest, and threw a fierce punch aimed at Garp's head.
The force of the punch tore through the air, causing the brim of Garp's Dog-head hat to flutter wildly. Yet, the old man's face lit up with excitement.
"Good move!"
He took half a step back, his right fist coated in Armament Haki, and swung it upward like a heavy hammer, smashing down with a thunderous force.
In Xiano's pupils, the inky black fist reflected clearly. He didn't dodge or evade, instead meeting it head-on with his own fist!
Crack!
Compared to their previous exchanges, Garp's Armament Haki-enhanced fist was now significantly stronger. Xiano could even hear the creaking of his bones under the immense pressure.
Yet, the numbing sensation in his knuckles only grew hotter, as if countless ants were gnawing through his veins and into the marrow of his bones, both painful and intoxicating.
"Haah, haah..."
He panted heavily, refusing to give up. Instead, he seemed to crave more, baring his teeth at Garp with a grin that stretched to his ears.
"Come on, old man, bring out your left fist too!"
Before the words even finished, his left fist was already shooting toward Garp's shoulder. Garp laughed heartily and met it with his own left fist.
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"So greedy? I'll satisfy you then!"
Boom!!!
The moment their fists collided, a shockwave erupted, sweeping in all directions!
"Oh no, we're too close!"
Ace immediately clung tightly to the tree trunk, barely managing not to be blown away.
Meanwhile, Luffy frantically coiled his arms into a spiral shape, hanging onto Ace's leg, but his straw hat flew high into the air, spinning before landing on a tree branch, revealing his wide, startled eyes.
"My hat..."
Thud! Xiano was knocked back, landing on a branch of the tree. Spotting the straw hat nearby, he casually picked it up, pretending to toss it back to Luffy. But the moment he let go, the hat vanished without a trace.
"Look in my bag!"
He laughed heartily and charged back at Garp.
Huh?
Luffy was momentarily stunned but quickly realized what had happened. He dashed toward the backpack Xiano had tossed near a large rock. Opening it, he found the familiar straw hat lying inside.
"Wow, the Magic has evolved! It's even more amazing now!!!"
...
Hearing the astonished shouts below, Xiano smirked but didn't let it slow him down. He clashed fists with Garp once more.
Their punches came one after another, relentless as a storm, and in an instant, they had exchanged over a hundred blows.
By now, as Xiano threw another punch, Garp could faintly sense a familiar, domineering aura emanating from the force of his strikes.
"Impressive comprehension."
Garp tightly gripped Xiano's fist, preventing him from advancing further, and squinted his eyes. "I didn't expect you to sense the presence of Haki so clearly in such a short time and start trying to harmonize with it. The next step is to begin attempting to wrap it around your body!"
"—Wrap it around your body, even your weapons! If you can make it as visible as smoke, enhancing the destructive power of your punches and kicks, then you can consider yourself initiated!"
"But to reach this stage, you'll need some practice to adapt. I'm short on time and can't wait for you to master it slowly, so let's skip ahead. Listen carefully!"
"The second step! On the foundation of wrapping, you must make the Armament Haki, which was once like smoke, condense and adhere like glue, significantly enhancing a specific part of your body at will!"
Both of his arms suddenly turned pitch black, "Like this!"
Boom!
His rock-hard elbow suddenly shot upward, striking Xiano in the face. With both fists occupied in resisting Garp's punches, Xiano couldn't break free and could only watch as the elbow strike came at him.
He let out a scream as he was sent flying, crashing into the rock layer at the base of the cliff.
After coughing violently for a while and spitting out a mouthful of blood, he finally caught his breath. He frowned, feeling something was off, and reached into his mouth with his fingers, pulling out two teeth.
"I'm past the teething stage! How am I supposed to grow these back!"
Xiano stepped out of the crater, furious, "Old Man, can't you aim better? At least hit the wisdom teeth!"
"No common sense, what wisdom teeth does a fourteen-year-old brat have!"
Garp scoffed disdainfully, "See? If you can harden your body parts at will like I can, then you've achieved the second step. And that's as far as I can teach you!"
"As for going beyond that..."
He landed on the ground with a thud. "First, master the second step. After that, the path you take will depend on your own exploration and pursuit, guided by your personal needs or the limits of your talent, leading you in different directions."
"For example."
Garp suddenly glanced at Luffy. "Some people focus on enhancing the concentration effect of Armament Haki, striving to condense all the Armament Haki they can control into a tiny area, like the tip of a bullet, to unleash terrifying destructive power."
Why is he looking at me? Luffy was utterly confused.
Xiano, however, immediately realized that Garp was referring to Red Hair's first mate, Ben Beckman. When that gun barrel was raised, even his second uncle had to show some respect.
"And then there are others."
Garp glared fiercely at Luffy before shifting his gaze back and continuing, "They pursue the ultimate in full-body defense, fearing any weak spots, so they spread Armament Haki over their entire body, making themselves impervious to the enemy."
This time, the old man didn't give an example.
Xiano lowered his head and thought carefully.
The first person that came to mind was Vergo, Doflamingo's trusted subordinate, who was sent to infiltrate as an undercover agent. Three years turned into another three, and he eventually rose to become the head of the G-5 branch.