Escape and the Grand Line

As the slurping sound ended, Luffy and Garp both stumbled back several steps, their previously sunken faces beginning to recover.

Garp touched his nose, spread his hands, and saw that his hands were covered in blood. A smile immediately appeared on his face as he looked at Luffy, who had taken a breath and Luffy his previously dented head.

"Heh heh, truly worthy of being my grandson! He even managed to injure this old man!"

Injuring Garp is not difficult. Back in the day, the Axe King Axe-Hand Morgan still managed to chop Garp in the chest with one axe, causing blood to spurt out.

However, being prepared and being unprepared are two completely different things!

Even disregarding Armament Haki, the Tekkai alone, a Six Powers technique, could transform Garp's mortal body into a monster comparable to Kaido's indestructible form.

With Garp's cultivation level, the Six Powers have long been completely integrated with him. Once he enters a battle state or is threatened, his blood will naturally circulate along the path of the Tekkai.

Only a lowly soldier like Axe-Hand Morgan, who doesn't even pose a threat to him, could probably launch a sneak attack.

"Hehehe, Grandpa, this time I'm going to beat you to a pulp!"

After his Devil Fruit Awakening, Luffy, who had been in high spirits, showed an infectious cartoon-like smile, and then charged forward without hesitation!

A fierce battle broke out instantly. The grandfather and grandson laughed and punched each other. In just a few minutes, Garp was beaten black and blue, while Luffy, who was covered in bruises, recovered completely after taking a deep breath.

Compared to those unbelievable attacks, Luffy's vitality after Luffy his Devil Fruit Awakening is frighteningly tenacious, almost comparable to characters in those comedy manga.

No matter how Garp uses his Haki to deliver a heavy blow, he can only hurt Luffy at most, but cannot seriously injure him now.

Garp shook his head. Even with his Tekkai and Haki, he felt a little dizzy after taking so many punches. Looking at his seemingly unharmed grandson, he couldn't help but take a breath.

What kind of Devil Fruit ability is this? It's way too overpowered!

However, although Garp's mind wasn't much sharper than Luffy's, he was still a veteran with far more experience than his grandson. He knew a golden rule very well: any combat-type Devil Fruit ability is based on the user's physical strength!

Luffy's stamina is definitely not low, but it is still some distance from the top fighters on the sea. With such an incredible ability, his grandson will definitely not be able to use it for too long.

However... if I really have to rely on stalling and exhausting my grandson's energy to win, then I'd be too pathetic, wouldn't I?

Despite the blood streaming down Garp's bruised and swollen lips, an excited yet defiant smile appeared on his face. His fist, which had been somewhat restrained due to fear of causing too much damage, suddenly became wrapped in tiny black Inazuma, and then he punched Luffy laughing, on the head!

With a loud bang, Luffy, who was laughing loudly, was sent Luffy like a cannonball, creating a white sonic boom cloud!

With a crashing sound, glass within hundreds of meters of the battlefield shattered into pieces. A terrifying storm was unleashed in the direction Luffy, and the aftershocks alone ripped the roofs off several houses.

A powerful shockwave swept across the entire Loguetown, then across the entire island, finally crashing into a small hill on the island's edge. With a deafening roar, the hill collapsed completely as it shook.

"Oh no, did I go too far?" Garp's face was a little ugly. With the power of his punch, even a mountain should have been completely flattened.

If this had happened a few months ago, even if Luffy had the so-called rubber body, one punch would have turned him into a hollow tire. Even now, Garp doesn't know if his grandson can withstand it.

Garp, his face grim, ignored Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp, and leaped up, heading towards the collapsed hilltop.

"It hurts so much! It hurts so much!"

With a loud crash, a hand emerged from the collapsed mountainside and rocky ruins. Suddenly, the entire ruins softened, and Luffy leaped up, clutching his head which was now covered in a large bump, and shouted exaggeratedly several times.

Although it looks like he's in a lot of pain, if you look closely, you'll find that apart from a big bump on his head, Luffy wasn't actually hurt.

The almost comical immortality of the Nika Fruit has clearly taken effect once again. If it were anyone else, even one of the Four Emperors Three Admirals, they would probably cough up blood and break one or two bones.

But at that moment, Luffy's originally white hair slowly fell down, the milky white flames surrounding his body completely extinguished, and his whole body went limp.

"So tired... so hungry... I can't take it anymore..."

The moment the Devil Fruit Awakening faded, Luffy felt Luffy go black and he passed out.

Just then, the breeze beside Luffy coalesced into a figure wearing a green cloak, which grabbed Luffy, who had shrunk considerably. It was none other than Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army.

Dragon looked up at his father Garp, who was leaping towards them, shook his head, and transformed into Luffy, who was being carried by a gentle breeze, and quickly disappeared from the spot.

Garp searched for a long time after finding nothing, and then realized something was wrong. When he hurriedly returned to the ruins of the tavern, he discovered that both Sanji and Zoro had vanished without a trace.

Although Usopp was terrified, it was precisely because he was too weak and timid that Garp completely ignored him.

Of course, by now, he has already run away with Sanji and Zoro without a trace. Although Usopp seems cowardly, he is always very reliable in critical moments.

By the time Garp realized what was happening and headed to the dock, Luffy and the others' Mechanical Ship had already left the port far behind.

Ships built with Vegapunk technology are not something ordinary people can catch up with. Even Garp, after being delayed for nearly half an hour, couldn't even see a shadow of them anymore.

"Um... While we are very grateful for rescuing our captain, could you please tell us who you are? This gentleman doesn't seem like an ordinary person!"

Zoro spoke earnestly to the dragon wearing the green cloak. If you didn't see the shoe print on his face, the atmosphere might actually be quite serious.

Well, Zoro and Sanji each have a large shoe print on their faces, one on the left and one on the right. Clearly, old man Garp doesn't have the unspoken understanding of not slapping people in the face.

"Don't worry, my name is Long. You may not have heard of this name, but I am this silly boy's biological father."

Long, still with a serious expression, explained to his son's two companions.

"What?! Father?"*3

Usopp, Zoro, and Sanji looked on incredulously at Dragon, whose expression was both serious and earnest, radiating an aura of reliability. Then they looked at their goofy captain and thought of his goofy grandfather...

Is there something wrong with this family's genes? Or perhaps all the serious and reliable genes from three generations of the family were concentrated in the dragon, leaving only the goofy genes for the grandfather and grandson?

As for whether Long was lying or not, the three of them had no idea at all. After all... there didn't seem to be any benefits in having such a goofy son.

"The problem now is that you must hurry to the Grand Line. My father, Luffy's grandfather, is not someone who likes to give up."

"If you hadn't shown your current potential, the old man might have been lenient and let you off the hook. But now, with your strength, you're already pirates who can make a name for yourselves even in the New World!"

"Given his personality, he's unlikely to leave you all alone any longer."

With their current strength, Luffy's pirate crew is confident they can escape unscathed even against Marine Admiral, making any pursuit by ordinary Marines essentially pointless.

In this situation, it's quite normal for Garp, given his personality, to chase after them directly.

"So, don't waste any more time in the East Blue! I've already resupplyed your ships, so hurry up and head to the Grand Line!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Long transformed into a gentle breeze and vanished completely from their sight.

"Heading to the Grand Line?"

Zoro gripped his long sword, his face beaming with excitement.

"Very good, let's set off! I'll give you directions!"

"Shut up!"

"Stay away from the rudder!"

Usopp and Sanji immediately stopped the confident move of the Green Algae Head King of the Lost.

Although they lack Nami, an excellent navigator, with the high-tech ships provided by Vegapunk Usopp, who knows a little about everything, sailing in the East Blue shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The group encountered a slight problem at Reverse Mountain, but fortunately, the entire pirate crew was quite strong, and they managed to pass through Reverse Mountain without any major incidents and enter the Grand Line.

On the other hand, after Nika Fruit abilities were exposed in Loguetown, the World Government's bounty on Luffy increased more than tenfold almost instantly.

The appearance of the Nika Devil Fruit User caught the entire World Government off guard.

Compared to the original story where Luffy gradually defeated the Shichibukai and participated in the Marineford War, undergoing two years of quiet training and growth, all of which were traceable, this time Luffy truly debuted at his peak, catching the World Government completely off guard.

Logically speaking, such a thing is almost unimaginable. Most of the strong at sea need to go through a period of training before they can achieve real success; otherwise, it is almost impossible for them to unleash their full potential.

The occasional exceptions are mostly Androids or something similar. Luffy's life trajectory is very clear, and the World Government can't figure out why his strength increased so much as soon as he set sail.

But the World Government obviously won't let Luffy grow like this any longer. Just kidding, it hasn't been that long and he's already Awakening the Fantasy Devil Fruit and mastered Conqueror's Haki Infusion. If he continues to grow, wouldn't this Straw Hat just become the Pirate King after he finishes the first half of the Grand Line?

Alabasta, Desert nation.

"The plants in this country are so scarce, damn it! Why would a Marine Admiral like me have to come to a place like this?"

"To think that the World Government is overestimating that guy by merely dealing with a pirate who has only recently left the Four Seas!"

A tall man with a giant, propeller-like petal on his back and a cloak of justice on his back is flying through the Desert. On his open chest and abdomen are tattoos of the heart of the dead river.

This is none other than Ryokugyu, who has replaced Akainu among the Three Admirals of the Navy!

Nearly nine years ago, Akainu, who attacked Future Island, was buried in the endless depths of the sea along with Future Island. Subsequently, Ryokugyu took Akainu's place and was directly transferred to become Marine Admiral.

This Ryokugyu Admiral is also the most obedient mad dog under the World Government, even more so than Akainu. He is also highly trusted by the World Government, which is why he was transferred to Alabasta this time to prepare for a covert raid.

Rainbase, the most prosperous city in Alabasta.

One of the Shichibukai, who is still dreaming of obtaining the Pluton Battleship, is currently working behind the scenes as the boss of Baroque Works.

However, due to Vegapunk's influence, without a versatile assistant like Robin, Crocodile had to rely solely on himself to establish Baroque Works.

This has led to the fact that the originally highly secretive Baroque Works is not doing a very good job of maintaining secrecy. Basically, top agents know the identity of their boss, while only ordinary agents are completely unaware.

Fortunately, Baroque Works only does the work of a bounty hunter guild, which is not considered true organized crime. Even if the World Government catches them red-handed, it's nothing to Crocodile, a Shichibukai.

After all, the Shichibukai have the legal right to plunder, even if their targets are non -World Government Member States and pirates. Baroque Works itself is a bounty hunter business.

Of course, the entire studio inevitably engaged in a lot of shady activities, but for a Shichibukai, this was not a big problem. After all, when the World Government invited the Shichibukai, it did not expect them to be completely honest. As long as the impact was not too bad, the World Government did not care at all.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Crocodile is doing well now. Without Nico Robin, not only is managing the Baroque Works keeping him very busy, but more importantly, there's no one left to translate the Ancient Script.

This caused Crocodile's "grand project" to collapse almost entirely. Fortunately, long ago, Nico Robin, on Vegapunk's advice, secretly created a dictionary of Ancient Script, which is now circulating secretly throughout the sea.

It took the Crocodile a lot of effort to secretly obtain a copy.