The Heart to Grow Stronger, the Price of Being a Hero

Holy Land Mary Geoise

"Garp, do you know what you're doing?"

As Zhan Sengoku formed the Light Gathering Buddha Crown Mudra, his entire body swelled into a magnificent and dazzling Golden Great Buddha, standing amidst the deafening roar of the battlefield. Yet, there was a sense of divine transcendence, where all light belonged to the Buddha, the Buddha's Dharma was boundless, and eternally extinguished, its awe-inspiring power unassailable!

The other hand, carrying a golden shockwave shrunk to its limit, slammed towards Garp! A massive, surging heatwave swept across the land, creating a gigantic palm print tens of meters wide, which churned and boiled violently like a sea of lava. Before the Buddha's palm even arrived, the world was already ablaze!

Standing amidst the surging magma, Garp's muscles taut like coiled steel bars, his double Haki compressed into his fists! Two jet-black fists, seemingly capable of absorbing light, materialized! With a single swing of his fist, anything that stood in his way met the same fate:

Shatter! Shatter! Shatter!

"This is my grandson... cough cough! Disciple, how can I just leave him alone?"

"You bastard—"

Amidst the thunderous clash of iron fists and Buddha's palms, the Holy Land Mary Geoise was constantly exploding. Judging from the two old men's powerful stances, they could probably tear this place down and still fight for another three hundred rounds.

"Garp... are you still so sentimental?"

On the other side, Akainu glanced at Garp, who was putting on a 'house-demolition act' with Sengoku, while facing his opponent amidst rolling lava.

"Get out of the way, Straw Hat! Roman is one of our navy men, we'll take care of him—"

"Your treatment is just handing my partner over to that old woman Imu? I will never agree to that!!"

Luffy's resolute words caused Akainu's momentum to falter, not because he was afraid of Luffy, but because:

You just called her "old woman" again, didn't you? That's the second time! If that old... master loses her temper, not only everyone here, but the entire Holy Land... and even the nearby Marine Headquarters will be affected!

"Shut up!"

A fist churning with magma stopped Luffy from speaking. Akainu didn't want this scourge of the Garp family to continue cursing, as it would be pointless for everyone to be dragged down with him.

Clang!

The three swords blocked Fujitora's Cane Sword, and even the opponent's extremely powerful gravity wave did not make Zoro take a single step back, and:

"Blind man, I thought you would be a decent opponent, what a pity."

Why do you say that?

In response to Fujitora's question, Zoro retorted disdainfully, biting down on Wado Ichimonji.

"Arresting people and forcing them into marriage, is this your navy's 'justice'?"

Zoro's words left Fujitora speechless for a moment. While it was true the Navy was subordinate to the World Government, stealing a man in front of the entire world... wasn't that just too low? Unfortunately:

"I'm sorry, but I was also... forced into this situation."

Even so, I can just drift along... Anyway, I'm blind, so I don't need to 'read' other people's faces.

With Roman instantly defeated with a single glance, the battle erupted without warning! The Straw Hat crew and Charlotte family protected the unconscious Roman, fighting their way back, while the Marines, under the orders of the Five Elders, swarmed in! However:

"An, you're making things difficult for your older sister~~"

Not to mention that Garp has shamelessly betrayed them and started destroying their base with Sengoku, the fact that Roman and Nami are both rookies in the Navy makes a group of Marines unwilling to take action, and also—

Just like Zoro complained, it's so embarrassing for the Navy, who are supposed to uphold justice, to help steal men...

"How is it, Brulee?"

With the Navy collectively refusing to engage in any meaningful action, the Straw Hat crew and the Charlotte Family managed to withstand the enemy's 'siege' together. Meanwhile, Pudding, her hands pressed against Roman's temples, Brulee profusely with anxiety, shook her head.

"No, Mr. Roman's consciousness has been trapped by a powerful force. All I know is that he's currently trapped in a dream, but with my abilities... I'm sorry."

"This is troublesome..."

The Five Elders and Imu are both holding back, respecting their status, but the Marines alone are suppressing the Straw Hat crew and the Charlotte Family. Although the Charlotte family has the 'Mirror Release' technique, there's absolutely no chance of escape in front of so many powerful figures! Unless Roman regains his senses and uses a wide-range disruption technique to buy some time...

"Perhaps I could give it a try?"

Brook, wielding the Soul Solid, retreated. His newly learned 'Judgment Eye' was virtually invincible against pirates, but against the Marines... Not to mention that the Marines are mostly people of unwavering resolve, and the fact that most of their actions deserve the word 'justice' is just one aspect.

It's not that it has no effect, but it's significantly less effective, so:

"I can use my soul to enter Mr. Roman's body and see if I can awaken him from the inside."

Brook's Revive- Revive-Revive Fruit his skeleton. Furthermore, even if the skeleton is decapitated or injured, it can regenerate at will as long as the soul remains intact. After learning the Judgment Eye from Captain Henry under Blackbeard's command, Brook further developed his mastery of the fruit—

"Please, Brook!" Since the group was already out of options, they figured they might as well try anything. Besides, trusting their comrades was Straw Hat crew 'tradition'.

Thump,

As Brook's soul departed, his skeletal body collapsed to the ground. And after he entered Roman's brain:

Battlefield!

Everywhere there were mutated roars, and everywhere you looked there were waving weapons. Everyone was desperately killing those around them, or being killed by others.

'Is this... Mr. Roman's memory?'

Unlike the Straw Hat crew's adventures, where they usually face powerful ability users or monsters, the battles below are fought by an army of ordinary people, making it seem more realistic and... bloody.

Splash splash~~

As a piece of white paper spun and flew by, one side in the battle let out a deafening cheer, while the other side screamed in despair.

"The White Devil is here!"

"Damn it, let's fight them!!"

"Killing one before you die is enough, killing two is a bonus..."

However, the enemy's counterattack could not change the course of the battle, and soon the soldiers of the victorious side were facing two figures who were respectfully saluting.

"Lord Neo!"

"Lord Neo, thank you for your hard work again!"

"As long as Lord Neo is here, we will surely win—"

That's Mr. Roman?

The boy who was respectfully made way for by the soldiers looked exactly like Roman! Behind him followed a blue-haired girl. The soldiers showed no respect to the girl they had shown the boy! Most completely ignored her, and several wounded soldiers even snorted resentfully.

"Ha, thanks to the protection of Lord Neo and Joy Boy..."

"Shut up, who told you you're not a woman?"

Hahaha~~

······

"You want to become stronger?"

The scene shifts to a group of people sitting around a campfire. Besides Brook, Roman boy the soldiers call 'Neo,' whom Brooke had seen earlier, and the blue-haired girl, there is a blond, sunny boy, a samurai with a sword, and a sniper with a musket.

"Come on, Imu,"

"Your Devil Fruit ability is utter nonsense."

The sniper holding the musket complained.

"'The Control-Control Fruit' —the name sounds terrifying! However, it cannot dominate any creature with a soul, not even an ant!"

"Even when you control an object, you can't lift more than you can lift yourself, and the speed is about the same as moving it yourself... I think you should just focus on improving your physical skills. Just pretend you've never learned to swim."

Neo had originally suggested that she control small things like gold dust and flour to cause internal damage, but the speed was still as slow as a snail, so it was completely useless!

"No, no, no, if you can get close to the enemy and carry out an assassination, that's quite effective. However..."

Neo shook his head. In 'peaceful' times, assassinations would be incredibly successful. But this world... well, it's a world war hundreds of times more chaotic than the future 'Great Pirate Era'. Fighting the moment you meet is the norm. Who gives you the time to slowly carry out an assassination?

"Don't worry,"

The blond, sunny boy, known to others as 'Joy Boy,' comforts the dejected blue-haired girl.

"We will protect you."

The girl nodded, but her lowered eyes were filled with resentment—

"Imu, let's think about it another way. Since your ability to control ordinary objects is useless, how about controlling 'power-created objects'?"

The scene shifted again. Neo snapped his fingers, and the fluttering white paper enveloped the blue-haired girl, transforming her into a knight. The next second, this fully armed knight began to move, albeit slowly and shakily, but:

"Hehehe, I'm a genius!"

"Now you, Imu, have the ability to protect yourself, and this armor created by my power has completely escaped my control! Indeed, there are no useless Devil Fruit in the world, only those that haven't been developed yet."

"Thank you, thank you~~ Waaaaah!"

"Hey, hey, hey, why are you crying?"

Soon, the name 'White Knight' rose to fame on the battlefield. Donning Neo's specially made armor, the girl seemed like a completely different person! Fighting, killing, and receiving cheers from the crowd! Although she still appeared timid when she removed her helmet, when she put it on and wielded her longsword to cut down enemies:

The girl under the helmet was laughing, laughing joyfully!

Power, a power that captivates.

······

Mr. Roman, you once had a relationship with that Imu?

Brook, like a ghost, witnessed everything. He could see the image of the Celestial Dragons God in the blue-haired girl's eyes. However, compared to the lofty 'god,' the one before him now seemed more like a girl who was reacting to extreme fear.

These scenes seem to belong to Mr. Roman... no, Neo's memories. But:

What exactly changed you?

The answer is:

War and dreams.

"Please, please, save my child!"

"I don't care if I die, but my wife and children... please, gentlemen, save them!!"

Faced with a dense mass of refugees kneeling and begging for help, even the gentle and sunny Joy Boy looked troubled, and the voice of his sniper comrade came through the Den Den Mushi in his hand.

"Go, Joy Boy, you two escort the refugees to safety first. I can handle things here!"

Be careful—

However, the reality is:

Caw, caw, caw~~

As the carrion-eating crows flew away, the sniper nailed to the cross broke his promise.

"Don't worry about it, Joy Boy."

The boy holding the katana seemed quite philosophical about it.

"Everyone in this world will die. It's better to die on the road to pursuing your dreams than to live a hundred years in a daze."

However, not everyone thinks this way:

"Neo, I want power! Greater power!!"

Absolute power! The power to survive even if your comrades abandon you because of your 'dream'!

Faced with Imu sneaking into his tent in the middle of the night, a sleepy Neo rolled over and groggily pulled out a piece of paper with flame patterns.

"Okay, okay~~ My recent new direction for developing my abilities is to collect the blood of other ability users to create ability pages using the concept of paper recording. That way, we can—"

Brush,

She snatched the pages from the bewildered boy's hands, and Imu used her power to seize control of them. She opened her hand, and a flame illuminated the blue-haired girl's eyes, making them sparkle.

"That's amazing! Neo, you're the angel God sent me! The light in my life..."

"Yes, yes, please don't disturb my sleep~~"

However, the boy simply rolled over.

ZZz(3[▓▓]

P. S.: Double monthly tickets at the end of the month, so I'll just ask for some while I'm at it~~ This is probably the last time I'll get tickets~~