Sparring with Garp

In Garp's satisfied gaze, Buggy and his two subordinates quickly donned the Marines' coats of justice.

The large characters for "Justice" fluttered behind Buggy, leaving Garen in a state of continuous bewilderment.

"Big news, big news!"

"A crew member of the Pirate King has been moved by the Marine Hero Garp and decided to abandon darkness for the light, becoming a Marine?"

Wallace, overwhelmed by one big news story after another, couldn't contain his excitement. He seized the opportunity to snap photos of Buggy, the clown now wearing a Marine coat.

Taking photos wasn't enough. Wallace, with an almost reverent expression, approached Buggy and began an interview face-to-face.

At this point, Garen and his companions' status as law-abiding citizens had been verified, and no Marine soldiers stopped the enthusiastic reporter's interview.

"Oh? A reporter?"

Buggy's expression was very calm, showing none of the panic and painful struggle from just a few minutes ago.

"That's right..."

Buggy adjusted the somewhat crooked Marine coat on his body and struck a profound pose in front of the camera:

"I've always wanted to be a Marine."

"It's because I have a heart for justice and couldn't bear to bring more suffering to the world that I've been lying low in East Blue without taking action."

"Otherwise..."

Wallace's eyes lit up, and he helpfully completed Buggy's sentence:

"Otherwise, with your status as a crew member of the Pirate King, if you had stayed on the Grand Line..."

"The world would probably have another Emperor to fear!"

"That's right, that's right..."

Buggy nodded with satisfaction, then said in a deep voice:

"Shanks's level of thinking is still a bit short of mine."

"Blindly bringing chaos to the world isn't the kind of scene Captain Roger wanted to see!"

"Lord Buggy truly has extraordinary magnanimity!"

Wallace recorded Buggy's remarks while praising him without reservation.

"But..."

Wallace's excited expression suddenly froze: "Why did you bombard our ship earlier?"

"That..."

A look of embarrassment appeared on Buggy's face, but in a moment, it returned to the aloofness of a hidden master:

"That was just a misunderstanding."

"I thought you were the villainous Steel Cutlass Pirates, so I resolutely decided to take action to eliminate evil!"

The more Buggy spoke, the more he got into character. Even that ridiculous red nose couldn't stop his increasingly divergent thoughts:

"Later, I realized I had accidentally injured innocent people, so I restrained myself from going all out."

"Letting that knight kid slash me a couple of times can be considered repayment for the previous grievance."

"I see!"

Wallace earnestly recorded Buggy's remarks, his eyes filled with admiration.

"Hahahaha!"

Buggy crossed his arms and let out a smug laugh:

"That's right, this is me—the partner of justice—Buggy's magnanimousness!"

These two kindred spirits made Miss Nami's mouth twitch uncontrollably.

A day later, Nami couldn't help but have the urge to measure the water volume in that reporter's brain again.

And on the other side...

After successfully taking Buggy as one of its subordinates, a gratified Captain finally had time to focus its attention on Garen.

"Knight kid!"

Captain walked up to Garen and said with great interest:

"Your ability seems a bit interesting... How about sparring with me?"

"Sparring?!"

The surrounding Marine soldiers were the first to exclaim in shock. They never thought they would have the opportunity to watch Vice Admiral Garp's battle up close.

Smoker quietly gave Garen a look of sympathy:

At Marine Headquarters, Captain, who also served as an instructor, liked to spar with talented and powerful young officers.

Captain used this to show those young people a broader world and to let those darlings of heaven know what was what.

Therefore, almost none of the young people who had sparred with Captain could walk out of the training ground standing up.

"Spar with you?"

Garen unconsciously used polite language towards the old man in front of him, whose aura and power far exceeded his imagination:

"Let's just forget about it. I'd still like to live a few more years."

"Don't say such discouraging things, young man!"

Garp heavily patted Garen's shoulder and encouraged him:

"Defeating Smoker in three moves, it's been many years since the East Blue has seen a young man like you."

"Besides, it's just a spar, why be so timid?"

"This..."

Garen hesitated.

But in the end, Garen couldn't suppress the urge to personally experience the power of a top-tier fighter and agreed to Garp's somewhat outrageous proposal:

"Alright, I agree!"

"But, you must stop before things get out of hand!"

Garen earnestly reminded him, a little afraid that Garp would get too excited and punch him to death.

"Of course!"

Garp smiled amiably: "I'm very careful with my attacks!"

The news that an unknown knight from the East Blue with the strength of a "Marine Headquarters Admiral" was about to engage in a sparring match with the Marine Hero, Garp the Fist, instantly ignited the atmosphere of the entire warship.

Buggy, who had briefly become the center of attention due to his past as a member of the Pirate King's crew, was immediately overshadowed again by Garen, who had defeated a Logia-type Captain and cleaved a Pirate King's crewmate with his sword.

The Marine soldiers excitedly formed a large circle on the deck, focusing their excited gazes on Garp and Garen.

Wallace also temporarily abandoned Buggy, holding his camera as he squeezed in front of the crowd of onlookers, securing an excellent viewing position.

Just as Wallace had steadied himself and taken a couple of quick photos, the crowd behind him stirred and squeezed out a sword-wielding girl.

This was none other than Tashigi, a Marine Headquarters Sergeant. As a female swordsman, she was very interested in the swordsmanship of Garen, this unknown "Sword Saint."

"Let's begin!"

Garp crossed his arms and stood casually in front of Garen, giving him a slightly encouraging look:

"Knight, you make the first move."

As he spoke, a hint of anticipation crept into Garp's eyes.

He wanted to personally experience the special abilities of this young junior.

"Yes!"

Garen accepted without hesitation.

He also knew that if he didn't make the first move, he probably wouldn't get another chance.

Fatal Strike!

The greatsword in Garen's hand suddenly lit up.

"Oh?"

The interest on Garp's face grew even stronger:

The light on that greatsword...

For some inexplicable reason, he felt "justice" and "light."

Even though it was just a sword aura, it could subtly influence one's subjective feelings, which made the knowledgeable Garp couldn't help but be slightly moved.

But Garp still stood in place without moving, as if anticipating Garen's next attack.

Garen didn't hesitate, raising his greatsword and charging towards Garp, then slashing at the target with a straightforward strike.

Too slow...

The swordsmanship is also clumsy...

He was able to defeat Smoker, it was indeed too lucky.

Facing the oncoming greatsword, Garp not only didn't panic at all, but also calmly made a more comprehensive and objective assessment of Garen's strength in those short few moments.

Just as the blade was about to come down, Garp finally reacted.

Without using any techniques, Garp simply relied on his body's instincts to dodge to the side...

For a junior whose strength was so far apart, Garp didn't need to put in much effort to easily avoid the attack.

Then, in that split second...

Garp's eyes narrowed—

His powerful Observation Haki suddenly sensed danger:

The blade that he had already dodged actually changed direction and accelerated along his dodging trajectory in an instant, almost about to fall on his shoulder in the next breath.

But Garp was, after all, a powerhouse standing at the pinnacle of the world. Even though it was only a hair's breadth away, he could seize this fleeting opportunity:

"Shave!"

Garp's explosively powerful legs stomped the ground with a special technique in an extremely short amount of time, causing his body to move at an incredible speed like a phantom.

At this moment, he was serious.

Including Garen, who was on the offensive, and the powerful Smoker, no one present could clearly see Garp's movements.

A gust of wind suddenly rose from the ground, making it difficult for the nearby Marines to even open their eyes.

Garp's figure had already appeared dozens of meters away with this storm, while Garen remained in place somewhat blankly, maintaining the posture of swinging his sword.

Everything had happened too quickly, and Garen wasn't even sure if his previous attack had been effective.

But Garp was even more stunned:

He touched his shoulder in disbelief—

His shoulder was fine, only a shallow scratch had been cut, barely breaking the skin.

However, the Justice cloak and suit sleeve there had been cut with a large gash by the greatsword, making him look quite disheveled.

"Still couldn't dodge his attack?"

Garp finally showed a surprised expression.

The surrounding audience was in an uproar.

"Vice Admiral Garp was actually injured?!"

Wallace subconsciously recorded this shocking scene with his camera while muttering to himself in a daze:

"Could it be that he really has the strength of a Marine Headquarters Admiral?"

Regarding the issue of the Justice cloak, some people have always complained that only Captain-level officers can wear them, and Buggy the Clown can't.

First of all, I haven't found any official certification information about this.

Secondly: In the Nami special episode of the anime, Bell-mère was wearing a Justice cloak when she took Nami back to her hometown.

Although the back wasn't shown, the style of the coat in the anime was clearly a Justice cloak.

So, could it be that Bell-mère was actually Captain-level strength, but her meridians were blocked and she lost all her martial arts, which is why she was defeated by Arlong?

Therefore, I think it's just a standard-issue dress uniform that ordinary soldiers don't wear during combat; after all, there are no buttons on that cloak, and someone without enough strength can't fight wearing that thing.

Finally: If you must be serious about it, please provide official documentation to prove it.

Even then, I still won't change it. (¬_¬)