Knight Fruit

"What profound swordsmanship!"

Standing beside Wallace and watching the battle, Marine Sergeant Tashigi's expression was even more captivating than Wallace, whose brain had been fried by the big news.

Her brows were furrowed in deep thought, her bright eyes filled with fervent, almost manic longing, and her hand gripping the sword hilt was charged with surging fighting spirit.

The female swordsman's entire attention was focused on the Greatsword Knight at that moment.

She couldn't help but mutter to herself:

"I never imagined such a profound and mysterious sword art could truly exist in this world!"

"What makes you say that?"

Wallace quickly recovered from his shock and, driven by his journalistic instincts, began interviewing the young female swordsman beside him, who seemed to have discerned something special.

Tashigi habitually pushed up her square-rimmed glasses, a serious and wise expression quietly appearing on her fair face.

Wallace vaguely sensed that something was off, as he felt like he had seen that wise expression somewhere before.

"I carefully observed his swordsmanship when he fought Captain Smoker earlier."

Tashigi looked at Garen, who stood proudly with his sword on the field, and said in a deep voice:

"Every strike looks clumsy, just simple chops, slashes, and thrusts, with no skill to speak of."

"And his physical abilities should be inferior to Captain Smoker's."

As she spoke, the longing and yearning in Tashigi's eyes grew even more intense:

"But!"

"Neither Captain Smoker nor Vice Admiral Garp could escape that man's strikes!"

"So?"

Wallace played the role of the perfect straight man.

"This isn't swordsmanship!"

Tashigi gave a professional assessment of Garen in a tone of awe: "It's a sword dao!"

"Not only does every strike hit its mark, but..."

"Every swing he makes has the exact same force!"

That was only natural. Although Garen could freely control the intensity of his attacks, his digitized body was limited by a peak output value.

So, he couldn't suddenly power up like a normal person; every swing he made at full strength would maintain absolute consistency in damage.

But this kind of "sword dao," which was basically impossible for a normal human to achieve, clearly shocked Tashigi, who specialized in swordsmanship:

"Returning to simplicity, making the heavy feel light, hiding a great power beneath unadorned sword techniques that ordinary swordsmen would struggle to comprehend in a lifetime..."

Tashigi's heart suddenly stirred, and she continued to explain:

"It's very similar to a legendary realm of sword dao."

"What sword dao?"

Wallace, the layman, was already lost in the clouds, feeling impressed but not understanding.

"Discarding all superfluous details, not practicing any fancy or weak sword techniques, returning to the most fundamental instinct of the sword."

"Starting from one and ending with one, with no detours, a single path to the heavens."

"This is the legendary..."

Tashigi solemnly recited a realm of sword dao that only existed in concept: "Ippon Ken Dou."

"Ippon Ken Dou??"

Wallace chewed on this profound and unfathomable term with a blank expression, then recorded Miss Tashigi's comments word for word in his notebook.

Finally, after a moment of thought, Wallace added a terrifying and resounding title to his news report about Garen:

Ippon Ken Dou Swordsman.

And the swordsman Tashigi, after explaining all of this, looked at Garen with a face full of longing and muttered to herself:

"Such a profound realm... I wonder when I'll be able to reach it."

As she spoke, a glimmer of excitement flickered in Tashigi's eyes.

Miss Nami, who had listened to the entire sword dao theory, stood stiffly to the side, feeling that there was another person who needed to have their brain water content measured.

Tashigi and Wallace had so much free time to discuss the issue of Garen's sword dao realm because the two who had started sparring on the field had only exchanged one blow before entering a tacit truce.

Garen naturally didn't dare to act rashly.

The terrifying physical skills that Garp had displayed after getting serious made Garen feel like he might be fighting God.

Rokushiki's "Shave" was brought to its ultimate power in Garp's hands.

It was as ethereal as a phantom, as sharp as lightning, and extraordinarily powerful.

Garen was completely awed by this power.

He was like a tiny mortal finally looking up at the boundless space, and couldn't help but sincerely admire such extraordinary power:

"That's damn fast!"

And Garp was caught off guard by unexpected astonishment.

After using Shave, he thought he could easily avoid Garen's strange sword strike;

But just as Garp's figure moved like a sudden clap of thunder, the approaching blade suddenly accelerated to a terrifying level along with his movement, completely striking his body before he could move away with his physical skills.

Although the damage from this sword was insignificant to him, the bizarre hit effect still shocked Garp.

What surprised Garp even more was...

Although Garp had already seen that Garen had some special ability to temporarily suppress Devil Fruit powers, he never expected that...

The moment he was struck by that sword, his Observation Haki disappeared out of thin air.

The Observation Haki, painstakingly cultivated and imprinted in Garp's body like an instinct, subsided in an instant, like a person with excellent vision suddenly going blind.

Garp tried to use Armament Haki, but found that his Armament Haki, which he used as easily as moving his arms, was also completely ineffective.

Fortunately, this bizarre negative effect did not last long, and Garp quickly regained control of his Haki.

But this strange phenomenon still plunged Garp into deep thought:

He had seen many things that could restrain Devil Fruit abilities; seastone and Haki could both do it.

But an ability that could suppress even Haki for a short time...

What exactly was this?

Garp had roamed the seas his entire life and had never heard of such a bizarre ability.

After pondering for a moment, he suddenly moved.

Another gust of wind rose from the ground, and Garp's figure flashed in an instant to Garen, who had been waiting in full battle readiness.

Before the surprise on Garen's face could even show, he felt his hand empty.

When he came to his senses, Garp was already standing several meters away, examining his Greatsword in detail.

"Not seastone..."

Garp turned the ornate sword over and over, scrutinizing it:

"The materials and craftsmanship are extraordinary, but there doesn't seem to be anything particularly special about it."

Garp finally couldn't help but look up and directly ask Garen:

"How did you manage to seal even Haki?"

"Huh?"

Garen himself didn't expect the silence effect to seal Haki.

"How did you do it..."

Garen hesitated for a moment, then began to fabricate seriously: "Actually..."

Everyone's ears perked up quietly.

"I am a Paramecia-type 'Knight Fruit' ability user."

Garen said the answer in a deep voice.

"Eh?"

Everyone was stunned by this extremely incongruous Devil Fruit name.

"Impossible!"

A Marine couldn't help but question:

"I saw you fall into the sea in a telescope before, and you were fine!"

"How could you possibly be a Devil Fruit ability user?!"

"That's because..."

Garen once again summoned the glorious and righteous Justice Partner mode, putting on a pious and solemn Paladin face:

"The power of Devil Fruits comes from devils."

"But my Knight Fruit can overcome the temptation of devils, and its power comes from the justice in my heart."

"The sea will naturally not reject my radiance!"

As he said this, Garen's bright and dazzling armor became even brighter and more dazzling.

"Overcame the temptation of devils? Power comes from 'Justice'?"

Garp carefully chewed on this seemingly impressive rhetoric, and also thought of the sword light that inexplicably felt "just" before.

He pondered for a moment, and supplemented the principle for Garen's improvisation:

"So, your sword can restrain the power of Devil Fruits?"

"But..."

Garp asked curiously: "Then why even Haki..."

"Because I am a knight who pursues Justice!"

Garen's face radiated with the light of Justice, and he pointed to his passionately beating chest as he said:

"The sword of Justice can sweep away all demons and monsters!"

"I see..."

Garp nodded earnestly, actually accepting Garen's extremely absurd explanation.

There was no other choice but to accept it.

For this unprecedented ability, there was no better explanation than a Devil Fruit.

"Restraining Devil Fruit Haki, not afraid of seawater, clones and invisibility, strange swordsmanship..."

Garp then asked with great interest:

"Boy, does your Knight Fruit have any other interesting abilities?"

"Uh..."

Garen pondered for a moment, then looked strangely at Garp, who was holding onto his Greatsword and refusing to let go, and said:

"There are a few."

"Then you'd better hold my sword tight."

"Oh?"

Garp was puzzled, but he subconsciously increased the strength with which he gripped the Greatsword.

Garp was confident: even if Sengoku charged up with the three admirals right now, it would be difficult to snatch this Greatsword from his hands for the time being.

"This move of mine is called..."

Garen clenched his fingers into a fist, and then made up a name at random according to the Knight Fruit's pattern:

"A Knight Does Not Die Barehanded!"