Mo Xingchen crouched down with a smile, gently scraped Ace's nose, and said softly:
"Want Uncle to avenge you?"
"Yeah!"
Ace and Luffy nodded emphatically, their faces full of unwavering belief.
Mo Xingchen stood and looked at Garp. The reckless soul within him desperately wanted to say: I am the Navy's Guardian War God, yet you dare make my nephew sleep in a doghouse, you Old Man! Where are my hundred thousand troops? Kill him!
But he didn't dare. He could only talk big in his heart. Still, since they were going to fight anyway, he couldn't lose in terms of momentum.
"Heh, Old Man, you're the one who bullied my nephews, right? Want to have a spar?"
Hearing their uncle speak so boldly, Ace and Luffy's eyes immediately sparkled. This was the great hero they had imagined! Their god!
"Yo ho ho ho ho! Kid, I hope your head is as hard as your mouth later."
After saying that, Garp charged toward Mo Xingchen. Mo Xingchen hurriedly raised a hand and waved it repeatedly as he said:
"Hey, hey, hey! Uncle, wait!"
Garp did not stop. As he charged, he said:
"Hmph! It's too late to beg for mercy now!"
"No! The kids are still here! Besides, this isn't the place for a spar!"
Garp abruptly stopped. Blinking, he looked at Ace and Luffy beside Mo Xingchen, then at the houses by the shore in the distance. Picking his nose, he said:
"Then we'll go to the mountains!"
"Alright!"
Thus, Garp took the lead toward the mountain forest. Mo Xingchen shook his head as he watched Garp's back, then said to Bogard:
"We'll probably be staying in the mountains for the next few days. Go make arrangements. Let the soldiers below have free time in town, but don't forget their daily physical training. Then come after us. Watching a battle of this level will benefit you too."
With that, he led Ace and Luffy after Garp and headed into the mountains.
When the group passed Dadan's hideout, Dadan was in the open space before the house, vigorously swinging her long-handled battle axe as part of her daily training.
Seeing that they did not stop and continued deeper into the mountains, she asked curiously:
"Where are you all going?"
Luffy eagerly blurted out:
"Uncle's going to beat Grandpa up and avenge us!"
The moment Dadan heard that, she became interested. Whether that pretty boy Mo beat up that bastard Garp, or Garp beat up Mo Xingchen, either outcome would make her happy.
There was no need to mention that old bastard Garp. If she could beat him, Dadan would have made her move long ago. Mo Xingchen was no better either—when she first met him, he had nearly scared her pissless.
"Hmph! I, Dadan, am not someone to be messed with! I'm the famous bandit chief of Mt. Colubo! The kind who can make children cry! When have I ever suffered this kind of indignity?"
She hurriedly gave a few instructions to the underlings inside the house, then followed after them, shouting:
"I'm coming too! Wait for me!"
At last, they found a relatively flat clearing. Mo Xingchen had Bogard protect the two children and keep them farther away.
"Go, Uncle Mo! Beat up Grandpa, that big bad guy!"
Ace and Luffy shouted loudly from the distance, cheering Mo Xingchen on.
Garp looked at Mo Xingchen across from him and was briefly dazed. Over all these years, it seemed that time had left no trace on Mo Xingchen's face. He still wore the same youthful features.
But compared to when they had first met, Mo Xingchen now possessed a more transcendent air, and facing him even made Garp feel a sense of pressure.
Garp had always been broad-minded, and he greatly hoped that the younger generation he favored could grow into the strongest figures on the sea. Thus, seeing Mo Xingchen as he was now, he sincerely felt the joy of seeing one of his juniors catch up.
But Garp had never felt anxious about being surpassed, because he had always believed in his fists. As long as he stood, he was invincible!
"Yo ho ho ho ho! Kid Mo, let me see how far you've grown. Don't disappoint me!"
It was obvious that Garp said this because he wanted Mo Xingchen to make the first move. After all, he had absolute confidence.
"Then I won't hold back, Uncle!"
After speaking, Mo Xingchen looked at Garp, who stood there so casually. He appeared to be full of openings, but Mo Xingchen knew that every one of those so-called openings was bait.
So he unleashed the strongest Mental Pressure he had used so far against Garp, intending to catch him off guard and see whether he could find a true opening.
In an instant, it was as if someone had pressed pause on the world! All the sounds of insects and birds vanished, leaving behind a terrifying silence that was suffocatingly oppressive.
Because he had to protect the two children, Bogard was the first to be hit by the Mental Pressure. Cold sweat instantly poured down his forehead, and his heart pounded violently. It felt as though a prehistoric monster had locked its gaze upon him; even the slightest movement would bring a devastating attack.
He knew that Mo Xingchen was not even deliberately targeting him. He could not imagine what kind of impact Vice Admiral Garp, the one bearing the brunt of it, was suffering! Nor did he dare experience it!
Seeing Ace and Luffy about to roll their eyes and faint, he hurriedly pulled them back. Naturally, he also brought Dadan along, who was in much the same state.
The instant Mo Xingchen launched his mental attack, Garp's pupils constricted slightly. He immediately shifted from his casual stance into a defensive boxing posture, thinking to himself:
"Conqueror's Haki?"
When Mo Xingchen saw that Garp had not been stunned even for an instant and had rapidly taken up a defense, he could not help sighing inwardly. Tch, he really is an old veteran with top-tier battle instincts!
Mo Xingchen rapidly considered his options. The method he had used against Koshiro was completely useless against Garp. The cutting power of Sword Qi was certainly lower than that of a blade directly wrapped in Armament Haki.
Even a direct slash might not be able to break through Garp's Armament Haki, much less Sword Qi. Other than wasting his stamina, it would be completely useless.
Mo Xingchen was not arrogant enough to compete with Garp over whose Armament Haki could last longer. There was no other way—he could only charge in with his sword.
Then Mo Xingchen explosively pushed off the ground and rushed at Garp at top speed. At the same time, he circulated the True Qi within his body to its limit and infused it into Chun Jun.
Using the momentum of his speed, he transferred the force from his thighs to his hips, then drove it through his entire body. Gripping the sword with both hands, he brought it down in a powerful overhead slash aimed at Garp's face.
"Fist Bone: Impact!"
The Armament Haki-clad fist collided with the sword. With a BOOM, a powerful shockwave visible to the naked eye rapidly spread outward from the two of them, sending sand and stones flying.
Mo Xingchen was still far weaker than Garp in terms of strength. In that exchange, Garp only took half a step back, while Mo Xingchen was blasted back five or six meters.
Fortunately, Mo Xingchen had already roughly anticipated this when he attacked. After retreating a few steps,
He used his left foot as a pivot, spun once on one foot to disperse the force, then slammed his raised right foot down hard onto the ground. He exerted force and charged at Garp once more.
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