In the blink of an eye.
Xia Nuo had already vaguely sensed that the punch was aimed not at his head, but just above his shoulder.
However.
His battle-hardened muscle memory, along with his absolute faith in his own tough physique, left him no time to hesitate. In an instant, he fiercely met the punch with his own fist!
Boom!
Where the two fists collided, the air instantly rippled in layers, letting out a piercing explosion. The two of them were sent staggering backward by the shockwave almost simultaneously.
Karp, however, only took five or six steps back before coming to a steady stop.
Xia Nuo, on the other hand, plowed two long furrows into the ground and slid more than ten meters before finally regaining his footing.
"Hmm?"
Karp looked up in surprise, pushed aside his dog-head cap, and could not help sizing up the black-haired youth before him.
"Not bad, kid! You're so young, yet you already have this kind of strength. Hey! Someone like you could make a name for himself even in the Grand Line, so why are you still hanging around the East Blue?"
"That's because I'm from the East Blue!" Xia Nuo rolled his eyes. "I'm only fourteen. Why would I run off to the Grand Line so early instead of spending a few more years with my family?"
"Fourteen?!"
Luffy, standing nearby, gaped. He had always thought Xia Nuo—Uncle... no, big brother—was at least thirty!
"Grandpa!"
The little brat unhappily got to his feet. "What are you doing?! Big Brother Xia Nuo is my friend, not a bad guy! How could you just attack him?"
"That old man is your grandpa?" Xia Nuo asked in surprise. "Then why did he stop me from saving you?"
"So noisy! Of course I was training this