Roar

The middle reaches of the Grand Line, Sabaody Archipelago.

As time passed, the situation on the island grew increasingly chaotic, threatening to spiral further out of control.

The Celestial Dragon's fury remained unabated, and the CP Organization's guards faithfully followed his orders, launching indiscriminate bombardments across the entire island.

The civilians panicked and fled toward the ports by the shore.

A handful of desperadoes saw an opportunity. Taking advantage of the chaos, they began looting on a grand scale, hoping to make a fortune.

The Marines stationed on Sabaody Archipelago prioritized evacuating civilians, then dealing with the chaos caused by the desperadoes, and only after that tried to recapture the escaped slaves.

With Garp's arrival, the Marine soldiers had someone to rely on and began trying to stop the CP Guards' indiscriminate bombardment.

For a time, CP Organization guards, Marine soldiers, civilians, desperadoes, and escaped slaves all became jumbled together. It was practically impossible to tell who was who.

Just as everyone was at their wits' end, a deafening "roar" suddenly rang across the entire Sabaody Archipelago!

"Roar!"

The sound was so piercing that no one could ignore it. Those with weaker nerves had already begun trembling all over.

Even the most experienced old hunters couldn't tell what kind of "beast" it was. They could only feel the fear rising from the depths of their hearts!

"Waaah..."

The Celestial Dragon, Saint Lolowim, had heard the roar too.

He had never been particularly brave, and now he was so terrified that he collapsed to the ground.

The bubble on his head burst, his pants were soaked, and he foamed at the mouth as his whole body convulsed.

"My lord!"

Seeing this, the guards forgot all about the order to bombard the island and hurried over.

They appeared to be protecting Saint Lolowim, but more importantly, they were preserving the dignity of the "Celestial Dragon." They couldn't let anyone else witness such a disgraceful sight.

At last, the "absurd" indiscriminate bombardment came to a halt.

While the guards rushed to Saint Lolowim's aid, the Marine soldiers, backed by Garp, took the opportunity to stop the remaining guards.

The panicked civilians froze in place at the roar.

The desperadoes' legs trembled with fright, as they feared the World Government had sent some terrifying powerhouse.

So it was fair to say that the roar that swept across the island had put an end to the chaos on Sabaody Archipelago!

So...

Who had roared?

Who?

That was actually quite hard to answer.

It wasn't that no one had seen clearly. After all, everyone wanted to flee by sea, so plenty of people were gathered near the docks.

One captain from a merchant fleet had even taken out a telescope and clearly seen where the roar had come from.

But when a sailor beside him asked, the captain was at a loss for words.

Just who had let out that thunderous roar?

A person?

A Devil Fruit User?

Or something else entirely?

The captain kept replaying what he had just seen in his mind, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't describe it.

It might have been a sight he would never forget for the rest of his life...

On a medium-sized sailing ship stood a tall, powerfully built "monster."

Two dark green horns grew from his head. His body was crimson, and golden scales covered his shoulders.

A monster?

No.

He looked more like the terrifying devil of seafaring legend!

He bent forward and clamped his thick hands onto the deck, legs slightly bent as he braced himself backward.

Then the "devil" opened his fanged mouth, and his already inhuman body changed further.

His massive frame grew slightly more elongated, while the spine on his back rose a little, revealing a layer of emerald-green scales like polished jade.

The "devil" opened his jaws wide, drew in a deep breath, and gathered some invisible power before aiming toward the docks.

The captain followed the devil's line of sight. There was only one person at the docks.

He had gray-white hair, wore a Marine justice coat, and stood with his fists clenched, ready for battle.

"Roar!"

The roar surged forth, whipping up a violent storm that came rushing in.

The old Marine shouted and swung a powerful punch toward the oncoming storm!

Boom!

As the two forces collided, the captain promptly lowered his telescope.

He couldn't understand this battle, and he didn't want to.

He just wanted to mind his own business and make sure everyone aboard could live in peace.

"Ever since the Great Pirate Era began, there've been more and more monsters on the Grand Line..."

The captain didn't dare look anymore.

But just as time always moved forward, this clash was bound to reach a conclusion.

The Armament Haki coating Garp's fist collided with the physicalized gale that twisted the air, bursting apart and kicking up a cloud of dust.

When the dust settled, Garp looked up and saw nothing but an empty dock.

"Hm?"

Garp was taken aback, but immediately understood what had happened.

If Lindsey had truly wanted to fight to the death, he could have done this while still on shore.

He had waited until he was aboard the ship to use that move because he wanted to exploit the recoil to escape. He had never intended to fight Garp to the bitter end!

"Shame. I'd only just gotten warmed up."

Garp shook out his wrist and was about to turn around when a stinging pain struck his cheek.

He touched it and found a small wound about an inch long.

It was shallow, but it had definitely drawn blood.

"This is..."

Garp had only coated his fist in Armament Haki, so it wasn't surprising that his face had been injured.

But the key question was, that "roar" had only been a storm. Why had it possessed a "sharp" quality?

A slash? A cut?

Garp carefully recalled how it had felt and gradually realized what was going on.

The roar had contained something else: a trace of Armament Haki, as sharp as a blade!

Aiven Lindsey had actually spread a tiny amount of Armament Haki inside his mouth, then unleashed it all through his "roar," giving the move both the properties of a "storm" and a "slash"!

Once Garp realized this, his pupils couldn't help but contract.

Just a few minutes earlier, when Lindsey and Garp had first exchanged punches, the latter had clearly felt that Lindsey couldn't use Armament Haki.

Garp was certain of that!

He had also believed that if Aiven Lindsey found the right way to train, he would definitely be able to learn Haki.

But what Garp had never expected was that just a few minutes later, Aiven Lindsey's attack already contained a small amount of Armament Haki!

Was this "small amount" deliberate on Lindsey's part? Or was it because he had only just learned Haki and couldn't gather much of it in such a short time?

Garp paused.

If an enormous amount of Armament Haki had been blasted out through that "roar," just how powerful would it have been?

And, more importantly, after only a few brief exchanges, Aiven Lindsey had already crossed the threshold to mastering Armament Haki!

"My Armament Haki..."

Looking at the empty shoreline, Garp scratched his head and murmured,

"Did he learn it from me?"