The Man Who Lost His Spirit

"Those two are really strong!"

Watching the two men furiously fighting each other on the field, the host excitedly stood on the stage, completely absorbed in the excitement.

"Lucy's fists were like Machine Gun, swinging so fast that it was impossible to see exactly how many fists he threw."

"And the Chinjao, was not to be outdone, accurately blocking Lucy's attacks every single time!"

"This match was absolutely fantastic!"

Towards the end, the host was so excited he almost jumped up, but was pulled back by the woman next to him.

"Mr. Host, please calm down," the woman said somewhat helplessly.

Why does this guy act like this when he gets excited?

While it's good to liven up the atmosphere, the host shouldn't jump up; they could easily fall and die.

"How can I stay calm?!" the host exclaimed excitedly. "This is a battle of the strong!"

Such a battle might only happen once every few decades; how could he not be excited under such circumstances?

The woman looked somewhat helpless, but didn't say anything more. She simply reached out and pulled the host to prevent him from doing anything reckless.

"Is that guy crazy?"

Little Ghost glanced at the man making nonsensical gestures on the stage and a look of disgust appeared on her face.

What is this guy doing?

Aren't you afraid of accidentally falling from a height?

"Just trying to liven things up," Xi Yan said with a smile. "That's normal."

The host of this kind of competition naturally has to find ways to liven up the atmosphere, so Xi Yan didn't find it strange that this guy had such a reaction.

The Little Ghost pursed his lips upon hearing this. What he said was true, but it was just too outrageous.

Xi Yan, however, ignored the guy's reaction and continued watching Luffy and Chinjao's fight with a smile.

He figured the battle between the two should be coming to a close soon.

"Rubber Jet kicks wildly!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Luffy kicked out with one of his legs, unleashing a barrage of attacks at a speed invisible to the naked eye!!

Faced with such an attack, Chinjao retaliated by kicking out with his own foot, his speed no slower than Luffy's!

"Bump!"

"Bump!"

"Bump!"

And so, the two of them kicked each other wildly on the platform, neither willing to back down an inch.

"Go, Lucy!"

Feeling the slight shockwave from the fight, the surrounding spectators excitedly roared, "Kill Chinjao!"

"Go, Chinjao, defeat Lucy!"

"Profound!!!"

"What an amazing battle," Rebecca murmured.

Those two are really strong.

"See?" Bartolomeo grinned. "He's no ordinary person."

This statement was clearly a reminder to Cavendish not to easily set his sights on Luffy, or the consequences would be severe.

Unfortunately, Cavendish didn't understand these words at all, since he couldn't possibly give up on his goal.

"So what if he's not an ordinary person?" Cavendish clenched his fist and said, "I'm going to kill him."

That bastard stole his attention, so he's determined to kill Straw Hat!

Seeing that Cavendish was so unyielding, Bartolomeo didn't say anything more. He figured he would stop the guy if he was about to make a move.

Bartolomeo then turned his attention to the arena. The two fighters were now moving at incredible speeds, making it difficult for anyone without Observation Haki to track their movements.

"Hello!"

The host, who had been pulled off the stage by the woman, stared dumbfounded at the two figures that kept flashing across the field, and said, "How come they're so fast?"

Lacking Observation Haki, he couldn't see clearly what was happening on the field, only occasionally catching glimpses of two flashing figures.

However, as a professional host, there are ways to deal with such situations.

Thinking of this, he said, "Although it's unclear what exactly happened, the Haki that shook the entire scene was clearly conveyed!"

"This is absolutely the most exciting battle in the history of the Colosseum!"

"Profound!!"

The audience couldn't see clearly either, but that didn't stop them from enjoying the show.

"Ah, they've stopped!"

Seeing the two who had inexplicably stopped fighting, the host immediately breathed a sigh of relief, then loudly proclaimed, "Are you planning to catch your breath and then finish the fight in one go?"

As he spoke, the host revealed an expectant expression.

"You're really tough, aren't you?" Chinjao said, panting heavily.

I never expected Garp's grandson to be so strong, it's really... annoying!

"You too," Luffy said, also panting heavily. "Incredibly strong."

Chinjao:!!!

Upon hearing Luffy's words, Chinjao's eyes widened, and veins bulged on his face, as if he had been greatly humiliated.

"What did you say?!" Chinjao exclaimed angrily.

"Um?"

Luffy was taken aback. What's wrong with this guy now?

"You actually said I was strong?" Chinjao retorted angrily, "Don't underestimate me!"

"What? I just complimented you."

"You're just looking down on people!"

"Ha?"

Luffy stared at Chinjao with a bewildered expression. What did he mean by looking down on someone?

Where did he look down on anyone?

He was just praising the other person.

"Powerful?"

Chinjao raised his hand and touched his head, which had been dented by Garp, and said, "In the past, that would have been a compliment, but now... I'm just a wolf with its teeth pulled out..."

"No, he's just a bald monk without his awl-shaped head."

At this point, Chinjao suddenly burst into tears, looking incredibly pitiful.

"You little brat, you'd never understand how I've managed to survive until now."

"This regret, this helplessness, this sorrow... you can never understand!"

"Understand what?"

Luffy looked at Chinjao speechlessly and said, "You've been chasing me and hitting me since just now, without giving me any reason."

Although the other party said that they hated him because of his grandfather, they never explained the specific reasons.

"You really want to know that much?" Chinjao said through gritted teeth, "Do you want to know why this old man has ended up like this?"

"Ah... it doesn't really matter..."

"Since you're so eager to know, I'll let you know," Chinjao interrupted Luffy, saying in a deep voice, "So you can die knowing why."

"Oh?"

Is the answer finally about to be revealed?

Xi Yan, who was standing directly in front of Chinjao, understood what Chinjao was saying through lip reading, which immediately piqued his interest.

He really wanted to know what old man Garp had done to make Chinjao hate him so much.

"That happened thirty years ago..."

Standing up straight, Chinjao's eyes filled with reminiscence as he said, "Back then, I had a pointed head, which is why I was called 'Chinjao the Drill'."

"Awl tip?"

Looking at Chinjao's shriveled head, Luffy's head was filled with question marks. Where was the cone-shaped head?

Chinjao ignored Luffy and continued, "And where we are, there is an Iceberg called the Jewel Ice Sheet!"

"Beneath that Iceberg lies countless treasures of gold and silver, the Treasure Vault of my clan!"

"But that Iceberg is exceptionally solid; even cannons couldn't blast a mark on it, which is why others couldn't take the treasure from us."

"Only my awl can open the Great Gate that Treasure Vault!"

"But..."

"But!!!"

At this point, Chinjao's expression suddenly changed, becoming extremely ferocious.

"It's because of your grandfather that I've lost the key to the Treasure Vault!"

"Ha?"

Luffy looked puzzled again. What did this have to do with his grandfather?

"You see my head now?" Chinjao pointed to his head and said, "My head didn't look like this back then."

"Back then, my head was an incredibly majestic cone-shaped head!"

"But because of your grandfather, my awl tip is gone... gone!"

At this point, Chinjao started wailing again, crying so hard it was heartbreaking.

Luffy frowned and said, "Are you going to tell me or not?"

If you're not going to tell me, then hurry up and start the game. He's in a hurry to win the championship and leave.

"What an impatient brat," Chinjao cursed.

After uttering a curse, Chinjao temporarily composed himself and continued, "Back then, that bastard Garp deliberately smashed eight mountains just to challenge me, all to see if his awl head could touch mine."

"And I didn't believe his fist could shatter my awl, so... a great battle began."

"That battle was so fierce that the world was in chaos; ordinary people didn't even have the right to stand nearby and watch."

"Finally... finally!!!"

"In the end, your damned grandpa knocked my awl off!"

"Without the awl tip, I simply cannot open the Iceberg again, which means I cannot retrieve the family treasure accumulated over hundreds of years!"

"I was exhausted both physically and mentally after that, and gave up being a pirate."

"Tell me, should I hate Garp?!"

At this point, Chinjao suddenly stopped and burst into tears.

"Oh, I see."

Having deciphered Chinjao's lip reading, Xi Yan stroked his chin and said, "So, in other words, this old man used to have an awl that could break through Iceberg, but it was hammered away because of his fight with Garp..."

No wonder he harbors such a grudge against old man Garp.

Yes, that makes sense.

Then, as if he had just realized something, Xi Yan muttered, "Old man Garp actually smashed eight mountains before challenging this Chinjao?"

"How powerful must this old man have been in the past?"

At this point, a look of amazement appeared on Xi Yan's face.

He has personally experienced just how strong Garp is.

That person was ridiculously strong.

Do people like that need special training to challenge Chinjao?

It seems this guy is stronger than he imagined.

But... why is he, who was so powerful, now so weak?

Just then, Xi Yan remembered something Chinjao had said earlier.

[After that, I was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and gave up being a pirate.]

"Oh~"

"I understand."

Xi Yan gave a look of Satori realization and said, "You've lost your fighting spirit, haven't you?"

Speaking of this, he thought of Gecko Moria, whom he had met in the Thriller Bark two years ago; Moria was the best example of this.

After losing his willpower, Moria couldn't even use Haki anymore, and his strength became ridiculously weak.

After regaining his spirit, this guy not only instantly mastered incredibly powerful Haki, but also gained the ability to fight against Bartholomew Kuma, who possessed a bug-level ability!

This shows just how important spirit is to people in this world.

So... that's probably why this old man, Chinjao, has become so weak.

Then, Xi Yan sighed again.

"Truth to know how strong this old man's spirit was when he was still alive," Xi Yan remarked.

Anyone who can fight Garp to a standstill must be a powerful individual who has mastered Conqueror's Haki Infusion.

What a pity.

After shaking his head, Xi Yan turned his gaze to the still-crying Chinjao's face. What a pitiful old man.

"Straw Hat..."

Chinjao slowly lowered his head, looked at Luffy, and said, "Do you know how painful it has been for me to live like a walking corpse for the past few decades?"

"No!"

"You have no idea!"

"But it's alright, Heaven is still looking out for me, because it has brought you to me!"

"So today, you will die here, just to atone for what your grandfather did!"

At this point, Chinjao's tears had completely disappeared, and her expression had turned incredibly angry.

Today, he will crush Garp's bloodline right here!

Thinking of this, Chinjao's expression became even more ferocious.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Luffy said, "Grandpa is grandpa, and I am me!"

"How can you ask me to atone for Grandpa's sins at a time like this?"

Go find him!

Although he understood why the Chinjao had turned out this way, he didn't try to understand what the Chinjao meant.

After all, in Luffy's opinion, this guy turned out this way because he couldn't beat his grandfather.

They came to seek revenge because they couldn't beat his grandfather.

How could he possibly pity this guy under these circumstances?

"What nonsense are you spouting!" Chinjao retorted angrily, "It's all the same to me!"

"Killing you is no different from killing your grandfather!"

No... if he had to say, he actually felt more relieved to kill Garp's grandson than to kill him himself.

After all, this would completely sever the bloodline of the Monkey Family!

Thinking about this, Chinjao became even more certain of her idea.

"Say what you will," Luffy said, "But I will definitely not lose to you!"

"I will not only obtain the Diamond Fruit, but I will also become... the Pirate King!"