Eighty Million Top-Tier Fast Ships

On the outskirts of the Goa Kingdom, inside a hidden shipyard.

"Thud."

A heavy leather suitcase was placed onto a wooden table covered in wood shavings. As the case opened, the massive sum of eighty million Berries reflected a startling luster within the dim workshop.

Thirteen-year-old Sabo adjusted the top hat on his head and looked calmly at the retired master shipwright opposite him, who was already dumbfounded.

"Eigh... eighty million Berries?!" The old shipwright swallowed hard, his hand holding his pipe trembling slightly. "Kid, this much money is enough to build a luxury three-masted galleon. What exactly are you trying to build?"

"We don't need a large ship."

Sabo pulled a blueprint from his coat and pressed it onto the table, his tone methodical. "A small or medium-sized sloop or schooner that can accommodate a dozen people is sufficient. But our captain has three requirements."

"First, the frame and keel must be made of the highest-grade timber available in the East Blue. We demand absolute stability, capable of withstanding the extreme currents of the Grand Line."

"Second, the streamlined design of the hull must push 'speed' to the limit. It must be one of the fastest vessels on this ocean."

"Third, and most importantly: the living facilities inside—the kitchen, the bedrooms, and even the deck area—must meet the requirements for comfort. We want to enjoy ourselves, not suffer while out at sea."

Upon hearing these three requirements, the old shipwright drew a sharp breath.

Using the budget for a large warship to build a small or medium-sized sailing vessel meant that every single part and every inch of the deck could be hand-polished to the most perfect level.

"This kind of cost-no-object, meticulous work is a dream order for any shipwright." The old man touched the blueprint, his eyes turning fervent. "But it will take a long time to select the timber and polish the interior. At the very least, three years."

"That's fine." Sabo closed the suitcase, his tone composed. "I'll give you four years. Four years from now, we will come to collect the ship."

Time flowed away like fine sand between fingertips.

As seasons changed, the leaves of Mt. Colubo withered and turned yellow twice.

Two years later.

Deep within Mt. Colubo, a dull, heavy impact shattered the morning silence.

"Boom!"

A massive mutant crocodile was struck squarely on the jaw by a clean, decisive side kick from a lone figure. Without any wasted movement, the giant beast's massive body rolled through the air before slamming heavily into the mud, knocked unconscious on the spot.

Sunlight pierced through the canopy, spilling onto the black-haired youth who stood with his leg retracted.

Fifteen-year-old Ace now stood at a height of about two point two meters. Having shed the last traces of his thirteen-year-old youthfulness, his physique was now a perfect work of martial art. With broad shoulders and muscles as defined as if carved by a blade, he no longer possessed a bloated, superficial bulk, but rather a high-density body brimming with astonishing explosive power.

His temperament had changed.

No longer as flamboyant and expressive as he was in his childhood, the current Ace, even when standing quietly, radiated an introverted and cold pressure like that of an apex predator.

"Ace's kicks are getting sharper and sharper."

Luffy, sitting on a nearby tree branch and munching on an apple, watched the fallen crocodile with eyes full of wonder.

Just then, Ace's gaze shifted slightly.

His Observation Haki had captured a familiar, highly oppressive fluctuation approaching at high speed.

"You three little brats!! I haven't been back for over half a year, and you're still wasting your time in the forest?!"

Accompanied by a gust of wind, Garp, wearing a floral shirt and large sandals, landed with a boom on a boulder a dozen meters away. He clenched his mortar-sized fists, his knuckles cracking with a rhythmic "pop."

"Grandpa's here!" Luffy shivered in fear, nearly falling from the tree.

Ace said nothing.

He turned around and casually plunged the broad-backed machete he had been carrying on his shoulder into the dirt. Watching Garp leap from the boulder and charge straight at him with fists swinging, Ace's eyes became extremely focused and profound.

"Let me see if you've been slacking off these past six months! Fist of Love!"

Garp let out a cold snort, his massive frame appearing before Ace as if by teleportation. Pitch-black Armament Haki instantly swathed his right fist, and with a sonic boom that tore through the air, he smashed down mercilessly!

In the past, when facing this punch, Ace could only rely on pure physical monster-strength to take it head-on, only to be sent flying without question.

But today.

Ace sank his legs slightly, and two deep footprints were instantly pressed into the mud beneath him. He did not retreat, nor did he draw his blade; instead, he gripped his right fist tightly.

"These past five years, I've seen your striking method clearly."

Ace whispered to himself, his muscles tensing to their absolute limit in that instant. Facing Garp's iron fist, he swung his right arm forward with a strike devoid of any trickery!

In the moment he threw the punch, Ace forcibly mobilized the blood, energy, and willpower he had honed through five years of grueling training.

"Hum--"

In Garp's eyes, which were filled with extreme shock, he clearly saw a layer of dim but genuine iron-black luster emerge upon Ace's bronze-colored arm!

Armament Haki: Hardening!

"Boom!"

Two fists—one large, one small, both wrapped in black—collided fiercely in mid-air!

In an instant, a terrifying, visible shockwave exploded outward with the two of them at the center. The grass and shrubs within a thirty-meter radius were uprooted, and the air pressure was so intense that Luffy, in the distance, couldn't even keep his eyes open.

"Crack!"

The ground beneath Ace's feet shattered inch by inch. Even with the reinforcement of Haki, in the face of such an absolute gap in power, he was still forced to slide back seven or eight meters by Garp's monstrous strength, carving two deep furrows into the mud.

But he was not sent flying.

He stood his ground firmly.

The gale dissipated, and the dust settled.

Ace withdrew his slightly numb right arm, the faint iron-black hue on his fist gradually fading away. He raised his head to look at Garp, who remained in his punching stance opposite him.

Silence.

The entire forest fell into a deathly silence.

Garp looked at his own fist, then at the black-haired youth opposite him, whose breathing remained steady. For the first time in his life, a flicker of disbelief flashed through the eyes of this battle-hardened Marine Vice Admiral.

He swore that he had never taught Ace a single mantra regarding the cultivation of Haki.

This brat... had actually managed to deduce Armament Haki on his own, relying solely on his Observation Haki and the muscle memory formed from five years of constant beatings, all once his physical condition had reached the threshold?!

"Old man."

Ace brushed the dust off his arm, breaking the silence. There was no showboating in his tone, only a matter-of-fact confidence.

"This wild method I figured out on my own consumes way too much stamina."

Ace looked Garp straight in the eyes: "The foundation I've built over these past five years is solid enough, and my body is capable of bearing the burden of Haki. From here on out, teach me the systematic techniques for using Armament Haki."

Hearing Ace's audacious demand, Garp was stunned for a moment, before the shock on his face gradually transformed into a complex sense of emotion.

After a long while, Garp slowly withdrew his fist and took a deep look at Ace.

"Good lad, since you've already pushed open this door yourself."

Garp rubbed his knuckles, his joints popping like roasted beans, and a terrifying pressure far exceeding his previous display erupted from him.

"Then prepare yourself. From now on, I will hammer true Haki and martial arts into your very marrow!"

Watching Garp get serious, Ace nodded slightly, a sharp glint flashing through his pitch-black eyes.

There were two years left until he set sail.

And the true path of a monster's transformation had only just begun.