Garp's Shock: Is a Star Hidden Inside This Kid?

Kahn rose from the rock.

His movements carried no flourish, yet he resembled a volcano on the verge of eruption.

"Hey, brats."

"The old man is back."

At those words, Luffy stopped ramming the rocks.

Ace and Sabo, who had been about to settle the score, stopped as well.

The expressions on all three faces were complicated.

There was joy at being reunited, but even more fear of the "Fist of Love."

At Foosha Village's harbor.

Garp wore his coat of justice, his mouth stuffed full of rice crackers.

He leaped from the ship's bow dozens of meters above and smashed a huge crater into the dock's planks.

"Wahahaha!"

"My adorable grandsons, Grandpa's back!"

Garp's voice was incredibly penetrating, making Luffy's ears buzz.

Mayor Tashigi Slap leaned on his cane, his beard bristling with anger.

"Garp! You damned Marine! Every time you come back, I have to repair the dock!"

Garp ignored him completely, chewing rice crackers as he headed up the mountain.

The taciturn Bogart followed behind him.

Bogart looked at the towering Mount Colubo, anticipation flickering in his eyes.

He wanted to know what Kahn, the "monster" the vice admiral had spoken of, had grown into.

Halfway up the mountain.

Garp had only taken a few steps before he stopped.

He lifted his head and looked at the four figures blocking the road.

Kahn stood at the front.

At six foot three, he made even Garp tilt his head up slightly.

A nine-year-old growing to such a size was unheard of anywhere in the world.

"Old man, you were a little slow getting back this time."

Kahn folded his arms, his tone casual.

He did not find the rank of Marine vice admiral remotely intimidating.

Garp froze for a moment.

He looked Kahn up and down, a flash of shock passing through his eyes.

The changes over the past year had been enormous.

To the senses of a powerhouse like him.

Kahn now resembled a tiny star that could explode at any moment.

That vitality, vigorous to the extreme, even overwhelmed every living thing around him.

"You brat, still as rude as ever."

Garp burst into laughter and swung his fist down.

The punch carried no killing intent, but it brought a fierce gale with it.

Kahn did not dodge.

He slowly raised his right hand.

"Bang!"

Fist and palm collided.

A visible ring of air burst outward.

The fallen leaves on the ground were instantly swept clean.

The wind pressure sent Luffy rolling across the ground.

"So strong..."

Ace and Sabo widened their eyes, staring fixedly at the two fighters.

They had trained for a year, yet the aftershock alone still made them feel suffocated.

Kahn did not budge an inch.

The ground beneath his feet did not cave in because he had dispersed all the force.

"Your strength has improved quite a bit, old man."

Kahn's lips curled upward.

Garp withdrew his fist, his knuckles slightly numb.

He was the Hero of the Marines, a man who could flatten mountains with his fists.

And yet, a nine-year-old had caught his punch.

"Wahahaha! Looks like you didn't slack off while I was gone."

Garp turned to look at the other three.

Luffy was rubbing his butt as he climbed back up.

Ace and Sabo wore wary expressions.

"Come on, come on! Let Grandpa see how much you've improved!"

Garp strode over.

For the next half hour, screams rang continuously through Mount Colubo.

Luffy was beaten into a ball and hung from a branch, swinging like a pendulum.

Ace and Sabo joined forces, but they could not even touch the edge of Garp's clothes.

In the end, both of them lay in dirt pits, gasping for air.

Garp dusted off his hands, thoroughly satisfied.

"Not bad, not bad. With this kind of physical ability, you'll definitely have the potential to become admirals if you join the Marines."

"I don't want to be a Marine!"

Luffy fell from the tree, three fresh lumps on his head.

He pressed down the Straw Hat on his head.

"I'm going to become the One Piece!"

The moment those words came out, Garp's face went dark.

He turned to Kahn.

"Did you teach him this nonsense?"

Kahn leaned against a tree trunk, holding a bunch of freshly picked grapes.

"I don't have that kind of free time."

"That hat was left behind by that Red-Haired guy."

Kahn spat out a grape seed.

"Old man, you left Luffy in a village filled with pirate legends."

"If he doesn't become a pirate, is he supposed to become the mayor?"

Garp crushed the rice cracker in his hand in anger.

"Red-Haired Shanks... that thief who led my grandson astray!"

He grabbed Luffy by the collar.

"Today, I'm going to crush that idea of yours for good!"

"Let me go! Grandpa's a huge idiot!"

Luffy flailed his limbs, but he could not break free at all.

Ace sneered from the side.

"What's so good about being a Marine? Hypocritical justice."

Garp sighed.

Looking at these two rebellious grandsons, he felt his head swelling.

Fortunately.

There was still one who looked normal.

Garp looked at Kahn.

"Kahn, you don't plan to sail out and become a pirate too, do you?"

Kahn tossed the last grape into his mouth.

"I have no interest in burning, killing, and looting."

"But don't expect me to serve as a bodyguard for those pigs living in Mary Geoise, either."

Kahn stood and patted his pants.

"Old man, your justice can't protect this world."

"So I'll do things my own way."

Garp fell silent.

If anyone else had said that, he would have dismissed it as teenage rebellion.

But from Kahn's mouth, it carried an unquestionable weight.

This kid truly had the confidence to say it.

The group returned to Dadan's treehouse.

When Dadan saw Garp, she was so frightened that she hid behind the door and did not dare come out.

The mountain bandits descended into chaos.

After all, whenever the Hero of the Marines returned, they had to endure a "reckoning."

"Dadan, where's the meat?"

Garp swaggered into the house.

"Hurry up and bring out the good stuff. I'm starving to death!"

Dadan curled her lip.

"Every time you come back, you eat for free. That tiny allowance you gave us was used up long ago by these little gluttons."

Even so, she still ordered her men to bring out piles of sea beast meat.

Dinner was lively.

Garp ate meat at an astonishing pace, as though venting the frustration he had accumulated at Marine Headquarters.

Luffy tried to snatch a bone-in piece of meat from him and was knocked headfirst into his bowl.

"Old man, how long are you staying this time?"

Kahn sat beside the fire, turning the meat on the grill.

"Half a month."

Garp answered indistinctly.

"The sea hasn't been peaceful lately."

"The New World has been particularly turbulent."

"A lunatic named Kaido has been running around challenging people to one-on-one fights."

"And a crazy woman named Big Mom has been madly expanding her territory."

Garp took a huge gulp of wine.

"Young people these days are getting more troublesome by the year."

Ace pricked up his ears.

The New World.

That was the place he dreamed of reaching.

"Kaido? Big Mom?"

Luffy looked completely confused.

"Are they tasty?"

Garp shot him an irritated glare.

"They're the Four Emperors! The emperors who rule the seas!"

Luffy gave an oh.

"Anyway, I'll send them flying someday."

Looking at Luffy's carefree expression, Garp felt that if he stayed any longer, he would lose ten years off his life.

Kahn cut off a piece of meat.

He was calculating in his heart.

The Four Emperors had already taken shape.

Red-Haired Shanks had already claimed his place.

The World Government's claws were also drawing back.

This calm before the storm probably would not last much longer.

When Luffy set sail at seventeen.

This era would completely spiral out of control.

"Still eight years to wait..."

Kahn murmured softly.

Eight years.

How far could he develop this body of his?

Cross the void?

Or crush the Red Line with one hand?

He looked up at the moon outside the window.

Even at night, he could sense the faint light reflected by the moon.

Though it was not enough to make him stronger, it was enough to keep him alert at all times.

Early the next morning.

Garp called Kahn to an open space behind the mountain.

Bogart stood in the distance.

His hand gripped the hilt of his sword, his posture tense.

"Brat."

Garp casually tossed his coat onto the ground, revealing his incredibly muscular back.

"I brought back something good this time."

"The Awakening Special Training Method developed by Marine Headquarters."

"Though it was made for monsters, I think it suits you perfectly."

Kahn raised an eyebrow.

"Sounds pretty interesting."

"But old man, you'd better be prepared."

Kahn took a deep breath.

The gravity around them seemed to shift in an instant.

The golden energy within him began to boil.

"Right now, if I don't hold back..."

"You might get beaten badly."

Garp froze for a moment.

Then he burst into earth-shaking laughter.

"Wahahaha!"

"What an arrogant brat!"

"Come! Let Grandpa see just how much confidence you've got!"

Bogart shook his head slightly in the distance.

He could tell that Kahn was not lying.

Within that boy's body truly slumbered a gigantic beast capable of devouring the world.

The two faced each other.

The cool morning breeze swept across the grass.

The next second.

The ground shattered.

Two afterimages slammed violently into each other in the clearing.

Bogart's grip on his sword tightened.

Was this really just a battle between nine-year-old children?

That terrifying clash of power.

It was simply like two disasters walking among mankind.