Testing

Garp's words instantly shattered the relaxed atmosphere on the deck.

He paused, then added as if speaking to himself before Rayne could answer.

"Little Tsuru should have already explained what Conqueror's Haki is, right?"

The sea breeze seemed to freeze at that moment.

Even the sound of the waves seemed to vanish.

All Rayne could hear was Garp's steady heartbeat, pounding like a war drum.

Lie?

Tell him, "Roger really did use Conqueror's Haki. I just endured it head-on"?

The instant that thought arose, he crushed it himself.

What a joke! Lying like that in front of a monster like Garp was no different from voluntarily sticking his neck onto the executioner's block! His battle-hardened Observation Haki could probably sense even his racing heartbeat and contracting pores with perfect clarity! Once he saw through it, Rayne would immediately be labeled as someone with ulterior motives, and his fate would be miserable.

No, that was a dead end.

Then... admit it?

Tell him, "Roger didn't use Conqueror's Haki. I passed out for another reason"?

Rayne felt his scalp go numb.

That would be even more suicidal! It would mean publicly overturning the heroic image Vice Admiral Tsuru had crafted for him and telling the Navy hero before him that the entire Navy high command had been fooled by a mere soldier like him! Garp's first reaction definitely would not be, "Oh, I see." It would be, "What secret are you hiding?" Being sent to Vegapunk's operating table would already count as the best possible outcome!

No, that was a dead end too.

Rayne's heart turned cold.

No... perhaps there was a third path. One where he did not need to answer yes or no.

After a long, suffocating silence, Rayne slowly raised his head.

The panic on his face had vanished, replaced by an expression of forced calm that could not conceal a trace of confusion.

"Reporting to Vice Admiral Garp..." Rayne's voice was steady, though slightly dry. "I... can't give you a yes or no answer."

Garp's brow lifted slightly.

Rayne began to "perform."

"I don't know whether that was the Conqueror's Haki you mentioned."

Rayne seemed to sink into a painful memory. "On the day of the execution, when I stood behind Roger, I didn't feel any hostility or killing intent from him. What I felt was something strange, like... like a will as vast as the sea."

His gaze became somewhat vacant, as though his memories had returned to the day of the execution.

"And when the order to execute him was given... perhaps because I was too nervous, or perhaps for some other reason, I felt as though my own mind resonated with his will..."

"Then my head felt like it was about to explode. After that, I... don't remember anything."

As Rayne's words fell, the deck once again sank into a long, suffocating silence.

Garp merely stared silently at Rayne with eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything.

One second.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

Rayne felt cold sweat soak through his back completely.

Under Garp's gaze, as heavy as mountains and as vast as the sea, even Rayne's [Peak]-level Observation Haki could not sense the slightest emotion from him. Garp was like an unfathomably deep ocean.

Just as Rayne was about to lose his nerve and began considering a Plan B, Garp finally spoke.

An incomparably brilliant smile bloomed across his face.

"Ahahaha... Ahahahahahaha!"

The deafening laughter finally broke the deadlock on the deck.

"A resonance of wills? Kid, that's far more interesting than Little Tsuru's story about you enduring Haki head-on!"

Garp's words struck Rayne's heart like a heavy hammer!

He understood in an instant—Garp had never believed Vice Admiral Tsuru's heroic tale! He had known from the very beginning that it was a lie!

This interrogation today had been a trap he set, one specifically meant to trick the truth out of him!

A monstrous tide surged in Rayne's heart, but he knew he had won the gamble.

He had gambled on Garp's curiosity toward Roger, his old rival.

A riddled-with-holes story about "enduring Haki head-on" could not satisfy that curiosity.

But a seemingly absurd yet full-of-possibility "resonance of wills" had scratched Garp right where he itched.

Whew... that was close. Looks like I managed to bluff my way through. Rayne let out a long breath inwardly, his back icy cold.

Garp's serious expression changed in an instant, like a face-changing opera performer, returning to its usual lazy appearance.

He burst into his signature laughter again and heavily slapped Rayne on the shoulder, sending him staggering with the sheer force.

"Ahahaha! Interesting! You little brat are even more interesting than Little Tsuru said!"

Garp did not ask another question about Roger or Conqueror's Haki, as though that suffocating "interrogation" had merely been an offhand joke.

He sat down cross-legged again, grabbed a rice cracker, and crunched away as he waved a hand.

"All right, go find an empty room in the cabin and settle in. Remember, don't cause trouble on my ship!"

"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp."

Rayne gave a respectful salute, but inwardly, he let out a long, long breath, his back still icy cold.

The next person who says Garp has no brains is going to answer to me first! This guy's cunning as a devil...

He knew that although his answer had temporarily fooled Garp, it had also completely stirred this legendary man's curiosity.

The days ahead probably... would not be so "peaceful."

Over the next few days of sailing, things were unexpectedly calm.

Garp really seemed to regard Rayne as an ordinary new recruit he had merely picked up along the way. Every day, aside from eating and sleeping, he stood at the bow laughing as he hurled cannonballs for training. He never sought Rayne out again.

But Rayne did not dare relax in the slightest.

He knew he was beside a sleeping lion, and any irregularity could bring unnecessary trouble.

In the days that followed, Rayne behaved like the most ordinary Marine: silent and taciturn, barely leaving his cabin except to eat in the mess hall.

One day, Rayne was sitting cross-legged in his tiny cabin, his eyes closed in thought.

Suddenly, he seemed to sense something and slowly opened his eyes.

He walked to the narrow porthole and looked outside.

At the end of the horizon stood an enormous steel gate, so massive it seemed capable of completely dividing the sky from the sea.

Above the gate were carved two gigantic characters, brimming with majesty and murderous severity—Justice.

Just then, a clear bell rang out beyond the cabin, accompanied by the excited shouts of Navy soldiers.

"Marineford—we've arrived!"