The boundless azure sea stretched to the horizon, a golden route running straight across it as the Dog-Head Battleship cleaved through the waves like a colossal sea beast in the light.
Marine Headquarters was already close ahead—
On the return voyage, when the warship passed an unnamed deserted island, Garp suddenly sprang to his feet with a "snap."
The next second, his eyes lit up like a wolf spotting prey. "Hey!! Brat!! Get down there and fight me!!!"
Before his words had even faded, he had already grabbed Rock from his deck chair with one hand and slung him over his shoulder like a chick.
Rock was still struggling. "Hey, hey, hey~ At least give me some time to prepare!!!"
"Prepare my ass!"
Garp burst out laughing and swung his huge hand. "Just get to it!!!"
"Boom—!!!"
Rock was hurled into the center of the deserted island, lightning erupting the instant he hit the ground.
Then—
Thunder roared! The Iron Fist bellowed!
"Boom—!!!"
"Thud—!!!"
"Rumble, rumble, rumble—!!!"
The entire island was instantly battered back and forth by two calamity-level forces.
A bolt of lightning pierced the forest from above, and in the next moment, Garp's Iron Fist smashed a massive crater into the ground.
On the warship in the distant sea, the soldiers watched with pale faces. "Was that... something a human could create?!"
"Lightning and thunder... splitting earth and collapsing mountains... Was this a fight? This was a natural disaster!!!"
Vice Admiral Bogard frowned tightly, revealing an incredulous expression for the first time.
"This kid actually made Vice Admiral Garp get serious..."
Half a day later, the deserted island's terrain looked like a cake cut into eight pieces, with scorched leaves drifting through the sky.
And the culprit behind all of it... was lying on the shore, laughing up at the sky.
After that battle, the way Garp looked at Rock changed completely.
From an "interesting brat" to a "strategic-level treasure."
Whenever he got the chance, he praised him, utterly ignoring the expressions on the soldiers' faces beside him. "This kid's strength... tsk!! Incredible!! Outrageous!!"
"Unless I fight to the death without holding back and use Conqueror's Haki Coating, I can't pin him down at all!"
"What's even more ridiculous is that if he wants to run, I can't even catch him!!! Hahahaha!!!"
What shocked Garp even more was Rock's physical strength. Propping up his chin, he stared at Rock with a sly grin.
"Brat, what the hell is inside that head of yours?"
"Lightning Body Tempering? You actually came up with something that crazy?"
"I can already imagine how badly you're going to scare Zephyr!! Hahahaha!!!"
Rock could only chuckle awkwardly. "Uh... Brother Garp, isn't your Iron Fist the kind that can smash one mountain after another into rubble...?"
"That's all my muscles!!!"
The azure sea rolled beneath the sunlight, golden ripples spreading layer upon layer with the waves.
The Dog-Head Battleship cut through the sea, and as the distance closed, Marineford's enormous white walls—the symbol of absolute justice—gradually revealed their immense outline like a sleeping beast on the horizon.
On deck, Garp and Rock stood side by side at the bow, silently watching the sea ahead.
The wind lifted Garp's cape and stirred several strands of hair beside Rock's ear.
Only the sound of waves echoed between them.
Suddenly, Garp tossed away the half-eaten rice cracker in his mouth, the usual carefree grin vanishing from his face.
His voice was low and hoarse. "...Rock."
Rock turned to look at him. "Hmm?"
Garp gazed at the distant fortress that represented "absolute justice," his eyes deep.
"Why... did you join the Marines?"
He took a deep breath of the salty sea wind, as if carefully choosing his words.
"The Marines aren't as simple as you think."
"Justice sometimes... gets used."
"The people we want to protect, sometimes we can't protect them;
and the people we should arrest, sometimes we can't catch them."
In that moment, Garp seemed to have voiced a part of the reality buried deep in his heart.
There was no shouting, no laughter—only a heavy, weary statement.
Rock fell silent for a moment. The sea wind howled past his ears, as though scattering countless thoughts.
Then he spoke quietly. "Why did I join the Marines?"
He raised his eyes toward the distance, brilliant daylight reflected in his pupils.
"If I said it was just because I felt like it, would you believe me?"
"Because you felt like it...?"
Garp paused, then lightly bumped Rock's shoulder with his fist.
"You little brat... who joins the Marines for such a boring reason?"
But Rock merely chuckled and did not keep teasing him.
His next words, however, made Garp's entire body tremble slightly.
"As for what you said, I actually already knew."
Garp's smile froze. Rock raised a hand and lightly flicked his fingertip.
"Snap—"
A thread of lightning burst forth, yet instead of spreading outward, it circled in Rock's palm as though completely tamed by him.
Staring at the lightning in his hand, he said calmly, "My innate Observation Haki has let me hear and see... the thoughts of most people since I was little."
"Combined with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's enhancement—"
"As long as I want to, every movement across an entire island falls within my perception."
As his words fell, Garp's breathing visibly paused, but Rock's tone remained unhurried.
"So, I can not only see the malice in pirates' hearts."
"I can also see the shadows and corruption in the hearts of some Marines."
"I can see the people in the Underworld who have been twisted by blood and money."
He paused for a moment, his eyes suddenly turning sharp. "Even—"
"The so-called Celestial Dragons."
The sea wind still howled, but the atmosphere had become utterly different from before—grave and turbulent, yet carrying an indescribable anticipation.
Garp's fingers silently tightened at his side. Turning to stare at Rock, he realized for the first time what was truly terrifying about this young man.
He was not merely a monstrous genius. He was also a dangerous existence capable of seeing through the world's "essence."
People like him... could never be bound.
Yet Rock smiled, a smile mixed with wildness, freedom, danger, and a maturity far beyond his age.
"You all worry too much."
"But I'm different."
He turned around, lightning dancing around him like a rampaging Thunder Beast.
The sun shone upon the side of his face, lighting half his silhouette gold.
"I won't be bound by the World Government."
"Nor will I be led around by the nose by some vague concept called 'justice.'"
"And I certainly won't let anyone control me."
"The Marines—"
Then he raised a hand and pointed toward the immense white fortress gradually appearing in the distance.
"Can give me a stage to roam the world."
"It's big enough, and interesting enough."
"There are plenty of monsters to meet."
"And plenty of things to change."
His gaze suddenly sharpened, as if piercing the entire sea. "I will—"
"Change this world in my own way."
Garp remained silent for a long time.
The sea wind swept past the hems of their clothes, stirring the spray and snapping the massive Marine flag in the distance.
He muttered softly, "You little brat..."
The corners of his mouth could not help rising. Unable to suppress it any longer, he simply threw back his head and laughed.
"You always speak half-truths and half-lies. Listening to you pisses me off! Hahahaha!!!"
"But—"
Garp grinned, flashing his signature white teeth. "I like monsters like you!!!"
"I'm really looking forward to the day you turn the Marines upside down!"
Rock tilted his head and smiled. "That might not be a good thing."
"It is to me!!!"
"Hahahahahaha—!!!"
Their laughter startled flocks of seabirds into flight.
Amid that resounding laughter—
"Whoosh—!!!"
The sea fog was parted by the bow, and a magnificent colossal fortress rose as if from the very end of heaven and earth.
The white walls stood majestic, while gigantic Marine banners crackled in the wind like thunder.
Warships filled the harbor, and the chants of training soldiers rang deafeningly through the air.
Bogard stood at the bow, his expression solemn as he lowered the brim of his hat and murmured gravely.
"Marine Headquarters—Marineford,"
"We've arrived."
Before you continue