Storm / The Era Named Garp
Xia Le stared at the distant sky, now changed in color and streaked with lightning. The terrifying destructive power of those fighters shook him.
Then he looked ahead, bent his knees, and sprang into motion.
Boom!
Like a released spring, he shot high into the air. His raging Conqueror's Haki cast a black-and-red haze around him, while a faint force wound around his arm and gathered in his fist.
Black-red currents raced along his arm and between his fingers.
Hum!
At the height of his leap, Xia Le clenched his fist until his knuckles cracked.
Then he looked down and drove his right fist toward the ships below.
Fist Bone: Meteorite!!
Black-red lightning burst from his fist.
The Storm
Black-Red Lightning twisted and raced through the air at an unbelievable speed. More astonishing still was the sheer reach of Xia Le's punch.
From nearly a hundred meters above the pirate ships, he swung his fist down. The immense force instantly struck the two ships directly beneath him and erupted.
The pirate captains' faces, along with those of their officers, turned to terror.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, the two enormous pirate ships cracked and shattered. Countless splinters flew outward, while the sea beneath them caved in at tremendous speed.
That was only the initial burst. The force of the punch then rippled outward, spreading to the other three ships.
Crack!
Their sturdy hulls proved as brittle as glass, splitting with countless fractures. Unconscious pirates were flung from their decks, hurled high into the air before falling into the distant sea and sending up sprays of water.
The sunken sea, the shattered ships, the pirates crushed into Blood Mist by the sudden impact—each image burned itself into the minds of Simboo and the other Marine officers.
When the fluttering white Justice Cloak came into view again and that slightly slender young man landed at the stern, everyone looked at him as though a god had descended among them.
They would never forget the sight of that punch. To them, it was a miracle.
"Whew."
Xia Le slowly exhaled. He looked over the violently churning sea, the scattered wood, and the twisted, bleeding pirates floating on the surface. The sharpness gradually faded from his eyes.
Naturally, his punch fell far short of Garp's technique. He had merely used a crude form of Conqueror's Haki Infusion and made up a name for a punch thrown on impulse.
"I still have a long way to go."
Xia Le sighed softly.
He gazed into the distance. The shockwaves from the clash between the two pirate crews and the changing sky left him awestruck. He could also sense several other powerful currents of Conqueror's Haki.
Not one was weaker than his own.
And from the flashes of light and the violently shaking sea, he could tell that every one of their attacks was far more powerful than his.
"Strength, technique, experience... They're ahead of me in all of it."
Xia Le's gaze wavered.
Even from here, without seeing the fighters up close, he could clearly feel their terrifying power to destroy.
At that moment, fierce ambition surged within him.
"One day, I'll become that strong too!"
Xia Le clenched his fist and stared hard at the distant sky.
When he had faced Golden Lion Shiki and the vast fleet of the Flying Pirates, he had felt his helplessness all too clearly.
Watching his comrades fall had shaken him. Rear Admiral Jerry's death right before his eyes had struck him especially hard.
The battle still raged in the distance. Lightning flashed ever brighter and more frequently, while dark clouds covered almost all of the Edd War Waters.
"How terrifying!"
"Their fight has split the sky and torn the sea apart!"
"Golden Lion Shiki and Gol D. Roger!"
"This is a battle between the World's Strongest!"
Behind him, the officers voiced their awe.
Xia Le's ferocious punch had stunned them, but the two pirate crews fighting ahead inspired even greater fear and wonder.
Suddenly, a flying slash came howling toward them and swept over their heads.
Crack!
The mast snapped, tilted, and crashed onto the deck.
Xia Le drew a breath as he studied the clean cut. He knew it had been caused by the fading edge of a slash launched more than ten miles away.
"Let's get out of here as quickly as we can!"
"The Marine warship is damaged in several places, and the mast is broken. But it has its own backup power, and the oars beneath the hull are still mostly intact. We can just about keep moving!"
After a quick inspection, the survivors reported the ship's condition with relief.
Even this far from the heart of the battle, its shockwaves were more than they could withstand.
Xia Le walked to the bow and picked up the Den Den Mushi Rear Admiral Jerry had been holding.
The Den Den Mushi rang the very next second.
"Rear Admiral Jerry, report your situation. Now."
Xia Le froze at the voice.
"Vice Admiral Garp."
"Rear Admiral Jerry has fallen. This is Xia Le."
Garp fell silent for a beat, then said quickly, "I'm glad you're all right. We're on our way to Area A13."
"We've escaped danger for now. The Flying Pirates ran into the Roger Pirates, and the two sides are fighting. We got lucky."
"Roger?!"
Garp's voice rose sharply.
"Right. I'll be there to back you up!"
The Den Den Mushi went quiet.
"Xia Le, what do we do now?"
Supported by a comrade, Saron sat up and leaned against the side of the ship as he asked in his deep voice.
The others had put out the fire at the stern. For the moment, they were out of danger.
Xia Le paused, then looked around. Everyone, including Simboo, watched him with eager, expectant eyes.
There was no doubt about it. That astonishing punch had won the officers' respect, and they were willing to follow his orders.
"Get the ship as far away as you can."
"Vice Admiral Garp is coming to support us. For now, our job is to keep ourselves safe while continuing to watch the battle between Golden Lion Shiki and the Roger Pirates."
Xia Le took a deep breath and spoke firmly.
"Yes, sir!"
Simboo was the first to answer.
No one objected. They all hurried to their tasks.
The backup power could not carry them far; it was meant only for emergencies. The Marine warship still relied mainly on its sails.
A short while later, the warship had moved farther from the battlefield.
Boom!
Even from that distance, the deafening sound rang clear enough to leave their ears buzzing. Fierce winds roared overhead. At the center of the battle, flashes of every color filled the sky.
This was a battle between the world's finest!
The Flying Pirates had numbers and plenty of elite fighters. The Roger Pirates, on the other hand, were powerful to the last man.
Rumble!
The battle went on as thunder rolled across the sky. Then, without warning, rain poured down and hid the scene ahead.
Xia Le narrowed his eyes and peered through the rain at the blurred shapes of the two sides.
He soon noticed the sounds of battle growing quieter. Then they fell silent.
A pirate ship cut through the heaving waves. At its bow stood a man laughing heartily, undaunted by the howling wind and driving rain.
"Hahahaha!"
"I told you, Rayleigh! This isn't the end for us!"
"Even the heavens are on my side!"
Though he was far away, his laughter carried clearly through the rain.
Xia Le raised his telescope and fixed his gaze on the figure.
"Gol D. Roger."
He spoke the man's name softly.
The Age of Garp
As if he had sensed Xia Le's gaze, the mustached man turned to look his way.
Through the telescope's rain-streaked lens, Xia Le made out the man's blurry smile.
Xia Le lowered the telescope and shifted his gaze.
Behind the pirate ship speeding through the storm, other pirate ships gave chase in a scattered, disordered line, their crews bewildered and furious. But they were falling behind fast. Even the ships that had flown through the air had been forced down onto the sea by the storm, where they stalled.
The sudden storm had clearly ruined the Flying Pirates' plan to surround them.
Then Xia Le spotted ships surfacing not far ahead, each coated in a protective bubble.
The storm blurred and distorted everything, but the skull flags of the Flying Pirates made everyone tense up again.
The ships surfaced one after another. In the blink of an eye, there were ten.
Between the battle and the storm, the Flying Pirates' formation had completely collapsed. Their fleet was scattered across the sea.
Xia Le narrowed his eyes and stepped forward. Power rose from him.
Black-Red Lightning coiled around him, and a heavy pressure spread from his body.
But the next instant, that rising power faltered. He whipped his head toward the sea beside them.
A Dog-Head Warship was charging through the storm at tremendous speed.
Then a figure leaped from its bow.
Hum!
For an instant, the storm seemed to stand still. An invisible, overwhelming force spread outward as a square-faced man with short black hair swung his fist with a wild laugh.
Lightning burst forth, thick as a house, and slammed down. The sea caved in, and all ten pirate ships shattered in succession, sending splinters flying across the sky.
"My dear student, are you all right?"
"Forgive your teacher for getting here so late!"
"Hahahahaha!"