Pirate: Seeing Proficiency, I Became a Legend

His earlier guess had been right. Defeating a boss came with a hidden reward.

What a terrifying boost! (You really are a shameless bastard! You kept milking Crocodile for everything he had. Crocodile said, "I never want to see you again as long as I live!")

At the end, he had confirmed something else: Sword Intent really could hurt a Logia user. That was no small gain, either. (Crocodile: Don't get me started! I hid for a day and a night, only to find out at the very end that the bastard could cut me all along! What was I even hiding for?)

Looking at Crocodile sprawled in a crater, Robin asked, "Mr. Dongze! What should we do with him?"

"Forget it! Let him go! I never meant to do much to him anyway!"

"Besides, he's a Shichibukai. His status complicates things. We can't touch him right now!"

If Crocodile hadn't already passed out, hearing that would have made him cough up a bucket of blood.

Please, have mercy. I'll never hide again!

Meeting Garp, an Unwilling Flight

Three days later, under another blazing sun, Robin had returned to the ship and changed back into her pretty little swimsuit.

Lying beneath a parasol, she picked up her books about legends of the sea again.

Their trip to Alabasta had shown her just how shallow her earlier understanding had been.

She had always thought that no matter how powerful one person was, they could never stand against an army. Now her view had changed completely.

She stole a glance at Dongze, who sat cross-legged nearby.

The man was like a mysterious whirlpool, drawing her in and making her wonder what thoughts filled his mind.

With that thought, she picked up one of her favorite bookmarks from the book.

A line was written on it.

"If life could always be as it was when we first met, why would autumn winds grieve over a painted fan?"

The more she savored it, the more beautiful it seemed.

Another read, "Heaven gave me talents for a reason; a thousand gold pieces spent will come again!"

Those little lines fascinated her more than the Poneglyphs did.

And when she thought back to what had happened in the royal tomb of Alabasta, she suspected Dongze might even know the history of the Void Century. He simply wasn't saying.

As for Dongze, he had added another activity to his daily routine since returning from Alabasta.

He called it "Meditation!"

Simply put, he cleared his mind and tried to sense the world around him.

If its effects hadn't appeared on his panel, he probably wouldn't have believed in such a thing.

It was the special skill that had dropped after he beat Alabasta's big boss, Crocodile, into the ground.

As his understanding of his Golden Finger grew, he learned more and more about how it worked.

He was now certain that defeating major bosses would make them drop an extra skill.

Meditation, or Basic Meditation.

Its proficiency cap was only 10,000 points, making it a level-two skill.

It might not sound particularly advanced, but he could feel his mental strength gradually improving. Ten percent of that improvement also boosted his Sword Intent, giving him two benefits for the effort. That was why he had never slacked off.

Whenever he had time, he meditated to raise the skill's proficiency. As for the Sea Kings, he planned to put them aside for now. Improving his Sword Intent came first.

Apart from his usual two daily sword strikes imbued with Sword Intent, he spent most of his time meditating.

His progress over the past few days had been encouraging.

Basic Meditation: 1500/10000.

Considering the feedback he had received from the Poneglyph earlier, he had also grown interested in Poneglyphs.

He suspected the next stage after Sword Intent might well be Swordsmanship.

That was why their next destination was Sky Island.

The Poneglyph near the Golden Bell in the Golden City of Shandora.

With Sea Kings towing the ship, he estimated they could get there in just a few days.

At the Marine Branch in Loguetown, East Blue, Harry received a report. After hesitating for a moment, he made another call.

"Vice Admiral Garp! We've found that kid!"

"He's in the waters at 45°23′, 36°52′. It looks like he's headed for Jaya Island!"

"Got it!"

"We've also been told that Admiral Aokiji has come to East Blue. He should reach the Loguetown branch in the next few days. Would you like to see him?"

"Kuzan? What's that brat doing in East Blue instead of staying at headquarters? Forget it, I won't see him! I finally have a couple of days off, and I want to spend them teaching my adorable grandson a lesson. I don't have time!"

Somewhere in East Blue, Garp stood aboard a warship decorated with a giant dog's head and picked his nose.

"Honestly, Sengoku didn't send Kuzan to drag me back, did he? Good thing Harry warned me. Otherwise, my vacation would've been ruined! My beloved grandson, once I find that kid, I'll bring them both back and train them. I'll make fine Marines out of them!!"

As he spoke, a snore escaped him. The legendary Marine hero had fallen asleep standing up.

His adjutant, Bogard, watched with a pained expression. He no longer knew what to say about his superior.

Thinking of how Luffy of the Straw Hat Pirates would later eat in his sleep, it no longer seemed so strange.

He really was Garp's grandson, wasn't he?

Just then, a cool sea breeze blew in. The bubble at Garp's nose popped, and he opened his bleary eyes.

"Bogard! How did I fall asleep here? Did something happen just now?"

Bogard's face darkened at Garp's question.

"Vice Admiral Garp, you wanted to meet that Pirate Hunter. And teach your adorable grandson a lesson!"

"Right! Right!"

"Men, set a course for Jaya Island!"

Bogard's expression grew even more strained at Garp's words. So the old man did remember after all!

Here I am worrying more than he is.

Two more days passed. Dongze was meditating when his eyes suddenly opened.

A warship had entered the range of his Observation Haki. It was the Dog-Head Warship.

There were plenty of warships in the pirate world, but only one he remembered looking like that: the ship of Garp the Hero.

And Garp was no ordinary man. He had once chased the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, all over the world.

His fighting power had surpassed even that of an Admiral, perhaps even an Emperor. He was a monster beyond the usual limits. Worse, this was six or seven years before Luffy's journey, so the old man's strength had probably barely declined.

By Dongze's rough estimate, his chances against Garp were next to nothing, especially with Robin beside him.

His Erosion Sword Intent was currently at 420000/1000000.

He could trade blows with an Admiral and still escape afterward, but against Garp, there was no telling.

"Damn it! Another one I can't beat!"

Seeing Dongze's expression change, Robin asked, "What's wrong, Mr. Dongze?"

"Turn the ship around!"

"Quick!"

Dongze's grim expression made Robin's face fall.

She could hardly remember seeing him look like this. She hurried into the cabin and used her ability to turn the ship around.

But things did not go as they hoped. If Dongze's Observation Haki could detect Garp's ship, what about Garp?

How could someone who had mastered Haki to such a degree fail to notice Dongze's ship?

"Huh? That's a strange ship! It doesn't have a flag!"

Bogard paused at Garp's muttering. Then, remembering something, he reported, "Vice Admiral Garp, I heard Dongze sails on a single-masted ship with no flag!"

Garp blinked at his adjutant's report.

"What did you say?"

He looked at the distant ship again. No flag, a single mast, and headed for Jaya Island. It all matched!

Huh? Why was the brat turning around?

"Brat! You think you can get away with me here?"

Before the words had left his mouth, Garp shot forward.

His Observation Haki had already picked up the change in the sailing ship. Turning around? Trying to run?

At that moment, Dongze's expression changed. He sprang to his feet as if he had been shocked.

"Shit, this is bad!!"

Without another word, he strapped Forgotten Dust to his back, dashed into the cabin, scooped up Robin, and launched himself into the air with Geppo. At the same time, he used Shave to accelerate.

"Mr. Dongze?"

Robin's head spun from being whisked away so suddenly. Seeing the tension in Dongze's eyes, she felt a sudden surge of panic.

"Ran into an old man I can't beat! He'll have to pay extra! No, damn it—we have to run!"

Garp had noticed what happened aboard the ship. When he saw a figure shoot into the air, he paused, then grew delighted rather than angry.

For the brat to spot him from that far away, he must have awakened Observation Haki too.

And being able to move through the sky meant he knew Geppo and had trained his body to an extraordinary level.

On top of that, Harry's report said he was a swordsman who showed pirates no mercy. To Garp, that made him prime Marine material.

He couldn't let the brat get away. It never occurred to the muscle-headed Garp to wonder why Dongze was running. All he wanted now was to take him back.

What if the brat refused? No problem. Garp had always believed in winning people over with reason—by force!

A Race Across the Sea

"Brat! Stop right there!!"

Garp's expression grew darker as he raced through the air. He had expected to catch the brat quickly.

Instead, the gap between them refused to shrink.

They kept pace with each other, covering dozens of miles in the blink of an eye, and the brat ahead showed no sign of slowing down.

He darted about like a rabbit fleeing a hound.

And he was carrying someone. Even Garp found that a bit ridiculous.

"Old man! Why don't you stop first? I can't relax with you chasing me!"

Dongze caught his breath and shouted back at Garp.

Garp chuckled when he heard him.

"Nice try! Roger used the same trick on me back in the day. I won't fall for it again!"

"The moment I stop, you'll disappear! Where am I supposed to find you then?"

Dongze froze. That was exactly what he had been thinking. He had hoped to use the chance to escape.

He hadn't expected Roger to have used that trick already!

Come to think of it, it was entirely plausible. Given Garp's personality, he might well have fallen for it.

Back when Garp chased Roger everywhere, there had probably been countless times when the two had nearly crossed paths.

If so, Roger was exactly the sort of person who would pull a stunt like that!

And the straightforward Garp was just the sort of person who might fall for it.