The Clash of Sword Intent and Conqueror's Haki / Garp's Praise; What Is a Dream?

First, a look at his current stats. (Only the changes were listed!)

Armament Haki (activated): 500000/1000000;

Observation Haki (activated): 500000/1000000;

Conqueror's Haki (activated): 25000/1000000;

Non-Contention Sword Intent (activated): 350000/1000000;

Not bad. In just half a day, another Sword Intent had awakened—and passively, at that.

Dongze had never expected Hidden Light, Sitting in Forgetfulness to contain a Sword Intent of its own.

It was purely defensive. When he defended, its power remained held in reserve, consuming very little energy.

It was nothing like the Erosion Sword Intent he had grasped earlier, with its terrifying killing power and equally terrifying cost.

Meanwhile, his Armament Haki and Observation Haki were both stuck at 500000 points, a problem he had never encountered before. (He had ground the server to a halt. Of course they weren't moving.)

A sudden sound reached them both. Dongze and Garp leaped back as the island beneath their feet finally gave way. Cracks spread outward from where they had stood, branching like spiderwebs.

Garp sighed at the sight.

He knew his plans for the day had fallen through.

He had meant to beat this stubborn brat into submission, then take him back and train him properly.

As he had said before, in this world, the biggest fist was the boss. Didn't like it? He'd beat you until you did.

That was why the future Pirate King's childhood had turned out the way it had. Wouldn't listen? Wanted to become a pirate? Come on, then. Grandpa would teach you a lesson.

But he hadn't expected the boy's abilities to be so astonishing. For the moment, there was nothing he could do about him.

As for Robin, he hadn't taken her situation to heart at all. He'd even wanted to punch the Celestial Dragons. Why would he care about one survivor of Ohara?

In the original story, hadn't he held back even when he ran into the Straw Hat Pirates at Water 7?

"Kid! This island can't hold out much longer. The next exchange will probably be our last. Give it everything you've got. I won't hold back this time!"

"In that case, old man, you'd better watch yourself!"

Garp had held back throughout their fight. In recent years, he had stepped away from the front lines to train promising Marines at Marine Headquarters.

While chasing Dongze the other day, Garp had realized how formidable he was. Escaping from him under those circumstances was almost unbelievable.

Seeing him again today, Garp had been impressed. The boy was young, yet his strength rivaled that of a Marine Admiral.

More importantly, he hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit, and his approach to combat was right up Garp's alley. Garp was a master of physical combat who had never eaten a Devil Fruit himself. Eager to test a promising fighter, he wanted to see just how far Dongze had come.

But once the test began, things got awkward. Garp found he couldn't bring it to a stop. He had to unleash more of his strength again and again. Apart from his ultimate moves, he was practically fighting at full power.

Still, he had held back. He hadn't targeted Dongze's vital points. The boy's background was clear: a Pirate Hunter from Shimotsuki Village in East Blue who captured pirates and upheld justice. Garp had no reason to kill him, and Dongze had suffered no fatal injuries so far.

Hearing Garp announce a final exchange, Dongze felt relieved.

Being hammered into the ground was no fun, especially now that his Haki had stopped improving. Their fight might have looked evenly matched, but Dongze knew the truth.

His physique was still some way behind Garp's, and his combat instincts lagged too. Back when he had swept through East Blue, a single Slashing had settled nearly every fight. Those victories raised his skill proficiency, but they had done nothing for his combat instincts.

This battle had exposed that glaring weakness. Without the passive defense of Hidden Light, Sitting in Forgetfulness, he might have ended up calling Garp "Grandpa."

In a way, Garp's slap had come at exactly the right time. If Dongze truly wanted to stand among the strongest, he couldn't keep hiding in East Blue. He needed to face powerful opponents.

There was also a considerable gap between their two types of Haki. If Dongze had to assign proficiency values to Garp's, he would put his Armament Haki above 950000 and his Observation Haki around 900000.

If they kept fighting, Dongze might eventually exhaust himself and lose.

Sword Intent Clashes with Conqueror's Haki

"Fist Bone! Star-Splitting!"

Garp stood his ground, his muscles swelling. Ryuo once again coated his fists. This time, Dongze could almost sense the Armament Haki flowing along some strange path. Even from far away, he felt its terrifying power.

It was clearly different from anything Garp had used earlier.

Before the fist moved, its force arrived. A terrifying presence locked onto Dongze, sparks crackling through the air as black-and-red Conqueror's Haki slowly wrapped around Garp's right fist.

"Conqueror's Haki Coating?"

So my guess was right. They were all members of the Monkey Family. If Monkey D. Dragon and Monkey D. Luffy possessed Conqueror's Haki, how could their father and grandfather lack it?

Without that kind of strength, how could Garp have chased Roger and his crew across the seas? Even after Roger fell gravely ill, he could still cross blades with Whitebeard.

At the sight, Dongze stopped hesitating. He would use his strongest trump card, the Indian Miracle Oil he could use only three times a day—no, Erosion Sword Intent.

He gripped Forgotten Dust firmly. In an instant, his 500000-point Armament Haki coated the blade.

An unusual sheen crept across the pitch-black sword. Then a light flashed between Dongze's brows. In the void, a tiny transparent sword trembled and sprang from nothingness, bringing down the weight of heaven and earth.

Garp seemed to sense it. His expression turned grave.

Both powers embodied a kind of will. Conqueror's Haki represented the individual, an absolute, domineering assertion of self. Sword Intent was a person's understanding of the way of heaven and earth. Which was stronger depended on the wielder.

(Take, for example, the Heavenly Emperor who slew every enemy in his world. His will could probably crush that world's very laws. In some weaker worlds, though, an individual's will could not stand against the way of heaven and earth.)

But what about this world?

Dongze couldn't yet say. Some Devil Fruits touched the laws of nature. Certain Logia and Paramecia fruits were tangible expressions of the way of heaven and earth.

And individual will? When made manifest, it became Conqueror's Haki. Which of the two prevailed truly depended on the person.

Dongze held Forgotten Dust across his body and slowly ran a finger along the blade. Sword Aura flared like fire racing across dry grass.

This time, he chose Second Uncle's signature move.

"Crossing the Eight Directions!"

In that instant, Garp finished gathering his power and drove out a black fist-shaped blast. Space warped around it.

A column of compressed air bore down on Dongze with unstoppable force! This wasn't close combat, but a ranged attack—exactly as Dongze had suspected.

If such terrifying power were unleashed at point-blank range, no flesh-and-blood body could withstand it, whether the force struck outward or inward.

That must have been why the strongest fighters generally kept their most powerful moves at a distance. Even they likely couldn't bear the backlash.

The next moment, the ground beneath Dongze sank. A web of cracks raced in every direction.

Dongze called forth Erosion Sword Intent, and for the second time in this world, it fully bared its fangs.

He put everything he had into that sword strike.

The space around them fell still.

Erosion Sword Intent surged across the island like the shockwave of a nuclear blast, swallowing the hundred meters between them in the blink of an eye.

Rocks and trees alike crumbled into powder and scattered on the wind. The terrifying display was no less impressive than Garp's.

Eight devastating Slashing strikes cut down through the air as Garp threw his punch, sweeping everything before them.

They collided head-on with his attack. Dongze wasn't aiming for Garp, but for the terrifying fist blast.

Had he aimed at Garp himself, the blast would certainly have hit him. Trading injuries wasn't worth it.

Besides, the little old man didn't seem to want him dead. Dongze could tell after fighting him for so long.

In the next instant, the eight Slashing strikes converged from every direction and struck the fist blast.

The moment the two attacks met, their collision was devastating. The sound was like a steel saw biting into iron. A rolling shockwave hurled both men away.

Dust billowed up, hiding the entire island.

The point of impact became a vast vortex, dragging in everything around it.

From afar, it looked like an upside-down tornado, shrouded in gray sand and dust.

It kept growing. Within a few breaths, it covered most of the island.

Garp's expression changed as he watched trees and boulders turn to dust the moment they were pulled in.

"Erosion Cycle?"

"No. This is far more terrifying than anything Crocodile could do! At this rate, it'll engulf the whole island. How does that kid wield something so dangerous?!"

Robin had only just gotten to her feet on the shore when she saw a giant tornado rise from the island's center.

It was a murky gray. The ground beneath her began to shake, and then a shockwave slammed into her and sent her flying.

Sitting in the seawater, she stared in disbelief. She was at least fifty kilometers from the island's center, with forests and massive rocks between her and the fight. Yet its aftershock had still thrown her into the air.

Suddenly, her body went limp, as though something had drained away all her strength.

Still shaken, she remembered that she had eaten a Devil Fruit. She couldn't let seawater touch her.

With great effort, she dragged herself out of the shallows on hands and knees.

The phenomenon showed no sign of fading. It only grew fiercer. Sword Intent surged, and the fist blast unleashed its full might. Their struggle stirred the weather for dozens of miles around.

Seeing the attacks spiral out of control, Garp and Dongze both chose to detonate them.

The gray tornado suddenly contracted, then burst apart. The shockwave swept outward, destroying everything in sight. In the next instant, the entire island began splitting down the middle.

Its remaining force raced beyond the island.

Robin had just made it back to shore when she was thrown into the air again. This time, she didn't fall into the sea. She landed in a warm embrace.

Dongze had rushed over from the island's center and caught her. He carried her swiftly into the sky. Behind them, a shockwave swept across the sea, raising towering waves that blotted out the sky like the end of the world.

A moment later, seawater swallowed the entire island.

High above, a force tore through the rolling storm clouds, and sunlight shone down once more.

Several kilometers away, Garp watched with mixed feelings. He had underestimated the boy. He hadn't seen a sight like this in more than a decade.

As he recalled, it had only happened during his life-and-death battles with Roger in the New World. He hadn't expected to see it again today.

"What a terrifying brat! Am I really getting old?"

Garp's Praise, and the Meaning of Dreams

After the battle, the Deserted Island had sunk. Waves rolled on, and the wind left no trace. Only a lingering Sword Intent remained.

A hundred and twenty li away, Dongze and Garp sat on seaside rocks on another deserted island.

After their battle, the two could finally sit down and talk.

Dongze had no words for this old man who seemed to have muscles for brains. Couldn't he have started with a conversation?

All Garp seemed to think about was punching people. If he hadn't come on so strong, they might not have fought at all. But Dongze could never have guessed that Garp meant to persuade him with his fists.

"Hey, old man. Do you have a dream?"

"A dream?"

"That's a word I haven't heard in a long time. He was always talking about it."

"Roger?"

"That's right. He was a madman who threw the whole world into turmoil, but even I have to admit he was a remarkable man."

"As for me? Of course I hope to end these chaotic times and bring peace and quiet back to the seas..."

Garp fell silent. Dongze tilted his head to look at him.

He had a feeling the old man wasn't finished.

"There are other things, of course, but I'd rather not say more. I have my own position to consider."

A mocking smile crossed Dongze's lips. "The Celestial Dragons?"

"You little brat. Why do you have to be so clever?"

The moment Garp finished speaking, Dongze felt a sharp pain in his head.

He turned to find Garp casually drawing back his fist. The black coating hadn't even faded yet.

"Damn it, you crazy old man! That was my head! You used Armament Haki? Were you trying to knock me senseless?"

"Hmph! That was my Fist of Love!"

"Oh, hell!"

Dongze had no answer for Garp when he acted like this. A straight fight might have been easier to handle.

"Speaking of which, kid, you still haven't told me your dream."