One Piece: I Who Could See Proficiency Became a Legend

Let's take another look at his current status panel. (Only the changed parts!)

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 been activated—and it had activated passively.

Dongze had not expected Hidden Light, Sitting in Forgetfulness to contain another Sword Intent.

This was a purely defensive Sword Intent. When defending, it remained restrained and un released, consuming very little energy.

It was nothing like the Erosion Sword Intent he had comprehended before, which carried terrifying destructive power. Of course, its consumption was equally horrifying.

Meanwhile, his Armament Haki and Observation Haki had both been locked at 500,000 points and stopped increasing. This was a problem he had never encountered before. (He had farmed the server until it crashed, so of course they weren't moving anymore. o(￣︶￣)o)

Suddenly, a noise reached the two of them. Dongze and Garp simultaneously retreated, and the small island beneath their feet finally reached its limit. Cracks spread outward from beneath their feet like a spiderweb.

Seeing this, Garp could not help sighing.

He knew that his plan for today had fallen through.

He had originally intended to beat the stubborn kid in front of him into submission, take him back, and properly nurture him.

Hadn't he said it before? In this world, whoever had the bigger fist was the father. Not convinced? He would beat you until you were convinced.

Of course, this was also why the future Pirate King's childhood had turned out that way. Not listening, huh? Wanting to become a pirate, huh? Come on, Grandpa would teach you how to be a proper person.

However, he had not expected the kid's ability to be so inexplicable. For a while, he had been unable to do anything to him.

As for Robin, he had never taken the matter seriously. Someone who even wanted to punch the Celestial Dragons—would he care about a survivor from Ohara?

Hadn't it been the same in the original story? In Water 7, even when he encountered the Straw Hat Pirates, he had not made a move.

"Kid! This island is about to collapse. The next attack will probably be the last one. Use all your strength. This old man won't hold back with his next attack!"

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

When all was said and done, Garp had still held back during their earlier battle. These days, he had retired to the second line and taught outstanding Marines at Marine Headquarters.

During the chase the day before, Garp had discovered that Dongze was extraordinary. The fact that he had managed to escape from Garp under those circumstances was simply unbelievable.

Seeing him again today, Garp found the kid astonishing. At such a young age, he already possessed strength comparable to that of a Marine Admiral.

More importantly, he had not eaten a Devil Fruit, and his path suited Garp's tastes perfectly. Garp himself was a master of physical techniques who had never eaten a Devil Fruit, so he had become eager to test Dongze and see exactly what level he had reached.

However, after testing him, Garp found himself in an awkward position. He realized that he could no longer hold back and had to release more and more of his strength. In other words, aside from his ultimate move, he had practically gone all out.

Still, he had held back during their earlier exchanges. He had not attacked Dongze's vital points. Dongze's origins were clear: he came from Shimotsuki Village in the East Blue and was a Pirate Hunter who usually captured pirates and upheld justice. Garp had even less reason to kill him, which was why Dongze had not suffered any fatal injuries so far.

When Dongze heard the other man say this, he could not help relaxing.

Being hammered by someone was not a pleasant feeling, especially now that his Haki was no longer increasing. Although it looked as if he and Garp were evenly matched, Dongze knew the actual situation.

His physique was still somewhat inferior to Garp's, and his combat awareness was also lacking. Previously, when he had swept through the East Blue, every Slashing attack had finished things completely. But those attacks had only increased his skill proficiency; they had not improved his combat awareness.

This battle had exposed his greatest weakness. Without the passive effect of Hidden Light, Sitting in Forgetfulness, he might have had to call Garp "Grandpa."

It could also be said that Garp's slap had come at exactly the right time. If Dongze truly wanted to become a powerhouse standing at the peak, he could not simply keep hiding in the East Blue. He needed to come into contact with powerful individuals.

There was also still a considerable gap in his cultivation of the two types of Haki. If he divided Garp's two types of Haki according to proficiency, he estimated that Garp's Armament Haki had at least 950,000 proficiency, while his Observation Haki was probably around 900,000.

If this continued, he might eventually lose after exhausting his strength.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Clash Between Sword Intent and Conqueror's Haki

"Fist Bone! Star-Splitting!!"

Standing where he was, Garp's muscles swelled. Once again, both his fists were covered in Ryuo Haki. This time, Dongze seemed able to sense the Armament Haki flowing along a strange trajectory. Even from far away, he could feel terrifying power surging toward him.

It was clearly different from their earlier exchanges.

Before the fist moved, its momentum had already arrived. A terrifying aura instantly locked onto Dongze. Sparks flashed like lightning, and black-red Conqueror's Haki slowly coiled around Garp's right fist.

"Conqueror's Haki infusion?"

Sure enough, his earlier guess had been right. They were all members of the Monkey Family. If Monkey D. Dragon and Monkey D. Luffy both possessed Conqueror's Haki, how could their father and grandfather lack it?

Without this level of strength, how could he have chased Roger's entire crew? Even if Roger had been seriously ill later on, he had still been able to clash blades with Whitebeard.

Seeing this, Dongze no longer hesitated. He unleashed his strongest offensive trump card at that moment—the Indian Miracle Oil that could only be used three times a day. No, it was his Erosion Sword Intent.

Forgotten Dust was held firmly in his hand, and 500,000 points of Armament Haki covered it in an instant.

The pitch-black blade began to take on a different kind of radiance. Finally, a flash passed between Dongze's brows. In the void, a transparent little sword trembled slightly before leaping out of nothingness, and the might of heaven and earth descended upon the area.

Garp seemed to sense something. His expression grew solemn.

Both were forms of will. Conqueror's Haki represented the individual—a domineering will that acknowledged only oneself. Sword Intent, on the other hand, was the heavenly path comprehended by an individual. Which one was stronger or weaker depended on the person.

(To give a simple example, take that Heavenly Emperor who had slain every enemy in the world. His will could probably crush the heavenly path of that world outright. Of course, in some weaker worlds, an individual's will might be unable to contend with the heavenly path!)

What about the world of One Piece?

To be honest, Dongze had not yet reached a conclusion. Some Devil Fruits touched upon the laws of heaven and earth. Certain Logia fruits and certain Paramecia fruits were concrete manifestations of the heavenly path.

What about individual will? Once manifested, it became Conqueror's Haki. As for which of these two things was stronger or weaker, it truly depended on the person.

Dongze then held Forgotten Dust horizontally before him. His finger slowly brushed across the blade, and the sword aura ignited in an instant like a prairie fire.

This time, Dongze chose his second uncle's ultimate move.

"Crossing the Eight Directions!"

Though it happened in an instant, Garp had already completed his preparatory motion. A pitch-black fist beam shot out from his fist, and space twisted directly in that moment.

A pillar of air carrying invincible momentum pressed toward Dongze! This move was not close-quarters combat but a ranged attack. It perfectly confirmed Dongze's guess.

With such terrifying power, if it were used in close combat, whether the force acted externally or internally, it would be more than a flesh-and-blood body could withstand.

That was why the strongest techniques of top-tier powerhouses generally were not used at close range. Presumably, they also could not withstand such intense backlash.

The next moment, the ground beneath Dongze suddenly sank, and web-like cracks rapidly crawled in every direction.

Dongze stirred his Erosion Sword Intent, allowing it to reveal its fangs in the world of One Piece for the second time, completely and utterly.

This was Dongze's all-out strike.

Space fell silent.

On the small island, the Erosion Sword Intent was like the shockwave of a nuclear explosion. In the blink of an eye, it swallowed the hundred meters between the two men.

Whether stone or trees, everything turned to dust the next moment and scattered with the wind. Such a terrifying phenomenon was no less astonishing than Garp's attack.

Eight terrifying Slashing attacks descended through the air as Garp struck, sweeping forward with overwhelming force.

They happened to collide with Garp's fist. Dongze's target was not Garp himself but the terrifying fist beam.

If this move had been aimed at Garp, Dongze would inevitably have been struck as well. Trading injury for injury was not worth it for him.

Besides, the old man in front of him did not seem to harbor any killing intent. After fighting for so long, Dongze could sense that clearly.

In the next instant, the eight Slashing attacks converged from all directions and struck the fist beam.

It was difficult to imagine that the moment the two attacks met, they would create such a destructive collision. The sound was like a steel saw cutting into iron. As the shockwaves rolled, they directly sent the two men on either side flying.

Then dust billowed into the air, shrouding the entire island.

The point of impact seemed to have become a gigantic vortex, sucking in everything around it.

From a distance, it looked like an inverted tornado. Beneath the covering of dust and sand, everything was gray and hazy.

Moreover, the range continued to expand. Within a few breaths, it had already occupied most of the small island.

Seeing the trees and boulders turn to dust the moment they were swept inside, Garp's expression changed.

"Erosion Cycle?"

"No, it's far more terrifying than that sand crocodile's! Judging from the current situation, it might affect the entire island. How could this kid have mastered something so terrifying?!"

Robin had just risen to her feet on the shore when she suddenly noticed a gigantic tornado rising from the center of the island.

It was gray and hazy, and the ground beneath her feet began to shake. Then a shockwave struck her head-on and sent her flying.

Sitting in the seawater, her face was filled with disbelief. At that moment, she was at least fifty kilometers from the center of the island, with trees and boulders absorbing some of the impact along the way. Yet the battle's aftershock had still sent her flying from that distance.

Suddenly, her entire body went weak. It felt as if something had drained all her strength.

Only then, still shaken, did she remember that she had eaten a Devil Fruit and could not touch seawater.

Thus, she struggled forward on unsteady limbs, using all four limbs to crawl out of the seawater near the shore.

However, the phenomenon had not disappeared. Instead, it showed signs of growing even more intense. Sword Intent surged upward, and the fist beam burst with its ultimate might. As the two forces struggled, they stirred the weather across dozens of kilometers.

Seeing that the two attacks were beginning to slip out of control, Garp and Dongze tacitly chose to detonate them.

The gray tornado suddenly contracted inward before violently exploding. The shockwave swept outward, and everything within sight was destroyed by that overwhelming force. The next moment, the entire island began splitting apart from the middle.

The remaining force did not diminish, rapidly spreading beyond the island.

Robin had just returned to the shore when she was thrown into the air once again. This time, however, she did not fall into the sea. Instead, she landed in a warm embrace.

At that moment, Dongze had rushed over from the center of the island and caught her. He then carried her rapidly into the sky. The next instant, a shockwave swept over from behind, sending thousand-meter waves surging across the sea. They blotted out the sky and covered the earth like the end of the world.

The next moment, the entire island was submerged by seawater.

High in the sky, the roiling dark clouds were directly dispersed by a force, and sunlight shone down once more.

Several kilometers away, Garp wore a complicated expression. He had underestimated it after all. He had not seen a sight like this in more than a decade.

He remembered that it had only happened during his life-or-death battles with Roger in the New World. He had never expected to encounter it again today.

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

Chapter Forty: Garp's Praise, What Is a Dream?

After the battle, the deserted island had sunk. Waves rolled, the wind passed without a trace, and only a wisp of Sword Intent remained here for a long time.

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

After the battle, the two of them had finally sat down to talk.

As for this old man whose head was filled with nothing but muscles, Dongze was speechless. Couldn't he have just talked things over properly from the beginning?

His head was full of beating people up. If he had not released that aura right away, the two of them might not have fought at all. However, Dongze could never have guessed that the other man had such a bizarre idea of convincing people through reason.

"Hey, old man! Do you have any dreams?"

"Dreams?"

"What a familiar yet unfamiliar word! I remember that he always used to keep that word on his lips!"

"Roger?"

"That's right! Although he was a madman who threw the entire world into chaos, I have to admit that he truly was a great man!"

"As for me? Naturally, I hope to end this chaotic era and restore peace and tranquility to the sea..."

Dongze saw Garp fall silent as he spoke and could not help tilting his head to look at him.

He felt that the other man still had more to say.

"Of course, there are some other matters I don't want to discuss. I have my own position!"

A trace of mockery flashed across Dongze's lips. "The Celestial Dragons, right?"

"You brat, why are you so clever?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Dongze suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head.

When he turned around, he found Garp withdrawing his fist nonchalantly. The black coating had not even faded from it.

"Damn it!! You crazy old man! That was my head, and you actually used Armament Haki? Were you afraid you wouldn't hit me stupid enough?"

"Hmph! This is my Fist of Love!"

"Damn!"

There was truly nothing Dongze could do with Garp like this. If they fought with real blades and guns, he might actually have been more at ease.

"Kid, speaking of which, you still haven't told me about your dream."