Chapter Sixty-Two: A Conversation Between Aokiji and Garp, Robin's Shock / Chapter Sixty-Three: Tremors Across the Sea, Swordsmanship Challenges the World

"An Ice-Ice Fruit ability?"

"Yeah! In the end, it even forced me to activate my Awakening!"

"Could it be another Sword Intent? This brat is truly terrifying!"

"Sword Intent?"

"Ah, ah! You heard wrong! There was nothing!"

"I'm planning to recommend him for the Shichibukai!"

"That brat agreed?"

"He wants to keep Nico Robin? That isn't a bad choice!"

"That could work. The brat has no serious misdeeds and is very strong, but don't expect him to listen to the World Government!"

He remembered how Dongze felt about the Celestial Dragons when the two of them had spoken earlier.

It would be a blessing if he could meet them without cutting them down.

"Hmm! Mr. Garp, there may still be some resistance. Let's discuss it after we meet!"

"Ah, ah! It's rare to find a young man even this old man admires. I suppose I can lend a hand! Hahaha~"

Chapter Sixty-Two: A Conversation Between Aokiji and Garp, Robin's Shock

At the end of the East Blue, in Loguetown, Garp arrived at the branch stationed there wearing his favorite Dog-Head Hat.

"Harry!!"

"Go buy this old man some donuts. Today, I'll definitely break my record of eating ten thousand in one go!!"

"sigh~ Old man, don't your teeth hurt?"

"Tch~"

"Seriously! Why have you suddenly become like Tsuru, brat? You're even trying to control what I eat!"

"Uh~ Vice Admiral Tsuru specifically instructed me to! Last time, you ate a month's worth of provisions for the G-4 branch by yourself and almost couldn't get it reimbursed. Luckily, Vice Admiral Tsuru generously covered it. Otherwise, the G-4 branch would have had to eat bran and vegetables!"

"Uh~ Sengoku isn't that stingy, is he?"

Harry's lips twitched as he bitterly thought, The Fleet Admiral naturally isn't stingy, but he's so busy that his feet barely touch the ground. How could he possibly feel good about you making such a mess here?

"Ah, ah! Mr. Garp, you're not slow!"

Just then, Aokiji pushed open the door and entered.

"Yo! Kuzan, you're here!"

"Mr. Garp, it looks like warships are still a little faster!"

"Haha~"

"Kuzan, did you wear your legs out? I told you not to go without a ship, yet you rode a Bicycle across the entire sea!"

"Colonel Harry, I happened to capture a few pirates on the way back. Go take a look!"

"Yo! Bogard, you and Harry go see which unlucky brats Kuzan captured!"

Harry and Bogard exchanged a glance, then shrugged without saying anything. They tactfully went out together.

At the same time, the two of them activated their Observation Haki.

They did not want anyone else to hear what came next.

"Kuzan! What do you mean about that matter?"

"Mr. Garp, the main obstacle actually isn't Brother Dongze. It's Nico Robin! If the World Government truly investigates, my proposal will very likely be rejected!"

Hearing Aokiji's words, Garp casually picked his nose and said bluntly, "Kuzan! She's nothing more than an Ohara survivor. Do you really think those people in the World Government care that much?"

Aokiji froze and said, utterly puzzled, "No way!"

"It's only a matter of attitude. The Ohara Incident was merely the government's declaration to the world! They won't allow anyone to study the history of the Void Century!"

"If Nico Robin were truly that important, they would have sent you Admirals out long ago!"

"Could that little girl still have appeared aboard Dongze's ship?"

"Don't think your face is worth that much. Those Celestial Dragons who fancy themselves the World Lords don't care about your identity as an Admiral!"

"I see."

After hearing Garp's explanation, Aokiji's expression darkened.

Having followed Garp for many years, he knew Garp was not a simple-minded musclehead. It was just that the matters he usually faced did not require him to think—he simply charged ahead.

His understanding of current affairs was even better than Fleet Admiral Sengoku's. Now that Garp had spoken, there was an eighty-to-ninety-percent chance that this was indeed the truth.

"The thing you're worried about isn't a problem. That brat is sharp. He's a slippery little fellow!"

Hearing Garp's praise, Aokiji raised his brows, showing a hint of interest.

"Haha!"

Garp laughed heartily before continuing, "The pirates in the East Blue call that brat 'the one who leaves not a blade of grass standing,' but he's extremely measured when he acts!"

"The Chop-Chop Fruit user, Buggy the Clown. Even when he encountered him in the same restaurant, he simply pretended not to see him!"

Aokiji narrowed his eyes and searched his memories for the man. "Buggy the Clown?"

"An apprentice on Roger's ship, and quite close to the Four Emperors' Shanks! But whenever I mention that bastard Red-Hair, I feel like smashing his dog's head in!!"

Aokiji's lips twitched violently at Garp's words. Saying he wanted to smash the head of one of the Four Emperors—only Garp could say something like that!

"There was also that Fish-Man incident in Cocoyasi Village. Apart from one person, everyone else died!"

"Octopus Hachi. I heard that octopus was close to Silvers Rayleigh! I happened to hear about this when I ran up a tab at Shakky's Rip-off Bar!"

"Hey, hey! Mr. Garp, that isn't right!"

Garp laughed heartily. Shakky's Rip-off Bar charged ten million Beli for a glass of whiskey. He wasn't stupid—how could he possibly pay?

Besides, given their relationship, Shakky did not really expect him to pay.

"That brat isn't like those hot-blooded youngsters who let their emotions run wild. He's extremely measured. Even if he took that little girl aboard, I don't believe he did it out of mere sympathy!"

Although Garp had only met Dongze once, he saw through him clearly. Dongze had his own unique view of the world, his own bottom line regarding life, and acted with extreme rationality. He never provoked anyone he could not defeat, even if he disliked that person.

Garp had to admit that he was very good at judging people. This was also the principle Dongze had always followed.

Why provoke someone you couldn't beat? Was he trying to light a lamp in a toilet?

As for why he had taken Robin along, besides being interested in her, there was another crucial reason: the Poneglyphs.

Its importance to him was already self-evident. Every one represented limitless possibilities. Even if the World Government hunted him, he would never let Robin leave.

Of course, Garp had seen through this as well. Dongze's reason for keeping Robin was not purely selfless, but after spending more time together, that reason had gradually faded.

"Since that's the case, Mr. Garp, there shouldn't be any problem with the recommendation this time, right?"

"Of course. I'll speak to Sengoku. I hope that brat won't disappoint me!"

"When the time comes, I'll add a little something to it! Hehehe!"

Thunderclaps roared across the sea. On a two-masted sailing ship, a bolt of lightning flashed before slowly gathering into a humanoid figure.

It was Enel, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit user.

During this period, Dongze had temporarily stopped improving the proficiency of his other skills and focused instead on Sword Intent and Meditation. Apart from the necessary Sword Intent slashes each day, he spent the rest of his time meditating.

Whenever they encountered pirates or Sea Beasts at other times, Enel and Robin dealt with them.

During this period, the two studied ravenously. After witnessing Aokiji's awakened Devil Fruit ability, Enel had gained new ideas for developing the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

Under Dongze's guidance, Robin had begun training her Shigan and Armament Haki.

Even before transmigrating, Dongze had already had his own ideas about the Flower-Flower Fruit.

"Thousand-Armed Kannon."

"Hashirama's Sage Art: Gate of the Great God."

And the Maximum-Round Finger Pistol covered in Armament Haki.

Hmm~ It was truly fragrant.

Before they knew it, seven days had passed as they drifted across the sea. That day, Robin once again took the newspaper delivered by a News Coo.

Her eyes swept quickly over the newspaper's contents. Suddenly, her pupils contracted. The headline was printed in bold type.

There would normally have been nothing unusual about that, but the contents made her face lose all color.

"The Shichibukai~~"

Chapter Sixty-Three: Tremors Across the Sea, Swordsmanship Challenges the World

In the latter half of the Grand Line, in the New World, people aboard a ship were laughing and chatting as they read the newspaper delivered by a News Coo. Then, a scream sent the entire ship into an uproar.

"Hey, hey! What's going on?"

"The new Shichibukai!!"

"A newcomer?"

"Aren't the people chosen as the Shichibukai all powerful pirates from across the sea? That brat doesn't look a day over sixteen. At that age, are the Marines blind?"

The largest feature in today's newspaper was the new Shichibukai—Dongze.

The introduction was extremely brief, so brief that it contained only a name, with a photograph beneath it.

It was a picture of Dongze taken by a local Den Den Mushi when he had exchanged his bounty in Loguetown some time before.

In the photograph, Dongze still looked quite young. A trace of delight rested at the corners of his lips. He had just finished exchanging his bounty, so naturally, he had been in a good mood.

However, that face held no menace at all. Instead, he looked like a harmless young man. The long sword strapped to his back revealed his identity as a swordsman.

Yet following that headline was a line of slightly smaller text.

"Swordsmanship Challenges the World, Who Else But Me!"

Even through the newspaper, the pirates could sense a wave of Haki rushing toward them.

No one knew whether a single sword could cut through the entire sea. Just as the strongest swordsman currently on the seas, Dracule Mihawk, was not the strongest overall. The strongest man was Whitebeard, Edward Newgate.

Of course, those words overflowing with youthful arrogance had not come from Dongze.

They had been added by that mischievous old child, Garp. Ever since learning of Dongze's dream, he had wanted to see how far that young man who had even stirred his heart could go.

So, Garp had added that line to Dongze's introduction. Naturally, it would also bring him countless troubles without him realizing it. The most boisterous pirates among the great pirates had gone to sea precisely for fame and fortune.

Since someone had openly declared such words in a newspaper, the situation was obvious. If they took his head, they could quickly make a name for themselves across the sea.

"Garp! Does that brat have some grudge against you?"

"Sengoku! Stop spouting nonsense. That's a newcomer this old man thinks highly of. If not for certain reasons, I'd even want to bring him into the Marines!"

"You casually added that line to the brat's introduction. I'm afraid even the villains of the New World will take an interest in his head!"

"Heh heh! I'm only afraid they'll go there alive and fail to come back!"

"That brat is really that strong? Aokiji even guaranteed earlier that he would give this old man a huge surprise!"

"Haha! Sengoku, when have I ever lied to you?"

The newspaper was rapidly scattered throughout the world by News Coo. Hawkeye, the Shichibukai Dracule Mihawk, was stunned when he received it. "Swordsmanship Challenges the World." Even he had never made such a "boast." It wasn't that he dared not say it; it was simply too embarrassing.

"The new Shichibukai is actually a swordsman. What an unexpected delight. Perhaps we can even spar sometime. I hope he isn't just a paper tiger!"

At Revolutionary Army Headquarters, Monkey D. Dragon, Bartholomew Kuma, the Okama King, and Ivankov looked at the newspaper in their hands, their hearts thrown into turmoil.