Rocks Pirates Don't Allow Anyone This Damn Strong
"Lord Rono seems to be at a disadvantage."
"That's right. He can't withstand [Iron Fist] Garp's power at all."
"No way. Lord Rono isn't going to lose, is he?"
The pirate underlings present all sensed that something was wrong.
The situation was completely one-sided.
"Shut up!"
Whitebeard roared, frightening the pirates into clamping their mouths shut again.
"Your strength seems to be growing!"
"Or are you deliberately hiding your true strength?"
Garp didn't attack again. Instead, he asked him a question.
He wanted to confirm his suspicion!
If Rono really was growing stronger during battle, then the threat he posed would have to be raised by several levels!
At this, Whitebeard naturally turned his gaze toward Rono as well!
His Observation Haki could also sense that Rono's presence had been growing ever since the battle began!
He just didn't know whether this was growth he had gained through battle or whether he was deliberately hiding his strength.
"As expected of [Iron Fist] Garp. You figured it out so quickly?"
Since the other man had asked, Rono had no need to hide it.
For experts skilled in Observation Haki, hiding it was actually useless.
Roger had been the same back then. A simple exchange had been enough for him to see through it.
As a powerhouse who relied purely on Hand-to-Hand Combat, Garp's Observation Haki was absolutely no weaker than Roger's.
"So you really are getting stronger through battle? And so quickly!"
After receiving Rono's answer, Garp froze in place, his expression unconsciously growing solemn.
So it seemed that what he'd sensed just now hadn't been his imagination!
This guy really was growing rapidly in the middle of battle.
Dangerous!
Far too dangerous!
Rono's threat level had to be raised again!
A bounty of 500 million was nowhere near enough!
"Garp, it's my turn to attack now, isn't it?"
At this moment, Rono felt it was about time.
After picking up those two things just now, Rono felt as if his strength had more than doubled!
It was time to test the results of his growth!
As soon as he finished speaking, Rono's figure vanished from where he stood!
His battle with Garp just now hadn't only increased his strength; it had also greatly improved his speed!
Rono's speed was now in no way inferior to Garp's!
Whoosh!
In an instant, just as Garp anticipated Rono's move and tried to leave his spot,
Rono had already flashed right in front of him!
He raised his right hand, the thick coating of Armament Haki covering his arm and turning it jet black.
His aura surged wildly, and the air around Rono formed terrifying waves!
He focused all his strength on a single point, then drove it through his entire right arm!
Then, he swung it with all his might!
And unleashed it!
Hiss~~!!
The enormous force that had been building up for a long time was released in an instant from an exceedingly tiny point!
The intense pressure suddenly expanded like an explosion!
The air itself seemed to grind against something, producing a sonic boom!
"When did this guy...!"
The next moment, Garp's eyes widened, and he froze in place!
He even forgot to dodge!
Because the move Rono had used wasn't an ordinary punch!
It was the move he had just performed himself—Iron Fist!
That's right.
What the system could pick up wasn't limited to Haki, the three physical attributes, Swordsmanship, Hand-to-Hand Combat, and the like!
The system could pick up anything!
Naturally, that included techniques!
"Iron Fist: Meteor!"
Boom!
Rono threw a punch, and accompanied by a terrifying sonic boom, it slammed into Garp's chest while he stood there stunned!
A gale surged, and terrifying shock waves burst out from Rono's fist!
A visible spiral of airflow even formed at the center of the Iron Fist!
Crackle!
The airflow continued to spread, leaving spiderweb-like cracks in the street!
Garp's feet instantly left the ground as he was struck. He shot away like a cannonball!
Crash, crash, crash!
He smashed through several buildings in a row before finally coming to a stop!
"As expected of Garp's original Iron Fist. It's amazing!"
Feeling the destructive force of that strike, Rono praised it inwardly.
The Iron Fist's method and principles for generating force were completely different from those of an ordinary straight punch.
An ordinary straight punch used the wielder's own strength.
The strength of your straight punch was only as great as your own strength.
But Garp's original Iron Fist used an exceptionally ingenious method and principle for generating force.
It directly multiplied the destructive power of the fist several times over!
The greater your strength, the greater the multiplier!
It was a trump-card move that could help powerhouses raise their upper limit!
After all, once you reached Emperor-Admiral Level, the differences in combat strength weren't all that obvious anymore!
For Emperor-Admiral Level powerhouses to truly decide a victor, they needed at least three days and three nights!
In that situation, a finishing move that could raise the upper limit of one's damage became extremely important!
[Iron Fist] was invented by Garp with exactly this in mind!
What an [Iron Fist]!
That felt amazing!
After just a short exchange, his strength had grown significantly once again!
Sure enough, choosing a one-on-one fight had been the wisest decision!
"Rono, you're absolutely a genius!"
Beside them, Whitebeard was so excited that even his hands were trembling a little!
How was this possible? How could this be?
How could there be such a genius in the world?
He had just been sent flying by Garp's two consecutive punches, and now he'd actually sent Garp flying with a punch of his own!
What excited Whitebeard to the point of trembling even more was the move Rono had used!
It was none other than the Iron Fist Garp had just performed in front of him!
What an incredible talent!
He'd managed to use it after just one exchange!
No wonder, no wonder this guy had made such tremendous progress after being at sea for such a short time!
His judgment had been right after all!
It was no exaggeration to say that this was the most gifted person he had seen in all his years roaming the seas!
With Rono's terrifying talent for learning, he would definitely become someone who could surpass Rocks in the future!
At this moment, all the pirate underlings present were staring in shock, too!
This... how had the situation suddenly turned around?
Wasn't Rono clearly at a disadvantage just now?
"Rono, you really are a dangerous man!"
Garp got to his feet amid the rubble, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
A few ribs were broken, but for a Hand-to-Hand Combat monster like Karp, those were nearly negligible injuries.
Karp's face, however, was so dark it looked ready to drip!
The shock Karp felt at that moment was no less than Whitebeard's!
Rono was absolutely the most terrifying person he had encountered in all his years roaming the seas!
After just two exchanges, he had already learned the secret Iron Fist technique Karp had developed on his own!
The thing was, Karp had spent more than a decade painstakingly honing himself before creating this special punch!
It could multiply his destructive power several times over!
For Rono to learn it so easily—this guy's talent could no longer be described as monstrous!
No wonder Rono hadn't run even after capturing a Celestial Dragon!
Was he so confident in his own talent?
Karp wondered what Admiral Kong would think if he knew Rono had such terrifying talent.
If he had known it would turn out like this, he would surely have personally led Sengoku and Zephyr to join him in eliminating Rono back then.
"Rono absolutely cannot be allowed to join the Rocks Pirates!"
Karp was now even more resolved to stop Rono here!
The Rocks Pirates couldn't be allowed to have someone this damn powerful!