Garp, What Do You Think?

The atmosphere in the office was rather tense. Sengoku's expression shifted uncertainly, giving no hint of what he was thinking. Kizaru looked uncomfortable too. At that moment, he wished he could dig a hole and crawl into it. This was just too embarrassing. All he could do was lower his eyes and stand there with his mind wandering, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible.

Only Garp, after getting over his initial shock, returned to his usual carefree self. He even started eating rice crackers again.

Crunch. Crunch, crunch. Crunch, crunch, crunch. The crisp sound of rice crackers echoed through the office.

Sengoku's face darkened. What was wrong with this guy? Seriously?

Here I was, worrying about this powerful figure who had suddenly appeared, trying to figure out what course the Navy should take, and you just started eating?!

When Garp saw Sengoku looking at him, he assumed Sengoku wanted some too. Generously, he took a cracker from the stash that actually belonged to Sengoku and offered it to him.

Looking at his unreliable old friend, Sengoku wanted to lose his temper, but in the end, he could only sigh helplessly. He simply did not have the energy.

Then he accepted the rice cracker and started eating too. These were my crackers to begin with. If I didn't eat some now, this old bastard would finish them all!

"Garp, what do you think about this?"

"I don't!"

Sengoku gave Garp a puzzled look, not understanding what he meant, and motioned for him to explain.

Chewing his rice crackers, Garp said, "According to that Kizaru kid, the bar owner could render him unable to fight with his presence alone. It'd be the same if the two of us went up against him. Even throwing sheer numbers at him wouldn't help. In other words, there's absolutely nothing we can do about this owner! Hahahaha!"

Sengoku's face darkened as spit and cracker crumbs flew everywhere, but he understood what Garp meant.

Indeed, against someone like that, he-or rather, the Navy-could do nothing at all. The man was too powerful. Nobody in the Navy could keep him in check, and they still did not know what his weaknesses were. Even if Sengoku racked his brains, what could he possibly do?

This was not something he should be worrying about. Whatever that man wanted to do, Sengoku could neither decide for him nor resist him. He could only accept it passively, so he might as well stop thinking about it.

As for using the power of an ancient weapon, perhaps they could kill him successfully. But what if they failed? Ancient weapons were certainly immensely powerful, but they still had no idea how strong this man truly was. Success would be one thing, but if they failed, the Navy might be finished!

Fortunately, from what they had seen so far, the man had shown no hostility toward the Navy, nor had he shown any particular affinity for another faction. That was probably the best news they could hope for. Maintaining friendly relations between him and the Navy was the wisest choice.

Sengoku sighed inwardly. He had outsmarted himself, failing to realize something so simple. Still, although this old bastard usually seemed utterly unreliable, his head was surprisingly clear when it mattered. He could be counted on!

With that, Sengoku stopped worrying and turned his attention back to the bronze box. Earlier, he had been somewhat skeptical about the Cloth's power, but after learning how strong its creator was, he suddenly believed it...

Sengoku stepped forward and ran his hand over the bronze box. It felt like ordinary bronze, but perhaps it was his imagination-touching it seemed to make him feel very cold...

Garp came over with interest as well, feeling around here and peering over there.

So how was this box supposed to open? Sengoku turned his gaze toward Kizaru, who was still trying his best to make himself inconspicuous nearby.

Kizaru took the hint. Following Abel's instructions, he grasped the handle on one side of the box and pulled it downward. With a crisp click of its mechanism, the bronze box slowly opened, revealing what lay inside.

As the box opened, all three men felt the room's temperature drop several degrees in an instant. Inside was a mass of blue light, hissing as it released cold air. Then the light suddenly blazed so brightly that all three instinctively closed their eyes. When they opened them again, the light had vanished. In its place stood a magnificent white bird formed from armor!

The white bird looked somewhat like a swan. Its entire body was made from an unknown metal, predominantly white but with a faint hint of purple-an extraordinary sight. Golden patterns adorned its surface, and the whole thing exuded a deadly elegance.

Beyond that, a thick ring of freezing air surrounded the white bird, evoking the thousand-year-old ice of the Land of Eternal Night. White frost and ice crystals had already formed around where it stood. Whether it was their imagination or not, Sengoku and the other two seemed to see snowflakes drifting around it.

This was the Cygnus God Cloth!

The Cygnus Cloth was said to have been born within an eternal wall of ice that had never melted. Those who wore it also fought using ice-based combat techniques. Its owner, Hyoga, had supposedly already surpassed absolute zero and could produce absolute zero with thought alone. He was ridiculously badass.

And yet, even someone that badass would often go down for no apparent reason. He always had to get beaten within an inch of his life before erupting with power on his last sliver of strength and instantly killing his enemy. It was honestly absurd...

As Sengoku and the other two looked at the wondrous Cloth, their hearts filled with shock. One glance was enough to tell them this was no ordinary armor.

After examining it, Garp could not resist reaching out to touch the Cygnus God Cloth. But the instant his hand made contact, he felt a chill deep within his soul. Then, starting where his hand touched the Cloth, a layer of ice suddenly crept up his arm. In the blink of an eye, his entire left arm was frozen over.

Sengoku shouted anxiously, "Garp!"

Only then did Garp react. He hurriedly backed away from the Cloth, and the ice finally stopped spreading. He let out a relieved breath.

Then Garp coated his left hand in Armament Haki and gave it a powerful shake. The ice shattered piece by piece, falling to the floor and slowly melting into water. A faint chill still rose from his left arm, however. He flexed his hand and found nothing seriously wrong, but in that brief moment, his left arm had already gone numb with cold.

Seeing that Garp was unharmed, Sengoku and Kizaru sighed in relief. Then all three looked at the Cygnus Cloth with lingering fear. This Cloth was terrifying!

Their impression of Su Yu deepened yet again. Something that looked like he had casually made it on a whim had nearly left Garp seriously injured. Such power was practically cheating!

Once they calmed down, however, they found themselves at a loss again. How were they supposed to use this Cloth?

They did not think Su Yu had deliberately rigged it to prevent them from using it. After all, if he really wanted Devil Fruits, he could simply come and take them by force. There was no need to go to all this trouble.

So perhaps this was simply a property of the Cloth. Or was the Cloth choosing its owner? Had it rejected Garp because he was unsuitable?

Afterward, Sengoku and Kizaru also tentatively touched the Cloth. Naturally, they coated their hands in Armament Haki first. Unfortunately, it seemed the Cloth rejected them too...

Their hands felt a little numb... and so did their minds...

They had a divine treasure in their hands, but they could not use it. How frustrating!

But just as the three of them stood staring silently at the Cloth, the office door opened again, and in walked a

tall, powerfully built man...

All three turned to look at the newcomer, and suddenly, their eyes lit up...