"Go on, don't worry. I'll cover you!"
Bai Yu took a swig of liquor and patted Ace on the shoulder.
Faced with Bai Yu's confidence, which came from who knew where, Ace took a deep breath and leaped aboard.
The already raised sails billowed the moment the ropes were released.
As the anchor was hauled up, the pirate ship caught the wind and swiftly left the dock, surging dozens of meters away in an instant.
Watching Ace insist on going his own way, everyone present felt their nerves go taut.
They knew leaving the dock was only the beginning.
The real test would come from Garp's wrath.
"Damn it! What an utterly damned brat! You won't even spare a thought for your grandfather's wrath!"
Garp's expression darkened as he roared hysterically.
"Ace, since you want to be a pirate, you'll have to get past your grandfather first. If you can't, stay in the sea and feed the fish!"
"Bring me the extra-large iron ball!"
The clanking of chains suddenly rang out.
Watching the enormous iron ball swiftly appear above the Dog-Head Warship,
Bai Yu became even more convinced that Garp definitely had a Devil Fruit user aboard.
Otherwise, no one could possibly indulge him like this, letting him pull out such an enormous iron ball whenever he pleased.
Ace's face turned ashen, and he couldn't help swallowing hard.
Usually, his little scuffles with Garp only earned him a couple of Fists of Love.
He had never imagined that when Garp went wild, he could turn a small ball into a big one.
If that iron ball, as large as a warship, really came crashing down,
with those little arms and legs of his!
He probably really couldn't take it, could he?
"Go!"
Bai Yu spoke again. After uttering that single word, he tilted his head back for another swig of liquor, then slowly made his way through the crowd until he stood at the end of the dock.
Looking at the extra-large iron ball Garp effortlessly held overhead, Bai Yu's eyes snapped wide as he said,
"Ace, get as far away as you can. Leave the rest to me!"
"Bai Yu, so you're the bastard backing Ace up!"
Garp exploded.
"Since you want to get in my way, let's see what gives you such confidence, brat, and just how big a wave you can stir up!"
"Fist Bone Meteor: Extra-Large Iron Ball!"
Bang!
Garp swung the warship-sized iron ball with tremendous force.
The sky over the entire stretch of sea seemed to burst beneath its crushing weight.
As a deafening sonic boom rang through the heavens, quite a few villagers dropped straight to their knees.
No!
Rather, even Ace, aboard the pirate ship, had legs trembling so badly he was about to kneel.
He had never imagined that the big boss he would encounter right after setting sail would actually be the old man.
Facing the extra-large iron ball descending like a shroud over heaven and earth, Ace finally understood just how insignificant the strength he had been so proud of really was.
"Bai Yu, you'd better not screw me over..."
Watching the iron ball rapidly grow in his vision, Ace muttered bitterly.
Boom!
A pillar of golden light seemed to answer him.
An immense force surged outward, enveloping the entire dock like a tide.
For the first time, Bai Yu unleashed the ultimate spiritual pressure lying dormant within his body without holding anything back.
Going all out like this sent the blood in Bai Yu's body boiling.
As dense spiritual pressure poured madly into the wooden sword clenched in his hand, it erupted with matchless sharpness.
The instant bloodthirsty battle lust and a savage smile rose across Bai Yu's face,
the wooden sword in Bai Yu's hand slashed through the air without warning.
Sword Pressure!
Boom!
Space seemed to tear as enormous ripples surged outward.
A golden blade aura more than ten meters long pierced through the void, seemingly tearing heaven and earth apart.
The sea along its path was split cleanly in two.
The searing heat contained within the spiritual pressure even sent steam rising from the sea.
The distance of barely a hundred meters closed in the blink of an eye.
It struck first, colliding with the extra-large iron ball falling from the sky.
Boom!
An immense blast wave swept across the sea like a force-twelve hurricane.
Under that impact, the extra-large iron ball bearing down with sky-blotting force was hurled straight back.
It plunged headfirst into the sea hundreds of meters away.
As the explosive wind and waves it stirred up raised great surges,
the pirate ship carrying Ace was even overturned by the blast's hurricane winds and sent hurtling over a thousand meters away.
But at that moment, like everyone else, his eyes were stretched almost to bursting, his mouth forming an O.
A single slash had sent an iron ball as large as a warship flying.
That was simply far too staggering!
It completely overturned everything they knew.
If that strike had landed on Ace just now,
he probably wouldn't even exist anymore.
Still, thanks to that strike, the pirate ship carrying Ace had clearly opened up an even greater distance from Garp's warship.
Riding the wind and waves of the explosion, it traveled farther and farther away.
Watching the figure on the dock gradually blur, Ace recovered his senses a little, gripped the railing, and muttered to himself.
"As expected of my big brother. He really kept himself well hidden."
"Looks like I'm still the little brother in front of him!"
"But this sea is so vast. I'll definitely grow stronger and defeat him the next time we meet!"
"Vice Admiral Garp, should we pursue?"
A Marine soldier spoke hesitantly.
"No need. Let him go."
"I haven't been back for a while. Looks like I've overlooked something very important."
Garp's taut muscles relaxed, and he turned to look behind him.
"Bogard, what did you think of that slash just now?"
"To unleash a Flying Slash with that much power, he must at least have reached the level of a swordmaster. At Marine Headquarters, he should be able to contend for a Commodore position."
Bogard, wearing a cloak and a cowboy hat, his face cold and impassive, spoke after pondering for a moment.
"Looks like you're still underestimating him."
A Commodore?
A trace of surprise appeared on Garp's face.
Bogard was a trusted confidant who had followed him for decades.
More importantly, he was also an expert swordsman.
For him to give such an assessment was enough to show how extraordinary Bai Yu's slash had been.
"Mr. Garp, Bai Yu has already reached the level of a swordmaster at such a young age. If we can recruit him into Marine Headquarters and train him, the heights he reaches in the future will probably be no lower than yours."
"He has the makings of an Admiral!"
Bogard's eyes gleamed, a hint of eagerness appearing on his face as he continued.
"Furthermore, if his swordsmanship came from the guidance of a renowned teacher, reaching the level of a swordmaster by twenty would be enough to call him a genius of the sword."
"But if he taught himself, that would be another matter entirely."
"If I had to find a word to describe him, I'm afraid only 'monster' would suit him."
The makings of an Admiral?
Garp's eyes lit up, and he burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahaha, Bogard, you're saying my grandson has the makings of an Admiral?"
"This is the first time I've ever heard that kind of assessment from you."
"But since you're asking me to recruit Bai Yu into Marine Headquarters, could it be that you've already thought of a plan?"
Garp knew this old companion, who served as the ship's instructor, better than anyone.
Over the decades, only a handful of people had ever earned such an assessment from him.
The current Marine Admiral Aokiji was one of them.