The previously calm ocean surface was repeatedly disturbed by massive waves generated from the fierce battle between the veteran Marine hero and his youthful pirate opponent.
"This has to be some kind of joke... That pirate can actually fight the legendary Vice Admiral Garp to a complete standstill..."
"Absolutely incredible. Ever since I've been serving aboard Vice Admiral Garp's warship, I've never witnessed a single pirate who could withstand more than a handful of the Vice Admiral's punches."
On the Marine warship, after being ordered by their superior to cease unauthorized bombardment of the Black Star Pirates, many young sailors had gathered on deck to observe and discuss the unprecedented battle unfolding before their eyes.
The junior Marines facing the Black Star Pirates for the first time hadn't taken them particularly seriously at the outset.
After all, throughout their military careers up to this point, serving under Garp's command had meant smooth sailing with consistent victories. They had never encountered pirates who could pose even the slightest genuine threat to their legendary commander.
This was naturally related to the fact that Garp had been aging in recent years and no longer frequently ventured into the New World, meaning he hadn't directly confronted any of the Four Emperors or other legendary pirates.
However, many of these young Marine officers had been exposed to Garp's various legendary exploits since childhood, particularly the famous stories of his battles with Pirate King Gol D. Roger.
Everything they had seen and heard throughout their lives had made them subconsciously believe that Vice Admiral Garp represented the invincible symbol of absolute justice!
This belief had only grown stronger after witnessing the tremendous power behind Garp's attacks during today's engagement.
But what completely baffled them was that the young pirate who had been fighting so fiercely with their vice admiral—both on the water's surface and high in the sky—was displaying incredible strength that seemed in no way inferior to the Marine hero's own abilities.
"Take a good look, men. There's never a shortage of powerful pirates on these seas," Bogard spoke up at precisely the right moment, interrupting the confused discussions among his subordinates.
Noticing that the Marines were staring at him with obvious bewilderment, Bogard straightened his posture and shouted with conviction: "But justice will always prevail! Justice will prevail!"
Upon hearing these words, the assembled Marines responded in perfect unison: "JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL!"
Seeing this display of unity and determination, the adjutant nodded with obvious satisfaction.
Even though Garp's warships typically didn't emphasize such formal procedures, he still believed he should seize this opportunity to reinforce the necessary ideological awareness—otherwise, the crew aboard their ship would seem even less like proper Marines.
The reason he had given orders to temporarily cease bombardment of the pirate ship was because Bogard understood that such attacks would represent nothing more than a futile waste of time and valuable resources.
When it came to comprehensive knowledge about the Black Star Pirates, he was genuinely the most informed person aboard this entire warship.
This expertise was entirely thanks to his role assisting the notoriously hands-off Vice Admiral Garp. If he didn't stay current on such crucial intelligence, how could anyone expect Garp himself to pay attention to these important details?
"By the way, old man Garp, our pirate crew has been keeping a low profile for such a long time, and we've only been high-profile once recently—yet you've already tracked us down. Isn't that a bit excessive?" Jerry continued fighting hand-to-hand while simultaneously attempting conversation, hoping to extract some useful information from his opponent.
Sure enough, Garp wasn't particularly guarded about such seemingly harmless topics.
He maintained his relentless assault while laughing boisterously: "Bwahahaha! You've suddenly attracted the World Government's full attention, and I just happened to discover your whereabouts. Of course I had to give you brats a proper lesson!"
Recalling Sengoku's earlier furious phone call, Garp secretly shook his head with mild exasperation. His old friend simply couldn't maintain his composure under pressure, unlike himself. Being constantly harassed by calls from the World Government wasn't really such a big deal—he could always just hang up.
Jerry grimaced with obvious displeasure. "Tsk! We should have at least been allowed to finish our meal at that restaurant over there first."
"I'm feeding you with my iron fist instead!" Garp teased with a fierce grin as he launched a punch with the force of heavy artillery.
Jerry dropped his center of gravity, smoothly dodging the attack aimed at his face, then quickly rushed forward to deliver a rising uppercut targeting Garp's jaw.
Garp twisted sideways at the last second, and both bodies passed each other in a blur. He immediately swung his left fist to strike Jerry's raised leg as the younger man attempted to block.
After absorbing the impact, Jerry pulled his fishing rod toward his opponent just as his body was being knocked backward.
Seeing this incoming threat, Garp instinctively bent his elbow and deflected the black fishing rod away with lightning-fast reflexes.
However, a cunning gleam flashed in Jerry's eyes. He flicked his wrist with practiced precision, controlling the hook at his rod's tip to suddenly snag Garp's uniform, then yanked backward with explosive force.
"What the—?!" Garp was caught completely off-guard, his massive frame momentarily frozen in place.
Seizing this golden opportunity, Jerry appeared directly in front of the Marine hero with blinding speed.
Using the explosive propulsion from his Moonwalk technique combined with the reverse momentum from his fishing rod, Jerry lifted his thigh at lightning speed and drove his knee—now crackling with black Haki lightning—directly toward Garp's chest.
CRACK!
A long tear appeared across Garp's Marine uniform as the devastating knee strike connected.
Simultaneously, the legendary hero was launched backward like a human cannonball from the tremendous impact.
"As expected, this old man's Iron Body technique is completely different from everyone else's," Jerry muttered with grudging respect as he felt the recoil from his knee strike.
From his extensive combat experience, whether facing regular Marines, CP9, or even CP0 agents, their Iron Body techniques had been nothing more than ordinary defensive measures at best.
Those who relied heavily on Iron Body typically didn't end well in serious combat, leading to it being mockingly called "a delusion that only deceives oneself."
But what Garp employed was obviously on an entirely different level. Even Jerry's Haki-enhanced attacks could only barely penetrate his legendary defenses.
This assessment was confirmed by the fact that after being launched backward for dozens of meters, Garp simply wiped a small trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth before charging back toward Jerry with renewed vigor.
Witnessing this incredible display of durability, Jerry rushed toward his opponent without any hesitation.
On the second-floor deck of Baratie restaurant, Sanji pointed toward the distant battlefield with obvious skepticism. "Hey, old man, that Marine hero you mentioned—the one who supposedly chased the Pirate King around the world—doesn't look so impressive right now."
Zeff had been regaling Sanji with tales of Garp's legendary pursuit of Gol D. Roger across the globe. But when the restaurant owner witnessed Garp being knocked backward while spitting blood, he fell into stunned, speechless shock.
He stopped talking entirely as tremendous emotions surged through his heart.
Although he had advised Sanji to observe the battle carefully while mentioning that Jerry's strength shouldn't be underestimated, deep down in his heart—despite being a former pirate himself—Zeff hadn't truly believed that Jerry could compete with a living legend like Garp.
Not only was Zeff overwhelmed, but the spectators on the lower deck were also chattering and arguing among themselves with increasing intensity.
"Hehehe! A Marine hero? I guess that's all there is to it—just a false reputation built on outdated stories!" declared a cocky young man with obvious contempt.
"That's all there is to it? If you had the guts to get anywhere near that fight, Vice Admiral Garp wouldn't even need to target you specifically. The sheer aftermath of their battle would crush a loudmouth like you!" A well-dressed middle-aged gentleman nearby glanced at the youth with pure disdain.
"Exactly right! Who do you think you are to comment on Vice Admiral Garp like that?" Another burly patron joined the heated conversation.
"Uh... I was just..." The young man who had spoken so boldly earlier broke out in a cold sweat. He had only wanted to vent some frustration, but had suddenly found himself the target of everyone's anger.
Seeing the muscular man grab the arrogant youth by his collar, the indignant crowd surged forward shouting: "Teach him some respect!"
The spectators watching the main battle were already running high on adrenaline, and a secondary brawl erupted the moment disagreements turned physical.
On the other side of the action, observing his opponent who was launching another fierce attack, Jerry couldn't help asking with genuine curiosity: "Hey, old man Garp, exactly how old are you this year anyway?"