Chapter 37: Seconds! The One-Punch Man of the Navy!
"A talent like that is truly wasted in the Navy!"
Watching Garp's unreliable maneuvering, even Roger couldn't help but sigh softly. He walked to the stern, preparing to "stop" the incoming wave.
He saw the incoming wave suddenly freeze into solid ice in a split second. A long, frozen slide suddenly appeared before the Roger Pirates.
"What is that?"
"Is that the power of that kid who followed Garp earlier?!"
The warships on the crest of the wave slid rapidly down the long, frozen slide, hurtling towards the Oro Jackson.
"Hey, hey, hey!"
"We're going to get hit!"
"Get out of the way!"
A crew member on Roger's ship, observing this, shouted, swerving to reverse course. But then, a wave of extreme cold surged towards the Oro Jackson. In the blink of an eye, the sea surrounding the Oro Jackson was completely frozen. The Oro Jackson's movements were restricted, unable to move at all.
"It's frozen!"
"Captain Roger, the sea's frozen!"
Buggy shouted, his tone filled with horror as he looked down at the waters surrounding the Oro Jackson.
"Ah! I know."
"That Garp guy is up to something new." Roger, watching the rapidly approaching warship, calmly walked to the railing, knife in hand.
"Roger!"
"You're surrounded. Surrender!"
Garp's furious shout reached Roger's ears as the dog-headed warship rapidly approached.
With the two ships fifty meters apart and about to collide, Garp, standing on the dog-headed warship's bow, unleashed another punch, a terrifying aura wrapped in a dense stream of black thunder, blasting towards the Oro Jackson.
"Huh!"
"Looks like there's no way around it."
"Malmu~ Be careful, don't get yourself killed!"
Roger's eyes flashed with a hint of solemnity, but he laughed heartily as he instructed his crew. He swung his sword, and a powerful haki converged into a black bladelight, hurtling towards the warship.
"Buzz!!!"
Garp and Roger's haki clashed once again. Again, there was no winner, but the aftermath of the haki clash rippled across Garp's warship. The sails of the ships swelled, and the ships, which had been rapidly approaching the Oro Jackson, began to slowly slow down.
By the time Garp's warship came to a stop on the ice, only a few meters separated the Oro Jackson and the dog-headed warship.
From this distance, the pirates on Roger's ship and the marines on Garp's ship could clearly see each other's faces.
"Roger!"
Garp, standing at the bow, spotted Roger on the opposite ship. He let out a roaring grin and soared, launching himself into the air and charging towards the Oro Jackson alone.
"Damn Garp!"
"You're really spirited!"
Roger roared back, leaping from the Oro Jackson and charging towards Garp.
The two figures met in mid-air.
Garp's fist slammed directly into Roger's face, while Roger's longsword slashed towards Garp.
The fist and the sword collided in mid-air, and a terrifying aura emanated from the two men, rapidly spreading outward. The frozen sea surface cracked instantly, and the white clouds in the sky were dispersed by the soaring aura.
"Dang! Dang! Dang!"
Garp and Roger exchanged dozens of blows in mid-air, their fists and swords clashing with deafening roars.
A moment later, they landed on the ice, exchanged glances, and smiled.
Garp didn't attack again, but instead turned directly to Roger and asked, "I heard you were going to find Linlin, Roger, what are you going to do?!"
Roger didn't seem to want to hide anything. Faced with Garp's questioning, he actually answered honestly, "Looking for the historical text of the road sign."
"This has nothing to do with your navy, right?!"
"There are so many pirates on the sea, why are you staring at me, you bastard?!"
Roger's tone was full of complaints. The way he spoke to Garp was not like he was facing an enemy, but more like he was facing an old friend. It was relaxed, casual, and without pressure.
"What nonsense! The navy hunts pirates, it's only natural!"
"And I have a feeling you, bastard, might stir up something big."
"I think it would be best to get you and your crew into Impel Down first,"
Garp said with a smile. Garp knew something about the historical text Roger had mentioned, but his knowledge was far less than Roger's. He only knew that it marked the route to the Final Island.
There, a vast network of hidden treasures lay, and nearly every pirate who set sail sought to reach it.
The secret of the historical text had been hidden by the World Government, and Garp's knowledge of it was accidental.
However, Garp had a hunch that Roger's goal wasn't simply the hidden treasure.
He had fought Roger many times and thought he knew him well; he didn't seem like someone who simply sought treasure.
Although the Roger Pirates were pirates, they were peculiar. From their journeys in the East China Sea, they had never robbed civilians.
In fact, someone on Roger's ship had once committed such a crime, only to be killed by Roger himself.
When pursued by the navy, Roger's men often avoided fighting unless necessary, and their conflicts with the navy were relatively minor.
There have been plenty of fierce battles between pirates, but those incidents have had nothing to do with the Navy.
However, the Roger Pirates are no philanthropists. They've previously attacked the royal families of member nations of the World Government, earning them serious criminal status.
Furthermore, Roger's collection of historical texts has been discovered by the World Government, and the Roger Pirates' immense power has led to an exceptionally high bounty.
Garp's persistent pursuit of Roger is simple: his pirates are powerful, yet their actions are unbecoming of their formidable strength.
Garp knows Roger has a greater goal.
While he doesn't know what it is, a pirate's ultimate goal can't be "world peace," can it?!
Sensing that Roger is about to cause trouble, Garp pursues him relentlessly.
"Impulse City?!"
"I don't like that place, I'm not going."
"Garp, I..."
Roger paused, his words trailing off, muttering, "Stop, Oden!"
It turned out that, even as the two were conversing, Kozuki Oden had disembarked from the Oro Jackson. Sensing Garp's strength, Oden couldn't help but attack him.
"Oden's Two-Sword Style—Togen Shiraki!!!"
Kozuki Oden's figure transformed into a streak of black light, leaping high into the air with a thud, his arm muscles bulging.
He intertwined his "Ame-no-Hazakari" and "Yanma" in his hands, forming a cross, and swiftly slashed at Garp's body. Conqueror's Haki wrapped around both blades, whistling as they approached Garp.
Oden didn't hear Roger's words at all. His mind was completely focused on fighting a formidable opponent like Garp!
Kozuki Oden, pried from Whitebeard by Roger, was once the captain of the Second Division of the Whitebeard Pirates. On Whitebeard's ship, a ship full of children, Oden and Whitebeard became close friends.
At this point, Oden had never had a direct encounter with Garp. Excited by the sight of prey, Oden was oblivious to what anyone else was saying.
"Hehehehehe!!"
"Is this guy the samurai from Wano?!"
"He's truly a formidable figure!"
Garp recognized Oden the moment he laid eyes on him. Although he had never met Oden in person, he had seen his wanted poster and recognized him instantly.
Just as Oden's attack approached, Garp suddenly extended his right hand and grasped the center of the intertwined blades of Ame-no-Habakiri and Enma, effectively blocking Oden's attack.
The powerful auras collided, and the terrifying aftermath rapidly spread in all directions.
"Samurai, can't you see I'm talking to Roger?!"
Garp, clutching the blades of his two swords in his right hand, looked at the stunned Kozuki Oden before him and grinned at him. He clenched his left hand into a fist, gathering a dense mass of black lightning into it and blasting it directly into Kozuki Oden's face.
"BOOM!!!!"
A roar like thunder echoed in everyone's ears.
The next second, Kozuki Oden flew out like a cannonball, smashing into the hull of the Oro Jackson and blasting a massive hole. Kozuki Oden's body didn't stop after hitting the ship; it pierced through and slammed into the ice.
Even the thick ice was transformed into a hole, and Oden disappeared into the hole, sinking into the sea.
"Haha, these two weapons are great."
"Consider this your apology."
"We're going to Impel Down anyway, so we can't take these things with us,"
Garp said with a grin, still clutching Oden's two swords in his right hand.
With just one strike, Kozuki Oden was directly knocked away by Garp! Even the sword became Garp's trophy.
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(End of this chapter)