Cyrus's decision wasn't made on the spur of the moment.
From the time he arrived in this world until now, the only truly top-tier powerhouses he had met were Garp and Dragon.
When he met Dragon, Cyrus hadn't even mastered Two Colors Haki, so he didn't get to test the gap between himself and these top-tier experts.
Now that he had run into Garp, Cyrus naturally wanted to give it a try.
Cyrus didn't lower his voice. The marines busy on the warship and Bogart, who was giving orders, were all stunned.
They turned their heads to look at Cyrus one by one, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
Challenging Vice Admiral Garp?
Was this person insane?
Or was he just looking for a beating?
Garp, however, was stunned for a moment after hearing Cyrus's words, then he smiled.
"You want to test this old man's fists? No problem."
Although he hadn't succeeded in recruiting Cyrus into the Navy, based on their two meetings and their recent conversation, Garp had a very good impression of him.
"Then let's find an uninhabited island." Garp said and looked at Bogart.
Just as Bogart was about to salute and accept the order, Cyrus raised a hand to stop him.
Cyrus knew he was no match for Garp in his normal state. He just wanted to see the gap, not get beaten up.
"On the ship is fine."
'On the ship?'
Hearing this, Garp turned back, looked Cyrus up and down, his gaze falling on the sword Cyrus had placed to the side, and nodded.
He slammed his fists together in front of his chest, producing a dull thud.
Armament Haki was already wrapped around his fists.
Seeing this, Cyrus took a deep breath and hardened his own Armament Haki.
Bang!
Without any nonsense, the two threw their punches, which collided directly.
Garp's eyes widened abruptly as he watched Cyrus stagger back several steps.
"What immense strength!"
Even in this world, human strength had its limits; special races just had higher ones.
From that single blow, Garp could already feel that Cyrus's strength was off the charts.
As for Cyrus, although his expression didn't change, the sharp pain from his fist surprised him.
Armament Haki hardening weakened the sensation of pain.
But that blow just now, even at full power, still made his fist hurt intensely.
The pain was like when he, before transmigrating, had punched a rock with all his might.
He glanced down; his right fist looked unchanged.
"Scared already, kid?"
Seeing Cyrus staring at his own fist, Garp put his hands on his hips and laughed heartily.
Most of the marines on the warship had stopped what they were doing to watch the exchange.
"Scared?" Cyrus snorted softly.
It's not like he would die.
At worst, his health would just drop a bit.
After all, the results of this experiment weren't in yet.
Cyrus pushed off with his feet, swinging both fists at Garp.
"A little faster!"
"Don't you have any strength, brat?"
"The quantity is good, but the quality is lacking."
"To get to my level, you'll have to grind down a few mountains with your fists first."
Garp relentlessly spouted trash talk.
At first, Cyrus was a little annoyed, but as the fight went on, his mind grew calm.
Bang!
Cyrus threw a swift, heavy punch that smashed into Garp's eye socket. In return, he himself was sent flying by one of Garp's punches.
The surroundings fell completely silent.
Garp, sporting a black eye, looked at Cyrus climbing up from the ground, baring his teeth.
"You little rascal, taking one of my punches just to land one on me."
Cyrus panted, his eyes glaring at Garp.
He admitted he had miscalculated.
This old geezer specifically aimed for the face when he hit people.
However, his data-based body was still working its magic.
His health had already dropped below fifty percent. That last punch, in particular, had shaved off 7% of his health.
"Still need more practice!"
Cyrus muttered to himself. Seeing Garp get into a stance, he waved his hand.
"I'm done fighting."
Garp froze, then relaxed his stance.
The surrounding marines looked at the seemingly unfazed Cyrus, then at Garp with his one black eye.
Did Vice Admiral Garp get the short end of the stick?
Garp, however, was sizing Cyrus up. He naturally noticed something unusual about Cyrus's body but didn't point it out directly.
A short while later, on the deck of the sailing warship, two beach chairs were placed side by side.
Cyrus lay on one chair without a word, mentally reviewing the fight.
Garp obviously hadn't gone all out.
Only that last punch probably had some real power behind it.
He still needed to strengthen his physique.
For him, strengthening his physique meant increasing his health and defense, and it could also enhance his thinking.
"Here."
A bag of rice crackers was handed to Cyrus.
Cyrus didn't stand on ceremony.
He had eaten this kind of snack before. He didn't love it, but he didn't hate it either.
Seeing Cyrus take it, Garp picked up another bag, his black-ringed eye looking at Cyrus.
"Your body is tough, kid, and your Haki is not bad either. But you haven't been in many battles. The quantity is good, but it's not hard enough."
Garp saw through Cyrus's situation at a glance.
"When facing weaker opponents, you can handle them easily. But once you face someone whose mastery of Haki is better than yours, you'll probably be in for a tough fight."
"I know."
Cyrus chewed on a rice cracker and nodded in reply.
"Really not considering it?"
"Not considering it. I'm no hero of the Navy, so there are certain things I don't have to do." Cyrus said vaguely.
Garp paused, immediately understood his meaning, and nodded, his heart filled with regret.
At this age, his personality, talent, and strength were all outstanding.
But since things had been said this clearly, he wouldn't try anymore.
"I hope I won't be seeing you on a Bounty Poster in the future." Garp said with deep meaning.
"I can't really control that. After all, bounties are issued by the Navy and the World Government."
Cyrus shook his head.
He really had no intention of becoming a pirate.
He wasn't even interested in being an adventurer who went by the name of a pirate.
But he was bound to run into many things later on, and it was inevitable that he would clash with the Navy or even the World Government.
Whether he would get a bounty then was uncertain.
Therefore, he had to become strong enough before that, strong enough to handle any threats he might encounter.
"What about the Shichibukai? Any interest?"
Garp's mind suddenly turned, and he asked with a flash of inspiration.
Cyrus had been in contact with Jinbei. He didn't know the specifics, but from the looks of it, Cyrus hadn't come out on the losing end.
He had heard that the World Government was recently in contact with Hawkeye, seemingly wanting to invite him to become a Shichibukai.
After all, there were still vacancies.
Shichibukai?
Cyrus glanced at Garp and shook his head again.
"You're a really difficult guy to talk to." He said no to everything, just shaking his head.
Garp grumbled, then closed his eyes and fell silent.
"Vice Admiral Garp, a call from Admiral Aokiji."
Just as Garp closed his eyes, Bogart walked over and handed him a Den Den Mushi.
"What do you want from this old man?"
Garp took the Den Den Mushi and said boisterously.
"Teacher, the Devil Child is hiding in the West Blue. I happen to have some free time, so I want to go check on the situation."
A somewhat lazy voice sounded.
Cyrus froze and turned to look at the Den Den Mushi in Garp's hand.