Chapter 317: Fist of Love
"Hina is disappointed."
The storm had finally eased.
Against the endless white of the mountain, Hina's red clothing stood out sharply. She held a cigarette between her lips, its smoke curling lazily into the cold air.
Although she had known Axel only briefly, her expression carried genuine disappointment.
"Hina never expected you to do something like this."
Her eyes narrowed.
"You betrayed the Marines."
"Betrayal?"
Axel repeated the word.
Then again, more slowly.
"Betrayal."
And once more, stretching the syllables as if tasting their meaning.
"Betrayal..."
He lowered the wooden sword in his hand.
"I don't belong to anyone."
"So how can I betray them?"
His crimson eyes met hers.
"If I ever betray someone, it would only be myself."
Hina took another drag from her cigarette.
"You can explain that in prison."
She swept both arms outward.
Black iron bars formed from her body, spreading around Axel from several directions.
The cage closed fast.
Axel did not retreat.
He stepped forward.
The wooden sword rose.
At the instant the iron bars converged, he swung.
Slash!
A sharp blade of compressed force tore through the cage.
The iron bars split apart cleanly.
The slash did not stop there.
It continued directly toward Hina.
Her eyes widened.
She threw herself aside.
The attack passed close enough to stir her clothes before carving a long, deep line through the snow behind her.
Hina landed and looked back at the scar left across the ground.
Her expression became far more serious.
"He cut through Hina's cage that easily..."
She knew exactly how durable her restraints were.
Once hardened, they were comparable to steel.
Yet Axel had cut through them with what looked like an almost careless swing.
Worse, judging by his posture, he had not used anything close to his full strength.
Hina raised one hand.
"Fire!"
The Marines obeyed immediately.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunfire erupted across the mountainside.
Dozens of bullets converged on Axel from multiple directions.
He did not move.
The bullets reached the space directly around him.
Then stopped.
Every projectile froze in midair.
Not slowed.
Stopped.
The sight lasted only an instant.
Then the bullets reversed.
They shot backward along the exact paths they had traveled.
Straight toward the Marines who fired them.
"WHAT?!"
Metal struck metal.
A chain of violent pops and small explosions followed as bullets slammed back into rifle barrels and chambers.
Weapons burst apart in soldiers' hands.
"AAAGH!"
"My hand!"
"Drop the rifles!"
Marines collapsed one after another, clutching injured hands and arms.
Within seconds, the entire firing squad had been neutralized.
Farther uphill, the Drum Kingdom guards watched with pale faces.
One swallowed hard.
"What kind of monster is that?"
Another immediately nodded.
"Thank goodness Captain Dalton ordered us to stay back."
"A four-hundred-million-Berry criminal really is on another level."
Dalton ignored their praise.
There had been no wisdom behind his decision.
He had already warned Axel about the Marines.
Joining the ambush afterward would have made that warning meaningless.
More importantly, Axel had promised to avoid involving Drum Island's people as much as possible.
Dalton had no intention of provoking him into abandoning that promise.
Below, Hina looked at her fallen subordinates.
Her face tightened.
A squad of several dozen Marines had lost most of its combat effectiveness almost instantly.
The intelligence had not exaggerated him.
Axel rested the wooden sword against his shoulder.
"Did you honestly think guns would work on me?"
"Hina never expected them to."
Her answer came naturally.
She lit another cigarette.
Axel raised an eyebrow.
"Then let me guess."
"You're stalling."
Hina said nothing.
Axel smiled.
"So who did the Marines send this time?"
He knew they would not knowingly sacrifice soldiers for nothing.
Marine Headquarters understood his strength.
If they had chosen to confront him despite that, then someone powerful enough to make the operation seem possible had to be on the way.
"Want to tell me?"
Hina exhaled smoke.
"Do you really think Hina would?"
It sounded like a question.
It was clearly a refusal.
Axel sighed.
"What a shame."
He lowered the wooden sword.
"If possible, I'd rather not use force against a woman."
Hina's expression sharpened.
Axel took one step.
Then stopped.
Something had entered his perception.
Fast.
Close.
Familiar.
Observation Haki caught the presence behind him an instant before the attack landed.
And that presence was enough to make Axel immediately forget about Hina.
A voice thundered across the mountainside.
"FIST OF LOVE!"
Axel spun.
A massive fist descended toward his head.
He raised both arms.
BOOM!
The impact shook the mountain.
Snow exploded outward.
The ground beneath Axel collapsed, and cracks spread for dozens of meters around them.
Axel's feet sank into the fractured earth.
For a brief instant, one thought crossed his mind.
Good thing the cabin was far enough away.
Otherwise, that single punch might have destroyed it.
But there was little room for distraction.
Gray hair.
A weathered face.
A broad, powerful frame that seemed untouched by age.
And that fist.
Axel knew exactly who stood before him.
"Old man... Garp."
A vein bulged on Garp's forehead.
His expression darkened immediately.
He said nothing.
Instead, he pushed harder.
The pressure on Axel increased.
His repaired body had improved, but he had no intention of competing directly with Garp's monstrous physical strength.
Axel redirected the force downward.
Crack!
The earth beneath them shattered.
Garp's footing shifted for a fraction of a second.
That was enough.
Axel broke away and created distance.
Garp landed solidly again.
This time, he did not pursue immediately.
He straightened.
Then folded his arms across his chest.
Just his presence changed the atmosphere.
The Marines who had been shaken moments ago suddenly found their confidence returning.
Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp.
The Hero of the Marines.
A man who had cornered the Pirate King Roger countless times.
For many Marines, Garp's arrival meant one simple thing.
The situation was under control.
No matter how terrifying the enemy seemed, if Garp was here, victory once again felt possible.
Garp looked Axel up and down.
Then grinned.
"You've gotten stronger, brat!"
The Marines stared.
Garp continued loudly.
"A few years and you're finally starting to look like a proper Marine!"
Then his smile vanished.
"And another thing!"
He pointed at Axel.
"CALL ME GRANDPA, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!"
Several Marines nearly choked.
"What?!"
"Grandpa?!"
"Vice Admiral Garp is his grandfather?!"
Even some of the Drum Kingdom guards looked completely stunned.
Hina alone remained calm.
She had already known.
Because of Garp's unusual position within the Marines, Axel's family connection had been deliberately omitted from most public information surrounding his bounty.
The majority of ordinary Marines knew only that Monkey D. Axel was a dangerous criminal worth four hundred million Berries.
Very few knew exactly who his grandfather was.
Axel's lips curved upward.
"My progress is decent."
Then he looked Garp over.
"But Marine Headquarters really sent me quite the gift."
Garp's eyebrow twitched.
"Gift?"
His fists clenched.
"You're calling your own grandfather a gift?"
A dangerous grin spread across his face.
"Looks like you've forgotten what my Fist of Love feels like."
....
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