Chapter 633: No Future for the Old Man
Chapter 633: No Future for the Old Man
With a hearty laugh, the Marine ship clearly changed course, heading straight toward the Damnation Star at a rapid speed. Before long, Lily saw the ship's figurehead, a dog's head with a bone in its mouth.
It was definitely Garp's ship!
Standing on the dog's head, the man in a throwing pose revealed his broad, muscular build under his fluttering cloak—a classic physique of a powerful martial artist of the sea.
It was indeed Garp!
Zing!
A cold glint flashed, and Lily appeared on the head of the ship's figurehead, her eyes glowing with a cerulean light as she swung her sword. The lightning-fast blade instantly formed a bird that shot out.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no!"
On Garp's ship, Bergamot panicked, tears streaming down his futuristic glasses in wavy lines as he wailed:
"Worldslider has retaliated! We're doomed! Koby, I'm sorry! I came to save you, but now I'll die before you!"
"Shut up!"
A young man with green hair, wearing an oversized Marine cap and an open fur coat, shouted impatiently, "Nothing will happen, that's Rear Admiral Garp!"
Despite his words, the young man's forehead was sweating, especially when he saw the cerulean, bird-shaped thunderlight streaking from the black ship toward them, making his hair stand on end.
An extremely dangerous slash!
If it hit at this angle, it would likely pierce through all the ship's critical points, causing it to disintegrate!
Facing the bird that seemed to appear instantly, Garp bared his teeth in a fierce grin, his fist covered in a pitch-black, reflective Armament Haki, with a deep, crimson glow emanating from it.
Boom!
His fist collided with the bird, shattering it into countless cerulean threads that scattered rapidly in all directions.
Boom!
The sea roiled, plowing furrows, and the residual shockwave blew toward the Damnation Star, blowing Lily's golden hair and making her astonished face even more visible.
She felt the impact's shock and turned to glance at her crew members, who were clearly struggling to maintain their balance. When she looked back at Garp, her expression was grave. "That's—"
Her whisper was cut off as a quick afterimage appeared in front of Lily, her fur cloak flapping loudly.
"I haven't heard of you having Conqueror's Haki", Sagel said, his eyes narrowing as he watched the approaching dog-headed ship. "It's been a long time, Garp old man!"
"Hahahaha! Where the son and grandson have it, the old man can't be far behind!"
Garp threw his head back and laughed. "It's been a long time, foolish imitator apprentice!"
The ship stopped in front of the Damnation Star, and Sagel and Garp stood on the figureheads of their respective ships, both baring their teeth in grins as they stared at each other from a distance.
"Did you come looking for me?"
Sagel's fingers twitched, and he sneered, "Are you trying to stop me, the Pirate, from going to Marineford to prevent you Marines from losing your sense of justice?"
If others encountered him in the vast ocean, he could consider it a coincidence.
But not Garp.
During the East Blue era, Garp had pursued him. At the time, it didn't seem significant, but in hindsight, it was a matter of destiny.
On the sea, as long as you had a strong will, you would eventually meet, even without coordinates.
This might seem mystical to others, but Sagel didn't want to bet on it. Only Garp's unpredictability could interfere with his plans and cause chaos.
"Just a coincidence, hahahaha!"
Garp laughed without a care. "My obedient apprentice was captured by Blackbeard, and I'm going to rescue him. Come to think of it, it's not really a coincidence, as all three of my disciples are involved."
"My lazy apprentice has joined Blackbeard, my foolish imitator apprentice is Blackbeard's ally, and my most obedient apprentice has been captured by Blackbeard. They're all connected to Blackbeard."
"Pirate. You can cooperate with anyone, can you?"
Garp's eyes burned.
"Hahahaha! Don't Marines turn a blind eye to evil too? You were personally involved in the Valley of the Gods, so you shouldn't be talking."
Sagel laughed heartily, then his expression turned fierce. "Old man, by rights, I should let you pass since you have a favor with me, but you came here and gave me a hard time, so I have to return the favor!"
With that, his eyes narrowed, and Conqueror's Haki enveloped the dog-headed ship like a black-red flood.
The crimson torrent surged like a giant wave, causing the crew on deck to roll their eyes and foam at the mouth, collapsing instantly.
"Stand your ground!"
However, a few people remained standing. A familiar female voice rang out, and a few figures joined her on the figurehead. Tashigi, her face stern, drew her sword and gripped it with both hands, aiming it at Sagel.
Beside him, a blond man with a slender pair of glasses, his face etched with fear but his teeth clenched, drew his khukri. A woman with a ponytail and a sniper rifle stood next to him. Another woman, her cheeks flushed, gripped a whip. And there was a green-haired man in a fur coat, wearing a long military cap.
Sagel sized them up, then his gaze landed on Tashigi. "You look familiar, woman. You must be one of Smoker's subordinates."
"Tashigi!"
Tashigi called out, "Norton Sagel, we have the authority to engage you without any repercussions! Even if you sink this place, the Marines won't be held accountable!"
"You say that as if you want me to kill you personally", Sagel sneered. "A few Marines, huh? If you can withstand my Conqueror’s Haki, you must be elite."
"Sagel, not a vice admiral", Lily said after scanning them, confirming their identities.
The Marines' vice admirals were recorded, thanks to the intelligence they had, which helped their crew identify and decide whether to engage.
As for why just a vice admiral...
Because any Marine below that rank wouldn't dare to lead a mission in their controlled waters; it would be suicide.
Of course, if they encountered an unknown Marine, they could just attack without hesitation, no need for judgment.
"But just a vice admiral", Lily added, her eyes lingering on the green-haired youth for a moment.
This Marine, in particular, exuded an aura of elite among elites, likely on par with a Marine elite vice admiral.
But even at that level...
"Just a few of you heading to Hive Island?"
Sagel turned to Garp, his voice grave. "Have you lived too long, faced too many defeats, and are now ready to die there?"
A few Marines trying to breach Hive Island? Even with Garp leading them, it was impossible.
The defenses there were formidable. If it were easy to breach, Tee would have been taken down long ago, either by Red Hair or by himself.
"Hahahaha, for an old man like me, whether I die now or later doesn't matter. The future belongs to the young. My future ended long ago."
Garp laughed heartily. "Just like you, your youth gives you infinite possibilities. You're one of the Four Emperors now, but who knows what you'll be in the future."
Sagel snorted, shaking his head, and didn't say more. Instead, he motioned backward.
Lily understood immediately, descending from the ship's bow and handing him a cannonball from a stack of ammunition.
"Old man Garp, wouldn't it be more honorable to die by my hand rather than Tee's?"
His fingers gripped the cannonball, and with a simple toss, it whistled through the air, breaking the sound barrier and reaching Garp's face in an instant.
Thud.
A dull thud, and Garp raised his fist, using his unique strength to deflect the cannonball into the sky.
Bang!!
A massive cloud of smoke erupted in the air, and the dust settled on the Marines behind Garp.
"Isn't this a game we've played before?"
Garp picked up a cannonball, his arm stretching back to the extreme, and he lifted his leg high.
The muscles in his arm tensed like a fully drawn bow, and Armament Haki surged from his fingertips, dark red patterns spreading across the black iron ball.
"Stupid apprentice, I never taught you to use your abilities to throw like that!"
Thud!
As his leg landed heavily, the Haki-imbued cannonball shattered the air in front of him, the shockwave creating a massive indentation in the sea, and it was launched with tremendous force.
"Using your abilities, but not using them, isn't that foolish?"
Sagel's lips curled into a cruel smile. As his fingers spread, Lily had already handed him another cannonball. The moment he caught it, his arm moved at a speed invisible to the naked eye, the black shadow of the cannonball flashing as it collided with Garp's.
The moment they collided, all sound vanished. The intense Haki collision created a vacuum at the point of impact, and the explosions from the two cannonballs formed a five-meter-wide black lightning sphere, gradually shrinking and compressing into a singularity.
Boom!!!
In the instant of compression, the black and red lightning scattered outward, the tangible manifestation of Conqueror’s Haki wreaking havoc in the sky and sea. The sky split into two, then spiraled into a deep hole, continuously caving in.
A massive wave surged from the center of the sea between the two ships, shooting skyward and then crashing back down, creating a whirlpool that resembled a sky in the sea, sweeping everything in its path.
The impact transformed into a fierce gale, sweeping across both ships, blowing back Sagel's white hair and Garp's silver-gray short hair.
"You're getting old."
"You're getting old."
After a brief exchange of glances, Garp and Sagel spoke in unison.
"Hahahaha! There's no denying it, we can't resist the passage of time!"
Garp laughed, tilting his head back. "But, it should be this way. The sea is ultimately for the young!"
"That doesn't sound like something you'd say."
Sagel stared at Garp for a moment, then let out a sigh and shook his head. "Never mind."
He turned and descended from the bow. "Lily, steer around the whirlpool; don't waste any more time."
"Alright, Garp."
"Leave him be. Whatever he wants to do is his business. I'm just a disciple by imitation, not a true apprentice. My true apprentices are on Hive Island, one with weakened willpower, the other lost in confusion. Let them figure it out on their own."
With that, Sagel walked straight into the captain's cabin.
Lily gave a deep look at Garp, who was still grinning widely on the opposite bow. "Weakened willpower, huh. Everyone, steer around the whirlpool, no need to worry about it."
The Death Omen changed course, moving to the left of the whirlpool and bypassing the dog-headed warship that was stranded on the sea, passing by its side.
No one tried to stop them.
The few who were still conscious understood the power of the strongest Emperor of the Seas, merely watching as the Death Omen sailed away.
"He didn't die!"
Bergamot, seeing the Death Omen move completely past the dog-headed warship without turning back, let out a huge sigh of relief, his body slumping as he sat down on the deck.
That Conqueror's Haki wasn't just a show; resisting it took all his strength.
"Mr. Garp."
The green-haired youth pondered for a moment, then looked at Garp's back on the bow. "Worldslider is your apprentice, right?"
"Hahahaha, I consider him so, but he doesn't acknowledge it! He clearly learned my techniques!"
Garp gazed at the sky and the whirlpool on the sea, grinning. "What's the problem? He uses them pretty well, doesn't he?"
"He must be an apprentice. A guy like Worldslider wouldn't let us off the hook for any other reason. This is the only possibility."
The green-haired youth, Prince Grous, a vice admiral of the Marine Headquarters and a member of the Marine's secret special forces 'Sword'—also known as 'Blade'—was not only a Power Holder who had eaten the Clay Fruit but also had a sharp mind. He could easily figure out such simple matters.
"Mr. Garp, since he's your apprentice and one of the Four Emperors, and an ally of Blackbeard, if we can get him to bring Coby back—"
"What about the others who are still imprisoned?"
Garp turned to look at Grous. "Blackbeard is different from Sagel. Sagel follows the rules and doesn't do anything against his principles. Blackbeard doesn't. The captives on Hive Island are all slaves for sale, and that's one of their means of survival."
"Bringing Coby back won't be complicated, but rescuing everyone will require a fight!"
Garp laughed again. "Hahahaha! Don't worry, I'll definitely save that dim-witted but obedient apprentice! Sagel understands this, which is why he just used Conqueror's Haki to clash with me!"
But even that single clash forced him to recover slowly. Another few clashes would have turned it into a full-blown battle, which wouldn't be a good sign for his upcoming mission to Hive Island.
Fortunately, the other side went first.
"This whirlpool."
Garp scratched his head. "Hmm, everyone's dazed, they can't navigate the ship anymore."
"I have some clay."
Grous pulled a lump of clay from his pocket, pinched it, and it split into several small figures that silently made their way to the warship's control room.
"Simple navigation should still be possible. They'll wake up once we reach our destination."
"You're quite capable, aren't you!"
Garp patted his shoulder and stepped down from the bow. "Alright, you handle it. Tashigi, you're in charge. I need to rest and gather my strength."
Really, no one could stop him.
He smiled, thinking about Sagel's performance, and couldn't help but shake his head.
It was hard to imagine how far Sagel would grow. Back in the East Blue, he never thought Sagel would reach this level.
In a few more years—
"Hahahaha, the sea is truly lively!"
(End of Chapter)
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