"Even a First Mizukage can't take two punches from you. Uncle Garp, how strong are you exactly?"
After handing the suit to Garp, Tsunade couldn't help but ask, thinking about how even someone as formidable as Byakuren, reborn as a Mizukage, was completely crushed by him.
How strong was Garp, really?
It wasn't just Tsunade who wondered. Byakuren, who had just been sent flying to the Pure Land by Garp's fist, as well as the First Five Kage, were all curious.
In fact, this question had troubled people since the Warring States period.
Many had attempted to probe Garp's limits, but without exception, every single one had become a ghost under his iron fist.
Until Tsunade voiced the question, no one had an answer.
"The strength of the hero of the shinobi world?"
Hearing Tsunade's question, Orochimaru, Kushina, Fugaku, and even Duy, Garp's own student, perked up their ears.
Even Byakuren who had lived another lifetime, couldn't withstand two punches from Garp.
It was almost impossible for them to imagine just how terrifying Garp's true limits were.
"How strong am I?"
Garp paused slightly at Tsunade's question. Then he furrowed his brow, looking as if he were a little troubled.
It wasn't that he wanted to hide anything.
In the ninja world, where assassination at first glance was rampant, a person's strength and jutsu were considered the ultimate secrets. Even close relatives were often kept in the dark.
Just like Hashirama, who spent a lifetime in a love-hate relationship with Madara, had kept his Sage Mode hidden until he backstabbed Madara at the Valley of the End.
But Garp had no such intention.
After all, in front of his fists, whether someone knew or not didn't change the outcome: death.
"I wasn't trying to pry into your secrets on purpose. I just… seeing Byakuren lose so miserably, I couldn't help but ask," she admitted, regretting the question as soon as it left her lips.
As one of the three legends of the past era, she knew this was a forbidden topic. Even among close relatives, asking such sharp questions could easily lead to resentment and estrangement.
"It's fine, Tsunade. It's not exactly a secret either. It's not that I don't want to answer, it's just that I really don't know how to answer you!"
Garp casually patted Tsunade's golden twin tails and smiled.
Every day he lived, his strength increased a bit.
Having lived alone behind the Konoha back mountain for so many years, with no benchmarks for comparison, he really didn't know just how strong he had become.
"If it were the Warring States period, maybe I could answer you. Back then, your grandfather was still alive. If you had seen him fight alongside me against Madara, you might have gotten an answer.
But now… I'm the only one left from that era. Even if the others were alive, they probably wouldn't be able to give you an answer."
Garp thought seriously for a moment, then shook his head.
"What does 'Iron Fist' mean?"
"Could it be that in his eyes, even if the old legends and the First Hokage were resurrected and teamed up, they still couldn't defeat him?"
Fugaku and Shisui exchanged a glance, their eyes reflecting sheer shock.
Before a certain threshold of difference, fighting one on one versus group attacks was an entirely different matter.
In their, and the world's, understanding, the Legendary Three were the pinnacle of shinobi strength.
If you wanted to break it down further, the hero of the ninja world was the absolute limit of the ceiling, Hashirama next, and Madara after that.
But fundamentally, the Three were on the same level.
Yet Garp's words revealed a signal.
During the Warring States era, the Three might indeed have been on the same line, all the pinnacle of ninja strength. But in the era of ninja villages, that was no longer certain.
"This man is unaffected by age… I see!"
Orochimaru's snake-like pupils flickered with a hint of horror before he immediately lowered his head, as if afraid anyone could read the change in his expression.
In fact, he was terrified that the world would discover from his gaze just how terrifying Garp's strength truly was.
If this truth became known, the world would realize they had long misunderstood the limits of the Iron Fist.
When that misunderstanding was corrected, it would mark the true despair of the ninja village era.
Orochimaru's body trembled slightly as countless thoughts ran through his mind.
"What about compared to Byakuren, the Mizukage reborn for another life?"
Tsunade, seemingly oblivious to any subtleties, chose Byakuren as her reference point.
Though aside from Garp, her grandfather was the strongest she had ever heard of, Byakuren, revived, was the strongest she had ever seen.
To her, Byakuren made a better benchmark than Hashirama.
"I'm probably a little stronger than him," Garp said vaguely.
"And what about my grandfather and Madara?" Tsunade pressed.
"I'm probably a little stronger than both of them too," Garp replied after a brief pause.
"…"
Everyone was left speechless.
Just a little stronger than the First Mizukage?
Just a little stronger than Hashirama and Madara too?
Having witnessed Byakuren get utterly crushed, they doubted whether "a little" meant a fraction… or a billion times.
"So that's how it is!"
Unbeknownst to the exasperated Tsunade and others, Orochimaru, with his head slightly lowered, felt his speculation confirmed the moment Garp answered.
The pale face partially hidden by hair revealed a look of horrified awe.
.........
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