The freezing seawater wrapped around Garp like a living glacier, but he tore through it as though he were a massive shark returning to its natural domain. One iron leg struck the surface and the ocean broke beneath him. He sprinted across the waves.
His heading never wavered. He was chasing the path of the Straw Hat boy, toward the New World.
Three days of relentless pursuit had passed. The Admirals sent after him and the thunderous chatter of the newspapers were far behind.
Now he had only one goal left: protect his foolish grandson and Ace before the World Government made its move. Ace was about to be dragged into the center of the storm.
Against the endless blue horizon, the silhouette of a large ship finally appeared. Its lines were sleek and elegant and a brilliant sun emblem gleamed at the bow. The sails billowed proudly.
The Thousand Sunny.
Garp broke into a wide grin that showed his perfect white teeth. He pushed off the surface and shot forward.
His speed surged. A long white streak trailed behind him like the path of a launched arrow as he hurtled toward the Sunny.
On the Sunny's sunlit deck, under the rare gentle sunshine of the New World, everything felt warm and lazy.
"Meat! Delicious roasted meat, Usopp, is it ready yet!"
Luffy's rubber neck stretched like noodles all the way from the bow to the kitchen window at the stern. He leaned in with sparkling eyes, drooling so much it nearly turned into a stream.
"You are way too loud. Wait. Sanji said the temperature needs to be perfect."
Usopp shouted irritably from inside.
Nami lay on a beach chair, sunglasses on, studying her map. Her short orange hair shimmered under the sunlight.
Chopper held a blue Rumble Ball and was gently licking it with his tiny hooves.
Franky yelled, "Super!" while adjusting machinery nearby.
Robin sat under the orange tree, reading quietly.
Zoro leaned against the railing, his three swords beside him as he dozed.
Suddenly.
Zoro's one open eye snapped wide. His gaze sharpened like a drawn blade and cut toward the horizon on the Sunny's starboard aft side.
"Hey. Something is coming in fast. This speed is insane."
His voice carried surprise wrapped in sharp caution.
At nearly the same moment, Sanji poked his head out of the kitchen window, cigarette between his lips.
"Hmm?"
Meat? Is the meat here?
Luffy's neck recoiled instantly. His head shot several meters backward, nearly falling into the sea. He stared in the direction Zoro was watching.
"Is it a meat delivery ship? Are they delivering meat? Big chunks of meat?"
"Shut up, idiot!"
Nami finally snapped. She lunged forward and threw a punch with her slender fist.
Bang!
"Waah!"
Luffy's unmistakable shriek echoed across the deck. His stretched head compressed like a flattened rubber ball and snapped back, sending him crashing into the center of the deck. A massive lump rose beneath his hat.
"How can you be thinking about food right now? That is an enemy. An enemy attack!"
The atmosphere tensed immediately.
Franky dropped his tools.
Chopper dove behind Robin, peeking out with trembling eyes.
"A super strong enemy. The aura... it feels ten times scarier than Bartholomew Kuma!"
Zoro stood now, his hand resting on the hilt of Wado Ichimonji. Shusui and Sandai Kitetsu were ready as a fierce energy surged from him.
Sanji vaulted out of the cabin, taking position in front of Nami.
Robin closed her book and looked solemnly toward the threat.
On the horizon, a white streak tore across the waves with incredible speed, drawing closer.
Its target was clear. It was coming straight for the Thousand Sunny.
Boom.
A massive wave erupted beside the Sunny's starboard side.
As the spray fell, a large figure landed upright on the deck. When the water settled, the towering silhouette became unmistakable. Bare-chested, wearing only drenched Marine trousers, muscles carved like stone, face weathered and wrinkled but grinning from ear to ear.
"Gah... cough!"
Luffy pushed himself up, rubbing his enormous lump, and froze at the familiar smile.
His eyes bulged. His drool turned into a choking cough.
"Grandpa? Cough... cough!"
"What?"
"Garp?"
"The Navy hero?"
Except for Robin, who managed to remain composed, the rest of the crew exclaimed in shock.
Zoro's grip tightened. Sanji's eyes narrowed.
Usopp's legs turned jelly-like as he fumbled for his slingshot.
Chopper's eyes filled with tears as he clung to Robin's skirt.
"A... a sea monster! Waaah!"
Garp laughed heartily, completely ignoring the tension suffocating the deck.
He dragged up a tiny wooden raft behind him. It was so small it barely fit half of him. Several soggy rice cracker boxes were tied to it, bleached and misshapen by seawater.
Using a ridiculous little paddle, he casually maneuvered the raft to bump against the Sunny's hull.
"Ha ha! Brat! You think you can escape from your grandpa? How naive!"
Garp's booming voice echoed across the deck. His gaze swept across the stunned crew and landed on Luffy, who sat on the deck with a steaming new bump on his head.
"Listen up! Starting today, I am retired. I am done being that blasted Marine. From now on, I am the first mate of your sorry little ship!"
Silence fell for two seconds.
Luffy: "Huh? Fi... first mate? Grandpa, you want to join my crew? Wait... did you bring meat? I am starving..."
Bang!
Nami's second punch struck the exact same spot. The bump swelled to an even more dramatic size as Luffy collapsed.
"Meat? Now? Really?"
Nami trembled with rage but kept her eyes fixed on Garp, trying to process the impossible.
Before Luffy could even groan, a flash of moonlike swordlight cut across the deck.
"Three Sword Style: Oni Giri!"
Zoro launched forward like a caged beast. Wado Ichimonji, Shusui, and Sandai Kitetsu swung in a triple-cross slash that split the air apart. The strikes carried killing intent sharp enough to cleave stone and steel, aimed straight at Garp standing beside the tiny raft.
There was no fear in Zoro's eyes. Only the pure resolve of a warrior determined to protect his crew.
If you threaten his comrades, it does not matter who you are. He will cut you down.
Garp did not move.
His smile did not fade.
Just as Zoro's blades were about to hit, Garp casually lifted the index finger of his right hand.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Three crisp sounds rang out like taps on thin steel.
Zoro's swords, wreathed faintly in Haki, were stopped perfectly at their crossing point by nothing but Garp's fingertip.
No sparks.
No shockwave.
The strikes simply vanished on contact.
Zoro's muscles trembled. His face reddened from exertion. He could not push the blades down even a millimeter.
That finger did not budge.
"Tch."
Zoro's pupils shrank. He gritted his teeth and withdrew, slamming the three swords into the deck before catching his breath. Sweat dripped down his temple as his instincts screamed at him.
This old man's power defied reason.
"Diable Jambe: Concassé!"
The moment Zoro retreated, Sanji streaked forward like a whirlwind. His flaming right leg rotated, blazing with heat and force enough to shatter steel, sweeping straight toward Garp's torso.
Crack.
Another soft sound. As gentle as swatting away an annoying fly.
Garp bent his left knee slightly and blocked the kick with the outer ridge of his kneecap.
Sanji's flaming strike, which could melt iron, felt like it had collided with an immovable mountain.
The force rebounded violently through his leg. Sanji flipped backward, caught himself at the edge of the deck, and skidded to a stop. His eyes were wide with disbelief.
"Not bad, blond guy. Your legwork has potential."
Garp tilted his head thoughtfully like a food critic evaluating a dish.
"But compared to that burly chef Zeff in the East Blue... you still have some growing to do. Train harder."
"W... what? Baratie Restaurant's Zeff?"
Sanji nearly dropped his cigarette.
This monster not only blocked his final technique effortlessly, he instantly exposed his teacher and origins? What was he, a walking intelligence agency?
No. He was simply a monster.
As Sanji and Zoro tried to regain their composure, Robin slowly rose from her chair, eyes widening as she took in the countless faded scars across Garp's torso and the weathered lines on his face.
Her fingers trembled with scholarly excitement.
"Monkey D. Garp..."
Her voice quivered with awe.
"The man who pursued the Pirate King. The hero who ended the era of Rocks. The living embodiment of the Will of D."
She inhaled sharply, drawn toward him as if toward a living monument of history.
"You... have truly stepped aboard this ship of hope?"
Her words infused a strange, quiet reverence into the air.
"Uh... Robin?"
Luffy rubbed at the newly enlarged mountain of a bump on his head and stood again. Finally understanding what was happening, he burst into a massive, carefree grin.
"Oh!"
A deafening cheer burst from him alone.
"Grandpa! You want to be my first mate? That is awesome! Let's throw a party!"
Luffy's logic was simple and unstoppable.
The deck filled with Garp's hearty laughter, Nami's frustrated sigh as she clutched her forehead, Zoro and Sanji's stunned tension, the flames of curiosity still burning in Robin's eyes, and Chopper trembling behind her skirt.
Beside the Sunny, Garp's tiny raft bumped lightly against the hull, tapping rhythmically.
Clack. Clack.
Like a gentle reminder that the world had just changed.