Chapter 301 - 159

Chapter 159Whoosh!Luffy's figure left an afterimage as he dodged Smoker's White Snake heavy punch.In the next second, Luffy appeared behind Smoker's side, his eyes sharp. His red-black fist, like a cannonball leaving the barrel, let out a piercing whistle as it tore through the air and slammed heavily into Smoker's abdomen before he could fully elementalize.Triple Release!Bang!"Ugh!"Smoker felt an unimaginable brute force and a penetrating shock wave surge through him, instantly shattering his protective Armament Haki.His entire body felt as if it had been hit head-on by a high-speed Sea Train. His vision went dark, blood sprayed from his mouth, and he flew backward uncontrollably like a broken kite, smashing through several piles of timber before hitting the ground hard, unable to get up for a moment.Clutching his agonizing abdomen, he looked at Luffy standing by the edge of the crater with disbelief. Luffy was enveloped in red-black Haki, and Smoker's eyes were filled with shock and frustration.How long has it been?Has his strength already reached this level?"Pwahahaha!"Seeing Smoker blasted away by Luffy's punch and embedded miserably in a pile of timber, Garplaughed so hard he almost cried, slapping his thigh vigorously."As expected, you're no longer his match, Smoker! You're far from it. Even after learning Haki, you're still a long way off!"Smoker struggled to stand up from the ruins, a trace of blood still hanging from the corner of his mouth.That punch had nearly knocked the wind out of him.With a face so grim it could drip water, Smokerglared fiercely at Garp. "You old geezer! What's so funny!"Garp stopped laughing out loud, but his attempt to stifle his amusement was almost worse than laughing freely!Smoker looked at the old and young pair before him, feeling a surge of irritation.One was his respected but absurdly behaving superior, and the other was the damn Straw Hatkid who had repeatedly made him eat dirt while progressing at a lightning-fast speed.Was he naturally cursed to clash with the people of this family?But he also knew in his heart that this was the end of it.Garp wasn't truly here to capture Luffy. By following along, he mostly wanted to see for himself exactly how far Luffy had come and how large the gap between them still was.Although the result was frustrating, it also made him thoroughly recognize reality.Smoker spat out the blood in his mouth and looked at Luffy, saying:"I'll let it slide this time, Straw Hat. Consider it a payback for the favor of your indirect help in Alabasta. The next time we meet, I won't show any mercy."Hearing this, Luffy couldn't help but want to retort—clearly, I'm the one showing mercy right now, okay?He only held back because Smoker had come along with his grandfather.However, he swallowed the words back and said:"The favor you mentioned, that ice-faced uncle Aokiji said he already paid it back for you.""A favor I, Smoker, owe needs Kuzan to pay it back?" Smoker snorted disdainfully, a cigar in his mouth. "He is him, and I am me!""Pwahahaha!"Garp leaned in again and slapped Smoker heavily on the back, a force that nearly knocked the breath out of Smoker just as he was recovering."Who doesn't know you two are close enough to share a pair of pants! Why bother distinguishing!""Are you trying to kill me?"Smoker was knocked off balance and began to cough violently, cursing inwardly.Does this old bastard have any idea how much strength is in his hands?!With Garp's interruption, the originally tense atmosphere eased considerably.As if he didn't feel anything was wrong, Garp sat down directly on the open ground next to Luffy, ignoring the dust.The sudden shift to seriousness made the surrounding people a bit uncomfortable."Brat,"Garp's smile faded slightly as he looked at Luffy, his tone carrying a rare hint of gravity. "Do you have any idea how much of a commotion you've caused this time?"Luffy mimicked him and sat cross-legged, looking indifferent. "Isn't it just declaring war on the World Government? Who told them to keep targeting Robin!"The scene before them was truly bizarre.A pirate who had just declared war on the World Government with a bounty as high as 660 million Berries was actually sitting and chatting without any barrier with a Vice Admiral of Marineford, the Navy Hero known as Garp the Fist.If some tea and snacks were placed nearby, an outsider might think this was some friendly tea party between the Marine and a pirate.Can a pirate and a Marine really sit together to drink and chat?To be honest, some within the Marine had previously suspected that Garp and Roger had done exactly this.However, as the continuous stream of news reached them, some of the Marine soldiers newly assigned to Garp's command saw this scene and felt their eyes were about to pop out, feeling their worldview collapsing.Vice Admiral Garp actually has a grandson who is a pirate?!And he's the pirate who's been making headlines within the Marine recently.However, veteran subordinates like Bogard, who had followed Garp for many years, were not surprised by this.Garp returned to Foosha Village in the East Bluefor vacation every year, and many of them had seen Luffy when he was a child.Luffy even waved to Bogard from a distance, flashing a bright smile. "Uncle Bogard, you're here too!"Bogard, who always kept his hat low and his face expressionless, felt the corner of his mouth twitch upward almost imperceptibly as he gave Luffy a slight nod.This further stunned the surrounding Marinesoldiers.That Adjutant Bogard, known for being cold and taciturn, actually smiled?These connections are way too strong!No wonder a tough guy like Rear Admiral Smoker, who usually wants to throw every pirate he sees into Impel Down, is being so well-behaved now.Hearing Luffy's words, Garp's gaze instinctively flickered to Robin, who was standing not far behind Luffy.Wreaking havoc at Enies Lobby for a woman?In this regard, he didn't look like a man of the Monkey family at all.But somewhat paradoxically, Garp couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Although he and Dragon had little interest in matters of the heart, they at least knew to produce offspring when the time came. What about Luffy? He remembered that as a child, Luffy was as dense as a block of wood regarding romance; he had once worried the family line would end with him.As a result, after not seeing him for a few months, good heavens, three beautiful girls had suddenly appeared around him, and the relationships all seemed ambiguous.This progress was so fast it caught the old man off guard; he almost thought his seniority was going to go up another level.However, women are troublesome and scary!Garp couldn't help but recall things from even further back—that Battle of God Valley, and how that peerless Rocks was, in a way, brought down by a woman...And then there was the disintegration of the Rocks Pirates, and even the later Roger Pirates.Sigh, forget it, thinking about these old stories just gives me a headache.Garp shook his head to clear his thoughts and looked at Luffy again, his tone becoming even more serious. "Declaring war on the World Governmentis nothing; I did much worse things back in the day! Enies Lobby and the Buster Call are also nothing; there are plenty of heinous criminals on the sea."Luffy couldn't help but laugh. "Did you take the blame for everything for me, Grandpa?"Garp nearly had a brain hemorrhage from anger.He'd seen kids pit their fathers, but never one who pitted his grandfather like this.Garp roared, "Are you joking? This old man and you pirates are irreconcilable!"Luffy looked like he'd heard it all before. "I know, I know. What's the rush, Grandpa?""The most serious thing right now is,"Garp raised his fist and then lowered it, "the strength you've shown. You can already face Aokijihead-on, even if only for a brief clash. This has caused Marine Headquarters—no, the top brass of the World Government—to fix their gaze firmly on you!"An Admiral is the ultimate combat power of Marineford, symbolizing the World Government's absolute military deterrence.For a rookie like Luffy, who had only been active for a few months since his bounty was first posted, to already have the qualifications to challenge an Admiral—even if he could only barely hold his own—was simply too shocking.If he is allowed to keep growing, what will happen in a few years?Will another monster like the Four Emperors, reigning over the New World, appear on this sea?For the current global structure, which is barely maintaining a fragile balance, this is undoubtedly a massive boulder thrown into a calm lake, destined to trigger a colossal wave.Furthermore, Aokiji had personally verified that Luffy possesses the Kingly Spirit found in only one in a million, marking him as destined for the extraordinary, not to mention the complex web of connections behind him.The world of pirates doesn't care about social favors?Don't be ridiculous; that's only because you haven't reached the level where favors and connections matter.Smoker, listening from the side, interjected with a strange expression, "Hey, old man, is this kind of internal assessment and concern something you should be saying in front of the person involved?"Does this old man have any sense of secrecy at all?Garp froze for a moment, then rubbed his spiky hair as if suddenly realizing, revealing a simple-minded expression:"Oh! So that wasn't supposed to be said! Hahaha, then everyone just pretend you didn't hear it and forget it! Forget it!"The surrounding Marine soldiers and shipwrights nearly fainted on the spot from his extremely irresponsible statement.Luffy, however, was indifferent to the internal concerns Garp revealed. He grinned with confidence, "Though I hate to admit it, there's indeed still a gap between me and that ice-faced uncle."He clenched his fist, his eyes burning. "But I'll close that gap very soon!"Garp gave Luffy a deep look and said, "No one doubts your potential, brat. Precisely because of that, even more troublesome things will find you. There are already whispers within the Marinevaguely calling you a candidate for the Fifth Emperor of the Sea.""Emperor of the Sea?"Luffy blinked, confused by this unfamiliar term.He glanced around and saw that everyone else was shocked into silence by the news.Garp explained with a solemn face:"It seems you still have no concept of what an Emperor of the Sea is.""Let's put it this way: it refers to pirates on the same level as that Red-Haired Shanks who led you astray.""Red Hair stands alongside Whitebeard Edward Newgate as one of the four pirates at the pinnacle of this sea. In the sea known as the New World in the latter half of the Grand Line, they reign like emperors. The world calls them the Four Emperors!"He paused and continued, "The only forces that can counter the power of these Four Emperors are our Marineford and the Seven Warlords of the Seasystem.""These three powers keep each other in check, maintaining the world's delicate balance. Once this balance is broken, it will generate a massive force capable of turning the entire world upside down.""And now, you—Monkey D. Luffy—because of the potential you've shown and the massive impact you've caused, are already seen by some as that force that could break the balance and become the Fifth Emperor of the Sea!"Luffy automatically filtered out the earlier talk about balance and threats; his attention was entirely captured by the words 'just like Shanks.'"Ohhh? Not bad, those guys have pretty good eyes." Luffy laughed and said, "Have I already become a pirate like Shanks?"He hadn't forgotten the promise he made to Shanks as a child.He would do it—one day, he would lead a crew that wouldn't lose to Shanks's to go see him.Seeing his smug look, Garp's irritation flared again, and his Fist of Love accurately slammed onto the top of Luffy's head, instantly raising a large bump."What are you thinking, you brat! The title of Emperor of the Sea is still a long way off for you!"However, this conversation between Luffy and Garp regarding the Four Emperors and the Fifth Emperor left everyone listening in a state of massive shock and stupor.Aside from himself, quite a few big shots are involved!Vivi instinctively covered her mouth, her beautiful eyes full of disbelief.Luffy actually has such deep connections with those legendary figures?Calculating it this way, Red-Haired Shanks was his guide?Nami was rapidly tallying up the staggering web of connections behind Luffy in her mind, unable to help swallowing hard.One of the Four Emperors, Red-Haired Shanks, is his pirate guide.His biological grandfather is the Marineford hero, Vice Admiral Garp.That very polite brother, Fire Fist Ace, is the 2nd Division Commander of the Four Emperors' Whitebeard Pirates.This background is way too complex and hardcore.