Chapter 5 Luffy shows his sword to intimidate Zoro and surrender MonkaA sharp, crescent-shaped sword aura shot out, tearing through the thick wall of the naval base as easily as slicing through tofu!
Li Jing's unparalleled swordsmanship!
When the target wasn't a "creature or object with hands," its destructive power rivaled that of a great swordsman!
Zoro's eyes practically exploded with brilliance!
"You're a great swordsman too!?"
With his current strength, he hadn't even reached the threshold of "Flying Slash"!
Let alone cleaving through such a sturdy naval base wall with a single strike.
Even Joyce, standing nearby, was speechless with shock.
All along, he had only assumed Luffy's strength stemmed from his Devil Fruit powers.
But now, it seemed this superior's precious grandson possessed unfathomable strength!
Luffy didn't answer Zoro's question, only smiling at him.
Zoro stared at the massive crack in the wall, his expression hardening.
"I'll become the world's greatest swordsman! I absolutely cannot die in this godforsaken place! Alright, I agree to be your subordinate!"
Luffy, hearing this, immediately smiled with satisfaction; this was a sure thing.
"Which bastard broke my wall?!"
Just then, a furious roar erupted from outside.
Everyone turned to look,
and saw Captain Morgan, wielding a massive broken axe, leading a large group of marines, huffing and puffing as they dragged a gigantic stone statue to the gate.
The reason no one was on duty at the base today was because Morgan had taken everyone to drag the giant statue that had been carved specifically for him.
"Who are you people? Do you know what terrible consequences will come with resisting me?"
Morgan brandished his gleaming axe, shouting a threat at Luffy.
Luffy looked at Morgan with an expression of utter disbelief, saying, "It seems that Django's hypnosis not only warped your personality but also ruined your brain. The consequences? You, a mere East Blue branch colonel, dare to talk to me about consequences?"
"Shut up! I'm the great Marine hero who personally killed Kuro! How dare you speak to me like that!"
Morgan's face instantly darkened as he looked at the fearless Luffy.
Ever since being hypnotized by that treacherous Kuro, he truly believed he had become the Marines' savior, and everyone should be grateful to him.
Luffy looked at Morgan with pity: "You really are a hopeless idiot. Seeing how pitiful you are, I've decided to avenge you on Kuro after you die. After all, you were once a competent Marine who always talked about justice."
Nami looked at Luffy with confusion and asked, "What nonsense are you spouting? What does it mean?"
Zoro and the other Marines present also looked at Luffy strangely, completely baffled by his claim that Morgan used to be a competent Marine.
"The reason this guy was able to climb to the rank of Marine Captain is because he supposedly captured and killed Kuro, the captain of the Black Cat Pirates with a bounty of 16 million Berries."
"But the harsh reality is that Kuro, that idiot, got fed up with the Navy's relentless pursuit. After destroying the warship Kuro was on, he had his subordinate Django hypnotize him and another scapegoat, staging a fake death."
"After his inexplicable promotion, this guy suddenly tasted the sweetness of power and completely let himself go, becoming the corrupt Navy parasite he is today."
Upon hearing this, Morgan's face turned ashen, as if he'd swallowed a dead fly. He hysterically roared at Luffy, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! I captured Kuro myself! The captain of the Black Cat Pirates has long been replaced by that hypnotist Django! Kuro was clearly killed by me! What evidence do you have that Kuro isn't dead?"
Luffy looked at Morgan with disdain, as if he were trash: "I'm just telling you a harsh truth out of pity. As for evidence? Do I need that kind of thing to deal with trash like you?"
Morgan glared at Luffy, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets, and roared, "Men! Shoot him dead! Shoot him like a sieve!"
"But Colonel, he's backed by a colonel from Headquarters, and innocent villagers too..."
Without a word, Morgan turned and swung his axe at the rebellious Marine: "Shut up! Those are pirates in disguise! How could a Marine Headquarters colonel come to this wretched place in the East Blue! Kill him!"
Joyce, seeing Morgan completely hopeless, his face ashen, was about to personally deal with him.
Luffy, however, simply drew his longsword and lightly swung it at Morgan.
"Hahahaha, are you going to bow to me before you die?"
Morgan couldn't help but laugh at Luffy's comical gesture.
Unexpectedly, before he could finish speaking, an invisible and irresistible force acted directly on him.
Amidst the incredulous and horrified gazes of the crowd, Morgan, like a nail drawn to a magnet, slid to his knees in front of Luffy, his remaining hand and the axe forcefully clamping together, tightly gripping Luffy's longsword.
A 100% chance of catching a blade barehanded!
However, to Luffy's utter surprise, because Morgan's hand was a sharp axe…
In the instant he forcefully caught the sword, the massive axe blade sliced through Morgan's other intact hand at the wrist, as easily as cutting through tofu.
"Uh..."
Luffy looked awkwardly at Morgan, who was writhing on the ground in pain, blood spurting everywhere. "Oops, sorry, I forgot you're a disabled person with a strong will despite your disability."
"You bastard!!"
Morgan sprang up angrily, swinging his axe at Luffy like a mad bull.
Nami, standing nearby, gasped in fright and covered her eyes.
Luffy, with a look of disdain, swung his axe again, instantly creating a huge sword wound on Morgan's chest: "You don't even have hands, yet you think you can catch my sword, Li Jing's sword? Dream on!"
"P-Please stop!"
At this moment, the opposing Marine, holding a musket, trembled like a leaf and shouted at Luffy, "He...he is, after all, our branch colonel, please don't make things difficult for us!"
Luffy glanced at the group opposite him: "What were you all doing when he was cutting down his own men? You didn't even know how to fight back against this scum who kills his own subordinates?"
The opposing Marines lowered their heads in shame, their guns drooping: "We...we can't beat him..."
"Pass the word down. From today onwards, he's no longer a branch colonel. This is a direct order from Vice Admiral Garp."
At this moment, Joyce put down the Den Den Mushi he was reporting on and said in a deep voice.
Just now, he had urgently contacted Garp and reported everything that had happened in Shells Town.
The Marines looked at each other, then dropped their guns to the ground. For a moment, a hint of relief and joy appeared on their faces.
Luffy kicked the barely alive Morgan to the side of the road like a dead dog. With that sword strike, this guy definitely wouldn't survive the night.
If this guy were kept around, his unreliable grandfather might release him any day, so Luffy certainly wouldn't leave him a way out.
"You guys, go get this guy's sword."
Luffy pointed at Zoro and said to the marines.
One of them nodded eagerly and quickly ran to get the sword.
Zoro stared intently at Luffy, his eyes filled with fanaticism: "What was that move you just used? It actually pulled someone to their knees out of thin air?"
Luffy, feigning profundity, explained to Zoro, "That's called sword intent! It's the domain of the strong! I used absolute willpower to force the opponent to catch my sword. Maybe when you become a great swordsman, you'll understand its mysteries."
"I want to fight you one-on-one!"
Zoro shouted excitedly to Luffy, his face full of eagerness.
Nami frowned. "What's wrong with you? Luffy just saved your life."
"Ah, that's not what I meant! I want to spar with him! I want to get stronger!"
Zoro hurriedly explained, his fighting spirit undiminished.
Luffy calmly shook his head. "You're still too weak."
With that, he casually swung his hand.
Zoro felt himself suddenly enveloped by an irresistible force. The ropes binding him snapped instantly, and he was forced to his knees before Luffy, his hands gripping Luffy's sword tightly.
How could this be! He was completely powerless! Was this the legendary, terrifying sword intent?!
Zoro stared at Luffy's graceful back, utterly awestruck and convinced of his power.
Only Luffy muttered to himself, "What a waste of Li Jing's terrifying swordsmanship! Damn, is this what they mean by 'anyone can do it'?"
Looking at Zoro and Nami behind him, their faces filled with admiration,
and at the row of respectfully standing marines in front of him,
Luffy suddenly felt the exhilarating feeling of having completed a high-difficulty game like *Sekiro* and then speedrunning it with cheat codes.
In the original story, Zoro only agreed to become a pirate with Luffy out of necessity.
In his original value system, pirates were considered villains, belonging to the crooked path.
And Nami, even more so, hated pirates from the bottom of her heart.
At this moment, Luffy's prestigious identity as a Marine made the two feel no guilt whatsoever about joining his crew.
Even their public killing of Morgan and his son was seen by these Marines as an act of righteous indignation, a perfectly justifiable act.
Soon, everyone stood on the dock, welcoming the arrival of the legendary Marine hero, Garp.
Luffy lay listlessly on a comfortable deck chair, swinging his legs.
"That old geezer's got quite the nerve, insisting I come to greet him personally. Doesn't he worry about hurting his back?"
Nami and Zoro couldn't help but complain, "That's what you should do! He's a legendary figure!"
Just then, a towering mast slowly appeared on the horizon, followed by a majestic warship with a huge dog head decoration on its prow, slowly sailing in.
"Is that Garp's legendary ship?"
Nami's eyes shone with hopeful anticipation, like a devoted fan.
Zoro unconsciously gripped the three swords at his waist. After all, his opponent was a powerful figure standing at the pinnacle of the sea, and the fighting spirit within Zoro always stirred at the sight of such an existence.
The warship slowly approached, and a burly figure wearing a comical dog-head hat stood like an iron tower at the bow.
"Is that Vice Admiral Garp? A true Marine hero!"
The Marines behind him were moved to tears, gazing with adoration at the imposing figure in the distance.
"Huh? Why is Vice Admiral Garp standing there motionless?"
"Idiot! Vice Admiral Garp is a top-tier fighter! A million times stronger than that trash Morgan. His standing still shows his extraordinary composure; he's cultivating some kind of profound Haki!"
"I see, I've learned something new!"
Soon, the warship docked, and the figure finally came into clear view of everyone.
Garp stood there, head bowed, a huge snot bubble hanging from his nose, its size fluctuating with his breathing. This sight instantly caught the attention of everyone present.
Everyone: "..."
"So he was asleep all along!!"
With a crisp pop, the snot bubble on his nose burst into a mist.
Garp jolted awake from his deep sleep, his body involuntarily shuddering.
"Damn it, where am I sleeping?"
He rubbed his sleepy eyes, looking around at the familiar yet unfamiliar seascape with a bewildered expression.
His adjutant wiped the cold sweat from his brow and quickly stepped forward, whispering a reminder.
"Vice Admiral Garp, have you forgotten? We're here specifically to deliver Luffy's Marine appointment letter."
"Ah? Oh! Oh, I remember now, that brat finally agreed to become a Marine, wahahahaha!"
Garp slapped his thigh, his hearty laughter echoing across the deck.
Luffy, standing on the small boat below, listened to this maniacal laughter, his lips twitching uncontrollably.
Recalling those troublesome grandchildren from the original story, each one more troublesome than the last.
Everyone thinks Luffy's breakdown after Ace's tragic death at Marineford was the most heartbreaking.
But who truly understands the tearing pain deep within Garp's heart?
To uphold the so-called justice on these high seas, to prevent the collapse of the Navy's faith, he could only watch helplessly as his grandson lost his life on the execution platform.
The despair of a parent outliving their child was even heavier than what Luffy felt.
If it weren't for the prestigious title of Navy hero, if it weren't for giving the world an explanation, Garp would have already gone mad and kidnapped Ace.
Even though reason suppressed his impulse, the moment Ace fell, Garp truly harbored murderous intent, wanting to kill Akainu on the spot.
If Sengoku hadn't held him back, Akainu probably wouldn't have had a chance in the Fleet Admiral competition two years later.
Now, Luffy, his only remaining surviving member, has had a complete change of heart, abandoning piracy for the Navy, which has brought Garp immense comfort.