"Kyahahaha! Not bad, kid!"
Garp flicked the fist that had met the sword—not even a scratch showed.
He flashed a broad, hearty grin, his loud laughter rolling across the ice plain. "It's just that your body's too weak."
At those words, Ryoma, who had only just steadied himself, nearly spat another mouthful of blood.
Compare physiques with you human monsters?
That's just asking for punishment. I've only trained for how long since I crossed over?
Ryoma knelt on one knee against the ice-cold ground, his chest burning as though on fire, every breath tearing at his guts with agony.
He wanted to retort, to jab a finger at Garp's nose and curse him for being inhuman, but the words only came out as violent coughs.
"Cough… Cough…"
A few bright-red threads of blood slipped from the corner of his lips and splashed onto the pristine ice, blossoming into stark crimson plum-blossoms.
As a flash of silver light swept past, the tearing pain and the shock to his viscera vanished instantly, and his body was fully restored.
"Old man, using your standard on a kid like me—aren't you just being a bully?"
Ryoma lifted his head, exhaled, and forced a smile uglier than a grimace.
Far from backing down, Garp laughed even louder.
"Kyahahaha! Boy, on a battlefield, nobody cares who you are! Weak is weak!"
He cracked his knuckles as he spoke, the popping sounding like firecrackers preparing for the next round of 'tough love'.
Ryoma's cheek twitched and every nerve snapped taut—taking that head-on would be pure suicide.
At that moment, a figure appeared silently on the ice field.
Bogard stepped down beside Garp with Geppō, respectful yet helpless, and offered a Den Den Mushi that was making sounds in alarm.
"Garp-san, urgent word from Fleet-Admiral Sengoku."
"Tch."
Garp clicked his tongue irritably and grabbed the chattering Den Den Mushi whose face mimicked a fuming old man with bristling mustache, and without even looking slapped it on the head to silence it instantly.
"Yeah, yeah, the geezer always makes a mountain out of a molehill."
He gave Ryoma a reluctant glance, finally letting his terrifying aura disperse.
"Forget it, we're done for today."
Garp casually renewed his invitation. "Well? Kid, why not join the Marines? I'll drill you personally—turn that paper-thin hide of yours into iron."
Ryoma straightened and shook his head without hesitation. "You know how it is, old man."
Train under you? I'd be lucky to survive till tomorrow. Only Luffy and Ace with their protagonist status avoided being beaten to death.
"A real shame, then." Garp spoke as if it were nothing.
He turned and strode toward his dog-headed Warship.
Bogard stepped forward at once to drape the justice coat back over his shoulders.
After a few steps, Garp suddenly stopped, looked back, and grinned. "Kid, the World Government won't be as reasonable as me."
"Best of luck! Kyahahaha!"
The booming laughter echoed across the vast ice field and the tall figure soon vanished into distant frost-mist.
Only when they were far away did Bogard speak softly, worry lining his face, "Garp-san, are you sure it's all right not to arrest him? After all, his bounty… "
"What could go wrong?"
Garp carelessly fished out a bag of rice crackers and began crunching them.
"Good—didn't get smashed in the fight."
He stuffed another handful into his mouth, mumbling, "The ocean's huge, it's only natural to lose your way and miss a target now and then."
Bogard fell silent or rather, was used to it.
Garp went on, brushing off cracker crumbs before popping more into his mouth, "Besides, the whole trip was calm—didn't run into any pirates at all."
"… "
Bogard adjusted his sunglasses and decided to drop the subject.
Garp added, lowering his voice so only Bogard could hear, "And that slippery kid would be a real pain to catch—too much trouble."
Bogard gave a slight nod and said no more. He suspected the Marine Hero's justice had never been the brand defined by the World Government.
At Baratie, the deck chefs stood like statues carved from wood.
They stared aghast at the ravaged sea: the vast ice field was pocked with craters and broken bergs, as though a natural disaster had struck.
Patty's lips trembled as he turned to Zeff. "B-boss… is that really something humans can do?"
Carne gulped, awe and bewilderment in his voice. "That ice-using kid actually fought the Marine Hero to that extent? He looked so… so…"
"Ordinary?"
Zeff exhaled smoke, stamped his single leg on the deck with a dull thud, and snorted.
"On this sea, especially in the Grand Line, the ones who look the most ordinary are often the ones you least want to cross."
"You never know what kind of monster hides beneath that plain face."
Meanwhile, Ryoma stood at the center of the shattered ice, silently watching the direction Garp had left. He didn't speak for a long time.
The gap between him and the world's top fighters was bigger than he'd thought.
Armament Haki, especially when pushed to the extreme, was brutally effective against elementals or elemental creations, bypassing all defenses to strike straight inside. It was simply unreasonable.
And Observation Haki's near-precognitive perception was equally unfair.
Still…
Ryoma opened his palm, feeling the flow of mana within him and the deep impressions of Haki gained in that fight.
This time hadn't been a total loss. He had come to understand the three types of Haki more profoundly. With continued physical training and steady study, he should learn Armament Haki soon. Then he wouldn't have to fight so frustratingly anymore.
He dismissed the ice field, letting the vast sheet melt back into rolling waves.
Standing on a drifting floe, he turned his thoughts to the next leg of the voyage.
The East Blue journey was ending. Next would be Reverse Mountain, gateway to the Grand Line.
But before that, there was one more stop—Loguetown, where the pirate king Gol D. Roger began and ended everything.
His thoughts quickened: should I go and take a look?
After all, it's one of the most famous Check-in spots in the world.