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"Black Rex is a massive pirate crew—over a thousand strong!"
A veteran beside him said gravely.
"Now… it's up to Vice Admiral Garp!"
Another Marine stabbed his long blade into an enemy, then withdrew it with a sharp shing.
Kyle froze for a moment, then turned toward the bow of the warship. There, the man stood with his arms crossed, calm yet imposing.
Then, in the next instant, he saw the ship move.
No—more precisely, it was Garp who moved.
His knees bent slightly, and the entire bow of the warship tilted downward, the stern lifting skyward almost to a vertical ninety-degree angle.
The bow scraped the sand along the shore, grinding out a sharp, heavy sound.
As the force built to its peak, Garp launched into the air like a cannonball, soaring hundreds of meters in a perfect arc, looking down on everyone below.
His right fist clenched, and the sky above seemed to hum and crack, a faint creak creak echoing as if the heavens themselves might fracture. Behind him, dazzling streams of light radiated outward like countless threads of brilliance.
Then, before the eyes of the awestruck Marines, he froze midair.
"Voom!"
Ripples radiated outward at incredible speed, spanning all of Zexilo Island. Every heart skipped a beat.
"Fist Clash!"
Garp swung.
"BOOM!"
The unimaginable force erupted in a single instant, crashing downward into the throng of pirates spilling out of the town.
It was like a nuclear bomb had struck. The crowd scattered, the ground beneath them cracking violently, the fractures racing outward toward the town.
"Kraaaak!"
The town shattered, earthquakes rippling out. Kyle and the Marines struggled to stay on their feet.
His pupils trembled violently as he stared at the scene ahead.
It felt like the world itself had shattered. That single punch erased everything in its path, like a nuclear explosion erasing all existence.
Nearly a thousand pirates didn't even have time to scream before they were swallowed by the upheaval of the shattered earth, crushed under the terrifying impact of that punch.
"Vice Admiral Garp!!"
Kuzan shouted, a mix of excitement and awe, eyes gleaming as he stared at the towering figure above.
The Marines behind him roared in unison, morale soaring.
This was the Navy hero—Vice Admiral Garp!
Kyle stood frozen, his mind reeling. In that instant, he thought he might have felt the presence of Conqueror's Haki, though he couldn't be sure.
"Conqueror's Haki… entangling?"
His mind snapped awake. He remembered Kai's lessons, remembered Roger, remembered Shanks' divine evasions.
Garp's punch—it seemed to follow a similar principle.
Kyle shifted his gaze to his simple status panel, to the section representing Conqueror's Haki.
"Conqueror's Haki LV10+."
He stared at the ruined town ahead, now a smoking wasteland, licking his dry lips. His body trembled slightly—perhaps from excitement.
His system points: seventy-five.
Two choices appeared before him:
A: Wait until he learns a new skill, then distribute points selectively.
B: Max out Conqueror's Haki first, maybe gaining power comparable to Garp's punch.
Kyle clenched his fist, decision instant.
"BBBBBB!!!"
He frantically pumped all seventy-five points into the Conqueror's Haki "+."
"Conqueror's Haki LV85+."
A shock ran through his body. He felt a sudden clarity, his spirit strengthening, feeding power back into his body. His strength, speed, reflexes—all surged.
He slowly raised his arm. Threads of black and red energy twined around his fist like living lines.
He could feel the weight of the punch, and knew that even if his fist didn't touch the enemy, the energy could extend and strike them.
Instinctively, Kyle clenched his fist, eyes locking onto the pirates still frozen in shock.
"G-Garp!!"
"He's a Navy hero—Garp!!"
"Oh my god… that monster…"
The pirates finally registered the force of the punch. Fear replaced their earlier bravado. Everyone understood: facing Garp, they had no chance.
No one noticed the black-haired youth in the Marines' ranks moving silently, gathering invisible energy.
When the moment came, black-and-red lightning flashed violently, and a torrent of Conqueror's Haki erupted, radiating across the entire island.
"Voom!"
The space around them warped; ripples spread rapidly.
Everything visible shook like a reflection in water.
"Thud!"
The first to fall were the Marines beside him, eyes rolling back as they collapsed.
One by one, figures toppled, until even Kuzan, staring in shock at the source of the soul-shaking aura—Kyle—stumbled and fell.
"Kyle?!"
Only two words escaped his lips before his body went limp.
Centered on Kyle, both Marines and pirates fell like wheat under a scythe. No one could resist this overwhelming, terrifying aura.
And yet Kyle remained immersed in the sensation of that punch, instinctively guiding the entwining energy along his arms and fists.
Then, with a sudden flash in his eyes, he struck.
"Voom!"
The void itself seemed to collapse. Lightning-like streaks of energy erupted as the terrifying shockwave slammed into the pirates, hitting Jerry—the sniper who had fired at him twice—dead-on.
Jerry exploded.
The surrounding pirates were obliterated, the ground quaking and fracturing again. The strike radius was astonishing. Nearly two-thirds of the town crumbled, buildings that had survived earlier now destroyed.
It was like another nuclear bomb detonating on the island.
Kyle retracted his fist, silent.
This… this was Conqueror's Haki entangling.
But the force of his punch clearly didn't match Garp's. He realized it was because his own physical strength was still too weak.
Zexilo Island fell silent. All the Marines were unconscious, only Garp remained standing.
Even his heroic heart pounded.
What he saw… a seventeen-year-old boy who had just awakened Conqueror's Haki, wielding it in a way only the world's top fighters could.
And the boy had yet to master Armament or Observation Haki. His combat skills, swordsmanship, and gunplay were all almost nonexistent.
It was like a child, untrained, suddenly transforming into a Super Saiyan.
Garp descended from the sky, landing in front of Kyle, eyes wide in shock.
"How… how did you learn to entangle Conqueror's Haki?"
Kyle was silent for a long moment, then finally replied with just two words:
"Instinct."
"..."
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