He had vanished for an entire era.
He took no part in either of the first two Great Ninja Wars.
Yet this man, a hero whose very back was unforgettable even to legends, resurfaced at the outbreak of the Third Great Ninja War.
Even more terrifying, this hero of the shinobi world showed no hint of aging. His strength had not declined in the slightest.
The moment he stepped out, he reenacted a mythic scene, tearing mountains from the earth, hurling one single-handedly like an unstoppable god.
With just one strike, he buried hundreds of elite Iwa-nin, including the long renowned son of the Tsuchikage.
Kurotsuchi's father.
Onoki's son.
If Garp's first battle upon reappearing made the new generation of shinobi recognize him once again.
Then Onoki's next actions, as a father who had lost his beloved son and hundreds of subordinates, dragged the shinobi world back to the Warring States Period, reminding everyone what an iron fist truly meant.
Hundreds of subordinates lost.
His most beloved son dead.
And yet the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, famed since the First Great Ninja War, did not seek revenge. All he sent was a single letter of surrender to Konoha.
But every major village knew, Onoki was not surrendering to Konoha.
He wasn't surrendering to the Third Hokage.
That letter, while addressed to Konoha, was clearly meant for Garp.
It was for the hero who vanished for an era, returned in the form of a god, slaughtered three hundred Iwa-nin the moment he stepped out, killed the Tsuchikage's son, and then forced the Third Tsuchikage to surrender.
A man who could, by himself, subdue an entire hidden village, such a feat deeply shook every village of this era, shaking every shinobi living in it.
Hokage's Office
Hiruzen stared down at the surrender letter from Iwagakure on his desk, his expression and eyes impossibly complicated, his heart a storm of mixed emotions.
"So this is the hero whom Lord Tobirama said overshadowed the Senju and Uchiha for a lifetime?
Sarutobi, can you believe that the moment Hanzo heard he had resurfaced, he immediately kicked all the envoys from Kirigakure out of the village?"
Standing behind Hiruzen, Homura shared the exact same expression, eyes, and feelings.
"One man subduing one entire hidden village, and not just any village, but Iwagakure, the one with the most excessive manpower reserves."
Koharu let out a bitter laugh.
Earlier, she had worried that Garp's overwhelming reputation might threaten them.
When Garp resurfaced, the Konoha "council" secretly prepared several countermeasures, ready to "teach Garp a lesson" as soon as Konoha's crisis passed.
But after receiving Iwa's letter of surrender, all four of them snuffed out that foolish spark in their hearts at the exact same moment.
This was the greatest hero of the Warring States.
Not the White Fang of Konoha.
Someone so indomitable, so brimming with overwhelming force, someone who had single-handedly suppressed an entire era and had now suppressed Iwagakure, was not someone they could afford to provoke.
If they really tried using the same tricks they pulled on the White Fang against Garp, none of them doubted that the council would immediately lose three members.
"Regardless, we owe everything this time to Lord Garp. With Iwagakure out of the picture, all we have left to face are Sunagakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure.
As for Hanzo… he's nothing to worry about."
Hiruzen didn't dare let his thoughts wander, nor did he dare act recklessly.
If today Garp could single-handedly subdue Iwagakure and force a grieving Onoki to yield…
Then tomorrow, he could just as easily send the entire Sarutobi family to meet the departed Hokage lineage.
Mizukage's Office
"Why…? This isn't even your era anymore. Why did you come out?"
The Third Mizukage hurled Garp's intelligence report against the wall with one violent swing.
"Iron Fist… Garp."
Yagura, picking up the report that had been thrown aside, looked at the image printed on it, Garp in a black suit, a condescending smile on his face, and sighed deeply.
He wasn't like Onoki, who was born between two eras, nor someone from the Warring States.
But as the candidate for the next Mizukage, he knew many of Kirigakure's hidden secrets.
Among them, the most humiliating one, known as the Shame of the Mizukage… was caused by Garp.
Back during the Warring States, when Garp swept across the land and ended the chaotic era, the First Mizukage refused to accept the new order.
Hoping to fatten his clan through war, he allied with the First Kazekage to stop the end of the Warring States.
In the end, both the First Kazekage and the First Mizukage survived, but one was thrown into the Land of Wind to eat sand, and the other tossed into the Land of Water to choke on mist.
After finally enduring Garp's retirement… after waiting until Konoha was besieged on all sides, teetering on collapse…
The Third Mizukage had even formed an alliance with Hanzo to launch a counterattack and wash away the shame.
But instead of that chance, the news they received was Garp's return.
If Kirigakure wished to stop all this, that dream had just become far more distant.
Meanwhile, on the Sunagakure frontline facing Kumo, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, was in an even worse mood than the Third Mizukage.
At least Kiri could remain on standby. But Rasa had no choice, he had to take the loss, and he still had to fight with his head held high.
If he didn't fight, those muscle-brained Kumogakure shinobi would chase him down regardless.
"This is bad. That old monster Garp is still alive."
Inside the Kazekage command tent, Chiyo's face was as dark as storm clouds.
Clearly, she had remembered the humiliation given by Garp long ago.
"Rasa, since he's returned, we must be extremely careful. If we aren't… Suna may end up with the same fate as Iwa."
Ebizo looked toward Rasa.
"Honored Elders, the greatest hero of the Warring States may be terrifying, but don't forget, he's not a Konoha shinobi. He isn't under Hiruzen's command.
No one in the entire shinobi world can command him, let alone order him.
Didn't our spy in Iwagakure already confirm Garp resurfaced only for the sake of Tsunade?
We're fighting Kumogakure, not Konoha. If anyone should panic, it's that reckless Raikage, not us.
That maniac dared engage in a three-front war against us, against Iwagakure, and against Konoha all at the same time. Let's see how he dies this time."
Rasa tried to reassure them.
"Let's hope so."
Chiyo and Ebizo exchanged glances, both seeing the same heaviness in each other's eyes.
Clearly, these two siblings, veterans of multiple Great Ninja Wars and far more knowledgeable about Garp than the newly appointed Kazekage, were nowhere near as optimistic as Rasa.