Garp strode ahead at a steady but quick pace, while Karen followed close behind, with his heart pounding with unease.
Since hearing the report on Kōjin, Vice Admiral Garp had not barked, cursed, or exploded in fury. Instead, his familiar grin was gone, replaced by a calm, unreadable expression. He simply told Karen to lead the way.
Garp respected a man who was enslaved, tortured, driven into a rage, and bold enough to slaughter his noble masters before escaping. In that way, Kōjin was the opposite of Karens.
Garp's men were cut from the same cloth: fierce, unrestrained, and wild to the bone. Of course, serving under Garp came with a terrifying casualty rate, which was unsurprising considering that your daily duty was to clash with the cruelest pirates alive.
They were just steps from the training field when Garp slowed to a halt. Beside him, Karen froze, his eyes lifting toward the open yard ahead. His face twisted in shock and fear.
"Buzz…"
From the field, a crushing aura surged outward, so heavy that it distorted the air itself.
"Haoshoku… Haki?" Karens muttered, disbelief etched in his voice.
That overwhelming pressure, it couldn't possibly be coming from the black-haired boy, could it?
In the center of the training ground, Kōjin's head was submerged in an iron basin filled with seawater. His body was chained and drenched as he was put through every imaginable execution method.
Gunfire. Strangulation. Hanging. Beheading. Burning. Cannon fire. Poison.
Each method was designed with brutal precision to bring about his end. And every time, his Status Panel ticked upward.
Showing Sixty points now.
That meant he had survived sixty deaths since arriving in this world So many deaths packed into relentless, unforgiving days had scorched away his reason and boiled his agony into something else entirely.
"Why? Why must I suffer such injustice? Why must my life here begin in pain and death?"
"Why, after dying so many times, can't I stay dead?"
"Why must I be forced to feel death again, and again, and again?"
The thought shattered him.
For all their methods, they could not kill him, but he felt every ounce of the agony, the suffocating blade-edge of it, each time.
He had died over and over, only to be dragged back each time, creating their phantom: the so-called "Undying One."
Now, all the pain, all the fury, and all the hate spun together until something inside him gave way, something deep in muscle and blood, deeper still in spirit.
"Buzz!!!"
The air warped and twisted as an immense pressure exploded outward in waves, sweeping the training ground. The first to crumble were the Marines who had been with him the longest, those who had already spent the entire day trying and failing to kill him.
"Thud!"
Four Marines collapsed in unison, their eyes rolling back as their rifles slipped from their fingers. The metal rifles struck the ground, echoing sharply across the courtyard.
The wave of power kept expanding in a brutal and overwhelming fashion, crashing outward until it swallowed the entire training ground.
Every consciousness it touched faltered. Every nearby creature fell silent. Even the grass and flowers seemed to bend under the pressure.
When it finally began to fade, the boy at its center slowly lifted his head. His chest rose and fell, his breath ragged, and his body trembled as if every muscle resisted the weight of his own power.
Before his eyes, his Status Panel flickered, and a new line appeared:
"Haoshoku Haki, LV 0+."
Kōjin...stared at it blankly. Then, as his thoughts cleared, realization struck him.
Through sheer anger and madness born from endless deaths, he had unleashed something primal. He had awakened Haoshoku Haki, the Conqueror's Spirit, without meaning to.
He glanced again at the number beside it: 60 Points.
Sixty deaths.
Before he could think further, a deep, thunderous voice interrupted him.
"Karnes! You'd execute a young man like this?!" You're the one who deserves death!"
Startled, Kōjin raised his head. Two figures approached from the entrance. One was tall and had a square jaw. His black hair was cropped close, and his posture radiated raw might.
It was Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp.
Kōjin saw Lieutenant Commander Karens struggling beside him. Suddenly, he saw Garp's massive fist hammer down on the officer's head again and again. Each strike was punctuated by Garp's furious voice.
Karens yelped, trying in vain to defend himself, and finally collapsed face-first into the dirt.
"Damn it, Karens! You've really become a dog for those Tenryūbito scum!"
Garp's eyes then shifted toward Kōjin, his expression turning serious. The air between them still pulsed with the lingering tremors of Haoshoku; it was thick enough to make the space shimmer.
"Young man," Garp barked. "What's your name?"
Kōjin's lips parted, his voice hoarse but steady. He knew the legend standing before him, one of the few men in this world who walked outside the laws of fear.
"My name is Kōjin."
Garp grinned, that familiar fire flickering through his eyes. "Good! From today onward, you're coming with me!"
Behind him, Karens scrambled upright, her eyes wide with panic. "You can't, Vice Admiral Garp! If you do this, you'll offend the Celestial Dragons!"
"Shut your damn mouth!" Garp roared, his voice booming like thunder.
Kōjin didn't respond. His focus had turned inward again toward the flickering panel that only he could see. He quietly tapped the "+" beside Haoshoku Haki.
In the blink of an eye, another wave burst out, far stronger than before. The invisible pressure slammed straight into Karens, who let out a choked gasp before crumpling like a puppet with its strings cut, his eyes rolling back.
The rippling air settled. Garp's eyes widened for a moment, and then his booming laugh filled the field.
"Good brat! You just awakened it, and you can already control Haoshoku Haki?"
His laughter rang with astonishment and delight.
Then, shaking his head in approval, Garp reached down and helped Kōjin to his feet.
"I heard they say you can't be killed?"
Kōjin avoided his gaze for a moment before speaking in a low voice. "So it seems, though there may be a reason behind it that I still don't understand."
Not only could he refuse death, but each time it claimed him, his Points climbed higher. Those Points could be spent to strengthen his skills, as he'd already discovered.
Killing him only made him stronger.
It was as if fate had dumped him into this world with a twisted cheat ability.
"Is it a Devil Fruit power?" Garp asked, raising his brow.
Kōjin shook his head.
He knew this man from memory: the reckless grin, the booming voice, and the fists that spoke louder than words. But the memory came from an anime. This world was alive, dangerous, and unpredictable. He wasn't about to reveal everything about himself without knowing Garp as he truly was here.
Still, Garp seemed amused. To him, a young man with an extraordinary ability and awakened Haoshoku Haki was someone worth keeping close. He asked question after question, fishing for details.
But Kōjin's replies were short: nods, shakes of the head, and the occasional smirk when Garp tried too hard.
"From today on, you're coming with me," he finally declared, grinning widely. "I'll make you a good Marine."
"I've offended the Celestial Dragons," Kōjin said after a pause. "Helping me might bring trouble your way."
"Those worthless bastards?" Garp scoffed. The sneer in his voice was full of contempt. "You don't need to waste a second worrying about them."
That brief exchange told Kōjin all he needed to know. This Garp wasn't the worn, joking man from the anime. This was Garp in his prime: young, forceful, brimming with confidence, and reckless enough to thumb his nose at the so-called gods of the world.
And he was careless, too, careless enough to ignore the unconscious Lieutenant Commander Karens lying in the dirt. Without a second glance, Garp unlocked the Seastone shackles on Kōjin's wrists and led the way to the harbor and the Dog-Head Battleship.
"Hahahahaha!"
"If Sengoku hears that I brought in someone like you, he'll be grinning from ear to ear!" Garp laughed, his booming voice carrying across the deck as they boarded.
In his mind, anyone who could awaken Haoshoku Haki was a genius. He didn't think twice about whether this boy had weaknesses or if his talent came at a cost.
Kōjin stayed quiet, his gaze tilted downward toward the Status Panel that only he could see. Without another word, he tapped the "+" beside "Haoshoku Haki" nine times in quick succession.
Level 10.
The change was instant. Energy surged through him like a tide; his spirit sharpened and his will deepened. The reach of his presence expanded, and his control became as sharp as a blade.
(End of chapter.)