For two full days and nights, the thunderous sounds of battle echoed continuously between the mountains.
...
The flattened mountain peaks were covered with countless craters, rubble rolling down the valleys like rain.
The two had fought from the foot of the mountain to the summit, then from the summit deep into the rock layers.
At the mountain peak.
Griffin stood bare-chested, black cloth strips hanging at his waist.
He held a spear in one hand and a sword in the other, breathing heavily, blood from his wounds dripping down his weapons.
Crack—
The military saber could no longer withstand such intense combat, shattering into fragments.
Griffin tossed away the hilt, his gaze piercing through the clouds and mist to look down at Chin Jao below, slowly exhaling a turbid breath.
Apart from his gleaming conical head, there wasn't a single patch of unblemished skin on Chin Jao's body, covered entirely in frostbite.
...
"I... I'm still... not defeated yet..."
Chin Jao staggered across the rubble pile, his pupils cloudy, breathing more out than in—clearly reaching his limit.
In Griffin's vision, Chin Jao's remaining strength converged toward his conical head.
So this is...
Your final strike.
...
Griffin tightened his grip on the spear shaft, Armament Haki crawling up both arms.
Buru buru buru—
Just then, an urgent Den Den Mushi ringtone sounded from Griffin's waist.
Freeing a hand to answer, Fleet Admiral Sengoku's voice came through the receiver.
...
"Commodore Griffin, what are you doing in Kano Country!"
Taking a deep breath, Griffin responded calmly, "Just taking a few days off in my hometown. Surely I don't need to report such minor matters to you."
"If it were just a vacation, of course not..."
The Den Den Mushi mimicked Sengoku's stern expression as he said gravely, "The King of Kano Country has already filed a complaint with headquarters! He says you've clashed with Chin Jao, and the battle has caused massive destruction!"
"We have an agreement with the King of Kano Country! As long as the Happo Navy doesn't leave Kano Country, we can't treat them as Pirates to be eliminated! Do you understand?!"
...
"I know, so..."
A cold smile curled at the corner of Griffin's lips, "Are you reprimanding me, Fleet Admiral Sengoku?"
As Griffin impatiently moved to hang up, Sengoku urgently continued.
"I'll scold you properly when you get back, you reckless bastard!"
"Chin Jao isn't some simple opponent! I've already sent reinforcements to Kano Country to support you! Can you still hold on?"
"If you can't win, just run! There's no shame in it! Wait for reinforcements and fight back later!"
...
...
His finger paused before disconnecting. Griffin remained silent for a moment before responding quietly.
"Reinforcements aren't necessary."
"This is a private dispute between Chin Jao and me about who is the strongest in Kano Country."
"Besides..."
"I'm about to win."
—
After hanging up, Chin Jao was already charging forward like an arrow released from its bow, the Haki on his conical head steaming like flames.
Mountain winds were split apart by his momentum, rocks shattering and falling around him.
Eight Impact Fist: Draconic Awl Nail: Chin Jao Open Door!
With this technique, Chin Jao had once cleaved a continuous fissure several kilometers long through the Jewel Iceberg!
...
Even before the attack reached him, the blade-like wind pressure stung his skin.
Griffin retracted his spear and turned to run, as if realizing he couldn't withstand this strike and choosing to avoid its sharpness.
Sensing his movement, Chin Jao's slightly hoarse voice rang out.
"Scared... scared now... aren't you... brat..."
He adjusted his angle slightly, wanting to see the arrogant kid's panicked fleeing figure...
His pupils abruptly contracted.
That was...
What?
Under the bright daylight, a black-red full moon branded itself into Chin Jao's eyes.
——
Griffin stomped his foot, his body suddenly spinning around as he reversed his grip on the spear, pressing it against his arm. Black-red Armament Haki coiled around it.
Just as Chin Jao's cone head was about to pierce him, Griffin had already completed the motions of stomping, rotating the spear, and swinging downward.
The spear traced a full moon through the air, carrying a howling wind as it smashed viciously against the back of Chin Jao's head!
Whoooosh————!!
...
White Wolf Kill: Swallow Return——
Commonly known as... the returning spear thrust!!
——
Boom!!!!!
A shockwave of impact erupted where the spear shaft met the back of Chin Jao's head.
Chin Jao's charge was forcibly halted, his eyes rolling back as he cleanly lost consciousness.
His burly body collapsed with a thunderous crash, tumbling and crushing numerous trees and flowers in its path, sending petals dancing wildly through the air.
...
...
With several leaps, Griffin arrived before the unconscious Chin Jao and approached with measured steps.
Kneeling down while panting heavily, Griffin gazed at Chin Jao's cone head, a faint, relieved smile appearing on his face.
——
Griffin was a greedy man, that much was obvious.
By helping Kuzan look after Robin, he'd made the Vice Admiral owe him a favor.
The value of a favor from someone of that combat level was unimaginable—Charlotte Linlin had paid with a Mythical Zoan fruit just to get Kaido to owe her one favor.
And even then, Lord Kaido didn't really acknowledge it, believing he'd obtained the fruit through his own efforts.
...
That was future profit, but Griffin also wanted some immediate, tangible gains.
To be honest...
The money Kuzan had offered was far too little.
A few hundred million Berries?
Trying to brush off a beggar?!
The protection money collected by West Blue branch offices in a single quarter exceeded that amount!
You're a senior Vice Admiral and that's all you have? What exactly have you been doing with your life?!
...
Since Kuzan was so poor, Griffin decided to take the favor instead of the money.
Recently he'd made connections with Gild Tesoro and Doflamingo, but neither had reached their future status of possessing wealth rivaling nations.
Doflamingo wanted to execute his country theft plan... or as he put it, "reclaim the country that rightfully belongs to me."
Tesoro's gold ship was only about the size of a regular warship, far from becoming the "largest entertainment gold city on the sea."
Forget squeezing money from them—Tesoro had even asked Griffin for a loan to use as startup capital.
...
Griffin was already using every privilege of his position to amass wealth, but it still couldn't cover his expenses.
Food was one part—Zoan-types were notoriously big eaters, and Griffin needed to refine Chakra, requiring even more physical energy.
Then there was another major expense...
Weapons.
Don't be fooled by how Zoro later obtained famous swords without spending much—that was just dumb luck traded for his terrible sense of direction.
People who possessed famous swords typically wouldn't sell them unless absolutely desperate, preferring to keep them as family heirlooms.
Griffin had gone through great trouble to equip Kari with a Spring Rain blade, while he himself had to make do with second-tier quality swords.
For Griffin, these were consumable items—the wear from a single intense battle would cost at least several million Berries.
...
His nameless spear—aside from the Sea Stone tip—had its other components replaced many times already. This was precisely why Griffin had delayed giving it a name.
Griffin currently wanted to acquire a large sum of money to hire a craftsman and forge himself a durable spear—at least of the same grade as a fine fast sword with growth potential.
If the opportunity arose, he would also try to obtain a famous blade.
While his own strength was growing, his equipment also needed updating.
There were no supreme great fast spears on the high seas, and Griffin wanted to fill that gap.
...
Pop—
Flicking Chin Jao's conical head with his finger, Griffin chuckled softly to himself.
"I've cured your chronic ailment. Taking eighty percent of your treasure isn't too much, is it?"
...
"Since you're not saying anything, I'll take that as your agreement."