"No matter who you are, if you've got the guts to ambush me, then come out and face me!!!"
Aramaki had completely lost his temper.
He had been swallowing his frustration for days, forcing himself to endure one thing after another, and now someone had blindsided him from nowhere.
There was no way he was letting that go.
His body, which had been reduced to a single leg, regenerated almost instantly.
Aramaki tore off the remains of his Marine uniform, which had been shredded by the attack, and activated his Devil Fruit.
The entire forest came alive.
Vines surged wildly through the trees and raced straight toward the mountaintop.
Up above, Garp immediately sensed that something was wrong.
The ground was shaking far too violently.
Without wasting time, he grabbed Tama and leapt aside.
Boom!
Trees and branches burst from the earth as thick vines lunged toward everyone.
Only then did Shinobu realize what was happening and hurriedly retreat.
Hitetsu and the bandits were half a step too slow. Vines wrapped around them before they could escape.
Ashura Doji immediately drew his sword and slashed several times, cutting apart the branches trying to bind him.
"Hey, ninja."
Garp jumped onto the roof and casually tossed Tama into Shinobu's arms.
"Look after her."
Then he threw a punch.
The shockwave roared outward and obliterated the vines bursting from the ground.
At the same time, Garp's gaze sharpened.
Deep within the mass of wildly writhing vegetation at the foot of the mountain, he had located the enemy's true body.
"So it's a Devil Fruit user. And here I thought some kind of monster had come to life."
Garp turned, ducked inside the building, rummaged around, and emerged carrying a pair of Seastone cuffs.
This was Wano, after all. Ashura Doji had spent years as a bandit, so it was hardly strange for him to own something like that.
Garp glanced at everyone around him, who had already taken up defensive positions, and grinned.
"I'll be right back. Hold on tight."
Before anyone could reply, he bent his legs and launched himself into the air, shooting straight toward the foot of the mountain.
The force of his takeoff was so tremendous that it ripped Ashura Doji's house apart.
"My house!!!"
Ashura Doji screamed in anguish.
Garp did not care.
While airborne, he locked onto his target and drew his right arm all the way back.
Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki wrapped around his fist, black-red lightning crackling violently around it.
At the foot of the mountain, Aramaki had initially been grinning.
"He's actually coming straight to me? Wait…"
The moment he clearly saw the approaching figure—and the dark crimson lightning surrounding him—his entire face went blank.
"G-G-Garp?! Wait! Hold on!!"
It was not that Aramaki had never wondered how much strength the aging Hero of the Marines still possessed.
But the attack coming toward him now was clearly not something he wanted to test personally.
"You can control vegetation over this wide an area?"
Garp laughed and brought his fist down.
"Then take this—Fist Bone Impact!"
Armament Haki wrapped in Conqueror's Haki crashed downward.
There was no complicated exchange.
Only one deafening explosion.
The earth collapsed instantly.
Centered around the point where Garp's fist landed, soil, stone, and the entire surrounding forest were pulverized beneath the overwhelming force.
Garp had deliberately controlled both the angle and direction of the attack, forcing the shockwave downward instead of allowing it to spread outward and engulf everyone still on the mountaintop.
Even so, the resulting tremors were powerful enough to make Tama and the others stumble repeatedly.
The ground visibly caved in.
Then sank.
Then collapsed.
Tree roots snapped apart.
Layers of rock shattered.
The entire foot of the mountain was hollowed out by force.
Massive pillars of earth and fragments of stone blasted into the sky.
The violent impact created a tremendous downward pull that dragged everything in the air toward the crater.
Including a blue figure.
When the dust finally cleared, the dense forest that had once covered the base of the mountain was completely gone.
In its place was an enormous depression so vast that it was unsettling to look at.
No—
It was a massive sinkhole.
Its depth alone was greater than the height of the mountain Garp had just jumped from.
Garp scratched his head as he stared into the crater.
Then he looked up at the sky in confusion.
Hadn't something familiar been dragged into the blast just now?
Something blue.
At the bottom of the crater, blue flames were still burning.
Not far away, large patches of blood stained the ground.
In the middle of the blood, a tiny sapling slowly pushed its trembling head above the surface.
…
Meanwhile, in the Flower Capital…
Yamato stood anxiously by the window inside the Shogun's palace, waiting for Marco to return.
Marco had spent nearly all his time searching Wano for Garp.
Only Kuri and a few areas around Onigashima remained unchecked, and he had already headed toward Kuri in hopes of finally finding the old man.
Yasopp, meanwhile, was sitting leisurely beside Kyoshiro near the Shogun's seat, enjoying one of Komurasaki's performances.
Komurasaki was putting considerable effort into it as well.
Ever since Yamato became Shogun, the palace rarely summoned oiran anymore.
Only when Yasopp was present did she get more opportunities to perform.
Over the past few days, Yasopp had thoroughly enjoyed himself.
With Kyoshiro showing him around, he had experienced nearly every specialty Wano had to offer.
He had become firmly convinced of one thing—
Life only became peaceful once you got rid of Garp.
At that moment, the Den Den Mushi hidden inside Yasopp's clothes suddenly began ringing.
It was the one Garp had handed him before going off to fight Kaido.
Yasopp flinched.
He hesitated, unsure whether he even wanted to answer.
He was genuinely afraid the old man's voice would come through the receiver.
Yamato saw the ringing Den Den Mushi and did not hesitate at all.
She immediately answered it herself.
Sure enough, Garp was on the other end.
"Finally! Good thing that punch of mine didn't destroy the Den Den Mushi!"
The moment Garp finished speaking, another voice immediately cut in.
"That's because I protected it during the blast and healed it afterward!"
"Grandpa… Garp!"
Yamato was still somewhat awkward using the title, but she hurriedly asked,
"I think I just heard Marco! Was that him? Are both of you okay?!"
"I'm perfectly fine!"
Garp glanced aside.
"As for Marco… he's, uh… doing all right."
Beside him sat Marco, completely wrapped in bandages.
Garp looked rather embarrassed.
His punch had been so powerful that even Marco, who had flown over specifically to find him, had been dragged into the shockwave.
He had not taken the fist directly, but the impact alone had still hit him hard enough to leave him badly injured.
As for Aramaki, Garp had locked onto him with Conqueror's Haki and struck him directly.
Although Aramaki had used his Devil Fruit to regenerate quickly enough to survive, Garp had immediately rushed over and pinned him down before he could escape.
Unfortunately, Aramaki had already removed his Marine uniform before the fight.
Whatever scraps remained had been completely destroyed by Garp's attack.
As a result, Garp had no idea that Aramaki was a Marine and simply slapped Seastone cuffs on him.
Garp had spent most of his recent time in Whitebeard's territory, after all, and had never met Aramaki.
No matter how many times Aramaki shouted that he was a Marine, Garp refused to believe a single word.
He was already looking forward to interrogating the man properly later.
Once Yamato confirmed that Marco had successfully found Garp, she finally relaxed.
But then Garp revealed an idea he had been considering over the past few days.
His voice became unusually serious.
"Yamato, I've got a plan!"
"I'm going to establish a Marine branch in Wano!"
Everyone else was confused about what exactly that would accomplish.
Only Yasopp's mouth twitched violently.
Did Fleet Admiral Sengoku—
No, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki know about this?!
Actually, never mind.
Knowing Garp, there was no chance he had told either of them.
Recruiting Marines on his own inside a lawless country and even planning to establish an entire branch…
How was that any different from starting his own independent force?
If Marine Headquarters ever found out, they were going to cough up blood from sheer rage.
Yasopp covered his face with one hand.
Of course.
Only Garp could possibly come up with something like this.