Garen's one-click weapon retrieval feature was a rules-level ability defined by the system.
No one could stop the greatsword from flying back into his hand.
Faced with the flying sword, Nami didn't let go, neither did Steel Blade, and the same went for Garp.
As a result, the first two got a taste of what it was like to become flying acrobats.
But the last one had it even worse: when the greatsword buzzed to life, Garp's towering, iron-like body was instantly dragged away by the sword trying to return to its master.
Garp immediately realized how terrifying this force was.
He instinctively tried to stabilize his stance and resist the sudden, monstrous power head-on.
Unfortunately, all that accomplished was making Garp act like a human plow, carving a wide, deep trench through the sturdy wooden deck.
Nami and Steel Blade, who weren't nearly as strong, instantly lost all grip strength after that jolt.
But Garp was still Garp. Even though he was completely overpowered in this tug-of-war, he refused to let go and continued gripping the greatsword's hilt tightly.
Since someone was still holding the sword, it couldn't return to Garen just yet.
So, in that moment, the greatsword switched to an even more violent flight mode.
Before the stunned navy soldiers, the sword—still dragging Garp behind it—suddenly accelerated.
It moved faster than Garp's "Soru" (Shave), breaking the sound barrier in an explosive shockwave before circling Garen at a speed too fast for the naked eye to track.
The unimaginable acceleration brought with it a centrifugal force that was impossible to resist.
Garp finally couldn't hold on any longer and was flung off the sword like a meteor hammer being hurled.
A series of deafening crashes followed as Garp's body measured the width of the warship before he plunged into the vast ocean.
The splash that erupted looked like a tidal wave, its crest nearly reaching the upper decks dozens of meters above.
Meanwhile, the greatsword abruptly came to a halt mid-air and returned gently to Garen's side, silently landing back in his palm.
"So strong?"
Even Garen was startled by the power of his one-click weapon retrieval.
Before seeing it in action, he had doubted whether he could successfully call the sword back from someone as powerful as Garp.
But now it seemed like the effect was too good.
Nami's mouth twitched at the sight. The little scheme she had in mind—to steal Garen's sword and get rich—instantly vanished into thin air after witnessing that horrifying scene.
"This…"
Among the group of dazed navy soldiers, a few of the previously chatty analysts were now visibly excited.
"This is definitely Admiral-level strength!"
"Vice Admiral Garp… is he going to be okay?"
For once, even some navy soldiers were worried about the legendary hero of the Navy.
"Hahaha!"
Garp's hearty laughter rang out before anyone could panic further.
He leapt from the ocean in a spray of white waves and landed back on the deck.
Ignoring how soaking wet and bedraggled he looked, Garp praised Garen sincerely:
"That's a really interesting ability!"
"Even I couldn't stop that sword!"
"Of course."
Garen, staying true to his knightly persona, replied with an air of calm:
"A true knight never loses—"
BOOM!
Before he could finish the sentence, Garen suddenly followed Garp's previous trajectory with incredible realism, crashing into the upper deck and leaving behind a massive impact crater, before falling all the way down to the lower cannon deck.
Back at the original spot, Garp casually swung his still-smoking iron fist, laughing loudly.
Just like that, the repair bill for the Navy headquarters' warship jumped to a whole new level.
"Why did you suddenly hit me?!"
Garen quickly jumped out of the crater, seemingly unharmed, though covered in fresh iron nails and wood chips. His face full of righteous indignation, he questioned the iron-fisted elder.
"Hmm?"
Garp replied seriously, "Aren't we sparring?"
"Attacking you is only natural, isn't it?"
"This…"
Garen was speechless.
He looked at his HP bar with lingering fear—it had dropped by nearly half.
This isn't sparring; this is straight-up bullying a child!
"Good thing my body's fully data-based and always in peak condition,"
Garen thought to himself in relief. Otherwise, I'd be flat on the ground right now.
"You… you can still stand?"
Garp looked surprised, revealing his true intention.
"I thought I was already holding back, but I guess I underestimated you."
Although Garp wasn't entirely sold on Garen's "knightly justice" ideals, he had definitely noticed his peculiar abilities.
And for promising young people like that, Garp liked to use his "Love-Packed Iron Fist" to help them grow—a fist full of care, delivered with the force of a wrecking ball.
This was his favorite form of "mentorship."
Can't let the young ones get too full of themselves.
"Uh-oh..."
Garen had a bad feeling rising in his gut.
"Looks like your limits are much higher than I thought."
"I'll have to take it up a notch!"
Garp grinned.
Garen's scalp went numb and his back turned cold.
This digitized-body doesn't show injuries no matter how hard you get hit. If Garp really pushes me to my "limit," I might as well go shopping for a burial urn!
"Wait!"
Garen shouted in panic and quickly activated his survival skill—"Courage!"
A 40% damage reduction buff enveloped him, but Garen still wasn't reassured.
He immediately followed up with another skill—"Warrior Trickster!"
And of course, Garp was the type of man who did what he said.
He was already charging in, his iron fist wrapped in Armament Haki.
Unlike last time, this punch clearly showed that Garp was taking things more seriously now.
Garen, now hidden in an invisible state, finally relaxed a little.
Garp's punch halted abruptly in front of Garen's decoy clone. The iron fist, still wrapped in dark Haki, stopped just short of hitting it—but the force of the punch alone sent out howling shockwaves.
Garen's heart skipped a beat.
No wonder Smoker got hit earlier…
Garp smiled with approval and said, "Such a strange concealment technique. Without a certain level of Observation Haki, there's no way to see through it."
BOOM!
Garen's real body was smashed into the warship again, leaving yet another human-shaped crater.
He had been found… even while in stealth?
Observation Haki?
Garp's natural "true sight" ability took Garen completely off guard, and he once again got a firsthand experience of what it felt like to be a ground-penetrating missile.
Lying in the now-familiar ruins of the deck, Garen glanced at his HP bar in horror—
Even with the 40% damage reduction from Courage, Garp's serious punch had nearly emptied it.
Without the buffs, he might've become the first person in history to die during a "friendly spar" with the Navy's legendary hero.
Though his body was still functional, Garen had finally learned his lesson.
He lay down in the crater with a "pained" expression and played dead.
A moment later, Garp strolled over, his iron fist still emitting wisps of smoke.
Seeing Garen's face contorted in agony, Garp looked even more curious.
"You…"
Garp said in surprise, "Your aura isn't disturbed at all."
"That punch didn't hurt you?"
His gaze became even stranger as curiosity filled his face.
"In that case…"
Once again, Garp's massive fist glowed with Armament Haki—this time even darker than before.
"Let's test your limits again!"
Garen's face turned pitch black.
(End of Chapter)