But knowing Luffy as he did, Garp figured the probability of that happening was about the same as Red-Haired Shanks suddenly announced he was joining the Marines.
And besides—his grandson, who had been happily exchanging words with him just moments ago, was now completely absorbed in a lap pillow, paying no attention to his grandfather at all?
Garp's anger flared. A strange mix of jealousy and indignation surged to his head.
He shouted with renewed—and much more genuine—vehemence: "Damn Luffy! You brat! Stop right there and let this old man arrest you! What kind of nonsense is it for the grandson of a Marine Hero to be a pirate?!"
He grabbed a special chain shot. Leaning back, legs braced, core engaged like a baseball pitcher throwing with all his might, he hurled it toward the Going Merry's mainsail.
Subarashii: Break Mast!
The spinning chain shot tore through the air with a piercing scream, faster than his previous throws.
"Not good!"
Sanji and Zoro moved simultaneously.
Sanji leaped, his legs delivering a rapid series of kicks to alter the chain shot's trajectory. Zoro swung his blade at the chain connecting the two balls.
CLANG!
BOOM!
Working together, they barely managed to deflect the deadly projectile.
The chain shot splashed into the sea, its explosion sending up a wave like a small tsunami. The Going Merry tilted violently, nearly capsizing.
Luffy shot up from the sea of knowledge and Robin's lap pillow, furious:
"Damn old man! Just retire already! Don't interrupt my studying!"
Having recovered some strength, he shouted to Usopp: "Usopp! Get me cannonballs!"
Usopp scrambled to bring over a crate.
Luffy grabbed one. Mimicking Garp's posture, muscle memory kicking in, he twisted his body, channeled every ounce of remaining strength into his arm, and hurled it.
"You think you're the only one who can throw?!"
BOOM!!
A black cannonball shot through the sky with speed and force equal to Garp's, landing precisely near the bow of the dog-head ship.
The sudden attack—so powerful and such a mirror of his own—caught even Garp off guard. Beside him, Bogard's eyes widened as he stared at Luffy in astonishment.
That posture. That throwing technique.
It was Garp's move.
When did he learn that?!
"Grandpa! I saw you use that move plenty of times when I was a kid!" Luffy yelled triumphantly.
His talent for photographic memory was kicking in. The essence of powerful fighters' techniques was fundamentally similar.
Luffy's physical strength still fell short of Garp's, but with the Gum-Gum Fruit's unique properties, perfectly replicating Garp's signature throwing technique was easy enough.
Luffy grabbed and hurled another cannonball. "Grandpa! If you keep chasing us, I'll sink your dog-head ship!"
"Puhahahaha!"
Far from angry, Garp threw his head back and laughed even louder. "So you learned my technique, did you? Interesting! Let's see how much of it you've mastered!"
He grabbed a cannonball and launched it with the same Subarashii technique.
BOOM!
The two cannonballs collided violently between the ships, exploding into a brilliant fireball. The shockwave sent a ring of white mist rippling outward.
"How about this!"
Garp grinned, his white teeth gleaming.
His hands became blurs as he grabbed cannonballs from the ammunition crate beside him, hurling them forward with incredible speed.
Subarashii: Meteor Shower!
In an instant, a hail of black cannonballs rained down on the Going Merry like a real meteor shower.
The sheer density could have obliterated a large battleship in seconds.
"Waaah! We're done for!" Usopp ran for cover.
But Luffy's competitive spirit was ignited.
Subarashii: Meteor Shower!!
He roared, his hands becoming blurs as he grabbed cannonballs from the crates Usopp and Chopper brought him, hurling them with nearly identical form and technique.
BOOM! BOOM!
The sea between the ships was swallowed by continuous explosions, columns of water, and thick smoke.
Both crews watched the spectacle with bated breath. It was like watching two human artillery batteries duel—any stray shot could be catastrophic.
And it looked like grandfather and grandson weren't holding back at all.
Especially the Marines on Garp's ship—most of them were only now learning that Vice Admiral Garp even had a grandson, let alone that the grandson was the notorious pirate who had just stormed Enies Lobby.
But this cannonball exchange was unplanned.
Then something astonishing happened. Luffy was hurling cannonballs while continuing his academic discussion with Robin.
"Robin, that symbol—does it mean water or sea?"
"Sea. It carries connotations of vastness and freedom... Luffy, watch your left!"
"Oh! What about dawn? How's it different from the sun?"
...
Garp's expression visibly darkened.
To him, this was nothing short of humiliation.
Anyone else mocking him was one thing—but his own grandson treating him with such disregard? Unacceptable!
After hurling one common cannonball, Garp grinned, his eyes locked
Set on a particularly heavy solid training shot.
He wrapped his calloused hand in jet-black Busoshoku Haki, coating the shot like black steel.
"Luffy, you brat. Take this!"
Luffy glanced back, contracting his pupils.
"A solid shot?! Grandpa, are you trying to kill me?!"
That kind of solid shot, combined with Garp's monstrous strength and Haki—the destructive power was unthinkable.
Garp grinned, his teeth gleaming white. "You thought this old man was joking when he said he was going to arrest you?"
"Usopp! Where's our solid shot?!" Luffy shouted back.
Usopp and Chopper struggled to roll an equally heavy solid shot from storage.
Luffy took a deep breath. Summoning the small amount of Haki he had regained, the black-red Ryuo-like Haki flowed down his arm, wrapping around the solid shot.
At nearly the same moment, both adopted their full-power throwing stance, hurling their Haki-coated solid shots directly at each other.
Subarashii: Meteor!
BOOM——!!!
The two black solid shots collided mid-air. The impact didn't explode—it rang out like a massive iron bell. A visible ring of shockwaves burst from the collision point, black-red lightning flickering briefly.
Across the explosion's smoke and spray, the old man's eyes met the young man's.
The old man's gaze was filled with fierce pride and complex satisfaction at seeing his grandson's growth. He laughed heartily.
The young man's face was set with defiance—the stubbornness of youth challenging authority. He grinned back.
In that suspended moment, the battle was far from over.
***
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