That massive fist rapidly expanded in Lorne's pupils, bringing with it an unparalleled sense of oppression.
At this moment, Lorne finally reacted completely.
"This old guy has no martial virtue! Coming to cheat! Coming to ambush a young man like me! Truly shameless!"
This thought flashed through his mind in the blink of an eye, but Lorne's movements were not slow in the slightest; perhaps he should also be grateful that this old man who launched the sneak attack seemed to only want to teach him a lesson.
Just at the moment before the fist was about to smash into the top of his head, an ice crystal flower silently bloomed on the ground beneath Lorne's feet, then instantly shattered into billions of light fragments.
Lorne's figure vanished into thin air, leaving behind only a few glimmering ice crystal fragments.
The fist, carrying immense force, stopped abruptly in mid-air, and the gale it whipped up sent the fallen leaves and dust on the ground flying in all directions.
The solid ground was still gouged into a shallow pit by the terrifying force of the wind, and the entire woodland shook violently because of it.
A few meters away, Lorne's figure reappeared, with a few crystalline ice flowers melting quietly beneath his feet; he exhaled a breath of turbid air with lingering fear, and a trace of cold sweat even seeped from his forehead.
"That was close, that was close..."
This old man really didn't know how to pull his punches; if his own small frame had taken a solid hit like that, he would likely have lost at least half his life, if not died outright.
Before he could fully relax, a tender, pleasantly surprised shout came from the side.
"Grandpa!"
Luffy, who had been wailing loudly, forgot to wipe away his tears and snot as soon as he saw the massive figure, and he began to shout in surprise.
Grandpa?
Lorne looked in the direction of the voice and finally saw what the person looked like.
It was an exceptionally tall old man, wearing a white suit, with a marine coat draped over his shoulders bearing the characters for "Justice," and that comical dog-head hat on his head.
The marine hero, Monkey D. Garp!
Garp slowly retracted his fist and stood up straight again, casually adjusting the dog-head hat on his head with his large, fan-like hand.
His sharp eyes did not look at his grandson, but instead, with a hint of surprise, he scrutinized Lorne standing not far away, as well as the ice crystal fragments that had not yet completely dissipated.
"Eh~!"
Garp let out a long exclamation, his tone filled with undisguised curiosity,
"When did that brat Kuzan die? How come I, the old man, don't know about it?"
"..."
The words Lorne was just about to say to question him were instantly choked back by Garp's shocking statement.
The expression on his face became extremely strange, and he looked at this legendary marine hero with a peculiar gaze.
"No, I mean... is it really okay for you, old man, to so casually curse your own side's top marine combat power?"
"Besides, with your careless personality, constantly running back to your hometown in the East Blue for vacations, even if something did happen to Kuzan, staying here in these deep mountains and old forests, I'm afraid you really wouldn't know for a short while!"
Garp seemed completely unaware of the wild ranting in Lorne's heart; his eagle-like, sharp gaze swept back and forth over Lorne, as if he wanted to see through him from the inside out.
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