Garp, knowing he was in the wrong, did nothing but defend himself without striking back. He let out a hollow laugh and said:
"Wasn't I just testing Hera's strength? Look, she's even learned Conquerors Coating now. Besides, I know when to stop. See, Hera is perfectly fine."
Sengoku immediately looked toward Hera, who, upon seeing this, instantly collapsed into Kuina's arms: "Quick, help me to the hospital, I... I can't breathe..."
Garp checked Hera's condition with Observation Haki in disbelief, only to find that aside from being a little weak, she couldn't be better; her vitality was practically overflowing.
The regenerative power of the 'Aquarius Bullet' circulated through Hera's body, but it couldn't find any injuries in the body that had been reverted by the 'Fourth Bullet.' It could only slowly dissipate out of her system.
Garp, who was being chased and hit by his old friend, watched Hera as she was supported by Kuina and moved slowly. Even the grass and flowers beneath her feet were sprouting because of the leaking vitality.
Hera secretly made a face at Garp. Garp looked toward his top disciple, Aokiji, with a pleading gaze, but Aokiji simply hummed a little tune as if he hadn't seen a thing and turned to walk away.
Only after Hera and Kuina had left did Garp swat away Sengoku's hand: "Is that enough? Everyone's gone. If you keep going, I'm hitting back."
Sengoku finally stopped and gave a mischievous grin, saying: "I was just venting some frustration on Hera's behalf."
Garp rolled his eyes at his old friend. He knew Sengoku's personality; it might have been out of indignation at first, but later he must have just gotten addicted to hitting him since he wasn't fighting back.
Sengoku looked at his old friend curiously and asked: "What's with you? Why did you think of sparring with your granddaughter after coming back from the East Blue? What did you see there?"
Garp didn't answer Sengoku's question, only sighing with emotion: "When did that child Hera become so powerful?"
In his mind, he recalled the time he first found Hera—she was so tiny, curled into a ball because of the cold. Comparing that to her current vibrant self, the corners of his mouth curled up.
Seeing this, Sengoku nearby became irritated again, gritting his teeth: "How is it fair? This guy just picks someone up randomly and they turn into such a great talent."
He thought to himself: "Maybe after I retire, I should wander around too and see if I can raise a granddaughter myself."
Garp knew exactly what Sengoku was thinking just by looking at him. He patted Sengoku's shoulder: "Envious? Envy is useless. Besides, don't you have an adopted son? How is he doing now?"
Sengoku sighed: "Sigh, still the same. The World Government is extremely lenient toward Doflamingo, so he's still undercover."
In his heart, he was already calculating how to drag Doflamingo down so he could quickly bring Rosinante back. The boy wasn't young anymore; it was time to find him a marriage prospect.
Rosinante, who was currently undercover in the Doflamingo Family, let out a sneeze. He had no idea that because of a certain person's influence, an old man who wanted a granddaughter had developed the urge to pressure him into marriage.
Doflamingo looked at Rosinante, who had sneezed out of nowhere, and showed concern for his brother: "Rosinante, are you sick?"
Rosinante said: "How could I be? Someone must be talking about me."
Doflamingo had once suspected his brother was a Marine spy, but under Monet's investigation, Rosinante was cleared of suspicion. This made Doflamingo feel even more guilty toward his brother.
After all, Monet trusted him more than he trusted himself—at least, Doflamingo felt his own hopes of becoming the Pirate King were slim.
Rosinante was a bit bewildered. Doflamingo was gradually delegating more power to him, and some of his own flaws were being covered up by another person.
He was now only looking forward to when Sengoku would finally pull him out. If Sengoku didn't come soon, he would become the Second-in-command of the Doflamingo Family—the kind with actual power. When that time came, would anyone even believe he was an undercover agent?
Once Hera left Garp's sight, she immediately became full of energy. In just the time it took to walk this short distance, her condition had already recovered by seventy or eighty percent.
Kuina asked Hera worriedly: "Are you okay? After such an intense battle just now, are you really fine?"
Hera put her hands on her hips and said: "Don't worry, I am the controller of time. A mere minor injury is nothing; I'm already healed."
The other companions following behind saw that Hera was still so lively and breathed a sigh of relief. The 'No-Haki Trio,' who were stimulated by Hera's strength, dragged Ain along to continue their training. If the Captain was this strong, how could the crew be left behind?
Hera seemed to think of something. She measured herself against Kuina's height and, finding that Kuina was just a bit short of 180cm, she regained her confidence.
Now that the side effects of 'Shadows Asgard - City of Devouring Time' were so minimal, Hera had another idea. At this moment, she had only one thought:
"Before, it must have been a height issue. Now that I can become taller than Kuina, I can definitely counter-attack!" She was so happy she was practically skipping as she walked.
Although Kuina didn't know what Hera was so happy about, she continued to ask: "What was that move you used just now? The one you used to clash with Grandpa Garp?"
Hera thought for a while. Being terrible at naming, she pondered for a long time before saying: "An attack launched by merging three powers together... how about calling it 'Trinity Force'?"
Kuina rubbed her forehead with a helpless expression: "That's so lame. Anyone killed by that move would die with their eyes wide open in regret."
Hera started thinking again, and another idea surfaced in her mind. Since this move fused time, space, and her own Haoshoku, she said: "Let's call it 'Monarch's Descent - Space-Time Absolute Slash.'"
Kuina savored the name of Hera's technique: "Monarch's Descent? That really is domineering."
Hera's limited brainpower had been exhausted by the naming process. Now, she only wanted to have a big meal. She pulled Kuina and Grandpa Garp along, summoned the argo, and prepared to hunt Sea Kings.
The three on the ship had a clear division of labor: Hera used her Observation Haki to search, Garp was responsible for catching the Sea Kings, and Kuina was in charge of grilling. In a short while, the waters of the Marine area became much more peaceful.
Hera's Observation Haki spread out, and beneath the surface of this area, powerful life signals had decreased significantly: "Sigh, where did all the Sea Kings in this area go? They couldn't have been eaten all up, could they?"
Kuina looked at the pile of bones on the ship and rubbed her forehead, her face covered in dark lines: "With the way we eat, how many Sea Kings would ever be enough? Even the Marine cafeteria is starting to run low now."
Hera thought for a moment and then had an idea: "Oh right, don't Nami and the other two want to train their Haki? I know a place where they can train Haki better, and there are plenty of Sea Kings too."
Kuina was curious: "Where? How come I don't know about it?"
Hera said: "The territory of Empress Hancock of the Shichibukai, the Amazon Lily Kingdom on Amazon Lily. We're going there."
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