They shopped and wandered around until the afternoon.
The slight sadness in Alice's heart from parting with her father had mostly faded.
The Bulls—Water 7's unique transport creatures—made several trips back and forth.
The once-empty cargo hold was now packed to the brim.
There was enough food stored to last one or two months. At last, the ship felt lived-in.
There hadn't been time to make a pirate flag yet—that would have to wait.
But that didn't dampen their enthusiasm for setting sail.
Seeing that everyone had gathered, Leno stood at the bow, facing the sea breeze, and shouted:
"Set sail!"
The feeling was completely different from before.
There were no superiors giving orders, no cumbersome regulations, no so-called justice binding him.
He himself was justice now.
The true scent of freedom rushed toward him.
No wonder so many people longed to become pirates…
"Woo! Let's go!" the women on board cheered excitedly as well.
For Robin, this was the first time she had formally become a pirate like this.
For Domino and Kalifa, it was an even greater shift in identity—
from Marine/CP9 agents who hunted pirates… to pirates themselves.
As for Alice, her little face was flushed red with excitement. Children were always full of longing for adventure—
even if she was more composed than most.
Meanwhile—
after an afternoon of sailing, Garp's dog-headed warship was closing in on Water 7.
Whether by coincidence or fate—
just as Leno's ship sailed out of the harbor, the Straw Hat Pirates' Thousand Sunny also set sail.
As luck would have it—
the two ships ran straight into each other on the open sea.
Enemies really do meet on narrow roads.
Compared to Leno's indifference—
the Straw Hats instantly felt as if they were facing a great enemy. Cold sweat soaked their backs.
They remembered the fear of being dominated by Leno.
No matter how unwilling they were to admit it, the fact remained.
They had deliberately chosen a remote route—who would've thought they'd run into this calamity star here and now?
At that very moment—
because Leno's ship flew no flag,
the approaching dog-headed warship naturally noticed the Thousand Sunny with the conspicuous Straw Hat emblem first!
"Luffy! You little brat! Your grandpa's here and you don't even greet me?!" Garp's trademark booming voice carried over from afar.
Supreme-level loud voice, indeed.
Hearing it, Luffy's expression changed drastically!
Boom!
Almost at the same time—
a cannonball landed precisely near the Thousand Sunny. The massive waves it kicked up caused the ship to rock violently!
The rest of the Straw Hats had been about to get angry—
but when they saw the massive Marine warship with the dog-head figurehead behind them, they instantly deflated.
"Ji… Jii-chan?!" Luffy cried out.
Then, as if recalling something terrifying, he turned to his crew and shouted anxiously,
"Go! Go! Grandpa's super strong! If we don't leave now, we're done for!"
The others looked at the pursuing Marine warship, then at their own pirate flag.
Their brains struggled to process it.
"Luffy… your grandpa is a Marine…?"
"Vice Admiral! Monkey D. Garp! The teacher Leno talked about!" Luffy explained quickly.
The others instantly recalled Leno's words on Judicial Island and understood the complicated relationship.
Usopp's eyes spun, and an idea struck him.
"Don't they have a grudge? Let Leno hold off the Marines! We'll speed up and slip away!"
Hearing that, the others' eyes lit up!
After being thoroughly beaten by Leno, they still held a grudge. Now was the perfect chance to shift the disaster elsewhere.
Luffy immediately shouted toward Garp's warship,
"Jii-chan! Leno's on the ship next to us! Go catch him! Don't catch us!"
On the dog-headed warship—
Garp's smiling face instantly darkened.
"What?! That bastard Leno is on that ship next to you?!"
Shock flashed in his heart.
Where did that brat get the money for such a large, fine ship?!
"Hmph! I knew he was no good!" Garp fumed. "Just left the Navy and already looting and pillaging! That ship's definitely ill-gotten!"
At that moment, Leno also heard the commotion.
He didn't care at all about Luffy's little scheme. He just found both sides unbearably noisy.
He casually grabbed several cannonballs from the ammunition hold, muscles bulging—
and hurled them violently toward both Luffy's ship and Garp's warship!
Using Garp's own taught skills against the Garp family.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Explosions erupted near both vessels.
The waves thrown up made the Thousand Sunny and the dog-headed warship sway violently.
At that moment—
Ain and Tashigi aboard Garp's ship couldn't help but shout toward Leno.
"Leno! Come back! Don't go further down the wrong path!"
"The Navy will always be your home!"
Home my ass.
Leno sneered inwardly, not even bothering to respond.
Using the Chop-Chop Fruit's power, he split apart the resistance of the waves.
At the same time, he casually picked up cannonballs and tossed them backward, toying with both ships.
With his ability enhancing it—
his pirate ship was clearly faster than the other two.
Gradually, he widened the distance.
Leaving behind the chaotic battlefield, an enraged Garp, and the scrambling Straw Hats.
Seeing this—
Aokiji finally stopped just watching.
He leapt from the warship, landing on the sea surface, palms pressing against the cold water.
"Ice Age!"
A terrifying chill erupted instantly.
Centered on him, the surrounding sea froze at a visible speed.
Thick ice spread wildly toward Leno's pirate ship—
attempting to immobilize him in place.
However—
Aokiji was clearly still treating Leno as the former Vice Admiral who required him to hold back.
The moment the ice approached Leno's ship—
it was shattered instantly by an invisible force with tearing properties.
The ice disintegrated into countless tiny shards, unable to approach the hull at all!
"Ara ara… now this is troublesome," Aokiji muttered, pupils shrinking slightly.
He hadn't expected Leno's Devil Fruit development to have reached such a level.
It moved as naturally as an arm, effortlessly dismantling his power.
Seeing Aokiji's move not only fail—
but also end up freezing the sea around his own warship, Garp jumped in anger.
"Kuzan, you idiot! You're making things worse!"
"Damn you, Leno!"
Garp roared,
"I taught you everything you know! And now you think you can just run? You're looking down on me too much!"
With that—
he leapt from the warship, sprinting across the ice Aokiji had created.
At the edge, he launched into Geppo, stepping through the air.
From his posture, he clearly intended to capture Leno no matter what.
Seeing Garp relentlessly pursuing him, the suppressed anger and killing intent in Leno's heart finally erupted!
"Old man! Clinging on like this? You'd better have the strength to back it up!"
"Hah! You little brat, your wings have hardened! You dare speak to me like that?!" Garp laughed in fury.
"Fist of Love Impact!"
He threw a punch through the air, a massive shockwave tearing through it!
Hearing the name of that technique, Leno smiled—
but the smile was filled with icy mockery.
On Hachinosu, he had used that move to save his precious Koby…
And now he used the same move against him…
"What a wonderful teacher you are!" Killing intent blazed openly in Leno's eyes.
Even Garp felt a chill from that gaze.
"Fist Bone—Heaven Split!"
Veins bulged across Leno's arm, muscles coiling as Armament Haki wrapped around it.
He threw the same punch in return!
"Hmph! Brat! Let me show you—your master will always be your master!" Garp's eyes flashed coldly.
What wrapped around Garp's fist was not Armament Haki—
but Conqueror's Haki coating!
He truly harbored killing intent toward Leno.
There was not the slightest intention of holding back.
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