Meanwhile, in Wano…
With outside aid finally arriving, Yamato was able to breathe a little easier.
Then she discovered that Garp had vanished.
Yamato immediately began panicking. He was Ace's grandfather, after all. If anything happened to him, how could she ever face Ace again?
Yasopp, on the other hand, was perfectly relaxed—if anything, he looked relieved.
As far as he was concerned, getting rid of an old man who greeted people with iron fists was a blessing from heaven.
He had no interest whatsoever in where Garp had gone.
Preferably, the man would never come back.
So where exactly was Garp?
It was a long story.
Earlier, the villagers of Amigasa Village had mistaken him for a human trafficker—and not just any trafficker, but the sort of depraved criminal who specialized in abducting children.
The way they looked at him, one would think the words child kidnapper were carved directly across his face.
Garp had been unable to explain himself, yet he could hardly start punching ordinary civilians. Left with no other choice, he took Tama into the mountains for the time being.
Fortunately, despite his rough behavior, Garp had never intended to abduct her.
After talking with Tama for a while, he let her return home.
That brief conversation gave Garp a clear understanding of how the people of Wano had been living all these years.
They spoke endlessly of their admiration for Kozuki Oden and clung to some prophecy, waiting for an uncertain "future" to save them.
"This won't do!"
Garp clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked.
He was a Marine, not a fortune-teller.
Prophecies? Waiting?
As far as he was concerned, it was all nonsense.
A country was saved through fists and action, not by sitting around trusting some prediction!
His attention soon settled upon a particular man.
The infamous bandit chief of Kuri, Shutenmaru.
Better known as Ashura Doji, one of the former Nine Red Scabbards.
Garp did not know the man's true identity, but he had learned plenty about Shutenmaru's recent activities.
Over the years, his bandits had committed no shortage of crimes and raided many nearby towns. They had even nearly stolen the food Yamato distributed after taking control of Wano.
The moment Garp heard that, he exploded.
Without another word, he marched straight up the mountain.
He intended to use the bandit chief as an example and show the people of Kuri that weakness and waiting would never bring salvation.
Only strength and action would.
At first, Shutenmaru did not take Garp seriously at all.
He was just a white-haired old man who looked completely ordinary. He did not resemble a samurai and was not even carrying a sword, yet he dared to storm into Shutenmaru's territory and cause trouble?
In Wano, both swords and samurai were symbols of strength.
Shutenmaru had cut down more arrogant old men than he could count. This one was probably another confused drunk who had swallowed a few cups of sake and convinced himself he could wrestle a tiger.
He waved dismissively toward his subordinates.
"Get rid of the old man. Don't interrupt my drinking."
There was even a hint of pity in his voice.
After all, picking a fight with a senile old fool would only embarrass Shutenmaru.
Then his vision blurred.
Before he could react—
Thud!
Every one of his men, along with Shutenmaru himself, was sent flying.
When his back crashed against the ground, his mind went completely blank.
The treetops slowly spun above him. Shutenmaru stared vacantly at the swaying leaves for several moments before managing to form a coherent thought.
'What… just happened?'
He blinked but did not immediately rise.
It was not that he physically could not.
His mind simply had not caught up.
Shutenmaru replayed that split second three or four times in his head, only to arrive at a conclusion so ridiculous that even he refused to believe it.
That old man—the harmless-looking old man who seemed like he could be kicked over with one leg—had apparently defeated all of them with a single punch.
'An illusion. It had to be an illusion.'
'Again.'
He gritted his teeth and rose, quickly inventing a reasonable explanation.
He had simply underestimated the man. His footing had slipped, and the old bastard had caught him off guard.
Yes.
That had to be it.
This time, Shutenmaru became serious.
He bent his knees, lowered his center of gravity, and placed his right hand on his sword's hilt, locking his eyes upon the grinning old man.
He was no ordinary thug.
He had survived this long through genuine strength.
His blade flashed from its sheath.
The slash tore through the air with a razor-sharp whistle.
Shutenmaru had complete confidence in the strike. Its speed, angle, and power were flawless.
Then he found himself lying on the ground again.
This time, he had seen what happened.
No—actually, he had not.
Shutenmaru had caught only a vague blur slipping past him before his body suddenly flew through the air.
The entire exchange happened so quickly that it felt like an illusion. He could not even remember when the fist struck him.
"Impossible… This old bastard…"
He stared at the sky, uncertainty appearing in his eyes for the first time.
An unarmed old man who looked ready to be blown over by the mountain wind should not have been capable of anything like this.
The third attempt came next.
Cold sweat formed across Shutenmaru's forehead.
The hand gripping his sword trembled slightly—not from fear, but from an emotion he had not experienced in many years.
He had finally realized that the old man before him was no ordinary human.
Not a samurai.
Not a swordsman.
Perhaps not even a man.
It was power beyond anything he could understand.
Shutenmaru clenched his teeth and poured eighteen years of despair, frustration, and buried rage into a single strike.
He charged with a roar, the wind from his blade tearing leaves from the surrounding trees.
Then he was already lying on the ground.
His chest rose and fell violently, and the taste of blood filled his throat.
He stared up at the treetops, pupils slightly unfocused, and moved his lips several times before forcing two words through clenched teeth.
"…So strong."
The instant he said them, even Shutenmaru froze.
How many years had it been since he last acknowledged someone that way?
Ten?
Fifteen?
Ever since becoming the leader of the Atamayama Thieves, no one had made him sincerely admit they were strong.
Yet today, he said it naturally to an old man whose name he did not even know.
There was even a trace of respect in his voice that he himself had not noticed.
A fourth attempt?
There was none.
Shutenmaru lay heavily injured, every part of his body aching.
He tried to push himself up, but his arm collapsed the moment it left the ground.
All he could do was lie flat on his back like a fish thrown ashore.
"Why…?"
His voice was hoarse and dry.
"Why?!"
Shutenmaru suddenly roared at the top of his lungs.
His voice echoed through the forest and startled a flock of birds into flight.
"Why did someone like you suddenly appear?! Why?! Why?!"
Eighteen years.
He had once believed in Toki's prophecy and trusted the promise of twenty years.
One year.
Two years.
Five.
Ten.
As the years passed, expectation slowly became disappointment, and disappointment gradually hardened into numbness.
He no longer believed in any prophecy.
Kin'emon had probably escaped Wano with Momonosuke and the others and abandoned the country to preserve their own lives.
The promised "return" was a joke.
The prophecy was nothing more than wishful thinking.
Shutenmaru had thought he would spend the rest of his life sinking into ruin.
He would remain a mountain bandit, surrounded by sake, meat, blades, and brothers.
What did Kaido matter?
What did Wano matter?
It made no difference who became Shogun.
There was nothing left in this country worth risking his life to protect.
So why had a monster like Garp suddenly appeared?
Before Shutenmaru could finish screaming out all his resentment, his vision went black and he lost consciousness.
Garp stood nearby, looking down at the unconscious man whose face remained twisted with frustration.
Then he smiled.
Within those furious shouts, Garp had seen something that had long disappeared from the people of Wano.
An unyielding will.
That caught his interest.
The following days became rather strange.
Garp summoned Tama and asked her to help inventory everything stored in the mountain hideout, then had the villagers below distribute the supplies.
After leaving the bandits enough food to survive, he moved in without hesitation.
He ate their meals, occupied their territory, and used every spare moment to lecture them about the meaning of "Marine justice."
Tama occasionally came to visit and listened to Garp's stories.
It was through her master that Garp finally learned the bandit chief he had beaten senseless was Ashura Doji, one of the Nine Red Scabbards who had once followed Kozuki Oden.
Garp did not know much about the Scabbards.
He did, however, remember Oden.
That man had traveled with the Roger Pirates—the same crew Garp had spent years chasing across the seas.
When Garp learned that Ashura Doji also hated Kaido and wanted to save Wano, but had been forced to watch every hope fade until he fell into despair, Garp poured his entire philosophy into him.
He even invited Ashura Doji to join the Marines.
According to Garp, the man could regain his determination to defeat Kaido, spend the rest of his life atoning for his years as a bandit, and apologize to the people of Kuri through his actions.
Ashura Doji was utterly dumbfounded.
In all his years, he had never met an old man like this.
Garp beat him up, ate his food, then lectured him on how to become a respectable person.
Even worse, the old man never gave him any peace.
From that day onward, whenever Ashura Doji recovered from his injuries, Garp dragged him out for another "spar."
Calling it sparring was generous.
It was a one-sided beating.
Ashura Doji was knocked down, rose again, got knocked down again, and forced himself upright once more.
The cycle repeated more times than anyone could count.
Garp's goal was to beat the so-called bandit spirit out of him completely.
Only after destroying that nonsense would he have any hope of pulling Ashura Doji into the Marines.
The old man's stubbornness was somehow even worse than Oden's had been.
Until today.
Ashura Doji once again stood before Garp with one hand tightly gripping his sword.
The initial despair and contempt had vanished from his eyes.
In their place burned the renewed hope of saving Wano.
"Come on, Old Man Garp!"
"If you want me to join those Marines you keep talking about, then beat me until I'm completely convinced!"
After days of being force-fed "justice," combined with eighteen years of lost hope and Garp's overwhelming, unreasonable strength, Ashura Doji's resolve had already begun to waver.
His mouth, however, remained stubborn.
He clung desperately to his final scraps of devotion toward Oden and refused to bow easily.
Garp's eyes lit up as he looked at the man who had barely finished recovering before rushing over to challenge him again.
A red gleam flashed in his gaze, and he raised both fists excitedly.
"Honestly, I gave you two choices, and you insisted on choosing 'beat me until I submit.'"
He paused, then grinned.
It was the same expression that had haunted the nightmares of countless pirates.
"You should know, very few people ever choose that option."
"What?!"
Ashura Doji's face changed dramatically.
He instinctively raised his sword to protect his head, but it was already too late.
Thoom!
Garp's fist smashed down with tremendous force.
Ashura Doji, sword and all, was driven headfirst into the ground. The earth shook three times, and a cloud of dust rose around him.
The bandits watching from a distance shuddered in unison and silently lowered their sake bowls.
Tama stood nearby and stared at Ashura Doji's legs sticking straight out of the ground.
She blinked and quietly asked,
"Grandpa Garp… are you sure he'll be okay?"
Garp withdrew his fist and casually dusted off his hands.
"Don't worry. I know how to hold back."
Ashura Doji's legs twitched twice.
Then he spat blood and lost consciousness.
Whether Garp had truly held back was something only Garp himself knew.
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