On the edge of the Goa Kingdom, at a secret shipyard.
“Bang.” A heavy suitcase was placed on a wooden table covered in wood shavings.
The suitcase opened, and the massive sum of exactly 80 million Berries gleamed with a stunning luster in the dim workshop.
Thirteen-year-old Sabo adjusted his top hat and looked calmly at the retired Old Shipwright opposite him, who was already dumbfounded.
“Eighty…
eighty million Berries?!” The Old Shipwright swallowed, his hand holding the pipe trembling slightly.
“Kid, this amount of money is enough to build a luxurious three-masted sailing ship comparable to a Marine warship.
What exactly are you trying to build?” “We don’t need a large ship.” Sabo took a blueprint from his pocket, pressed it onto the tabletop, and spoke in an orderly tone: “The size only needs to be a small or medium-sized sloop or schooner that can accommodate a dozen or so people.
But our Captain has three requirements.” “First, the frame and keel must be made of the top-tier wood available in the East Blue, pursuing absolute stability, and it must be able to withstand the extreme currents of the Grand Line.” “Second, the streamlined design of the hull must push’speed’ to the limit; it must be one of the fastest speed ships on this ocean.” “Third, and most importantly.
The living facilities, kitchen, bedrooms, and even the deck area inside the ship must be extremely comfortable and luxurious.
We want top-tier enjoyment, not to suffer at sea.” After hearing these three requirements, the Old Shipwright took a sharp breath.
Using the budget for a large warship to build a small or medium-sized sailing ship meant that every part and every inch of the deck on the ship could be hand-polished to the most perfect level.
“This kind of meticulous work without regard for cost is a dream order for a shipwright.” The Old Shipwright touched the blueprint, his eyes becoming fervent.
“But this will take a very long time to select the wood and polish the interior, at least three years.” “That’s fine.” Sabo put away the suitcase, his tone calm.
“We will come to collect the ship in three years.” …
Time passed quietly like fine sand between fingertips.
Winters came and summers went, and the leaves of Mt.
Colubo withered and turned yellow twice.
Two years later.
Deep in Mt.
Colubo, a dull thud broke the morning silence.
“Boom!” A huge mutated giant crocodile was struck in the jaw by a clean side kick from a figure.
Without any unnecessary movements, the crocodile’s massive body rolled over in mid-air and slammed heavily onto the muddy ground, passing out on the spot.
Sunlight pierced through the canopy, spilling onto the black-haired teenager who stood with his leg retracted.
Fifteen-year-old Ace had grown to about 2.2 meters tall.
Having shed the last trace of innocence from when he was thirteen, his physique was now a perfect martial arts masterpiece.
His broad shoulders and well-defined muscles, carved as if by a knife and axe, were no longer the bloated kind of bulk, but a high-density body containing astonishing explosive power.
His temperament had changed.
No longer as flamboyant and exposed as when he was a child, the current Ace, even when just standing there quietly, exuded an introverted and cold sense of oppression like a top-tier predator.
“Ace’s kicking technique is getting more and more crisp.” Luffy, sitting on a branch not far away, bit into an apple, watching the fallen giant crocodile with eyes full of amazement.
Just then, Ace’s eyes moved slightly.
His extremely keen Observation Haki caught a familiar wave of intense pressure approaching at high speed.
“You two brats!!
I’ve only been gone for half a year, have you been wasting your time in the forest again?!” Accompanied by a gust of wind, Garp, wearing a floral shirt and a Marine coat of justice, landed with a boom on a boulder a dozen meters away.
He clenched his sand-pot-sized fist, his knuckles cracking with a “click-clack” sound.
“Grandpa is here!” Luffy shuddered in fear, almost falling from the tree.
Ace said nothing.
He slowly turned around and casually stuck the broad-backed machete he had been carrying on his shoulder into the mud.
Watching Garp jump off the boulder and rush straight at him, waving his fist, Ace’s eyes became extremely focused and deep.
“Let me see if you’ve been slacking off for the past half a year!
Fist of Love!” Garp snorted coldly, his massive body appearing in front of Ace as if teleporting.
Pitch-black Armament Haki instantly wrapped around his right fist, bringing with it a sonic boom that tore through the air, and he smashed it down mercilessly!
In the past, facing this punch, Ace could only rely on pure physical monster strength to meet it head-on, and then be smashed away without any suspense.
But today.
Ace’s legs sank slightly, and two deep footprints were instantly stamped into the mud under his feet.
He did not retreat, nor did he draw his sword; instead, he gripped his right fist tightly.
“For these past five years, I have seen your way of exerting force clearly.” Ace whispered to himself, his muscles tensing to the limit at this moment.
He met Garp’s iron fist, fiercely swinging his right arm without any fancy moves!
At the moment of punching, Ace forcibly mobilized the blood and will that had been tempered and polished in his body over the past five years.
“Hum — —” In Garp’s extremely shocked gaze, he clearly saw that on the bronze-colored arm that Ace swung out, a layer of iron-black luster, though faint, was genuine!
Armament Haki: Hardening!
“Boom — —!!!” Two fists, one big and one small, wrapped in black, collided fiercely in mid-air!
In an instant, a terrifying shockwave visible to the naked eye exploded from the center of the two.
The turf and shrubs within a radius of thirty meters were uprooted, and the air wave forced Luffy in the distance to be unable to even open his eyes.
“Crack!” The ground under Ace’s feet shattered inch by inch.
Even with the blessing of Haki, in the face of the absolute power gap, he was still shaken back seven or eight meters by Garp’s monster strength, plowing two deep gullies into the muddy ground.
But he was not knocked away.
He stood steadily.
The wind dissipated, and the smoke and dust settled.
Ace slowly retracted his slightly numb right arm, the faint iron-black layer on his fist gradually fading.
He raised his head, looking calmly at Garp, who was still maintaining his punching posture opposite him.
Silence.
The whole forest fell into a deathly silence.
Garp looked at his own fist, then at the black-haired teenager with steady breathing opposite him.
This battle-hardened Vice Admiral had an unprecedented flash of disbelief in his eyes.
He swore that he had never systematically taught Ace even a single cultivation mantra about Haki.
This kid…
had actually, relying solely on his Observation Haki observations and the muscle memory formed by constantly getting beaten up over the past five years, on the day his physical quality finally reached the standard, forcibly deduced Armament Haki on his own?!
“Old man.” Ace patted the dust off his arm, breaking the silence.
His tone had no showing off, only a calm that was taken for granted.
“The wild method I figured out myself still consumes too much stamina.” Ace looked straight into Garp’s eyes, his voice steady and firm: “My foundation over these five years has been laid firmly enough, and my body is enough to bear the load of Haki.
Next, teach me the most advanced application techniques of Armament Haki systematically.” Hearing Ace’s righteous request, Garp was stunned at first, and then the shock on his face gradually turned into extremely complex emotion.
After a long while, Garp slowly retracted his fist and looked at Ace deeply.
“Good kid, since you have opened this door yourself.” Garp tore off his Marine coat, threw it aside, his bones making a burst of popping sounds like frying beans, and a terrifying sense of oppression far exceeding just now erupted.
“Then be psychologically prepared.
Next, I will hammer real Haki and martial arts into your body, right into your bone marrow!” Looking at Garp who was firing on all cylinders, Ace nodded slightly, a sharp glint flashing in his pitch-black eyes.
There were only two years left before setting sail.
And the road to true monster transformation had just begun.