“Please instruct me.”
After speaking, Raizen shifted into his half-dragon form.
An overwhelmingly tyrannical Armament Haki instantly coated his entire body, forming a golden crest in the center of his forehead.
Compared to half a year ago, this golden crest was larger and appeared far more majestic.
Immediately after, dense arcs of blue-purple lightning wrapped around him, further stimulating his cellular vitality.
After systematic categorization and experimentation, Raizen had named this state the “Thunder Dragon Body,” dividing it into three stages.
The first stage provided moderate cellular stimulation, boosting his overall physique by fifty percent.
It could be used as a default state without any adverse side effects.
The second stage pushed the cellular stimulation further, granting a one hundred percent boost to his physique.
However, it took a toll on his body; its duration depended on his physical endurance, and he required recovery time afterward.
The third stage stimulated his cells with reckless abandon, skyrocketing his physique by two hundred percent.
Once the duration ended, he would inevitably suffer severe injuries and require a lengthy convalescence.
Since this was a sparring match with his mentor, Garp, Raizen didn’t dare hold back.
He immediately activated the second stage of his Thunder Dragon Body.
Purple lightning erupted, causing his aura to surge to new heights.
Watching this, Garp praised, “What a handy Devil Fruit ability.
It’s not inferior to the Rumble-Rumble Fruit in the slightest.”
Back in his prime, Garp had been a purist who never ate a Devil Fruit; otherwise, his strength could have reached even more absurd heights.
“Mythical Beast Fist: Thunder Dragon Fist!”
Raizen opened with his ultimate move as a sign of respect to Garp.
This was currently his strongest single-target attack in his standard state.
Combined with the Thunder Dragon Body, the resulting power was far greater than the sum of its parts.
He knew he couldn’t win a battle of attrition against an old monster like Garp.
His only chance to even scratch the man was to detonate all his stamina in a short, explosive burst.
A divine dragon formed of purple lightning coiled around his fist.
With purple and golden-red lightning intertwining, Raizen moved like a thunderbolt, charging rapidly toward Garp.
“Looks pretty decent.”
Garp grinned, a red cross-star glowing on his right fist.
“Fist Bone: Galaxy Impact!”
As the old saying goes, do not fear the man who has practiced ten thousand different techniques once, but fear the man who has practiced one technique ten thousand times.
Garp was a man who had practiced throwing a punch far more than ten thousand times!
The two fists collided.
A terrifying gale of wind pressure erupted, completely obliterating the terrain for miles around.
The only patch of earth left intact was the very spot where Sabo and the other two boys were sitting.
“A-Amazing!”
Luffy’s jaw dropped in shock.
“Stupid Grandpa and Teacher are both so strong!
Compared to this, Stupid Grandpa’s Fist of Love is nothing at all.”
Ace nodded in agreement, though inwardly he was wondering: *’Was my father, the Pirate King Roger, this powerful too?’*
“You’ve trained your physique quite well, Raizen boy.
But now, I’m going to get serious!”
As he spoke, the Conqueror’s Haki on Garp’s hand suddenly flared, directly shattering Raizen’s golden-red Haki.
Under Raizen’s shocked gaze, Garp grabbed him by the head and leaped high into the sky.
“Seabed Drop!”
Garp hurled Raizen’s body violently toward the ground.
A tremendous force instantly erupted, and Raizen felt like a launched rocket as he smashed into the earth at full speed.
*Boom!*
A violent tremor shook the area, and thick dust billowed from where Raizen had been thrown.
Sabo and the others felt the world spin around them as they tumbled to the ground.
Could the three of them really not even withstand the shockwaves of this battle?
“Whoa, what a massive shockwave!
How is Teacher?
He’s not dead, is he?”
Sabo propped himself up with his lead pipe, peering toward where Raizen had crashed.
Unfortunately, the dust was too thick for them to see anything.
Just then, Luffy, who had just scrambled to his feet, seemed to sense something.
“The wind is picking up?”
“Wind?”
Sabo reached out a hand to feel it.
“The wind really is getting stronger.”
A fierce gale suddenly swept through, blowing away the surrounding dust and allowing the trio to finally see Raizen’s position and his current state.
He was standing in the center of a massive crater.
He was covered in blood—his forehead, nose, arms, and torso were drenched, making him look like a man who had just crawled out of a pool of gore.
Raizen tore off the ruined remnants of his shirt, revealing the sturdy muscles underneath, which still bore the faint scars left by wild beasts.
“You really pack a punch, Teacher Garp,” Raizen sighed softly, looking at Garp, who had already landed opposite him.
Garp just grinned.
“Against a monster like you, a weak punch won’t do.
How is it?
Did you find that old feeling?”
“Yeah, I felt it.
Thanks to you, Teacher Garp,” Raizen replied.
Over the past year and a half, he had lacked the tempering of true life-and-death crises.
Although his physique and strength had improved, his body had grown lazy.
Even half a year ago in Totto Land, he hadn’t truly experienced a life-or-death crisis.
With Garp, Sakazuki, and Kizaru present, what was there to panic about?
He was like a wildflower that had grown delicate after being brought to Marine Headquarters and carefully nurtured by Garp.
Just like moments ago—knowing full well he was facing Garp, and knowing he most likely wouldn’t die, he had still conservatively chosen the second stage of his Thunder Dragon Body.
So what if he used the third stage?
He would only be severely injured, not killed.
Why would he only use the second stage during a rare opportunity to spar with one of the sea’s top powerhouses?
Raizen had to admit that his mindset had indeed become flawed, leaning far too much toward caution.
The kid who once dared to risk his life fighting wild beasts was now actually afraid of getting hurt in battle.
How shameful.
But now, with a single Seabed Drop, his mentor had made him experience that feeling of hanging by a thread once again.
Garp must have noticed this long ago, which was why he chose to use a battle to help him rediscover his edge.
Only now did Raizen realize that Garp wasn’t bad at teaching; he was just accustomed to pouring all his emotions into his fists.
The Fist of Love…
With such intense emotion behind it, what else could it be called but the Fist of Love?
“I’ve learned my lesson, Teacher Garp.
Now, I will show you my full power!”
“Thunder Dragon Body, Third Stage, Activate!”
As his words fell, a surge of lightning far more violent than before erupted from Raizen’s body.
Agonizing pain radiated through his limbs and bones, yet Raizen had never felt better.
His body felt incredibly light, and everything around him was crystal clear.
Raizen even had the fleeting illusion that he might actually be able to defeat Garp.
But he knew an illusion was just an illusion—it was merely the overwhelming surge of confidence brought on by a sudden spike in power.
“The divine dragon commands the lightning to temper its body.
Day after day, it finally becomes a Dragon God.
This is my ultimate form.”
The lightning around Raizen continuously compressed and solidified, its color shifting from purple to a stark black and white, giving off a soul-stealing aura.
Raising his right hand slightly, the massive phantom of a thunder dragon enveloped his entire body.
“Mythical Beast Fist: Thunder Dragon God!”