As his words fell, Raizen vanished from his spot, appearing right in front of Garp in the blink of an eye!
Raizen threw a punch.
The violent thunder, carrying an aura of destruction, smashed down onto Garp’s crossed arms.
The next moment, Garp was actually sent flying by the punch, his entire body crashing into the distant jungle!
Raizen didn’t stop.
His body trailed lightning as he chased Garp’s flying figure into the jungle.
Immediately after, even more violent thunder erupted within the trees.
Like a descending god of thunder, a massive domain of lightning exploded, obliterating everything within a dozen miles except for Sabo and the other two!
Before the trio could marvel at the sight, scorching flames appeared out of thin air, instantly raising the surrounding temperature.
The lightning wrapping Raizen’s hands had vanished, replaced by fierce, raging flames.
“Mythical Beast Fist: Fire Dragon Flame!”
With a single punch, a pillar of fiery dragon flames shot straight toward Garp, radiating a heat so intense it felt like it could melt anything!
“What an incredible monster.”
Garp was also in a sorry state, blood oozing from his forehead.
Although Raizen’s power in this state was still somewhat lacking, his speed was incredibly fast.
Even Garp had to focus entirely to handle it.
However, Garp’s response to Raizen’s attack remained a single move.
“Fist Bone: Galaxy Impact – Infinite!”
Simply put, this move was a rapid-fire barrage of his Galaxy Impact, and it was also Garp’s proudest ultimate technique!
The violent Conqueror’s Haki clashed once more, plowing through the already ruined battlefield.
The two stalemated for a brief moment before Garp’s red-and-black Haki completely scattered Raizen’s gold-and-red Haki, sending him flying with a single punch.
Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Raizen was sent flying backward, landing right in front of Sabo and the others.
His eyes rolled back, and he instantly fell unconscious.
A moment later, Garp returned to the spot, looking at Raizen with immense satisfaction.
“Hahahaha!
In the end, my skills are still a cut above!”
In terms of pure martial arts, Raizen was no longer weaker than him; what he lacked was physical constitution and Haki.
If one’s Conqueror’s Haki wasn’t strong enough, their offense and defense wouldn’t be strong or solid enough.
That was exactly why Garp was able to scatter Raizen’s Conqueror’s Haki twice.
Still, to reach this level after only half a year of training, Garp was actually quite astonished inwardly.
Garp gave Raizen a brief check-up.
Hmm, mostly broken ribs, massive internal bleeding, a fractured arm, and a cracked skull.
No big deal, just minor injuries.
A week or so of rest would do the trick.
So, Garp hoisted Raizen onto his shoulder, casually wiped the blood from his own face, and waved at the dumbfounded trio.
“Let’s go.
First, we need to get your teacher to a doctor.”
Three days later, Raizen removed his bandages and stretched his body.
After confirming there were no lingering issues, he let out a long sigh of relief.
The side effects of the Thunder Dragon Body’s third stage seemed lower than he had imagined.
He thought he would be bedridden for at least a week after using it, but he had fully recovered in just three days—and that was even after taking several of old man Garp’s Galaxy Impacts.
[Ding!
Congratulations to the host for challenging and successfully injuring the Marine Hero Monkey D.
Garp, making a name for yourself across the seas.
Reward: 30,000,000 Berries.
Reward: One copy of Three-Color Haki Cultivation Insights (Garp).]
‘Oh, old man Garp’s cultivation insights.
Not bad at all.’
After carefully browsing through the insights, Raizen couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.
Old man Garp truly was a monster of pure stats.
There were no shortcuts to Garp’s success; it was entirely forged punch by punch!
Stepping out of his room, he saw a slender woman wearing a bandana.
This was Makino, the owner of the tavern in Foosha Village, who, along with Dadan, took care of Sabo, Luffy, and Ace.
Raizen had been staying at her tavern for the past few days.
“Ah, Mr.
Raizen, are you feeling better?”
Makino held a tray with some bread and drinks, flashing Raizen a bright smile.
Raizen smiled back.
“I’m fully recovered.
Thank you for your concern.”
“That’s good to hear.
Mr.
Garp is currently taking Luffy and the others to train in the back…
the area out back.
You can take this bread to fill your stomach for now.”
Makino had instinctively wanted to say the “back mountain,” but that entire area—mountains, forest, and all—had been completely obliterated three days ago by the man standing before her and Vice Admiral Garp.
So, she could only refer to it as “the area out back.”
Recalling the terrifying display of power from three days ago, Makino couldn’t help but click her tongue in awe.
The man in front of her didn’t look very old, yet his strength was so unimaginable that he could fight Mr.
Garp to such an extreme extent.
“Thanks.”
Raizen took the bread, stuffed it into his mouth in a few quick bites, bid Makino farewell, and transformed into his dragon form, flying straight toward the back area.
Before he even got close, he heard old man Garp’s booming laughter and the miserable screams of Luffy’s trio.
Raizen’s mouth twitched as he shifted back into his human form and descended toward their location.
“Hahaha!
Don’t run!
Take a taste of my Fist of Love!
Eh?
Raizen, you’re healed?”
Garp stopped his movements and looked at the approaching Raizen.
Luffy and the other two practically threw themselves at him as if they had just seen their savior.
“Teacher Raizen, you’re finally better!
Please teach us!”
“Yeah, I’m all better.”
Raizen reached out and patted the heads of the three brats.
“Teacher Garp, they are my students.
I should be the one instructing them.”
Garp snorted twice, then pulled out a bag of rice crackers from who knows where and sat to the side to watch, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
The kid’s physique was even better than he had imagined.
To fully recover from those kinds of injuries in just three days—that level of talent was extraordinary.
Still, he needed more tempering.
He would wait another half a year; once the kid graduated, he’d send him off to the New World to fight pirates.
A fledgling had to endure setbacks to fly higher.
Raizen, who was in the middle of instructing the trio, suddenly felt a sudden chill.
‘Who’s thinking about me?
Whatever.’
“For the three of you, the most important thing right now is honing your physiques.
A strong body is the foundation that supports everything else.”
After a few simple instructions and demonstrating the training methods, Raizen walked off to the side and began exercising his own physique as well.
His battle with old man Garp made him realize that his foundation was still too shallow.
His physique wasn’t strong enough, and his Haki wasn’t potent enough—it scattered the moment a top-tier powerhouse clashed with it.
He still needed to train a lot more.
Then there was his swordsmanship.
Over the past half year, he had successfully grown into a master swordsman, capable of unleashing flying slashes even without using his Devil Fruit powers.
If he incorporated his fruit abilities, he should be able to hold his own against a grandmaster swordsman.
Once he managed to forge Nidai Onimaru into a Black Blade, he would undoubtedly become a true grandmaster swordsman.
If he wanted to be an all-around powerhouse, he had to put in several times more effort than others.
He couldn’t compare to that King of Deserters’ talent for putting in two hundred times the effort, but hey, didn’t he still have his system?
Judging by the current rewards, every time he challenged a powerhouse, he could obtain a corresponding copy of their cultivation insights.
This would be incredibly helpful in boosting his overall strength.