Kahn slowly stood from the massive stone beneath the sunlight.
The movement looked effortless.
Yet the pressure radiating from his body resembled a volcano on the verge of eruption.
“Hey.” “The old man’s back.” The moment those words fell— Monkey D.
Luffy immediately stopped crashing himself into rocks.
Nearby, Portgas D.
Ace and Sabo also halted their sparring simultaneously.
All three expressions became complicated instantly.
Excitement.
Relief.
And overwhelming dread toward the incoming “Fist of Love.” … At the harbor of Foosha Village— Monkey D.
Garp leaped directly from the bow of an enormous Marine warship.
BOOOOM!!
His landing shattered the dock planks apart instantly.
A crater formed across the harbor.
“Hahahaha!” “My adorable grandsons!” “Grandpa’s finally back!” His laugh thundered throughout the village loudly enough to make nearby birds flee.
The villagers immediately grimaced.
Especially Woop Slap.
The old mayor leaned furiously against his cane while his beard shook violently.
“GARP!!” “You damned Marine!” “You destroy the docks every single time you return!” Garp ignored the complaints entirely while chewing senbei loudly.
Behind him walked a tall swordsman wearing sunglasses.
Bogard.
Unlike Garp’s boisterous personality, Bogard remained silent and observant.
As he looked toward the towering forests of Mount Colubo, faint anticipation appeared within his eyes.
He genuinely wanted to see the “monster” Garp constantly mentioned.
… Halfway up the mountain— Garp suddenly stopped walking.
Ahead of him stood four figures blocking the forest path.
At the front— Kahn.
Now nine years old and already towering above 1.9 meters tall.
Even Garp needed to tilt his head slightly upward to meet his gaze.
A nine-year-old child this large simply shouldn’t exist.
“Old man.” “You’re late this time.” Kahn crossed his arms casually.
No fear.
No pressure.
The title of Marine Vice Admiral meant absolutely nothing to him.
Garp paused briefly.
Then his pupils narrowed slightly.
The changes compared to last year were enormous.
In the perception of someone as monstrously powerful as Garp— Kahn no longer resembled a human child.
He resembled a miniature sun compressed into flesh.
The sheer vitality radiating from his body overwhelmed every living thing nearby instinctively.
“You brat…” “Still rude as always.” Garp suddenly laughed loudly before throwing a punch directly toward Kahn’s face.
No killing intent existed behind it.
Yet the sheer pressure from the fist alone generated violent wind.
Kahn didn’t dodge.
Instead— He calmly raised one hand.
BANG!!
Fist and palm collided violently.
A visible shockwave exploded outward instantly.
Leaves across the forest floor were blown away completely.
Luffy got launched rolling backward from the wind pressure alone.
“So strong…” Ace stared with wide eyes.
Beside him, Sabo unconsciously swallowed hard.
After training desperately for an entire year— The mere aftershock from these two monsters still suffocated them.
Meanwhile— Kahn remained completely motionless.
Not even his feet sank into the ground.
Every ounce of force had already dispersed harmlessly around him.
“Your strength improved a little.” Kahn smiled faintly afterward.
Garp slowly withdrew his fist.
A slight numbness lingered across his knuckles.
And that fact alone shocked him slightly.
He was the Marine Hero.
The man who cornered Gol D.
Roger countless times.
Yet a nine-year-old child had casually blocked his punch head-on.
“Hahahaha!” “Looks like you didn’t slack off while I was gone!” Garp grinned afterward before turning toward the other three children.
“Alright!” “Let Grandpa see your progress too!” For the next thirty minutes— The mountain became hell.
Luffy got beaten into a swollen ball before hanging upside down from tree branches.
Ace and Sabo attacked together relentlessly— Yet neither managed touching even the corner of Garp’s coat.
Eventually, both boys collapsed inside a muddy ditch while gasping for breath.
Garp dusted off his hands proudly.
“Not bad.” “With stamina like this…” “You’d already qualify as future Admiral candidates.” “I DON’T WANNA BE A MARINE!!” Luffy dropped from the tree immediately afterward while rubbing several fresh bumps on his head.
He adjusted the straw hat stubbornly.
“I WANNA BE THE PIRATE KING!” Instantly— Garp’s face darkened.
He slowly turned toward Kahn.
“…You corrupted him?” Kahn leaned casually against a nearby tree while eating grapes.
“I don’t have time for that.” “That hat came from Shanks.” Then he spat out a grape seed.
“Besides…” “You dumped him inside a village filled with pirate stories.” “If he doesn’t become a pirate…” “…what’s left?” “Village mayor?” Garp crushed the senbei in his hand angrily.
“RED-HAIRED SHANKS!!” “That damned thief seduced my grandson!” He immediately grabbed Luffy by the collar.
“I’m fixing that nonsense today!” “LET ME GO!” “OLD MAN IDIOT!!” Luffy flailed wildly.
Nearby, Ace sneered coldly.
“What’s so great about Marines anyway?” “Your justice is full of hypocrisy.” Garp sighed heavily afterward.
Looking at his rebellious grandchildren genuinely gave him headaches.
Thankfully— At least one seemed relatively sane.
Garp turned back toward Kahn.
“Kahn.” “You’re not planning on becoming a pirate too, right?” Kahn calmly swallowed the final grape.
“I’m not interested in killing civilians or robbing villages.” Then he stood up slowly.
“But don’t expect me to become a watchdog protecting the trash living in Mary Geoise either.” His black eyes met Garp’s directly.
“Your justice…” “…can’t protect this world.” “So I’ll handle things my own way.” Silence followed immediately afterward.
If anyone else said such words, Garp would have dismissed them as childish rebellion.
But Kahn?
No.
This brat truly possessed the confidence to back those words someday.
… Later that evening— Everyone gathered inside the Dadan Family cabin.
The moment Curly Dadan saw Garp enter— She immediately hid behind the door trembling.
Every time Garp visited, chaos followed inevitably.
“DADAN!” “WHERE’S THE MEAT?!” Garp stormed inside loudly while laughing.
“Hurry up!” “I’m starving!” Dadan twitched furiously.
“You freeloading old monster…” “The allowance you gave me disappeared years ago feeding these gluttons!” Despite complaining, she still ordered massive piles of Sea King meat brought out.
Soon— The cabin became lively.
Garp devoured meat at terrifying speed as though venting his frustrations from Marine Headquarters.
Luffy attempted stealing meat directly from Garp’s plate— Only to get smacked headfirst into his own bowl.
“Old man.” “How long are you staying?” Kahn rotated meat slowly over the fire while asking casually.
“Half a month.” Garp swallowed a massive mouthful before continuing.
“The seas are getting chaotic again.” “The New World’s a mess.” “There’s some lunatic named Kaido running around challenging everyone to death matches.” “And that crazy hag Charlotte Linlin keeps expanding territory nonstop.” He drank heavily afterward.
“These youngsters nowadays…” “…nothing but trouble.” Ace listened intensely.
The New World.
The strongest sea.
The place he dreamed of conquering someday.
Meanwhile, Luffy blinked blankly.
“Kaido?” “Big Mom?” “…Can you eat them?” Garp nearly exploded from annoyance.
“THOSE ARE THE FOUR EMPERORS!!” “The monsters ruling the seas!” Luffy nodded seriously.
“Oh.” “Then I’ll beat them up someday too.” Garp suddenly felt several years older.
Nearby, Kahn quietly cut another piece of meat.
Internally— He calculated calmly.
The Four Emperors had already stabilized.
Shanks reclaimed influence.
The World Government tightened its grip.
Which meant— The calm before the storm had officially begun.
Once Luffy turned seventeen and finally sailed— This era would completely explode.
“Eight years…” Kahn murmured softly.
How much stronger could he become in eight years?
Could he survive permanently in deep space?
Could he crush the Red Line with raw strength alone?
He quietly looked toward the moon outside the cabin.
Even reflected moonlight still nourished him faintly.
Not enough to grow stronger.
But enough to remain active.
… Early the following morning— Garp summoned Kahn alone toward the clearing behind the mountain.
Bogard stood silently nearby with one hand resting against his sword.
Even he unconsciously looked tense.
“You brat.” Garp tossed aside his Marine coat casually, revealing the heavily scarred body beneath.
“I brought back something interesting this time.” “The awakening training method developed by Marine Headquarters.” “Normally it’s only for monsters…” “But I think it suits you perfectly.” Kahn raised one eyebrow slightly.
“Oh?” “That sounds useful.” Then— He inhaled deeply.
Instantly— The gravity across the clearing distorted.
The golden energy inside his body began boiling violently.
Even the surrounding grass flattened outward.
Kahn slowly raised his eyes toward Garp.
“Old man.” “You’d better prepare yourself.” “Right now…” “If I stop holding back…” “…you might actually get beaten badly.” Silence.
Then— Garp burst into thunderous laughter.
“Hahahahaha!!” “What arrogant nonsense!” “COME ON THEN!” “Show Grandpa exactly how much confidence you’ve got!” In the distance, Bogard slowly tightened his grip around his sword.
Because unlike Garp— He could already tell.
Kahn wasn’t bluffing.
Inside that young body slept something monstrous enough to devour the entire world.
The wind swept through the clearing quietly.
Then— BOOOOOOM!!!
The ground exploded apart instantly.
Two blurred afterimages collided violently in the center of the field.
Bogard’s eyes widened sharply.
This… Was supposed to be a sparring match between a grandfather and a nine-year-old child?
The terrifying shockwaves erupting outward felt more like two natural disasters colliding head-on.