Chapter 93

"It really is you, old man!"

Siano laughed heartily as well. "Isn't the Marine Headquarters being a bit too dramatic? Has it really reached the point where they have to send you personally to capture me?"

He had only been in the Grand Line for two months, after all.

This was the kind of treatment reserved for Roger!

"Can't be helped. Over in the New World, the Beasts and Whitebeard are having quite the row, so manpower is tight. I was enjoying my vacation, but I got dragged here... Wait, no, this is top-secret military intelligence. I can't tell you that."

"But you already told him, Mr. Garp!!!" the surrounding Marine soldiers shouted in anger.

"Pwahahaha!"

Garp scratched his head and laughed. "Ah, let that slip! It's fine, the newspapers will be printing it in a couple of days anyway!" He suddenly turned serious. "Siano, the truth is, I'm here representing the World Government to discuss the Seven Warlords of the Sea with you."

"The Seven Warlords?"

Siano rubbed his chin. "So they want to recruit me? Has it really reached the point of alarming the World Government?"

"That's right, haha. Your record of defeating two Seven Warlords in a row has even the Five Elders sitting on pins and needles. Anyway, as long as you nod, your bounty will be voided immediately, and you'll be able to enjoy... tch, why are there so many pages in this document? What a pain. How about we just meet up? We can talk in person!"

"Meeting is fine, but you're coming alone, right, old man?"

Siano paused. "Don't let me find out when we meet that you've got some lecherous middle-aged man in sunglasses or an eye patch following behind you."

"Ha? Of course not!"

"Fine, then I'll stop the ship and wait for you. Let me check the sea chart... hmm, the current coordinates should be..."

Click.

The call ended.

In the dining room, everyone looked at each other, and finally, all eyes gathered on Siano.

"Brother, are we really going to stay here and wait for the Marines?"

Nami was the first to lose her patience, asking urgently, "We can't trust them blindly. What if it's a trap..."

"Don't worry."

Siano sat back down and continued eating his breakfast with a calm expression. "If it were anyone else, maybe, but the old man's word is still trustworthy."

"Mm, that's right." Smoker agreed deeply. "Old man Garp is indeed like that; even when facing an enemy, he wouldn't do something like that."

"Even though you've left the Marines, you still seem to respect him quite a bit," Robin said from the side, blinking.

"The title of Hero of the Marines has shaken the seas for decades. What child dreaming of joining the Marines didn't grow up listening to his stories?"

Smoker sighed.

It was a pity that not everyone in the upper echelons of the Marines was like Mr. Garp.

"Alright, the captain said there's no need to worry, so stop fretting!"

Nami wanted to say more, but Zeff interrupted with a chuckle, the old man banging his ladle:

"Keep eating your meals, everyone!"

The *Rakumu* dropped anchor and came to a stop.

After finishing breakfast, Siano was lazily lying under a parasol waiting. After glancing at the sea surface nearby, he seemed to remember something and suddenly looked up:

"Hey, Nojiko."

Nojiko, who was in the crow's nest observing the surroundings for any warships, quickly poked her head out:

"What is it, brother?"

"Freeze this area. Create an ice sheet, the wider the better."

Siano pointed to the right side of the ship.

"Eh?"

Nojiko was a bit confused.

"You haven't met the old man, so you don't know his temperament."

Siano smiled. "Regardless of whether I agree to this Seven Warlords alliance or not, after not seeing each other for so many years, he's definitely going to pester me for a fight once business is done. You wouldn't want us fighting on the deck of the *Rakumu*, would you?"

Fighting on the deck of the *Rakumu*?

Nojiko imagined it for a moment and shuddered. The *Rakumu* had been with them for two months now, and she had grown attached to it; she didn't want it destroyed just like that.

"Understood, brother."

She nodded, put the telescope aside, and leaped out of the crow's nest.

Headfirst, she let her body fall.

Just before hitting the sea, she took a deep breath, pushed her hands forward, and the cold air stored in her body erupted—

"Ice Age!"

In an instant, a bone-chilling current swept out in all directions, centered on her palms!

Crack, crack—the once turbulent sea surface was instantly frozen into a silver-clad ice field.

Siano was stunned.

Wait, what age?

How could the name of this move also be a coincidence?

He wondered what Aokiji would think if he saw this scene.

"How's that, brother!"

Nojiko clapped her hands, looked up with a grin at Siano on the ship, "It's about a hundred thousand square meters, is that enough?"

"That's enough."

Siano gave a thumbs up. He stood up, walked to the railing, flipped over, and landed on the ice.

Although it was also called Ice Age.

Unlike the mirror-smooth ice surface created by Aokiji's ability.

The ice layer Nojiko created was covered with a layer of snow half a meter thick, shimmering with fine silver light under the sun.

It crunched when stepped on.

"A very suitable venue."

Siano grinned and looked into the distance. "Next, we just have to wait for the old man to arrive..."

More than an hour later.

On the distant horizon, the silhouette of a dog-headed warship finally appeared.

On the deck, Garp was sitting cross-legged on the railing, holding a bag of senbei he had stolen from Sengoku's office, munching away.

His adjutant, Bogard, reminded him helplessly:

"Mr. Garp, we're about to reach our destination. Shouldn't you take out the documents and prepare?"

"Pwahahaha! What's the rush?"

Garp waved his hand dismissively. "For negotiations like this, you should treat the other party well first. Who just pulls out documents right away... hmm?"

He suddenly narrowed his eyes, looking at the huge ice field that had abruptly appeared on the sea ahead. "Strange, is this... that brat Kuzan's ability? No, it seems a bit different."

"It should be the power of the Snow-Snow Fruit."

Bogard observed for a moment and said softly:

"The ability user is named Nojiko, the younger sister of that Siano. Besides that, according to intelligence, there are two other Logia-type ability users on his ship, and their strength should not be underestimated."

No, it was far more than just "not to be underestimated."

Bogard sighed inwardly.

Who could have imagined that the country boy he saw in the Goa Kingdom would not only become a world-renowned figure himself but also gather a group of powerful subordinates.

Three whole Logia-type ability users!

Looking at the whole world, besides their Marine Headquarters and the Four Emperors of the New World, what other faction could have such a luxurious lineup?

"Is that so?"

Garp brushed the crumbs off his hands. "I don't really care about that, but... they prepared the venue in advance? Pwahahaha, it seems this brat thinks exactly like me!"

Thinks exactly like him?

Bogard was stunned.

The next moment, he suddenly realized and his expression changed. "Mr. Garp! Please keep your mission in mind. You must not act on impulse and..."

"Don't worry, don't worry." Garp laughed. "You've followed me for so many years, you should know I have it under control."

"Report!"

The lookout's voice suddenly came from above. "Vice Admiral Garp, the *Rakumu* has been spotted ahead! There's a figure on the ice—it's that Siano with the 540 million Berry bounty!"

"Ah, I see him too."

Garp grinned.

His eyesight was far beyond that of an ordinary person. In his field of vision, he could not only see the figure in the center of the ice.

He could also see the other party lying comfortably on a lounge chair under a parasol, drinking beer.

At this moment, the boy seemed to notice the approaching warship, raised the glass bottle in his hand, and shook it gently toward them.

"Damn it, I've been running around like a headless chicken looking for you, and you're actually this relaxed, you little brat!!!"

Garp laughed and leaped off the side of the ship in one bound.

He didn't use Moon Walk, but relied on his terrifying leg strength to jump hundreds of meters high, then crashed heavily onto the ice like a cannonball—

Thud!!!

A huge hole instantly exploded in the ice, and cracks spread out like a spiderweb.

The figure of the Marine Hero disappeared directly into the ice hole, leaving only a splash of water.

Hmm?

Siano was stunned and turned to look at Nojiko.

"Uh, that's the edge area; the ability gets weaker the further out it goes."

Nojiko blushed and said sheepishly, "The center is still over ten meters thick, but that side is probably only two or three meters... Should I go fill the hole now?"

Siano shook his head. "Forget it, no need. We'll be fighting in the center anyway..."

Before he could finish his sentence.

A gurgling sound of bubbles suddenly came from the ice hole, followed immediately by—

"Pwahahaha! What's going on? This ice is way too thin!"

Garp's head suddenly popped out of the water, a half-eaten piece of senbei still in his mouth, his hair plastered wetly to his forehead, which, combined with the dog-head hat, looked quite comical.

As he struggled to climb up, he waved at Siano:

"Hey! You little brat! Aren't you going to give me a hand?!"

Siano was silent for two seconds, then turned to Nojiko: "...Fill the hole."

Nojiko: "...Oh."

She crouched down and placed her hands on the ice.

Crack, crack—

The cold air erupted again, the ice layer thickened rapidly, and seeing this, Garp kicked off hard, yelling as he leaped out of the water.

"Attempted murder, you little girl!"

Garp strode over and said grumpily, "Good thing I'm quick, or I'd have been frozen at the bottom of the sea!"

Siano sighed, handed him another beer, and pointed to the seat opposite. "Sit down, old man. I really can't tell if you're here to negotiate or to perform acrobatics."

He knew the old man liked to clown around.

But he should pick his moments!

It had such a great atmosphere before.

On the vast sea, frozen for miles, old friends meeting after many years, raising bottles to drink under the parasol.

And now? It was all ruined!

"Negotiate? That's a small matter!"

Garp took the beer, took a big gulp, exhaled with satisfaction, looked down at Siano across the round table, and said happily:

"Compared to that, why don't you let me see—"

Whoosh!

An iron fist wrapped in violent Haki suddenly appeared in front of Siano, Garp's hearty laughter echoing across the ice field:

"How much you've grown, you little brat!"

Siano had been prepared; red light flickered in his eyes, and he dodged to the side.

Garp's fist grazed his shoulder, and the wind from the punch shattered the chair into pieces, while a trench dozens of meters long was blasted into the ice behind him.

"Hey! Aren't we supposed to negotiate first?!" Siano glared.

"Pwahahaha! We'll talk after we fight!" Garp laughed, throwing another iron fist.

"You're more impatient than I am, you old geezer!"

Siano cursed, but his own fighting spirit began to rise.

Fine, a fight first was fine; he had wanted to test it for a long time anyway...

To test exactly how big the gap was between him and Garp after all these years!

Hum, his right arm was instantly covered in Armament Haki as black as ink, and he met the incoming fist head-on.

Boom—!!!

The moment their fists collided, a visible spherical shockwave instantly exploded between them.

The entire ice field, like glass stepped on by a giant, cracked into a spiderweb of fissures hundreds of meters in diameter, centered on the point of impact.

The warship that had just docked was also rocked violently by the shockwave; the Marines on deck hurriedly clung to the masts, but were still knocked off balance.

Bogard, however, stood straight. He watched the two fighting fiercely and couldn't help but sigh and rub his forehead:

"...As expected, it turned out like this."

He should have expected it.

Thud, thud!

Under the focus of countless eyes.

Two figures constantly crossed, turning into afterimages difficult to distinguish with the naked eye amidst the sky full of ice crystals, each collision triggering a chain of explosions.

"Take this punch!"

Garp's fist, carrying a terrifying wind, smashed toward Siano's face. As Siano leaned back to dodge, the wind grazed his hair, instantly blasting a huge crater into the ice.

"Pwahahaha! As expected, you've mastered Observation Haki quite well! Nice dodge!"

Garp laughed and changed his move, his left leg chopping down sharply like a battle axe!

"Iron Body!"

Siano crossed his arms to block, taking the full force of the blow, but the ice beneath his feet couldn't withstand the immense power and collapsed with a roar.

He simply took the opportunity to sink into the ice hole, but the next second he broke out from behind Garp, his right leg, wrapped in thick Haki, whipping toward the back of the old man's neck like a lash!

Bang!

Garp didn't even look back, but caught Siano's ankle with a backhand, swung him around, and smashed him into the ice.

Once, twice, three times!

Each time he was slammed, the ice would explode with countless cracks. Siano was swung back and forth a dozen times like a wooden mallet in the blink of an eye, and the smile that had been on his lips gradually turned ferocious.

Are you done yet, you old geezer!

Damn it, this is clearly my signature move!

"My turn!!!"

When Garp raised him to the peak of the arc again, he suddenly twisted his waist in mid-air, snapped, and used the momentum to break free from Garp's large hand.

While supporting himself with his left hand, he gathered all his strength in his right hand and smashed it toward Garp's chest!

"Six Powers Secret Technique: Mountain-Blowing Ripple Dash!"

"Iron Body!" Garp roared as well.

Boom!

The moment the fist hit Garp's abdomen, time seemed to stand still, with only ripples slowly blooming on Garp's chest.

Immediately after—

Thud!!!!

A terrifying shockwave spread in a sphere, and all the snow on the surrounding ice was blown high into the air, as if it were snowing goose feathers!

The Iron Body on Garp's chest shattered, and he was sent flying backward by the punch, carving a trail hundreds of meters long on the ice before finally stopping against the side of the dog-headed warship.

"Mr. Garp!"

"Vice Admiral!"

The Marines on deck hurriedly scrambled to the railing on that side, their expressions filled with disbelief.

Mr. Garp's Iron Body couldn't even defend against this punch and he was sent flying this far?

Bogard's eyes flickered, but he still stood quietly in place, ignoring them.

He had seen this scene many years ago.

"Mr. Garp."

He said softly toward the bottom, "It's obvious that the other party's skills are far beyond what they were back then. If you don't adjust your mindset and use your true strength, you're going to be completely looked down upon."