Chapter 55: Armament Haki

Crack!

Ace kicked off the tree trunk, used the momentum to leap out, and in a few bounds landed beside Luffy.

"Ace!" Luffy, who had been hiding behind the tree, was overjoyed. "How did you get here!"

"Would you believe me if I said I felt your distress signal right here?"

Ace pointed to his heart; just as a smile appeared on his face, he noticed two figures fiercely battling in the distant mountain forest.

"Who is that guy?" Ace was stunned, unable to help but gasp in shock. "So strong! He can actually go toe-to-toe with that stinky old man?"

"Can't you tell? It's Big Brother Siano!"

"It's him?"

Ace frowned and observed carefully for a moment.

Indeed, he had grown much taller and bulked up considerably, but looking at his profile, he truly was the same guy who had once beaten him senseless with just three punches and two kicks.

"So he's this powerful!"

Gulp! Ace swallowed hard; last year, being knocked unconscious had felt utterly shameful, so he had trained bitterly all year, hoping to one day get his revenge.

Now it seemed that result had only come because the other party had held back immensely; even if Sabo were still alive, the three ASL brothers attacking together wouldn't withstand a single punch from him.

……

Boom!

With a sharp reverse kick from Siano, Garp's body slammed violently into the cliff, shaking the entire mountain with a muffled roar.

"You little monster, you can actually change direction mid-air several times in an instant!"

Garp laughed, dispersing the dust and smoke, his rough knuckles cracking as he clenched them. "You've mastered both Soru and Geppo so proficiently; where exactly did you steal these Six Styles from!"

"No one taught me! It's all thanks to my own effort and sweat!"

Siano laughed loudly as well; this old man was truly decent, for after a brief exchange, he had without a second word limited his strength and speed to a level roughly equal to Siano's own.

Thus,

it had completely become a clash of physical constitution and combat reaction capabilities, a hard collision between powerful muscles.

For half an hour they had gone back and forth, punch meeting flesh, fighting in a thoroughly exhilarating manner.

It was just a pity for this stretch of mountain forest; countless great trees had crashed down with rumbling sounds, leaving the ground in total disarray.

"No good, no good; if this continues, we won't determine a winner even by nightfall," Garp said, scratching his head. "Raising my power again wouldn't be fair to you, so let's just do this instead..."

The moment his words fell,

his right fist suddenly turned pitch black as if dipped in ink, and at the same time he looked up and bared his teeth at Siano in the tree.

"Kid, you better be careful!"

Damn it, you're getting serious!

Seeing Garp charging toward him, Siano's pupils contracted sharply; he stomped fiercely on the ground, the afterimage of his Soru seeming to linger in place while his true form flashed behind Garp.

He had decided to strike first, delivering a steady and ruthless punch aimed at Garp's neck.

However, just at the instant Siano's fist was about to touch the surface of the skin,

the old man, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, grabbed Siano's wrist with a reverse grip and executed a shoulder throw, while simultaneously slamming that ink-cast right fist violently into Siano's chest!

Thud!

Siano was instantly sent flying backward, crashing into the ground like a cannonball; spiderweb-like cracks spread rapidly with cracking sounds, even reaching the feet of Ace and Luffy.

At the center of the fissure, dust and smoke suddenly billowed up, and for a long time no movement was heard from within.

"Big Brother Siano!"

Luffy was startled by this scene and rushed over urgently to help Siano up, while roaring angrily, "What are you doing, you stinky old man! How could you strike so heavily!"

"Heh..." Garp landed on the ground, ignoring Luffy, and fixed his gaze solely on the center of the dust cloud.

He simply did not believe the other party could not withstand that blow.

This kid's strength and speed were indeed very powerful, but after fighting until now, what surprised him most was still that astonishing physical toughness and defensive power.

His bones were like iron; several times they had nearly been shattered by Garp's strikes, yet after shaking his arm they would quickly return to normal.

Not to mention that head; it was hard as a solid steel ball, and before using Armament Haki, even Garp's fist would ache slightly from the recoil upon striking it.

Fourteen years old... only fourteen years old!!!

This kid was merely two years older than Ace, yet his strength exceeded his by more than ten times.

Garp now felt some regret; if he had known earlier, he wouldn't have spoken so absolutely before.

At worst, he could have forcibly taken him away and guided him slowly afterward; instead, he had let such a promising talent slip away for nothing.

What Navy Rear Admiral? Looking at it now, after this kid becomes an adult, he would be qualified to serve as a Headquarters Vice Admiral!

The dust and smoke gradually dispersed.

As expected, Siano simply shook his head and stood up as if nothing had happened.

Although blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth and his chest had caved in slightly, the aura emanating from his entire body remained fierce and steady, and the gaze with which he looked up still burned with fighting spirit.

"That's really cheating," Siano said, baring his teeth. "Using Armament Haki is one thing, but you even used Observation Haki."

He touched his chest; the aura left by that mighty Armament Haki seemed to still surge around the wound, clearly detectable.

Siano closed his eyes and felt it for a moment, then suddenly licked the blood at the corner of his mouth with a hint of greed.

"Again!"

He fiercely tore apart his tattered upper garment, revealing twisted and terrifying muscles that, under the sunlight, faintly gleamed with a metallic copper luster.

"Wow!!!" Luffy and Ace widened their eyes.

Under the awestruck gazes of the two kids, Siano stomped fiercely on the ground, stepped onto the sky above the forest using Geppo, and slammed a punch violently toward Garp's head.

The knuckles carried wind force that tore through the air, making the brim of Garp's dog-hat flap loudly, yet excitement wrinkled the old man's face.

"Well done!"

He suddenly retreated half a step, his pitch-black right fist sweeping upward from below in a lingering shadow, like swinging a heavy hammer before smashing down with a boom.

That mass of ink-black color reflected in Siano's pupils; he neither flashed away nor dodged, instead meeting it head-on with his own fist!

Crack!

Compared to their earlier evenly matched state, Garp's fist, now covered in Armament Haki, suddenly surged in intensity; Siano could even hear the lament of his own bones buckling under the strain.

Yet the tingling sensation transmitting from his finger bones grew increasingly scalding, as if countless ants were gnawing along his blood vessels deep into the marrow, a feeling both painful and intoxicating.

"Huff, huff..."

He panted violently, unwilling to give up in the least; instead, as if insatiable, he continued to exert force furiously, baring his teeth at Garp with the corners of his mouth stretched to his ears.

"Stick out your left fist too, old man!"

Before his voice even faded, his free left fist had already rushed without hesitation toward Garp's shoulder, while Garp let out a loud laugh and met it head-on with his own left fist.

"So greedy? Then this old man shall satisfy you!"

Boom!!!

The instant the two fists collided, the shockwave exploded completely, sweeping out in all directions!

"Oh no, we're standing too close!"

Ace immediately hugged the tree trunk tightly, barely managing to avoid being blown away.

As for Luffy, he hastily coiled his arms into a spiral and hung just like that from Ace's leg, but his straw hat flew high up, spinning until it caught on a treetop, revealing eyes beneath it widened like copper bells.

"My hat..."

Thud! Siano happened to be knocked back, landing on the branches of that very tree; glancing at the straw hat beside him, he casually picked it up and made as if to toss it to Luffy, but the moment it left his hand, it vanished without a trace.

"Look in my bag!"

Laughing loudly, he charged at Garp once more.

Eh?

Luffy froze for a moment, then suddenly realized the truth and dashed straight toward the backpack Siano had thrown earlier beside a huge rock; pulling it open, he saw that familiar straw hat indeed lying inside.

"Wow, the magic has evolved! It's even more amazing now!!!"

Hearing the panicked shouts rising from below, Siano twitched the corner of his mouth but did not delay his movements, once again clashing fists thunderously with Garp.

The two exchanged punch after punch, relentless as a violent storm, completing over a hundred exchanges in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, as Siano struck out again, Garp could already faintly sense a familiar, domineering aura amidst the fist winds.

"Astonishing comprehension."

Garp tightly gripped Siano's fist, preventing him from advancing another inch, and narrowed his eyes as he said, "I didn't expect that in such a short time, you could clearly perceive the existence of Haki and begin attempting to harmonize with it; the next step, then, is to start attempting to coat it!"

"—Coat your body, or even your weapons! If you can make it as clearly visible as smoke, amplifying the destructive power of every punch and kick, then you can be considered to have entered the door!"

"However, achieving this step still requires some adaptation practice; this old man is pressed for time and has no leisure to watch you master it slowly, so we will skip directly to the next step—listen well!"

"This second step! On the basis of coating, you must be able to make the originally smoke-like Armament Haki condense and adhere like glue, greatly enhancing specific body parts according to your will!"

Both his arms suddenly turned pitch-black, "Just like this!"

Boom!

His incredibly hard elbow suddenly shot upward, striking Siano's face; since both of Siano's fists were occupied resisting Garp's dual punches and he could not break free for a moment, he could only watch helplessly as the elbow strike approached.

He instantly let out a miserable scream and flew backward, crashing directly into the rock layers below the cliff.

After coughing violently for quite a while and spitting out a large mouthful of blood, he finally caught his breath; pursing his lips, he suddenly felt something amiss, stuck a finger in to dig, and instantly pulled out two teeth.

"I've already passed the age of losing baby teeth! How is this supposed to grow back!"

Siano stepped out of the dent, furious, "Old man, can't you aim properly? At least hit me where the wisdom teeth are!"

"Ignorant fool, where would a fourteen-year-old brat have wisdom teeth!"

Garp sneered disdainfully, "See that? Being able to harden body parts at will like this old man means you've achieved the second step, and this is all I can teach you!"

"As for going further..."

He slapped down from mid-air to the ground, "First master the second step; afterward, the path must be explored and pursued by yourself, leading in different directions based on personal needs or limitations of talent."

"For example."

Garp suddenly glanced at Luffy, "Some people will focus on improving the condensation effect of Armament Haki, wishing to concentrate all the Haki they can control into a tiny area, such as the tip of a bullet, to unleash terrifying killing power."

Why are you looking at me? Luffy's face was full of bewilderment.

Siano, however, immediately realized that Garp was referring to Red-Haired Shanks' first mate, Benn Beckman; the moment that gun muzzle lifted, even his second uncle had to show some respect.

"And then there are others."

Garp glared fiercely at Luffy, withdrew his gaze, and continued, "Who pursue the extreme of full-body defense, fearing any weak spot might appear, so they spread Armament Haki over their entire bodies, leaving enemies with no opening to exploit."

This time the old man did not provide an example.

Siano lowered his head and thought carefully for a moment.

He immediately thought of Donquixote Doflamingo's confidant, the one sent to play the undercover role for three years plus three more, who eventually ended up becoming the chief of a G-branch station: Vergo.

Second update, requesting monthly tickets.

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(End of Chapter)