Chapter 62: Muso Ichido vs. Wuxian Quan Gu

“One strike decides victory?”

Garp stood on a fragment of the ruined island, his smile inexplicable.

“Kid, you’re not trying to say you’ve got some move that needs a long charge time, are you? Clever little brat—you can come up with excuses like this.”

Who said Garp was reckless?

Through just two sentences, he deduced so much—Garp was simply too sharp.

Seven remained expressionless.

“What? Are you, the Navy Hero, afraid?”

In fact, with the bond between Rouge and Ace, Seven and Garp were, in a certain sense, reluctantly on the same side.

Both shared the same wish—

That Roger’s son, Ace, could grow up free of worry, live his life in peace, and never be dragged into the grudges of the older generation.

One did it out of a promise kept; the other out of gratitude for years of care and teaching from his captain.

Garp knew the World Government’s habit of eradicating threats completely; he believed he could protect Ace for at most another twenty or thirty years. But Seven was different—unless something went wrong, Seven could protect Ace for life.

Provided Seven had such an intention.

Even if Dragon had children later, Seven might still show face for Ace’s sake.

A seventeen-year-old Emperor of the Sea, as long as he doesn’t meet the fate of Loxs with Yimu, could enjoy freedom on the seas for life.

Moments later, Garp raised his iron fist.

“Come on, old man doesn’t believe it—you little brat, what earth-shattering move could you possibly unleash? I’ve seen everything in my life.”

So what if you use Roger’s Divine Evasion?

During the years Garp chased Roger, he’d endured at least eighty or ninety Divine Evasions, and still bounced around like nothing happened.

Judging by the confidence on this kid’s face, it’s probably not Divine Evasion—could it be Hara Mitama?

Could it possibly be Kagutsuchi Hideshi?

If a kid this young could truly unleash Roger’s strongest technique, he’d need to be locked in Impel Down for life—I’d watch him every second.

Seven raised his thumb.

“Mr. Garp, you’re a man of principle.”

With that, Seven rose higher, maintaining sufficient distance to counter Garp’s use of Moon Step or ground strikes to close in.

In this line of work, caution is always better.

Especially when facing Black-Haired Garp—this isn’t the seventy-eight-year-old Garp stranded on Hive Island decades later, cornered by the Desert King in the New World.

Seeing this, Garp sneered.

“This kid is a born troublemaker.”

Logically, a powerful Emperor of the Sea so young should have some arrogance, maybe even look down on others with his nose.

But with Seven?

He’s overly cautious.

I can’t tell whether this kid will be a blessing or a curse for the Navy in the future.

Yet, someone Dragon recognizes must harbor strong hostility toward the World Government—yet the Five Elders remain ambiguous about him.

As the sea breeze suddenly grew fierce, Garp’s expression turned grave: Seven’s violet-glowing katana now blazed with light too intense to look upon.

The wind howled; massive waves crashed against the rocks.

Clouds were torn apart by crimson-black Haki; countless purple lightning bolts rained from the sky, all converging upon the violet blade.

Crack—

Amidst the thunder and lightning, the violet blade’s glow intensified, becoming the sole light in heaven and earth.

“Huh—”

Garp exhaled a deep breath, pushing his three-color Haki to its peak; his fists wrapped in lightning-like crimson-black Haki.

Of the three Haki, the clash of Conqueror’s Haki was the most earth-shattering, the most visually overwhelming.

The instant the two opposing Conqueror’s Haki collided, the sky split open—not merely torn, but cleaved in two, as if heaven itself had been sundered.

The standard for a clash between mighty Conqueror’s Haki: cleaving heaven.

Far out on the sea.

The crews of the East Sea Emperor and the Dog-Head Warship, maintaining a safe distance, had all their attention fixed on the phenomenon above the ruined island.

Jin Ni sat on Big Bear’s shoulder, as if transported back years ago—when the Valley of the Gods had been split open by multiple crimson-black Haki, just like now.

Among them: Loxs, Garp, Roger, Whitebeard, Charlotte Linlin, Kaido…

Finally, at a certain moment—

Seven unleashed everything he had learned, swinging a technique forged from the swordsmanship of a great swordsman, Conqueror’s Haki, Devil Fruit ability, innate godlike strength, and the flames of the Lunaria tribe—

“Muso Ichido.”

Garp tensed his fists, yet made no move to dodge; laughing wildly, he roared—

“Wuxian Quan Gu.”

Garp admitted: he had underestimated Barzab Seven. This kid who rose to prominence in the Age of Pirates was truly formidable.

This was what a real battle felt like!

The violet blade-light and the black-red fist-shadow slammed together.

A deafening explosion erupted; a mushroom cloud larger than the island itself rose into the sky—merely the shockwave stirred colossal waves.

The island, already split into four pieces, was obliterated into fragments. Garp slammed the sea and flew backward, then stared—where was Barzab’s figure?

“Barzab, don’t run!”

Seven surged upward faster than the explosion’s shockwave, circling the waves, and in the blink of an eye, appeared on the East Sea Emperor.

Without hesitation, he took the helm; electric currents swirling around his fingers flooded into the electric propulsion system.

Before the shockwave reached them, the East Sea Emperor accelerated fivefold, shooting forward like an arrow, slicing through the waves with a hiss.

When Garp landed on the Dog-Head Warship via Moon Step, he saw only the severed sails, the scattered and dazed marines—and—

His deputy, Bogart, in a drawing stance.

Far across the horizon, the red sails of the East Sea Emperor were still visible.

Garp lowered his head, glanced at the blood on his chest, then casually tore off his tattered Marine cloak.

“This kid is stronger than Roger was in his youth.”

With a monster like this emerging among pirates, I must tell Admiral Sengoku—step up training for the next generation of Marines, or… decades from now, no one in the Navy will be able to stand against him.

Garp’s heart was torn: he worried for the Navy’s future, yet felt relief for Ace.

Ace now had a solid protector.

If his identity is ever exposed and the Navy can’t tolerate him, he can join Dragon’s Revolutionary Army—or follow Barzab.

But what about the Navy’s next generation?

Will they forever live under Barzab’s shadow? Or, as Roger once hinted in Impel Down, will Barzab never become the Navy’s enemy?

Garp once doubted it, but after speaking with Dragon, his eldest son, he began to believe Roger’s words.

“Bogart, pack up and head back.”

“Yes.” Bogart finally lowered his sword.

…

South Sea, East Sea Emperor.

Beside the helm, Jin Ni gently tapped Seven’s arm: “Captain, are you alright?”

After fighting Mihawk for two days and two nights, then sinking an island with Garp, he still had the energy to steer the ship?

Jin Ni was utterly astonished—what kind of physique could sustain such endurance? It was even more terrifying than a Giant’s.

Seven shrugged: “What’s wrong with me?”

Not only was he fine—he felt exhilarated.

Without eating Senzu Beans, he fought Mihawk to the full extent, then charged and unleashed Muso Ichido, forcing Garp to counter with his ultimate technique, Wuxian Quan Gu.

Such a feat left him utterly refreshed.

He was far stronger than Simon was during his battle with Akainu at Ohara.

Those fifty thousand points? Worth every single one.