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East Blue
Somewhere in the middle of the sea
"Well, my crew must be worried, so I'm going all out from now on, Gramps. Let's see how close I am to the big leagues", Luffy says, beginning to enter Gear Fourth.
As soon as Luffy completes his transformation into Gear Fourth 'Rocketman', everything seems to freeze in time, giant, turbulent waves caused by the previous collision now frozen in place. In this moment, with time almost standing still, Luffy rockets toward Garp, running through the air using Soru and Geppo at full throttle, leaving a trail of flames behind him as the friction from his speed creates scorching fire.
Upon reaching his grandfather, Luffy assumes a punch stance, pulling his forearm inward while twisting it, generating so much tension and friction that flames emerge from the folds of his contracted arm.
Using Advanced Armament and Conqueror's Haki, Luffy unleashes a point-blank 'Gomu Gomu no Red Kong Gun' at Garp. But to his surprise, even though Garp is caught off guard by Luffy's speed, he manages to defend himself by coating his arms with Armament Haki, crossing them over his chest. Even without Luffy's punch making contact, Garp is sent flying at light speed, bouncing off the sea like a stone for several kilometers.
When he finally stops, Garp flexes his hands to ease the pain in his forearms, which are completely red from the impact and flames.
'Ah, you little brat, that's definitely going to leave a bruise later', Garp thinks, his grin widening even more as he realizes his arms had also suffered some internal damage.
The fight resumes with time still frozen. Luffy appears before Garp, his knees bent and his torso twisted, parallel to the ground. His left arm is contracted and twisted, like in his previous attack, aimed for an uppercut to Garp's chin from a low angle.
His legs push his body upward, and once in position, Luffy jumps and throws the punch. His arm uncoils like an extremely tense spring, creating a torrent of fire from the friction with the air.
But Garp dodges Luffy's 'Gomu Gomu no Spider Punch' completely, which punches a colossal hole through the clouds above. As he evades, Garp coats one of his legs with Advanced Armament and Conqueror's Haki and delivers a powerful Spartan kick to Luffy's stomach, sending him flying just like he had been.
Hitting the surface of the sea and sinking at breakneck speed, Luffy manages to stop his momentum but spits out a large mouthful of blood.
Wasting no time, he brings his hands to his sides and quickly charges up a Kamehameha, using Observation Haki to aim properly, then fires it.
A massive beam of black and reddish energy bursts from the sea, racing toward Garp in an instant, so hot that it boils the water around it.
Garp quickly counters Luffy's Kamehameha with a 'Galaxy Divide,' slicing Luffy's attack in two beams that explode behind him, causing a gigantic flash and an ear-splitting 'Boom!' that could be heard from miles away.
At this point, the sea is utterly chaotic, the sky laden with dark clouds, and lightning forming all around.
Luffy then shoots out of the water at full speed, heading toward Garp and resuming the fight.
As the battle continues, Luffy finds himself more and more pressured by Garp. No matter how much stronger he becomes, his grandfather always raises the bar whenever Luffy starts gaining ground.
It gets to the point where, although Garp hasn't taken too much damage, just several bruises and some internal injuries, Luffy is entirely covered in his own blood, exhausted. He feels that, beyond the Advanced Armament Haki tearing through his body, something else is happening.
That's when a theory clicks in his mind: 'It's almost like Gramps' Haki is affecting my own, draining me much faster than usual. My Haki feels weaker, and there's this sense of exhaustion. If you think about it, Haki is essentially spiritual energy given form, and spiritual energy could be translated as the soul… Oh… Damn, that's the next step in Advanced Armament Haki, isn't it?'
"Bwahahahaha, is that all you've got, kid? If so, you might as well give up and come with me to become a good Marine", Garp shouts, rotating his right shoulder to stretch it out.
"Hah… hah… No, this is just the beginning", Luffy says, catching his breath. "How did you even find me, anyway?"
"Bwahahaha, pure luck! We were heading to Loguetown because I knew you'd pass through there. Then I saw a Jolly Roger with a straw hat skull and knew it had to be you, kid."
"I've told you a hundred times, Gramps, I'm not joining the Marines. I'm a pirate."
"No way am I letting my grandson become a pirate! Ace is bad enough. Ugh, when I get my hands on that brat, I'm gonna tan his hide and enlist him in the Marines", Garp says, irritated.
"Yeah, Gramps, I'm not just gonna be any pirate. I'm going to find the One Piece and become the Pirate King", a blood-soaked Luffy says with a massive grin on his face.
"It won't be easy, kid", Garp says, wanting to see if Luffy is serious.
"I never thought it would be", Luffy replies, and Garp nods in understanding.
The fight resumes, with Luffy trying to gain some ground, only to be beaten down by Garp more and more. But this time, things are different for Luffy, he knows what he has to do.
If he could master this evolved form of Advanced Armament Haki, maybe, just maybe, he'd have a chance to escape.
From this point on, Luffy relentlessly tries to attack using the same concepts of Ryuo, but aiming not just to affect the body's interior, but also the soul.
For what seems like hours, Luffy tries and fails miserably most of the time. But eventually, things begin to work. His attacks now not only impact Garp's body with far greater power than before but also affect his soul, slowing down his recovery and, if not for Garp's own Haki protecting him, draining his energy and weakening his Haki.
The battle continues, with Luffy now able to strike at Garp's soul while defending his own. He had finally leveled the playing field if only slightly, giving himself a sliver of room to breathe.
Garp was now taking more damage, not nearly as much as Luffy, but enough to show dark bruises, bleeding cuts, and even some burns.
This intergenerational clash reached its climax when Luffy compressed his forearm and unleashed a 'Gomu Gomu no Red Culverin' at Garp.
Garp dodges the first punch, but Luffy's flaming arm keeps stretching, gaining speed and changing direction like a pinball.
Narrowly avoiding the punches coming his way, taking a few glancing blows, Garp maneuvers in freefall through the air, using Geppo and Soru to propel himself, navigating the tangled mess of Luffy's outstretched arm. He rapidly closes in on Luffy and delivers a point-blank 'Galaxy Impact.'
But Luffy manages to dodge at the last second, making his arm change direction and land a full-force blow on Garp's attacking arm.
Garp's punch misses Luffy, striking only the air and the ocean, creating a hole the size of a large island that would fill with water once time resumed, stirring the sea into massive tsunamis.
Luffy seizes the opportunity and creates distance from his grandfather. Compressing his legs like springs, he launches himself at Garp and lands a powerful 'Gomu Gomu no Red Rhino' on his chest, creating an explosion of flames upon impact.
Garp blocks with crossed arms and Haki, but he's sent flying at light speed.
Without wasting a moment, Luffy inflates the skeletal and muscular structure of his right forearm until it becomes gigantic, then compresses it back to its normal size, creating enormous tension. He then contracts his forearm like a spring, twisting it as he charges toward Garp, his arm trembling from the effort of containing the tension. Conqueror's Haki crackles wildly around his arm.
Garp recovers quickly from the previous attack and realizes that the next strike is likely the final blow. He shoots toward Luffy, grabbing the air with his right hand in a manner similar to Whitebeard, with Conqueror's Haki sparking from his fist.
They meet halfway, huge grins plastered across their faces. On one side, Luffy's arm looks like a bomb about to explode. On the other, Garp's fist seems to be tearing at the very fabric of reality.
Both unleash their attacks. Luffy releases all the stored tension, using the concept of Shigan mid-strike. Garp closes his fist, causing a small air explosion in his palm as he punches.
Their attacks connect, leaving a gap of a few centimeters between their fists, with bolts of Conqueror's Haki dancing wildly at the epicenter of the impact.
At the same time, both Garp and Luffy shout the names of their techniques at the top of their lungs "Universe Crusher!" "Gomu Gomu no Nuke Punch!"
A colossal flash occurs, followed by an ear-splitting 'Booooommmmm' that echoes for kilometers. A line splits the impact, cutting through the clouds in the sky and creating a massive ravine in the ocean, devoid of water.
Luffy was launched far away, with his arm bleeding profusely, both from the force of his grandfather's punch and the recoil of his own attack.
It was the same for Garp. He was thrown into the sea, sinking deep, and the arm he had used to strike Luffy was also bleeding heavily from the strength of the punch.
Luffy quickly regained his footing after skipping across the water like a stone and taking advantage of the moment, he fled, but not before appearing on his grandfather's ship.
=Scene Break=
For Luffy and Garp, the fight had lasted hours. However, for those unable to keep up with their speed, in an instant, they traded punches, and minutes later, Luffy appeared on their ship with the sea in a furious and violent state. The sky had been split in two, not to mention the flash and the sounds of explosions from before.
"Hey Coby, Butt-Chin, how are you guys? Looks like Gramps put you through some training", Luffy says, waving with his left arm since he couldn't lift his right.
"Luffy? What happened to you? Where's Vice-Admiral Garp?", Coby, still a bit confused by what had happened, fired off questions like a machine gun.
"Relax, the old man's tough as nails. He'll show up any moment, and since I don't stand a chance against him yet, I'm gonna get out of here. But don't be sad, remember this day as 'The day you almost captured Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King!' Well, see you around", Luffy says, disappearing and heading back to his ship, using Observation Haki to find his way.
Moments later, Garp appeared at the bow of his ship, looking out toward the horizon in the direction Luffy had gone, a huge grin on his face. "Bwahahahahahaha, my grandson's a genius prodigy, just like his grandpa! He learned that just by watching me… bwahahahahaha."
"Vice-Admiral, are you okay?", Bogard asked as he approached Garp.
"I'm great, Bogard, it's just a scratch. I went easy on the brat, but he did manage to land some good punches", Garp said, giving Bogard a light tap on the shoulder with his bloodied right arm before heading inside the ship, whether for medical treatment or food, who knows.
Meanwhile, Luffy landed on the Merry, leaving his crew and guests shocked at his condition.
"Luffy, wh-what happened to you?", Nami asked, starting to whimper.
Chouchou began rubbing against Luffy, whining and licking his wounds to clean him.
Zoro clenched his jaw, gripping his swords tighter, feeling like he had failed.
Usopp clenched his fists in frustration, feeling powerless.
Kaya cried openly, her hands covering her mouth.
Meanwhile, Johnny and Yosaku stood off to the side, their respect for Luffy growing immensely.
"Relax, guys, I just need some meat, milk, and a nap", Luffy said before passing out.
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(AN: 2,017 Words)
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