He... he dodged it?!
The eyes of the betting Marines in the corner nearly popped out. The Berries in the bookie's hand scattered all over the floor.
Even Garp let out a soft "Huh?", pausing his action of putting a senbei into his mouth.
"A fluke?"
Garp raised an eyebrow, his figure blurring as he instantly appeared behind Tatsuki, kicking toward his backside.
The air is being compressed!
Below and behind, the airflow is turbulent!
Before Tatsuki's brain could react, his body had already followed the guidance of the airflow, drifting forward like a weightless fallen leaf, barely avoiding the sneak attack.
"It wasn't a fluke."
The pencil in Bogard's hand snapped. His eyes behind his sunglasses were full of shock. "The second time! He really predicted the Vice Admiral Garp's movement! It's only been half a day!"
"Interesting..."
The smile on Garp's lips gradually widened. It was the excitement of a hunter discovering prime prey.
"Developing your Devil Fruit ability into a sensory radar? You've got plenty of clever tricks. But..."
"What if the storm itself can't keep up with my speed?"
Garp's figure completely vanished.
Boom!
The atmosphere on the deck seemed to be sucked dry in an instant.
Tatsuki felt the once-clear airflow network instantly collapse. There were simply too many disturbance sources, and they were too fast. Fists were everywhere, and the figure of that old geezer was everywhere. He couldn't distinguish between an actual attack and an afterimage.
Garp's voice sounded. "Don't get ahead of yourself! Observation Haki isn't just a radar, it's precognition!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Although Tatsuki captured the airflow, his body simply couldn't keep up with that terrifying frequency.
"Being able to see it but not dodge it—isn't that even more despairing? Kyahahahaha!"
"Aaaagh! Not the face!"
For the next hour, a tragic scene played out on the deck. Tatsuki was like a ragdoll struggling in a washing machine, sent flying everywhere by Garp's kicks.
Pain.
Piercing pain.
But in this extreme pressure, in the despair of his Devil Fruit ability failing completely, Tatsuki was pushed to the edge of the cliff.
I don't want to spend money! I don't want to be beaten anymore!
This intense obsession caused the stray thoughts in his mind to be completely cleared.
Gradually, amidst those wild punches, Tatsuki felt a new power sprouting within his body.
It was something even more mysterious than airflow perception.
It was intuition.
It was the body's most instinctive warning of danger after being beaten countless times.
A second before the next attack arrived, a blurry frame of an image flashed through Tatsuki's mind—
A fist was about to strike his left ribs!
Without conscious thought, Tatsuki forcibly twisted his waist in mid-air and raised his right hand.
Pitch-black Armament Haki instantly covered it, precisely blocking his left ribs.
Bang!
This time, he didn't fly away. Instead, his feet plowed through the deck as he slid for over ten meters, finally coming to a steady stop.
Blocked.
The moment Garp threw the punch, he had already 'seen' it.
Tatsuki tore off the blindfold that was already soaked in sweat, revealing a pair of eyes that, although bloodshot, were startlingly bright.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host! Under extreme violent pressure, you have successfully awakened Observation Haki (Beginner) on your own!]
[Achievement Reward: Violation Points +10,000!]
"Hahahaha!"
Tatsuki couldn't help but laugh out loud, not even caring that it aggravated the wounds on the corners of his mouth.
I saved 100,000! And I earned 10,000!
This beating was worth it!
"Huff... Huff..." Tatsuki panted heavily, looking at Garp, who was across from him eating a fresh bag of senbei with gusto.
Despite the intense pain all over his body, his eyes were full of gratitude. "Thank you for the guidance, Vice Admiral Garp."
"Hmph, although you relied on cheating at first, that last bit was the real deal."
Garp tossed the last piece of senbei into his mouth and patted the crumbs off his hands, giving a rare piece of positive feedback.
"Now, when you reach the New World, you'll barely be more than cannon fodder."
Tatsuki was about to complain about what kind of praise that was.
Suddenly—
Purururu... Purururu...
The golden den den mushi in Bogard's arms suddenly began to ring frantically. That urgent ringing caused the atmosphere on the ship to freeze instantly.
Garp frowned and reached out to take the receiver.
"Hello, this is Garp. If it's Sengoku whining about donut reimbursements again, tell him I'm not here."
"Garp!!! What time do you think it is? You bastard, you're still in the mood for donuts?!"
Sengoku's hysterical roar came from the other end of the den den mushi. The volume was so loud that one could practically feel the spittle through the receiver.
More importantly, Tatsuki keenly heard the chaotic alarms and roars in the background of the call.
Something big has happened!
Tatsuki's heart skipped a beat.
"No matter where you are, head to Edd War at full speed immediately!"
Sengoku's voice carried an unprecedented gravity.
"Latest intelligence! Golden Lion Shiki has assembled his entire grand fleet!"
"He has cornered the Roger Pirates in Edd War!"
"Those two madmen are going to war!"
...
"...That's the situation."
The den den mushi vividly mimicked Sengoku's enraged and anxious expression, its features all scrunched together.
"Fleet Admiral Kong's order is not to take the initiative to join the battle, but to wait until both sides are injured before striking."
"Understood." Garp replied in a deep voice, hanging up the call.
The sea breeze whistled past, swirling a few pieces of scrap paper on the deck.
Garp maintained his casual stance, the bag of senbei in his hand rustling in the wind. He kept his head down, the shadow from his hat's brim obscuring his eyes.
The Marines, who had been stifling laughs just a second ago because Tatsuki was getting beaten during special training, found their smiles frozen on their faces.
No one spoke.
A suffocating pressure spread without warning from the man wearing the suit.
The dust in the cracks of the deck stopped dancing, and even a few News Coos circling in the distance seemed to sense a natural predator. They let out a mournful cry and desperately flapped their wings to flee the airspace.
Tatsuki felt as if a piece of lead was pressing against his chest, and his breathing became exceptionally heavy.
The frivolous old man who laughed all day and only knew how to steal his subordinates' snacks was gone.
In his place was the Marine's Iron Fist who had cornered Roger several times, the strongest gatekeeper of the Marines in this era.