"Hah, Garp, what's the point of dragging us old folks around at this late hour?"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku yawned, traces of fatigue still lingering at the corners of his eyes.
His gaze swept over Vice Admiral Tsuru beside him, who looked calm and composed, over Kizaru who was drowsily fiddling with his watch, and finally over to former Admiral Zephyr, who hadn't even had time to attach his Seastone prosthetic arm.
Sengoku's tone was full of impatience.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, since we're being mobilized so late at night, you'll have to count this as overtime pay for me when we get back," Kizaru drawled, slowly adjusting his sunglasses and letting out a long yawn.
At that moment, they were aboard a warship, slowly sailing toward a desolate island.
"Bastard, this isn't an official mission! If you want overtime pay, go ask Garp for it!" Sengoku retorted irritably, then turned to look at Garp.
Noticing the old hero's grave expression, his tone grew serious. "Could it be that you've finally made up your mind, Garp?"
Vice Admiral Tsuru also sensed the heavy aura surrounding Garp, and her eyes filled with a rare hint of concern.
"I wouldn't say I've made up my mind," Garp's Adam's apple bobbed as he spoke slowly. "In any case, everything will be decided by what happens next."
The warship gradually docked as moonlight spilled over the barren island.
This place was remote and uninhabited, with no Marine presence stationed here—a hidden location known only to Garp.
Cain stepped out of the cabin, his fingers instinctively brushing the brim of his Marine cap.
After taking a deep breath, he pulled the cap off and set it aside.
The moment the hat left his head, all hesitation vanished from his eyes and he strode purposefully toward the deck.
One by one, they disembarked.
When they reached the open area at the center of the island, Sengoku suddenly understood and a complicated smile curling the corner of his mouth.
"So that's it. You plan to settle things with a fight? That's just like you, Garp."
"So what's really going on? Can someone explain this to me?" Zephyr, still wearing his sunglasses in the dead of night, furrowed his brow in pure confusion.
He hadn't been involved in any of the day's events, he had simply been dragged out of bed, completely unable to grasp why this grandfather and grandson were about to fight.
Cain usually trained under Garp, had mastered Conqueror's Haki under Sengoku's guidance, and had learned the Rokushiki techniques from Zephyr, making the old instructor something of a half-teacher to the boy.
Sengoku knew all this, but he also knew that Zephyr harbored a deep hatred for pirates and criminals.
If Zephyr found out that Sengoku wanted Cain to become a pirate, his opposition would likely be even fiercer than Garp's!
Sengoku quickly hid behind Vice Admiral Tsuru and whispered, "Tsuru, you explain it to him. I really can't bring myself to say it."
Vice Admiral Tsuru gazed calmly toward the center of the island and said softly, "This is the path the two of them have chosen for themselves. We should just watch quietly."
Zephyr remained utterly baffled, but Kizaru narrowed his eyes, watching the grandfather and grandson face off.
"What an astonishing presence. This pressure is truly terrifying."
The night wind swept past, stirring up scattered leaves across the clearing.
Garp and Cain stood facing each other, their auras steadily rising.
"Come at me, Cain," Garp said solemnly, his muscles tensing as his fighting spirit ignited.
"I'll give it my all, Grandpa," Cain nodded.
In the next instant, two immense waves of Conqueror's Haki erupted simultaneously, colliding and clashing violently in the air.
An invisible shockwave, carrying the convictions and beliefs of both men, pressed and tore against the surroundings.
"Cain, this level is far from enough." Garp chuckled softly, his Haki surging even higher to instantly overwhelm Cain's pressure.
Cain's eyes sharpened as he assumed a fighting stance, boldly meeting the challenge.
Both of their arms were coated in Armament Haki, their fists brimming with power as they swung fiercely toward each other.
Boom—!
Their fists collided violently, sending a dull roar echoing across the desolate island.
A powerful shockwave swept outward, instantly cracking the ground with fine fissures.
But when it came to the sheer might of iron fists, Garp still held the upper hand.
With that single punch, Cain was sent flying backward.
He quickly adjusted his posture, leaving several afterimages as his feet dragged across the dirt, yet a delighted smile spread across his face.
"Finally! Grandpa, you're not aiming for my head anymore!"
The onlookers, including Sengoku, were utterly stunned, unable to help but murmur in awe.
"Just because he didn't get hit in the head, he's this happy? How much has this kid suffered at Garp's hands?" Sengoku asked in disbelief.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, from what I recall, Vice Admiral Garp's fights almost always involve punches aimed directly at the opponent's skull... so, yeah," Kizaru chimed in, his tone tinged with complete understanding.
Sengoku was taken aback, his mind instantly flashing back to the times he had roughhoused with Garp in their youth—how Garp always seemed unscathed while Sengoku ended up covered in lumps.
The words died on his lips, and he could only mutter dryly, "Uh, right."
On the battlefield, Cain's eyes burned with fighting spirit, holding nothing back.
The aura around him suddenly shifted dramatically as pink dragon scales rapidly spread across his skin.
His stature abruptly grew taller, dragon horns sprouted from his head, his whiskers swayed gently in the wind, and his muscles swelled.
"Oh? So this is what he looks like when he activates his ability. It's just like Kaido, though the color... is it the exact same as his hair?" Sengoku observed with keen interest.
"He's lacking the terrifying presense Kaido has , it's actually kind of cute, isn't it? Now I finally understand why Vegapunk called this a failure," Vice Admiral Tsuru covered her mouth with a light laugh, while a bewildered Zephyr stared blankly at the scene before him.
...
"You're actually going straight for this form, Cain?" Garp leaped into the air, his iron fist coated in Armament Haki and carrying immense force as he aimed directly at Cain.
Cain met the charge head-on without backing down, but he wasn't foolish enough to take Garp's attack directly.
The moment their fists were about to collide, he instantly transformed his hand into a claw and activated the Paper Art technique.
The dragon scales on his arm slid past Garp's fist at a tricky angle, narrowly avoiding the blunt force while precisely seizing Garp's wrist.
"Got you," Cain chuckled softly.
Only then did Garp realize that the impact of his punch had been completely misdirected into the ground, while Cain's body had subtly elongated, resembling Luffy's Gum-Gum Fruit ability.
In reality, it was merely a transitional phase before fully transforming into the Azure Dragon.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, all of you, step back!"
Before the words fully left his mouth, Cain, still gripping Garp, suddenly expanded, transforming into a giant pink dragon that coiled upward into the night sky.
The massive body wrapped around Garp like layers of ice cream, trapping him firmly at the center.
The dragon's head lowered slightly, and terrifying heat quietly gathered in his throat.
The onlookers instantly sensed the danger and retreated hundreds of meters without hesitation.
"Boro Breath!"
The scorching dragon's breath erupted abruptly, shooting straight toward Garp, who was enveloped within the coils.
Flames swept across the earth, instantly melting the rocks and burning a bottomless, charred crater into the ground.
"Cain, I told you, this level of heat is useless against me," Garp's voice pierced through the flames, still steady and powerful.
"It's not over yet!"
The next second, Cain's dragon body spin rapidly, whipping up a powerful tornado that swept across all directions with scorching flames, the intense heatwave nearly warping the air itself.
"Now that's more like it!" Garp laughed heartily, his Haki erupting around him to instantly break through the fiery tornado.
He leaped up once more, his iron fist gathering strength as he threw a brutal uppercut straight at Cain's chin.
This was exactly the result Cain wanted.
With his dragon head struck heavily, Cain immediately reverted to his Human-Dragon Form.
Though he was momentarily staggered, the sheer force of the punch sent him flying high into the air.
'I've been waiting for this!'
Cain adjusted his posture, diving headfirst toward the ground.
He quickly gathered Haki in his palm, intending to unleash a devastating punch from the sky.
But after charging for a moment, he suddenly shook his head.
'Not enough, not right, not like this.'
He continuously urged his Conqueror's Haki, trying to wrap it around his fist.
He frantically recalled the scenes of Garp beating him earlier, yet he just couldn't find that crucial point of connection.
"Good lad, so you want to practice coating! Then Grandpa will help you!"
Garp had already discerned his intention, instantly wrapping dense Conqueror's Haki around his own fist.
Black lightning materialized, impacting the surrounding environment.
Readied for the clash, Garp leaped up once more to meet Cain head-on.
'Yes, just fight with all your might. Battle itself is the fastest path to growth,' Cain's thoughts raced, his fighting spirit burning to its absolute peak.
Without a moment of hesitation, his entire body surged with Haki as he charged straight toward Garp's incoming fist.
"Grandpa, take this move!"
"Hahaha, well done! Come at me with everything you've got, Cain!"
"Bwaahaha—"
Roars and wild laughter intertwined as two immense forces barrelled toward each other.
Yet, the anticipated, world-shattering clash of fists never arrived.
Boom—!
A deafening roar shook the world.
Cain plummeted right past Garp, crashing headfirst through the ground and smashing into a deep, massive crater as shattered rocks and dust erupted into the sky.
As it turned out, Cain had a weakness: when diving headfirst at terminal velocity, he couldn't accurately control his trajectory.
Facing Garp's heavy punch, he had completely missed the target and fallen hopelessly off course.
Now, Cain was stuck upside down in the deep pit.
Even with his face covered in thick pink dragon scales, he couldn't hide his embarrassment.
Just moments ago, he had been burning with intensity, his Haki fully displayed in an epic charge, only to end up in such a humiliating state—his head planted firmly in the dirt like an overgrown scallion!
It was utterly embarrassing!