Pirates: Seeing My Proficiency, I Became a Legend

"Fist Bone! Broken Star!"

Standing his ground, Garp's muscles tensed as his fists swelled with immense power. Black lightning crackled around them as they became coated in Ryuo—the advanced form of Armament Haki that could unleash its power beyond the user's body. This time, Dongze could distinctly perceive the flow of Haki tracing intricate patterns through the air, as if shaping the very fabric of space. Even from a distance, the sheer force emanating from Garp made the battlefield feel heavier, as if gravity itself had increased.

This was different from their previous clashes.

Before his fist even moved, his will surged forth—a terrifying aura locking onto Dongze in an instant. Black and red lightning snaked through the air, the telltale sign of Conqueror's Haki infusion—a rare technique only the strongest warriors could wield.

"Conqueror's coating?"

Dongze's thoughts raced. His earlier suspicions were confirmed. The Monkey D. lineage possessed an unparalleled mastery of Haki—Dragon, Luffy… it was only natural that Garp, the man once called "The Hero of the Marines," had perfected it as well. If he lacked such power, how else could he have fought toe-to-toe with Gol D. Roger, or clashed against Whitebeard at his prime?

Faced with such overwhelming might, Dongze hesitated no longer. He drew upon his strongest trump card—the technique that could only be used three times per day.

No—"Eroding Sword Intent" wasn't a mere trump card. It was a force capable of shaking the world itself.

Wangchen, his blade, pulsed in his grip, now coated in advanced Armament Haki. The blackened blade shimmered unnaturally, as though drinking in the very essence of the world around it. A sharp gleam flashed across Dongze's eyes, and from the void, an ethereal, transparent sword materialized—an embodiment of his will. The air itself shuddered under the weight of this force.

Garp's brows furrowed. He could feel it.

A clash of wills.

Conqueror's Haki represented the supreme dominance of the individual—a force of sheer determination that allowed one to impose their will upon the world. But Sword Intent was different. It was a comprehension of the laws governing heaven and earth, a resonance with the very nature of destruction itself.

(To give an analogy, it was akin to the Heavenly Emperor who ruled supreme—whose very will could crush the laws of the world. Yet in certain realms, the laws themselves were indomitable, capable of resisting even the strongest wills.)

But this was the world of One Piece.

Dongze wasn't sure how the balance would tip. Devil Fruits themselves embodied the world's hidden laws—elemental manifestations (Logia), boundless mutations (Paramecia), and primal essences (Zoan). And yet, personal willpower could transcend even those laws, as seen in the monstrous figures who reigned at the top.

Would willpower surpass the natural order? Or would the world's laws prove supreme?

With a deep breath, Dongze positioned Wangchen before him, his fingers gliding across the blade's edge. A moment later, sword energy erupted like wildfire.

This time, he would use that technique.

"Across All Directions!"

The moment the technique activated, Garp had already launched his attack. A devastating black fist shot forward, warping space itself. The sheer force behind the blow compressed the air into a spiraling shockwave—a testament to the level of mastery only possessed by the likes of Roger and Whitebeard.

This was not a mere physical punch.

It was Haki so powerful that it manifested at range—capable of pulverizing an enemy without ever making direct contact.

This confirmed Dongze's theory: Top-tier fighters rarely used their strongest attacks at close range. The recoil from such immense force would be unbearable, even for their own bodies.

The moment Garp's attack was unleashed, the ground beneath Dongze buckled. Jagged cracks spread outward in an instant, tearing through the terrain like a spiderweb.

And then—Sword Intent fully revealed its fangs.

This was Dongze's most powerful slash.

For a brief moment, silence consumed the battlefield.

Then—devastation.

The air itself fractured. A hundred-meter-wide explosion of sword energy roared forth, engulfing everything in its path. Rocks, trees—everything in front of Dongze turned to dust in an instant.

A dozen massive slashes, each carrying the weight of his Eroding Sword Intent, cleaved through the sky, converging upon Garp's fist-light in a cataclysmic collision.

Had he aimed directly at Garp, the Marine Hero would have been forced to take the hit head-on, resulting in a brutal exchange of injuries. But something held Dongze back.

Garp wasn't fighting with killing intent.

He had sensed it throughout the battle. The old man before him was testing him.

And so, his slashes weren't aimed at Garp—but at neutralizing his attack.

The moment the two forces met, the battlefield erupted in a deafening explosion. A banshee-like screech tore through the air, as if the very heavens were being sawed apart. The sheer impact sent both combatants flying backward, their bodies struggling against the overwhelming shockwave.

Then came the dust storm.

From a distance, the scene resembled an inverted tornado, sucking everything into its spiraling maw. Within mere moments, over half the island had been consumed.

Garp's expression darkened.

"Reincarnation Erosion?"

"…No."

This power surpassed anything Crocodile's sand could do.

His instincts screamed at him—the battlefield itself was at risk. If this force continued to expand, it wouldn't stop at just the island.

On the shore…

Robin, who had been observing from a distance, suddenly felt the earth shake beneath her feet. Looking up, she saw a massive vortex of gray energy rising from the island's center. Even from over 50 kilometers away, the shockwave reached her.

The next moment, a force unlike anything she had ever felt threw her off her feet.

She hit the sea.

Panic seized her. She was a Devil Fruit user.

As she struggled against the water's pull, exhaustion washed over her limbs—her strength rapidly draining away.

But just before the sea could claim her, a shadow appeared above her.

A warm embrace caught her mid-fall.

It was Dongze.

He had rushed from the battlefield, appearing just in time to pull her free. Without a word, he ascended into the air, soaring toward the heavens—mere moments before the final explosion erupted behind him.

A titanic tidal wave surged outward, engulfing the entire island.

Above the storm, the dark clouds split apart, and sunlight once again bathed the world.

A few kilometers away…

Garp stood atop a lone rock, arms crossed, his expression unreadable.

He had seen this only once before—in the final battles against Gol D. Roger.

And now, watching the young swordsman before him, he muttered to himself:

"What a terrifying brat… Looks like I'm really getting old."

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