The One-Slash Superman of the One Piece World

"Someone like him… what a waste of talent to be in the Marines."

Watching Garp's utterly outrageous antics, even Roger couldn't help but sigh. He made his way to the stern of the ship, ready to "put a stop" to the giant wave surging toward them.

But just as he prepared to act, he clearly saw the enormous wave suddenly freeze solid in the blink of an eye. A long icy slide appeared out of nowhere, stretching out before the eyes of the Roger Pirates.

"What the heck is that?"

"Is it the power of that kid who was traveling with Garp?!"

Atop the crest of the frozen wave, Garp's warship sped forward, riding the icy slide as it barreled straight toward the Oro Jackson.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

"It's going to crash into us!"

"Steer away, quick!"

Several of Roger's crew shouted in alarm, frantically turning the helm to change course. But at that very moment, an intense chill swept across the sea surrounding the Oro Jackson. In the span of a few seconds, the ocean around them was completely frozen over. The ship was trapped, unable to budge an inch.

"We're… we're frozen in!"

"Captain Roger, the sea around us is ice!"

Buggy stared down at the frozen ocean encasing the Oro Jackson and cried out, his voice quivering with panic.

"Yeah… I see it."

"Garp… that lunatic is pulling new tricks again."

Roger's eyes narrowed as he watched the rapidly approaching warship. Still, he remained calm, gripping his sword as he stepped up to the rail.

"Roger!"

"You're surrounded. Surrender!"

As the dog-headed warship sped closer, Garp's thunderous voice carried across the frozen sea to Roger's ears.

When the two ships were less than fifty meters apart, just about to collide, Garp, standing at the prow of the dog-headed ship, suddenly threw a powerful punch. A terrifying surge of Haki, wrapped in crackling black lightning, roared toward the Oro Jackson.

"Hmph!"

"Looks like there's no avoiding this."

"Yarudoram… Everyone, brace yourselves. Don't get yourselves killed!"

Though Roger's eyes held a trace of gravity, he still burst into laughter as he called out to his crew. Then, with a powerful swing of his blade, he unleashed a slash wrapped in immense Conqueror's Haki, sending a black blade of energy flying toward the warship.

"Vwoooom!"

Garp and Roger's Haki collided violently once more. Again, neither side gained the upper hand. But the shockwave of their clash slammed into Garp's warship, causing the sails to billow backward and bringing the ship, which had been charging toward the Oro Jackson, slowly to a halt.

When the warship finally stopped atop the ice, only a few meters separated the Oro Jackson and Garp's vessel.

The pirates on Roger's ship and the Marines on Garp's ship now found themselves close enough to see each other's faces clearly across the short gap of frozen sea.

"Roger!"

Standing tall at the prow of his ship, Garp grinned fiercely. With a mighty leap, he hurtled alone toward the Oro Jackson.

"Damn you, Garp!"

"You really never know when to quit!"

Roger let out a low shout and sprang off the Oro Jackson, lunging through the air toward Garp.

The two figures met in midair.

Garp's fist shot straight for Roger's face, while Roger's sword came slashing down at Garp.

A punch and a sword strike collided in midair, the violent blast of Haki rippling outward from the clash. The frozen ocean cracked and splintered beneath them, and the white clouds overhead were blown apart by the surging shockwaves.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Garp and Roger exchanged more than a dozen fierce blows in midair, each strike of fist and blade ringing out with deafening crashes.

Moments later, the two men landed back on the ice, staring each other down before bursting into simultaneous laughter.

Garp didn't immediately resume fighting. Instead, he demanded, "I heard you're planning to go after Big Mom, Roger. What the hell are you trying to do?"

Roger didn't seem inclined to hide anything. Faced with the Marine's questioning, he actually answered quite honestly. "I'm looking for the Road Poneglyph."

"And that's none of the Marines' business, is it?"

"There are tons of pirates out there on the sea. Why the hell are you always hounding me, you bastard?!"

Roger's tone was full of exasperation. He and Garp spoke more like old friends than mortal enemies. Their exchange felt casual and unforced, carrying no real animosity.

"Don't talk nonsense. The Marines hunting pirates is only natural."

"Besides, I have a feeling you're going to stir up some major trouble, you bastard."

"I think it'd be best to toss you and your whole crew into Impel Down first."

Garp grinned as he spoke. He knew a bit about the Poneglyphs that Roger mentioned, though not nearly as much as Roger himself. All Garp really understood was that the Poneglyphs marked the route to the final island.

On that island lay the legendary One Piece, the ultimate treasure that every pirate who set sail dreamed of claiming.

The secrets of the Poneglyphs, however, were buried deep by the World Government. Garp only knew what little he'd stumbled upon by chance.

But Garp was convinced that Roger's true ambitions went far beyond treasure alone.

He'd crossed blades with Roger countless times and prided himself on understanding the man. Roger didn't strike him as the sort of pirate whose only goal was wealth.

The Roger Pirates were indeed pirates, but an unusual kind. From the very beginning in the East Blue, they'd left no record of pillaging innocent civilians.

In fact, once, when someone on Roger's crew committed such a crime, Roger personally executed that crew member.

Whenever pursued by the Marines, Roger's crew always preferred to avoid combat if possible. The friction between them and the Marines wasn't nearly as severe as one might expect.

On the other hand, the Roger Pirates had fought numerous battles against other pirate crews. But that was pirate business, and of no concern to the Marines.

Still, Roger and his crew were far from saints. They'd attacked royalty from nations affiliated with the World Government, which turned them into major criminals.

Moreover, the World Government had caught wind of Roger's pursuit of the Poneglyphs. Combined with the crew's formidable strength, that pushed their bounties to astronomical levels.

Garp's determination to capture Roger was simple. Roger's crew was dangerously powerful, yet the things they were doing didn't fit a typical pirate's profile.

Garp knew Roger harbored grand ambitions.

Though he couldn't yet pin down exactly what those ambitions were, Garp was certain of one thing — a pirate's grand ambitions were unlikely to be something as noble as world peace.

That hunch was why Garp continued his relentless pursuit of Roger.

"Impel Down, huh?"

"That place doesn't suit me. I think I'll pass."

"Garp, I—"

Roger began to speak, but abruptly cut himself off, shouting instead, "Stop, Oden!"

Because while Roger and Garp had been talking, Kozuki Oden had already leapt off the Oro Jackson. Feeling Garp's overwhelming aura, Oden couldn't resist launching an attack.

"Oden Two-Sword Style — Paradise Waterfall!"

Kozuki Oden's figure blurred into a streak of black as he shot high into the sky. The muscles in both his arms bulged powerfully.

In his hands, the twin blades Enma and Ame-no-Habakiri crossed into an X shape as he slashed downward at Garp's body. Conqueror's Haki crackled along both swords, screaming through the air as the blades hurtled closer to Garp.

Roger's shout went unheard. Oden's mind was filled with a single burning desire — to test his strength against a man as formidable as Garp.

Oden had once served as the second division commander on Whitebeard's ship. Despite Whitebeard's "family" ethos, Oden had been close enough to call Whitebeard his brother.

Yet he had never faced Garp directly in battle. Now, the chance was too tempting to ignore.

"Hehehehe!"

"So this is one of the samurai from Wano, huh?!"

"What a monster of a guy!"

The moment Garp laid eyes on Oden, he immediately recognized who he was. Though he'd never seen Oden in person, he'd studied the wanted posters enough to identify him instantly.

As Oden's attack hurtled closer, Garp suddenly reached out with his right hand and clamped down on the crossed blades of Enma and Ame-no-Habakiri, seizing both swords in a single iron grip and halting Oden's strike cold.

Haki exploded as the two men's powers clashed, shockwaves radiating outward at terrifying speed.

"Samurai… can't you see I'm having a conversation with Roger right now?!"

Garp, gripping both blades by their edges, grinned at the utterly stunned Kozuki Oden. Then his left hand curled into a fist, dense black lightning crackling around it. With a roar, he smashed his fist straight into Oden's face.

"BOOM!"

It was as if thunder had exploded. A tremendous crash echoed through the air.

In the next instant, Kozuki Oden shot backward like a cannonball, crashing into the hull of the Oro Jackson and blasting a massive hole through the ship's side. Even that impact wasn't enough to stop his momentum. He tore clean through the vessel and slammed down onto the frozen sea.

The thick sheet of ice cracked open, forming a gaping hole. Oden's figure vanished into the darkness, plunging into the sea below.

"Heh. These two swords aren't bad at all."

"I'll consider them a little compensation."

"Besides… none of this stuff is allowed inside Impel Down anyway."

Still gripping Oden's two swords, Garp chuckled merrily.

In just one blow… Garp had utterly crushed Kozuki Oden. And even his blades had become Garp's trophies.