Chapter Ninety-One: Joint Operation

Seeing the Armament Haki coiling around Mord’s right hand, Saul’s bulging eyes seemed ready to pop out of their sockets.

Just one minute ago, he had been speaking with absolute certainty, insisting that mastering Armament Haki in such a short time was impossible.

One minute later, Mord had slapped that claim hard across the face with his own actions.

Even Saul, who had weathered countless storms in his life, was left speechless by the shock.

It was the look of a man whose beliefs and accumulated knowledge over half a lifetime had just been utterly overturned.

If it had been Observation Haki, or even Conqueror’s Haki, Saul would not have been this astonished.

But this was Armament Haki. It could not be attained in a single leap; it had to come naturally, step by step.

And yet this boy...

Saul slowly recovered himself, then without warning reached out and dispersed the Armament Haki coiling around Mord’s right hand.

With his eye for detail, he could tell at once that Mord’s present physical condition was nowhere near sufficient to support such a polished Haki technique.

It was the difference between releasing Haki like a gentle stream and simply smashing the water barrel apart.

That kind of reckless output could injure the body.

Naturally, Saul could not allow Mord to continue.

Having his Haki slapped away by Saul, Mord froze for a moment. In his confusion, he suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion.

When he had been guiding and controlling the Armament Haki just now, he had not felt this kind of fatigue.

But once Saul interrupted the Haki’s sustained output, his body reacted at once, as though he had sprinted more than ten miles in just a few seconds.

“The physical drain is way too insane...”

With enough understanding, Mord immediately grasped what had happened.

He also understood that Saul’s intervention had been meant to prevent him from being hollowed out by the high-intensity output of Armament Haki.

At that moment, Saul was studying Mord with a peculiar look in his eyes.

This boy’s physical condition had only just barely crossed the threshold, and yet he could already manipulate Armament Haki with such ease.

It was like a baby whose body had not even developed enough to stand, yet somehow already knew how to run.

How could that even be possible?

Saul knew that Mord’s physique was unusual, but that alone could not explain it.

In all his years, what kind of monster had he not seen?

And yet, physique alone was not enough to account for the phenomenon before him.

Saul took a drag from his cigarette and forced himself to calm down.

Still, curiosity was not his strongest trait.

Beside them, Sunny and Beli had finally come back to themselves as well.

From Saul’s explanation, they had deeply understood just how difficult it was to master Armament Haki.

And yet Mord, standing right next to them, had just demonstrated in person what it meant to do it as easily as breathing.

They looked at Mord as though he were some strange and extraordinary curiosity.

“Uh...”

Mord felt his scalp prickle under their stares.

To break the eerie silence, he looked cautiously at Saul and said in a low voice, “Armament Haki... I think I’ve... got it.”

Silence fell over the room.

Saul’s cheek twitched, as though another handprint had appeared there.

Sunny looked at Mord, then drew a long breath before saying, “I kind of want to hit you.”

“...”

After that, Saul did not pursue the reason Mord could use Armament Haki so naturally.

The world never lacked monsters.

Just because one had never seen or heard of something did not mean it did not exist.

Some people awakened Observation Haki from birth.

Some used Conqueror’s Haki while still very young.

So it was not impossible for someone to pick up Armament Haki and use it fluently from the very start.

Most importantly, Saul saw boundless possibility in Mord.

And he intended to guide all of that possibility onto the path of the gunner.

Before continuing his lesson, Saul gave Mord a warning.

Until his body had a proper foundation, he was not to use Armament Haki so recklessly again.

Mord naturally agreed without hesitation.

...

West Blue, Marine Branch 158.

At dusk, the sun sank low in the west.

Orange-red twilight shimmered across the calm sea.

A warship bearing a highly unusual authority cut through the waves and sailed toward the port of Branch 158.

On the dock, every Marine, including Gion, had gathered and stood in formation, watching the approaching vessel.

At the head of the line, Colonel Robby narrowed his eyes at the warship that was about to enter port.

“Why would Vice Admiral Garp come to Branch 158?”

He glanced discreetly at Gion standing in front.

Was it related to why she had remained at Branch 158?

Robby silently guessed.

Soon, the warship came alongside the shore.

A wooden gangway extended from the ship’s rail to the dock.

Clap—!

All the Marines on the dock snapped their feet together in perfect unison, the sound crisp and synchronized, then saluted Garp as he walked down the gangplank.

Under the gaze of the assembled Marines, Garp strode down with long steps.

Following behind him was Aokiji, dressed in plain clothes and looking thoroughly drowsy.

He scratched idly at his hair, as though he still had not quite woken up.

“Huh?!”

When the Marines saw Aokiji behind Garp, none of their saluting arms moved an inch, but every face was filled with disbelief.

Even Admiral Aokiji had come?!

Before lining up to welcome the visitors, they had known that the man arriving was the legendary Vice Admiral Garp, and so they had mentally prepared themselves.

But they had never imagined that Admiral Aokiji from Headquarters would also be here.

This was only a small branch in West Blue. What kind of wind had blown these two great figures from Headquarters all the way here?

Robby was stunned beyond words.

Even Gion looked genuinely surprised.

When Bogard, Garp’s aide, had called her, he had not mentioned that Aokiji would be coming too.

That meant the Ghost Spear was troublesome enough to require even Garp to request Admiral Aokiji’s assistance?

In an instant, Gion’s thoughts began to churn.

Even if she wracked her brain, she probably would never guess the true reason Aokiji had come along.

“Garp. Aokiji.”

Gion stepped forward a few paces and greeted them.

In the presence of old acquaintances, no formal honorifics were necessary.

“Hahaha, you’ve worked hard, little Gion.”

Garp laughed heartily.

Aokiji merely nodded toward Gion in response.

Not far away, Robby fought the urge to rush forward and make his presence known, despite the clear gap in status.

That was Vice Admiral Garp and Admiral Aokiji...

Garp did not linger on the dock for long.

He handed the task of restocking supplies to his aide, then, under Gion’s guidance, headed toward the branch base.

They would certainly need to spend the night at the branch before departing with full provisions.

From here to Mad Hatter Town, the voyage would take at least three days.

Garp was not in any hurry.

Thus the Marines watched as Garp and Aokiji made their way toward the base.

All the while, they quietly speculated about why two such heavyweights had come to West Blue.

If they were here to hunt some heinous criminal, there should have been at least some rumor of it.

And the biggest recent event in West Blue was only the hijacking of the Polking merchant ship.

Besides, that matter had already been resolved by Colonel Robby.

So what, exactly, had brought Vice Admiral Garp and Admiral Aokiji out together?

...

Mad Hatter Town, Wall Mountain Slave Factory.

Under the cover of night, two figures arrived in silence.