One Piece: Starting with Sign-in Naruto Character Cards

Rikuya Kazama walked straight out, swaggering past Garp and Tsuru.

Behind him, Crocodile and the others also shot a glare at Garp before quickly following Rikuya outside.

"You could've made a move just now!"

Once Rikuya's group had left the bar, Tsuru suddenly asked in a deep tone.

Her voice wasn't a question—it was a rebuke.

"I did consider it. After all, there's never been anyone in this world who dared act so arrogantly in front of me.

But I held back in the end—because he's Rikuya Kazama, someone I don't understand at all.

More importantly, there's still something hidden about him that we don't know!

If I were to attack rashly and fail to take him down, that'd mean completely falling out with him."

Garp muttered softly as he watched Rikuya and the others leave.

Once outside the tavern, Rikuya took a deep breath.

It had been far too suffocating inside. Even with the system backing him, it took tremendous courage to verbally spar at such close range with someone as terrifying as Garp.

Thankfully, Garp had stayed relatively calm and never truly intended to strike—otherwise, Rikuya wouldn't have gotten out of there so easily.

"Damn, Captain Rikuya, you were absolutely badass back there! You chewed him out right to his face, and he didn't even dare touch you!"

Bartolomeo shouted excitedly once they were outside.

Even Douglas Bullet and Crocodile looked at Rikuya with admiration.

They were already renowned figures and had crossed paths with Garp and the others before.

But even at their level, they wouldn't dare posture in front of Garp without serious consequences.

If he struck while they were unguarded, the aftermath would be unimaginable.

"Captain, if it really had come to a fight back there… could you have handled it?"

Douglas Bullet asked seriously.

He had fought both alongside and against Garp before, so he had a pretty clear understanding of the old man's power.

What he didn't know was where Rikuya's power ceiling truly lay.

After all, he himself had nearly been injured by Sakazuki earlier today!

"It's hard to say. But to be honest, the most terrifying person in Marine Headquarters isn't Garp."

"Hmm? You mean Sengoku?" Crocodile chimed in.

"No. It's Sakazuki—the guy we fought today."

"What? Sakazuki? That guy couldn't even break my Barrier Ball. How could he compare to that old man in the tavern?"

"Hmph. You're underestimating him. If Sakazuki really unleashed his full strength, the result would be terrifying.

Besides, you managed to trap him for now, but if I'm not wrong, your barrier requires a constant supply of your internal energy, right?

So even if he doesn't touch you, there's no way you can keep him trapped forever.

Once your barrier deactivates on its own, what are you going to do?" Rikuya snorted.

Indeed, Bartolomeo's barrier was extremely OP, but not invincible.

Anyone who understood its mechanics would simply sit down and wait for it to deactivate on its own.

So when facing true top-tier powerhouses, his barrier was more of a delay tactic than an ultimate defense.

And Sakazuki was the only one in the pirate world to have ever defeated another Admiral in a head-on fight. Not even legendary figures like Roger, Rocks, or the current Four Emperors had managed that.

None of them had ever broken an Admiral's leg in direct combat.

So one could only imagine how terrifying Sakazuki could be if he went all out.

"Looks like the current Marines aren't any weaker than they used to be. So what's next? Do we go after the other Shichibukai?"

Douglas Bullet asked.

"Hmm… Old Sand, you should be able to contact Morgans, right?"

Rikuya suddenly turned to Crocodile.

"Eh? What are you planning? I do know that guy, but he's a big shot in the underworld—he's got nothing to do with the Shichibukai!"

"I know. I just want you to leak something for me—tell the world I'm going to challenge the Shichibukai and that I'm open to negotiating with the World Government."

"What?! You want to leak that on purpose? That won't do us any favors.

Once those Shichibukai hear we're hunting them, they'll either go into hiding or team up against us!"

"Haha. If they team up, even better! Saves me the trouble of hunting them down one by one!"

Rikuya grinned nonchalantly.

"…Fine. But won't this piss off the World Government?" Crocodile asked with concern.

"Screw that. They're the ones begging us to take positions.

Besides, if they can go around appointing pirates as Shichibukai, what pride do they even have left?"

Rikuya wasn't afraid—he knew the World Government wouldn't care that much about the leak.

The key point was: the Government's original offer was for Rikuya to eliminate the other Shichibukai. That alone was a good thing in the eyes of the world.

So even if the news got out, it would at most provoke some complaints from the current Shichibukai.

And all they could do was complain. If they truly refused to cooperate, the Government would simply turn its guns on them.

"Alright then, I'll contact Morgans. But who do we hit first?"

"How many Shichibukai are still around, anyway?"

Douglas Bullet finally managed to get a word in. Having been imprisoned in Impel Down for so long, he had no clue who the current Shichibukai were—let alone which pirates held the titles now.

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