Pirates: Seeing My Proficiency, I Became a Legend

Another sunny day dawned.

The salty sea breeze carried moisture through the air, brushing against the shoreline of an unnamed island. Dongze slowly opened his eyes, still feeling the exhaustion from yesterday's ordeal.

Thinking back, he couldn't help but curse under his breath.

If not for his mastery of Geppo (Moonwalk) and Soru (Shave) combined with his newly developed skill—Flying on Water—he would have been caught by now. Even with his abilities, it had taken him an entire day to finally shake off Garp.

That old man's stamina was terrifying.

Dongze glanced at his status panel. The proficiency for Flying on Water had skyrocketed to its max in just one day, something he wouldn't have thought possible under normal circumstances. He had Garp to thank for that, though he didn't feel particularly grateful.

Outrageous.

Even at Garp's age, his endurance was monstrous. No matter how much Dongze widened the distance, the old man would close in like an unstoppable force. In the end, it was only when his legs finally cramped that Garp had stopped the chase.

Dongze had barely had time to enjoy his victory when Robin appeared—leading a burly, disheveled old man toward him.

His stomach dropped.

That smile on Garp's face was downright evil.

"Boy! Won't you run away this time?"

Dongze sighed, brushing the dust off his clothes.

"Why should I run? The silly girl already walked right into your hands, Lieutenant General Garp."

Robin's eyes widened. She turned sharply toward Dongze.

"Wait… he's Garp?"

For a moment, she was frozen in shock. The fruits she had been carrying tumbled from her arms, rolling to the ground.

She had assumed the scruffy-looking old man was just a poor castaway—perhaps a shipwreck victim. She had pitied him.

(Of course, Robin's sense of aesthetics was… unique. It took a certain kind of person to look at a giant, battle-scarred old man and feel sorry for him.)

But now she realized she had unknowingly delivered their pursuer right to them.

She turned pale.

In One Piece, there were many infamous Marines, but none more feared among pirates than Garp the Fist—the hero of the Navy, the man who chased the Pirate King across the Grand Line.

Garp, however, paid her no mind. He merely shrugged.

"My target isn't her. She's just a kid. If this were fifty years ago, though…" He smirked. "Maybe I'd have been interested."

Dongze chuckled. "Really? She actually has a name, you know."

Garp narrowed his eyes. "Why, isn't the little girl called Xiaoyi?"

Dongze's expression darkened slightly.

"She had another name. Nicole Robin. The last survivor of O'Hara."

The air grew heavy in an instant.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The weight of history pressed down on them.

Then, finally, Garp exhaled. His voice was quieter, lower—laced with something resembling regret.

"…You didn't have to say it, boy."

"Would it have changed anything if I didn't?"

Garp turned to Robin, studying her carefully for the first time.

"She does look just like Nicole Olvia… If you changed the hair and eyes, she could be her spitting image."

Robin flinched at the mention of her mother.

Garp sighed. "The O'Hara incident was… unfortunate."

"But the truth is, in the Navy, there are things you have to compromise on." His tone turned gruff, yet the underlying weight in his words remained. "Kuzan—Aokiji—spoke about you back then. Even he had his doubts."

"But this wasn't just the Navy's decision, girl. This went beyond us."

"The World Government decided O'Hara had to be erased. That wasn't something we could stop."

"There isn't always fairness in this world. I learned that long ago."

Garp clenched his fists.

"That's why I never accepted the rank of Admiral. If I had, I'd be tied even tighter to their orders."

Robin trembled.

She hadn't expected such words from Garp of all people.

For years, she had carried the weight of O'Hara's destruction—its flames, the screams, the memories of her mother, her friends, her teachers—all wiped out under the pretense of 'justice.'

That day had shattered her world.

And now, standing before the symbol of the Navy's strength, she couldn't hold back any longer.

Tears welled in her eyes as she clenched her fists.

"Then why? Why did you kill all those innocent people?! Why did the Navy destroy my home?"

Robin's voice cracked.

"All we wanted was to uncover the past! Why did we have to be hunted for that?! Why—?!"

Garp sighed and shook his head.

"Didn't this brat explain it to you?"

Robin blinked in confusion.

Dongze, who had been quietly watching, raised an eyebrow as Garp suddenly turned his gaze on him.

Oh. Hell no.

This was not his fight.

"Oi, oi! Don't drag me into this!" Dongze protested. "This is your Navy's mess, not mine!"

Garp smirked. "Cheeky little brat, aren't you? Guess I'll have to teach you some respect later."

"Come on! Handle your victim first before picking a fight with me!" Dongze shot back.

Robin, however, wasn't done.

Garp's expression softened slightly. "Listen, girl."

"You've seen the world. You know how it works."

"The Navy doesn't act alone. We're under the World Government. And above them sit the Celestial Dragons." His voice turned hard. "Some things are decided far beyond us."

"The lost history of a hundred years… I don't know the full truth, but I can tell you this—whatever happened in that time was something the World Government would do anything to erase."

"And in this world…" He clenched his fist. "Might makes right."

"O'Hara's scholars crossed the line. They challenged the World Government. And without power to protect themselves, they were wiped out."

"That is the reality of this world."

Robin shook, gripping the hem of her shirt.

"From my standpoint, I hate what happened. But the world is already chaotic enough with the Great Pirate Era in full swing. If that history had been revealed, who knows how much worse things would have gotten?"

Garp exhaled deeply.

"I can't give you the answer you want. You'll have to find it yourself."

His gaze sharpened.

"But if you want justice, then get strong enough to make your own."

Dongze narrowed his eyes.

Garp was far sharper than his usual goofy antics suggested. The man had spent decades navigating the Navy's corrupt politics while maintaining his personal code.

Maybe that was how Dragon had learned to move in the shadows.

Garp suddenly shifted his stance, turning toward Dongze. His aura flared.

"Well, boy, it looks like my mission today is a failure."

He cracked his knuckles, a dangerous smirk forming on his lips.

"But I did say I'd teach you a lesson, didn't I?"

Dongze's heart sank.

Oh, hell.

This battle… was inevitable.