Chapter 43: Garp's Condition
The so-called Six Powers are a set of universal physical combat techniques passed down within the Marines. They consist of Iron Body, Paper Art, Moon Step, Tempest Kick, Finger Gun, and Shave. Once cultivated to a certain level, they can surpass the limits of the human body, unleashing incredible combat strength.
To be precise, the Six Powers should be considered a substitute, primarily trained by Marine officers at the rank of Captain or below who cannot awaken Haki, or by intelligence agents from CP0 to CP9. Marine officers at the rank of Rear Admiral and above almost all use Haki, so the Six Powers are of little use to them.
What Captain Schroeder had just used was one of the Six Powers: "Iron Body"! It is a powerful defensive technique that, by controlling the muscles throughout the body, makes it as hard as iron, making it difficult for bullets or blades to break through.
Although Ian's seven-strike slash had been blocked, he wasn't too surprised, because he hadn't infused any Nen into that strike.
Earlier, due to experimenting with skill fusion, Ian had exhausted all his Psychic Power. However, after sleeping for over an hour on the ship, he had recovered some. Though not much, it was enough to use skills like Flash Slash or Evil King Flame Slayer Sword.
"Not bad speed!" Schroeder said, looking at the cut in his clothes. "Enough strength too, but you're still a ways off from taking me on."
Ian didn't reply, just gripped his sword and faced him, waiting for Schroeder to attack.
"Shave!"
The next moment, Schroeder's figure vanished from where he stood!
The principle of this technique was to stomp the ground more than ten times at an extremely fast frequency, using the powerful reaction force to achieve explosive speed, making Schroeder appear as if he had disappeared.
Ian was slightly startled, but his reaction was fast enough. He immediately sensed Schroeder's movement direction and swung his sword to block behind him to the side.
Schroeder appeared there, pointing a finger at Ian: "Finger Gun!"
That finger struck the flat of Ian's blade, unleashing immense force at its tip. Ian felt a tremendous impact transmitted through the sword, numbing his hand.
But Ian gritted his teeth, lifting the blade upward to deflect the force. Seizing the moment of successful block, he immediately launched a Flash Slash at Schroeder!
With a horizontal swing, Ian's Sword Saint Longsword turned into a cold gleam aimed at Schroeder's waist.
The Flash Slash was fast, but Schroeder could still see it clearly. He was about to use Iron Body to defend, but at that moment, Garp suddenly shouted from the side: "Dodge!"
Schroeder hesitated, and that split-second pause left him no time to react. Seeing Ian's blade already upon him, he could only continue using Iron Body to block.
A soft *shing* sound followed, but this time there was no metallic clang. Ian's blade swept across Schroeder's body, drawing a trail of blood.
Schroeder stared blankly at the wound on his waist. Though it wasn't deep, his proud Iron Body defense had been broken so easily!?
Garp scolded loudly from the side: "Idiot, can't you see what the kid's move is? You should have used Paper Art to dodge! Why did you use Iron Body!?"
Schroeder bowed apologetically to Garp and said, "I'm sorry, Vice Admiral Garp. I was careless earlier!"
"How many times have I told you? The Six Powers aren't invincible!" Garp fumed. "Being overconfident in your techniques will get you killed one day!"
Schroeder remained silent, accepting the lesson.
After scolding him for a while, Garp turned to Ian and said seriously, "Kid, you've got some skill. That last strike used Haki, didn't it? Were you really trying to cut Schroeder down?"
Ian shook his head. "No. I know Captain Schroeder wasn't going all out against me."
He touched his cheek, still sore, and added gloomily, "Except for that kick to my face."
Schroeder indeed hadn't been serious with Ian, because Garp had said "beat him up," not "kill him." Ian could tell the difference.
In this world, people seemed to have a habit. When faced with a power that altered the flow of aura, they immediately thought of Haki, not some other force. Though Ian's Nen differed from Haki, both ultimately stemmed from the life force fluctuations of the human body. So when Garp sensed the Nen Ian had infused into his blade, he mistook it for Haki, just like Ivankov had before.
Haki requires long-term training and a certain amount of talent and luck to truly awaken. Some awaken easily, while others struggle. Schroeder was the latter; he hadn't successfully awakened Haki yet and had been focusing on the Six Powers. When he heard Garp say that Ian's strike had used Haki, he looked at Ian in disbelief.
He finally understood why Garp had told him to dodge and why his Iron Body couldn't defend against Ian's blade—it was because the kid had used a Haki-infused slash!
And Ian looked so young. To be able to use Haki proficiently at that age seemed unimaginable to Schroeder.
But just then, Garp laughed heartily. "He kicked you, you cut him—consider it even! Kid, I'm surprised you can use Haki, but from your attack, it seems your Haki training isn't complete yet. You can't even materialize it!"
Ian nodded. That was true. His Nen training skill wasn't high enough, but he could roughly guess the direction Nen would develop.
Materializing Nen was one path. Based on Ian's speculation, when Nen was materialized and wrapped around a weapon or body, it should achieve the same effect as Armament Haki—enhancing weapon destructive power and personal defense. Another development direction was diffusion: spreading Nen into the surrounding air to form a circular "Nen field." Then, any object that disturbed or affected the field could be sensed, achieving the same effect as Observation Haki—accurately predicting and avoiding danger.
These development directions were why Nen and Haki were considered similar—they could achieve the same goals.
As for the difference, it might be Conqueror's Haki. Ian felt his Nen probably couldn't reach the level of intimidating or even knocking people unconscious... Conqueror's Haki seemed more like a powerful aura field.
But he wouldn't explain these differences to others. Whether Ivankov or Garp mistook his Nen for Haki, he'd just let it be Haki!
"Alright, the test is over!" Ian sheathed his sword and sat back down on the deck. He asked Garp, "So, old man, what exactly do you want me to do?"
He was actually pretty annoyed with Garp. Though he understood Garp had ordered Schroeder to attack him just to test his strength, not even giving a warning before starting a fight—this erratic way of thinking was hard for Ian to accept. If his physique were weaker, that sudden kick might have knocked him out!
So, in his frustration, the term "old man" slipped out naturally.
"Haha, old man? That nickname brings back memories!" Garp laughed heartily. After a moment, he calmed down and asked Ian, "Alright, let's get to business. The report from Captain Monka at Base 153 said that the person who captured the Buggy Pirates was a pirate hunter wielding a flaming longsword and wearing a bear ear hat. That's you, right?"
"Yeah!" Ian nodded without denying it. It seemed Monka had already reported the matter.
"Your sword wasn't on fire, though?" Garp asked curiously.
"Why do you care so much!?" Ian was exasperated. The old man was acting like a three-year-old, asking all sorts of questions. He snapped, "Just tell me what you want!"
Schroeder, who was bandaging his wound, chimed in, "Vice Admiral, please maintain some dignity..."
"Ahem!" Garp coughed twice and said to Ian, "Originally, we were heading to Shells Town Marine Base in response to their distress call. But on the way, Captain Monka reported that the Buggy Pirates had been captured, so our objective changed to escorting them. However, a few hours before we ran into you, the mission changed again. Monka reported that the Buggy Pirates had escaped from prison! Tch... so troublesome! With all these changes, I'm starting to not want to go."
Schroeder said seriously, "We have to go, Vice Admiral Garp! We don't know if the report of the Buggy Pirates' escape is true. We need to investigate whether Base 153 is falsifying reports."
Ian was a bit surprised. "Buggy escaped? That fast?"
It had only been two days since he captured Buggy...
"Regardless, we need to go to Shells Town," Garp said. "But since you came from Shells Town, you probably don't want to go back, right?"
Ian nodded. Of course. Even though Garp's Marines had saved him, going back to Shells Town on their ship would mean wasting the two days of sailing he'd already done.
"So, I can give you a small boat to leave on your own," Garp said, raising a finger. "But you have to do me a favor first."
"Oh? You can give me a boat?" Ian was surprised. "What do you want me to do?"
"Aren't you a pirate hunter?" Garp grinned, his teeth flashing, with a sly look on his face. "Then catch someone for me—a pirate!"
"Oh, no problem," Ian said without thinking too much. "Who is it?"
But the next moment, Garp said, "That pirate's name is Ace. He's my grandson!"
"..."