The intermittent words instantly froze the atmosphere in the tavern.
Dragon put down his glass, frowned slightly, and then stood up and disappeared out the tavern door.
"Main Quest: On the execution platform, release Conqueror's Haki! Announce the power of Shadow to the world. Reward: 30,000 points!"
The system's voice rang out again, and Cheng Xiaoyu's eyes lit up.
"Luffy…" Cheng Xiaoyu suddenly stood up, his glass crashing to the floor with a crisp shattering sound.
He ignored the tavern owner's astonished gaze and rushed out of the tavern.
He wasn't worried about Luffy's safety; from his understanding of the plot, Luffy was incredibly resilient, and a mere execution platform couldn't harm him.
What interested him was the main quest issued by the system.
30,000 points! A reward of 30,000 points was definitely not a number to be easily overlooked.
As for the power of his current beginner Conqueror's Haki, he knew it would most likely only knock out some small fry, but it certainly looked impressive.
When Cheng Xiaoyu arrived at the execution platform, Luffy was already there, with Buggy the Clown proudly stepping on his head and laughing loudly.
The surrounding area was packed with curious onlookers, and the noisy sounds were deafening.
"It's really lively…"
Cheng Xiaoyu stood outside the crowd, observing coldly.
The execution platform in the square was packed, with people in groups of three or five loudly discussing, "This Straw Hat really doesn't know his place. He just got on the bounty list and now he's going to be publicly executed!"
On the high platform in the center of the square, Luffy was still laughing fearlessly.
"Huh? I'm going to die~"
"I'm the man who's going to be the Pirate King!" Luffy laughed.
"Don't worry, you won't die."
Cheng Xiaoyu sneered and leaped onto the execution platform.
Buggy: "Who are you? How dare you ruin my revenge!"
"Buggy the Clown! Retreat now, and you can still keep your job as a circus leader."
Cheng Xiaoyu suddenly released his natural Conqueror's Haki!
The terrifying aura spread outwards from him like a raging tide!
"Boom!"
In an instant, the air seemed to solidify.
An invisible force swept across the entire area, low-ranking Marines fell to the ground as if electrocuted, and the observing civilians rolled their eyes and fell one after another like harvested wheat.
Seeing this, Buggy quickly jumped off the execution platform; he was all too familiar with Conqueror's Haki.
Smoker, who had just managed to get back up in the distance, swayed violently a few times, barely maintaining his stance, but his face had turned extremely pale.
He stared intently at Cheng Xiaoyu, gritting his teeth and growling, "This guy… actually possesses such power!"
Sweat dripped down Smoker's cheeks. He tried to activate his Smoke-Smoke Fruit ability to counterattack, but his body seemed to be completely suppressed by the Haki, leaving him stiffly rooted to the spot.
Dragon on the high platform reined in his aura and hid in an inconspicuous corner.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, observing Cheng Xiaoyu's movements, a hint of complex approval and wariness in his gaze.
"He has already mastered Conqueror's Haki? This kid… is truly a monster."
Usopp and Nami below the execution platform also fell directly into a coma; only Zoro and Sanji could barely resist Cheng Xiaoyu's Conqueror's Haki.
On the other side, the tavern owner, who had just been unable to resist trying to persuade Cheng Xiaoyu, now looked at the scattered crowd on the ground, his legs starting to tremble.
He muttered, "This… this is the legendary one-in-a-million Conqueror's Haki! Roger also possessed this Haki!"
Just then, a whistling sound came from the sky.
A huge cannonball descended from the sky, crashing heavily around the execution platform and kicking up a cloud of dust.
As the smoke and dust cleared, a burly figure appeared before everyone.
He was wearing a Marine uniform, a dog-head hat, and a hint of anger on his face; it was none other than Vice Admiral Garp, the hero of Marineford!
It turned out that Smoker's defeat confirmed Cheng Xiaoyu's direction to Garp. To reach Loguetown faster, he directly rode a cannonball and landed around the execution platform!
"Grandpa? Why are you here?!" Luffy asked with a smile.
Garp roared angrily, "Shut up! It's because you two scoundrels, father and son, always cause me trouble! Otherwise, I would have retired long ago!"
Luffy chuckled, saying nothing.
Garp looked at the fallen people and then at Cheng Xiaoyu standing at the edge of the crowd, a glint flashing in his eyes.
"Smoker, what exactly is going on?!" Garp scanned the fallen crowd around him, asking in a cold tone.
Smoker struggled to stand upright, pointing at Cheng Xiaoyu and saying, "Vice Admiral Garp, it's this guy! He… he's Cheng Xiaoyu!"
"You're that Shadow kid?" Garp asked in a deep voice, with a hint of authority in his tone.
Cheng Xiaoyu's lips curved slightly upwards, noncommittal.
"You've got guts to cause trouble right under my nose!" Garp said, clenching his fist, and a powerful aura emanated from him.
Cheng Xiaoyu showed no fear, meeting Garp's gaze.
"If you're timid, why be a pirate? Going home to farm is the safest!"
But in fact, Cheng Xiaoyu hadn't expected to encounter Garp here!
In the original plot, only Dragon appeared in Loguetown. Garp was clearly more dangerous.
Marines and pirates are fundamentally opposing forces; the Revolutionary Army is not.
Moreover, when Dragon saw Garp coming, he also vanished in a flash…
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the main quest, reward: 30,000 points!"
The system's notification sound echoed in Cheng Xiaoyu's mind, but he didn't feel like smiling at all.
He hadn't expected that merely releasing Conqueror's Haki once would attract Garp.
It seemed this trouble was big.
Because the Garp in front of him was certainly not here for his son and grandson; his target was undoubtedly himself.
And the Conqueror's Haki he just released probably further solidified the other party's determination to capture him.
"To have mastered the one-in-a-million Conqueror's Haki, it's no wonder he could kill so many small pirates in the East Blue…"
Although Garp now had silver hair, he was still full of power, and his strength was not much different from his peak, at most his stamina had declined slightly.
"Killing them didn't require Haki at all," Cheng Xiaoyu replied.
Garp walked towards Cheng Xiaoyu step by step, each step seemingly treading on everyone's hearts, bringing immense pressure.
Cheng Xiaoyu took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
He knew that facing a powerhouse like Garp, any panic or fear would only lead to a quicker death.
"Kid, it seems this old man must teach you a lesson today!" Garp roared, swinging his huge fist and smashing it fiercely towards Cheng Xiaoyu.
Cheng Xiaoyu used Shadow Step, his figure flickering, barely dodging Garp's attack.
He knew that a head-on confrontation was definitely not an option against Garp.
Garp's iron fist was famously hard; his intermediate Armament Haki was no match at all.
He had to find a way to stall for time and then wait for the right moment to escape.
"Vice Admiral Garp, are you really only after me? Aren't you going to manage your own grandson?" Cheng Xiaoyu said.
"Less talk! Public before private!" Garp swung his fist again, faster and fiercer than before.
Cheng Xiaoyu dodged again, secretly cursing his bad luck.
Garp's strength far exceeded his imagination; just dodging was difficult, and there was no room to fight back.
Having no choice, Cheng Xiaoyu could only summon his Shadow Soldiers.
"Come out, Shadow Legion!"