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Chapter 33
"Spicy Tian Sen!"
BOOM!
Jepack suddenly thrust his left hand forward, unleashing a burst of Conqueror's Haki impact!
Bogard's reaction was lightning-fast—he dodged the sneak attack in an instant.
Observation Haki!
"You old fox—you were hiding quite a lot yourself! Pfft!"
Even though both had Tier 1 Observation Haki, Jepack's was the absolute peak of Tier 1 granted by the system!
"Don't call me out—old coin, small coin, we're both coins!"
Bogard fired back with a quick jab, including himself in the roast.
Jepack dropped all pretense of holding back, his eyes gleaming with pure excitement.
"Finally—a worthy opponent! The Old 6 family never lies!!"
Bogard was truly an excellent sparring partner. From the moment the system appeared until now, Jepack had never clearly understood his own strength level. Now he finally had a benchmark.
Having someone like this appear at the perfect time was ideal for testing his limits!
While Frost Moon Koushirou might be even stronger, those were always safe spars with no real life-or-death danger.
Koushirou's full power remained a mystery to this day!
Their clashes grew faster and fiercer. Every collision produced sonic booms.
Trees in the forest thinned rapidly under their onslaught—the narrow path was quickly turning into a wide road.
The fight raged like heaven and earth were collapsing.
By now, Jepack clearly understood his strength sat roughly at the level of an average Navy Vice Admiral.
People like Bogard and Garp—who stayed stuck in their ranks without promotion—couldn't be judged by normal standards.
After ten minutes of intense back-and-forth…
BOOM! A massive explosion erupted.
Two columns of yellow sand spiraled into the sky, obscuring everything.
Both Bogard and Jepack were blown backward simultaneously.
If both hadn't been nearing exhaustion, the battle might have continued even longer.
Bogard stood in place, looking at Jepack with genuine respect on his face.
"Kid—the title of 'small coin' is yours now. You can carry the 'old coin' name from here on out."
"Get lost—'old coin' suits you better!"
"I can see you're running out of steam too. How about one final move to settle this?"
Jepack watched Bogard stand firm and slowly begin re-gathering the sword aura that had been scattered earlier. He nodded solemnly in response.
"No problem. Let's end it with one last move."
He slowly condensed all his Conqueror's Haki onto Ten'en.
"Then come—receive this sword of mine!"
Bogard declared with powerful momentum.
His aura exploded once again.
Jepack stared at the intensifying sword pressure, not daring to be careless. He poured every drop of Conqueror's Haki onto Ten'en, ready to meet this unknown final strike!
Bogard's famous blade slowly became coated in Armament Haki. Jepack's Ten'en—already covered in Armament—glowed with dazzling crimson light thanks to the Conqueror's Haki enveloping it.
The two sword energies scattered into the sky like colorful LED lights, painting the entire heavens in rainbow hues.
The sight made Garp—mid-flight toward the island—halt in midair.
He knew instantly: both were now fighting for their lives.
Under the collision of their overwhelming auras, not a single seabird remained in the sky. Even the fish in the ocean had fled tens of thousands of meters below the surface.
Bogard stared at Jepack and roared with all his might:
"Take my strongest move, kid!"
"One Sword Style—Demon Realm Slash!"
The pitch-black blade light erupted like the eighteenth layer of hell—countless vengeful ghosts and evil spirits surged toward Jepack.
Jepack gathered all his power, focusing every ounce of attack onto Ten'en.
Facing the incoming strike, he felt his blood boil hotter than ever!
After one final glance at Ten'en, he met Bogard's attack head-on.
"Old partner… I can't tell what grade you are, but I trust you completely! Let's go together—fight side by side!"
This! This was the battle he had always craved!
Instantly!
Jepack charged straight into the sword energy without any defensive measures.
Ten'en grew darker and darker—until black mixed with red appeared along the blade.
"Let's unleash our strongest move at this stage, partner!"
Jepack roared at the top of his lungs.
"One Sword Style—All Heavens Retreat!"
With a furious shout, he cleaved forward to meet Bogard's attack!
Instantly—
A blinding light like the sun erupted.
The entire uninhabited island shook violently as if struck by an earthquake.
The spot where they clashed became a massive crater.
All the lush forest around them vanished.
The whole island was engulfed in billowing dust… blinding everything.
One second…
Two seconds…
Three seconds!
Then, from the dust, a figure emerged—supporting another—staggering slowly toward the direction of the warship and the Ten'en.
"He actually fought Bogard to a draw… and from the looks of it, he even had a slight edge."
(End-of-chapter teaser: This chapter isn't over—click next page for more excitement!)
In midair, Garp stared at the figure supporting Bogard as they walked out, hardly able to believe it.
Though stunned, he immediately accelerated and flew toward the two.
The moment he saw Garp, Jepack spoke one sentence before passing out.
"Save him first… I couldn't hold back at the end…"
When Jepack woke again, he was lying in his own cabin on the Ten'en!
Guina and Nami sat beside him, both looking exhausted and worn out.
"Guina… Nami… water… I'm so thirsty!"
Hearing his voice, their eyes instantly lit up. They hurriedly fetched water for him.
After gulping down a big mouthful, Jepack finally felt alive again. Looking at their tired faces, his heart ached.
"Sorry for worrying you both."
He sat up and gently stroked their hair with an apologetic touch.
"It's our fault—we couldn't help you at all. We're still too weak."
Hearing Jepack's words, Nami's eyes immediately reddened.
Jepack quickly comforted her. When he looked at Guina, he saw her eyes were swollen—she had clearly cried for a long time.
He pulled both girls into his arms, speaking softly to reassure them. He also promised to create a training plan soon so they'd never have to worry about strength again.
After a long while of comforting, their emotions finally calmed. Then he asked about Garp and Bogard.
"That old geezer Garp—has he left? And Bogard… he should be okay, right? I really couldn't hold back on that last move."
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