บท 43: Chapter 43: Garp's Proposition
The Six Styles were widely practiced martial arts techniques within the Marine. They consisted of Iron Body, Paper Art, Moonwalk, Tempest Kick, Finger Gun, and Shave. When mastered to a certain extent, they allowed individuals to surpass their physical limits and exhibit unimaginable combat strength.
To be precise, the Six Styles were an alternative for Marine officers who couldn't awaken Haki, such as junior-level officers or intelligence agents from CP0 to CP9. Higher-ranking Marine officers mostly used Haki, and for them, the Six Styles were of limited use.
Colonel Bogard had just utilized the "Iron Body," a powerful defensive technique that allowed him to harden his body like iron, making it difficult for bullets or blades to penetrate his defenses.
Although Ian's Seven Slashes were blocked, he wasn't surprised. The attack hadn't utilized any Nen enhancements because he had exhausted all his Nen energy while experimenting with skill fusion. However, after sleeping for over an hour on the ship, some of his Nen had returned, allowing him to use Chain Flash or the Flame Sword skill.
"Good speed!" Bogard praised while inspecting the tears in his clothes caused by Ian's attack. "You've got enough strength, but it's still not enough to deal with me."
Ian remained silent, holding his blade in preparation for Bogard's next move.
"Shave!"
In the next moment, Bogard vanished from his original position!
The principle behind this move was to stomp on the ground at an extremely fast rate of more than ten times to create an explosive burst of speed, making Bogard appear as if he had disappeared.
Ian was slightly taken aback, but his reflexes were fast enough. He immediately sensed Bogard's new position and blocked his attack to the side.
Bogard reappeared at the blocked location and pointed at Ian. "Finger Gun!"
His finger pressed against Ian's blade, releasing a surge of power that caused the blade to vibrate intensely. Ian felt an immense force resonating through the blade, making his hand go numb.
But he gritted his teeth and flicked the blade upward, diverting the force. Taking advantage of the successful block, Ian retaliated with Bullet Flash!
His blade, the Sword Saint's Longsword, transformed into a cold gleam and slashed horizontally towards Bogard's waist.
The speed of Bullet Flash was impressive, but Bogard could still see it clearly. He wanted to use Iron Body to defend himself, but at that moment, Garp suddenly shouted, "Get out of the way!"
Bogard was momentarily stunned, but that split-second hesitation was enough to prevent him from reacting in time. He watched as Ian's blade cut across his waist, leaving a trail of flying blood.
Staring at the wound on his waist, Bogard seemed astonished. Although the injury wasn't severe, he couldn't believe his prized Iron Body defense had been broken so easily!?
Garp, on the other hand, berated Bogard, "You fool! Couldn't you see through his move? You should've dodged with Paper Art! Why use Iron Body!?"
Bogard felt embarrassed and bowed to Garp, apologizing, "I'm sorry, Vice Admiral Garp. I was careless."
"How many times have I told you, the Six Styles are not invincible!" Garp scolded, "Being overconfident in your techniques will be your downfall!"
Bogard remained silent and lowered his head to reflect on his mistake.
After scolding him for a while, Garp turned to Ian and said seriously, "Kid, you've got some skills. Your previous attack actually used Haki. Were you really trying to cut Bogard?"
Ian shook his head and said, "No, I knew Colonel Bogard didn't go all out against me."
Touching his cheek that was still sore, Ian added, "Except for that kick to my face!"
Indeed, Bogard hadn't gone all out, as Garp had instructed him to "beat" Ian, not to "kill" him. The difference between these two orders was clear to Ian.
In this world, people had developed a habit of associating any power that affected their aura with Haki. When they encountered such power, their first thought was always about Haki, rather than considering other possibilities. Although Ian's Nen was different from Haki, they both originated from the life force of the body, so when Garp sensed Ian's Nen attached to the blade, he, like Ivan Kov, mistook it for Haki.
Haki required long-term training to form and then depended on one's talent and luck to truly awaken. Some people awakened it easily, while others struggled. Bogard was among the latter, having not successfully awakened Haki yet. Therefore, he had been practicing the Six Styles. Hearing that Ian had used Haki in his attack, Bogard was genuinely surprised.
He finally understood why Garp had warned him to dodge and why his Iron Body defense had failed to block Ian's blade – it was because the attack had utilized Haki.
However, Ian had appeared so young, and the fact that he could proficiently use Haki at this age was unimaginable to Bogard.
Nonetheless, at this moment, Garp laughed heartily. "He kicked you, and you cut him. I guess that evens things out! Kid, I'm surprised by your Haki, but judging from your attacks, it seems like your Haki training still needs work. It hasn't fully materialized yet!"
Ian nodded. It was true that his Nen training skills weren't advanced enough. However, he could already guess the direction his Nen could develop.
One direction was materialization. When materialized, Nen could be wrapped around weapons or the body, just like Armament Haki, to enhance destructive power and defense. Another direction was diffusion. By spreading Nen into the surrounding air, it could create a circular "Nen field." With this, anything that disturbed or interacted with the Nen field would be perceived, achieving effects similar to Observation Haki, allowing precise foresight and danger avoidance.
These development directions were why Nen was considered similar to Haki, as they could achieve similar results.
As for the differences, it might be related to Conqueror's Haki. Ian believed that his Nen might not be able to achieve the kind of intimidation that could make people faint… Conqueror's Haki leaned more towards a kind of overwhelming aura!
However, he didn't intend to explain these differences to others. Whether it was Ivan Kov or Garp, since they mistook his Nen for Haki, then let it be Haki!
"Alright, the test is over!" Ian sheathed his long knife and sat back on the deck, feeling annoyed. He questioned Garp, "So, old man, what do you want me to do?"
At this point, he was a bit angry with Garp. While he understood that Bogard had only been testing his strength at Garp's orders, it was still hard to accept being beaten up without any warning. If he had a weaker physique, that sudden kick could have knocked him unconscious!
Understandably frustrated, Ian couldn't help but blurt out the term "old man."
"Hahaha, old man? That title really brings back memories!" Garp laughed heartily, but after a while, he became more serious and said to Ian, "Alright, on to business. We initially received a request for aid from the Shells Town Marine Base. However, on our way there, Morgan reported that the Buggy Pirates had been captured. Therefore, our mission changed, and we planned to escort the Buggy Pirates. But just a few hours before we met you, the purpose of this trip changed again. Morgan reported that the Buggy Pirates had escaped from custody! Sigh… What a hassle! It changed so many times that I almost don't want to go anymore."
Bogard, who was busy bandaging his wound, interjected solemnly, "We must go, Vice Admiral Garp! The matter of the Buggy Pirates' escape is still unverified. We need to investigate to see if the 153rd base has fabricated the information."
Ian was a bit surprised, "Buggy escaped already? So fast?"
It had only been two days since he caught Buggy...
"Regardless, we need to go to Shells Town this time!" Garp said, "But since you're coming from Shells Town, you might not want to go back there, right?"
Ian nodded. Of course, after being rescued by Garp's Marine, he didn't want to go back to Shells Town and waste the two days he had spent sailing.
"So, I can give you a small boat to leave on your own," Garp said, raising a finger. "But you have to do something for me."
"Oh? You can give me a boat?" Ian was a bit surprised. "What do you want me to do then?"
Garp smiled cunningly, showing his shining teeth, and said, "Since you're a pirate hunter, help me catch a pirate!"
"Oh, that's no problem!" Ian didn't think too much at this time, and nodded his head in response, "Say, what's that pirate's name?"
However, the next moment, he heard Garp say, "That pirate, his name is Ace, he's my grandson!"
"...What?"
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