One Piece: Who still has dreams?

"..." Garp sighed heavily, his face dark, "So you still chose to become a pirate."

Ace said, "This is my life!"

-----------------

[Grand Line, Alabasta, Rain Banquet Casino]

Robin smiled slightly, put down the newspaper, picked up the Den Den Mushi, and dialed a number.

……

[A certain island]

In the quiet bar, Hancock, her face flushed, looked at Redio's bounty poster from left to right, with strings of pink hearts popping out of her head.

"It's finally here, Redio..."

Chapter 100: The Legend Begins

[In the town of Logue, at a bespoke clothing store]

Nami changed into one beautiful new outfit after another, combining fashion and sportiness, and finally, with a "bang," she piled a tall stack of clothes on the counter.

"A total of 2000 million Berries... Thank you..." The shopkeeper was a little worried that the girl wouldn't be able to pay, but Nami didn't haggle at all and just casually slapped down a thick wad of banknotes.

Redio had stored tons and tons of gold in the hold of the Black Flash, using it as ballast. The crew could take whatever they needed. Nami, who was certainly not short of money, experienced firsthand Redio's usual disregard for wealth, and it was quite satisfying.

“This…” The shopkeeper counted the stack of banknotes and said, sweating profusely, “You seem to have given me too much. This is 5000 million Berries!”

Nami pointed outside, "Get some larger versions of the same clothes for my giant friends outside."

The shop owner, of course, had already noticed the blonde giantess squatting outside the door, and said with a tearful expression, "We don't have any large-sized items! And there aren't usually any giants as customers in the East Blue..."

"Make it right now." Nami tossed another stack of 1000 million yen bills onto the counter. "The craftsmanship can be a little rough, but the size and design must be up to standard. Understand? Otherwise, you won't earn a single penny."

It doesn't matter if the enlarged clothes are of poor quality; just ask Redio to use his "magic" to keep copying and synthesizing them, and you'll eventually get clothes that Goltz likes and can wear.

The shop owner urged all the tailors to work as fast as they could, but they could only manage to make two sets of clothes that fit Goltz's figure. Under the shop owner's regretful gaze, Nami took back the 3000 million Berries, and left with Goltz, all smiles.

Along the way, many residents of Rogge Town were either horrified when they saw them, pointed at them, or avoided them in fear.

“2000 million…” Nami had already discovered their group’s bounty after arriving in the town. “They actually put the same bounty on me as Arlong. How annoying.”

While carefully reminding pedestrians to make way for him, Gertz chuckled to Nami, "They're all wondering why this 'Cyclops' of mine has two eyes, hehe."

Nami smiled too.

She and Gertz continued shopping together, selecting various supplies. As they were choosing from the many unique "How to Enter the Grand Line" nautical charts specific to Loguetown, a voice came from behind them:

Do you know how many people you've killed?

Nami turned around and saw Tashigi standing across the street, loudly questioning her.

"..." Nami didn't know what to say, so she put on a bad woman's act and smiled slightly, "You guys went to Cocoyasi Village to investigate, right? 'Avengers,' hehe, that's not wrong."

Tashigi clenched her fist and shouted, "Stop beating around the bush! You know perfectly well I'm talking about what happened a few days ago! That government ship..."

Nami suddenly said, "Do you know why her bounty poster says 'Cyclops'?" She pointed upwards at Gertz, "Actually, it's not just one eye, it's also one arm! Do you know why that is? Gertz is a very good person, why should he be tortured like this?"

“Tashigi,”

Nami suddenly appeared beside Tashigi and whispered in her ear, "Haven't you noticed? The more your Navy upholds your 'justice,' the more stable the World Government's rule becomes, and the more recklessly those... 'Celestial Dragons' can act, harming innocent people. Think about it, isn't that ridiculous? The harder you try, the more pirates and enemies you create."

“…?!” Tashigi’s pupils contracted, her whole body trembled violently, and she turned around abruptly, only to find that Nami had already walked far away.

The orange-haired girl waved her hand, and the blonde giantess followed quickly, carefully watching her step.

Nami heard the sound of people scattering and fleeing from the direction of the square ahead; she already had a premonition that it was where Redio was.

……

"Let us drink and sing, for life is but a short span!"

On the high execution platform, the place where the Pirate King Gol D. Roger met his end 20 years ago, Redio stood atop it, raising a glass of wine and loudly chanting, "Like morning dew, bygone days, how bitter they are! Colonel Smoker, go, it's not you I'm waiting for."

The once bustling square was now deserted, except for Smoker standing below the execution platform, looking up at Redio, a cigar in his mouth, and mockingly saying, "You probably didn't notice, but all these people ran away because they were afraid of you, the '1 million bounty' criminal. Is this what you wanted?"

"I don't know them. Does it matter whether they're afraid of me or not?"

Redio said indifferently from the execution platform, "Hey, Smoker, what's wrong with your Loguetown? You can't even buy a 'Log Pose'. As the only way to enter the Grand Line, I'm giving you a bad review."

Smoker scoffed, "Do you think that many pirates from the East Blue can pass through here every year and enter the Grand Line? Who would be so stupid as to sell goods here that have no market?"

"Hahaha, that makes so much sense!" Redio laughed and took a sip of his drink. It seemed he had to go in through Reverse Mountain to get a log pointer from the old ship's doctor. He'd originally been thinking of just crossing the Calm Belt directly…

boom! !

Just then, a fiery red figure flew over from the street on one side of the square and crashed heavily into the support of the execution platform. With a loud "boom", the entire execution platform collapsed and disintegrated.

Redio fell down, and then there was another "bang" as another green-haired figure was also knocked over, smashing Ace, who had just gotten up and was grimacing, into a ball of flame.

"Garp?"

Smoker, cigar in mouth, turned his head and was taken aback. "What's he doing here?"

At the street corner, a burly, white-haired old man strode into the execution platform square, his entire body radiating a terrifying aura of Armament Haki, with fine, dark lightning constantly flickering and bursting forth.

"Hmph!" Garp walked towards Ace and Zoro like a ghost. "Since you've chosen the path of pirates, be prepared to be wiped out by this old man! Goodbye, you idiot grandson!"

He roared, his fist crackling with intense Armament Haki, and punched at the sweating, panicked Ace. Zoro, gripping his Wado Ichimonji, raised his twin swords to block Ace's attack.

Redio flashed in front of the two, his hair instantly turning white, and raised his fist to meet Garp's attack.

"hey-hey!"

Garp grinned, and his dark fist collided heavily with the fist of the "Cursed One"!

boom! boom! boom!

Intense black lightning burst forth between their fists.

In the deep blue, jewel-like pupils, the strange phenomenon on Redio's own fist was reflected—the protective shield created by the limitless magic formula was actually being torn open little by little by Garp's fist, which was wrapped in Armament Haki. The unstoppable Haki-infused fist finally collided with Redio's fist, which was also wrapped in dense Armament Haki.

An even more intense burst of domineering energy erupted, and the two men's fists collided like two pieces of scorching meteorite iron, their astonishing aura making people hesitate to advance.

He really did turn white-haired... Smoker was shocked. Redio really had such incredible strength! He could actually go toe-to-toe with Vice Admiral Garp!

This is a legend in the Navy! "Hero" Garp!

"Haha, hahaha!"

Garp parried the punch and laughed heartily, "Kid! You've got some skills! No wonder you were able to kill that idiot bastard Garin!"

Who did he kill?

Smoker thought he had misheard. Garin? Figarand—Saint Garin?

“Oh right, I shouldn’t have said that,” Garp scratched his head and laughed at Smoker, “Let’s just forget about it, haha!”

"But kid! You kidnapped my grandson and became a pirate! I'm furious!" Garp turned to Redio and said, "This next punch is my strongest attack! If you want to run, now's the time!!"

Instantly, a terrifying red aura erupted from his body!

"Barri Barri..."

The powerful red lightning trembled violently, rapidly coiling around the jet-black fist, blending into a striking red and black color that was so intense that just looking at it made one dizzy and terrified.

boom! boom! boom!

Garp's aura surged wildly, his expression a mix of excitement and madness, like a ghost as he roared "Fist Bone..." and strode forward, unstoppably unleashing a punch at Redio.

The world seemed to have fallen silent...

Everything around Reddio receded like a tide, his azure eyes fixed solely on Garp's powerful, silky red and black fist...

He waved to Ace, who was shouting something behind him, and pointed to Gertz and Nami on the roof of the building across the street, who were looking at them with concern. He gestured for Ace and Zoro to go and leave with them first...

No lower limit, maximum output!

Bang! Dark blue magical power surged around Redio, and the range of the limitless protective shield expanded violently several times.

Armament Haki, at its maximum intensity!

Reddio clenched his jet-black right fist, meeting Garp's strongest punch, which was imbued with astonishing mass of Conqueror's Haki, head-on without flinching.

boom!!!

It was as if the sky had collapsed and a thunderbolt had struck, crashing into the execution plaza where the Pirate King had died. Unimaginable, terrifying energy raged and erupted in all directions from the center of the plaza, shattering windows in rows of houses. The water in the plaza's fountains was instantly dispersed, cracks appeared in the pools, and then… the cracks spread, the pools crumbled, and the plaza floor, centered on the energy explosion's epicenter—Garp and Reddio—spread outwards in all directions, collapsing…

boom!

Smoker was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the wall of a building at the edge of the plaza. As a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, he didn't even have the right to watch the battle up close in the face of such intensity. The deafening roar of the two powerful auras colliding almost shattered his head, leaving it buzzing...

A punch that lasted only a few seconds felt like hours had passed.

Smoker frowned, and only after he felt that all the shockwaves had subsided did he look up at the battleground—the square was in ruins, and in the most severely collapsed central area, only the spot where Karp and Redio stood remained intact.

Redio's right arm, along with a ring of his chest, abdomen, and torso, disappeared, and blood gushed out incessantly.

"..."

Garp lowered his fist and sighed, "Usually when you feel you can't win at all, you'd avoid the attack, right? Hey, you idiot, what was that barrier-like thing on your fist just now?"

"Chichichi..."

Hot steam billowed from Redio's missing right side of his body, and a complete torso and right hand rapidly grew back. He clenched his right hand and laughed, "So this is Conqueror's Haki entangling me, huh? That's powerful! Indeed, this is the ticket to becoming a top-tier powerhouse on the high seas..."