Garp was full of confidence—not just because of his strength, but because his willpower was downright monstrous.
In the world of pirates, confident people were a dime a dozen. Countless had challenged the Four Emperors.
If they succeeded, they became legends.
Their names echoed across the seas!
But if they failed…
They'd just become clowns.
"Garp, Sengoku, congratulations. You two picked up Tekkai pretty fast!" Klein was genuinely surprised. If he didn't have a system, learning Tekkai would've taken years.
These two were just that talented. By comparison, Zephyr was still too young—his potential hadn't shown yet.
None of them were even in the Elite Class yet. In fact, they were scraping the bottom in terms of dorm rankings.
Their bodies weren't even strong enough to meet the basic requirements for training Tekkai.
That guy was grinding extra hard, desperately hoping to join the Elite Class soon.
Sengoku's face darkened. He wasn't as pale as he would be later in life as a Fleet Admiral, so it was hard to tell, but still—"Klein, compared to you, we're still miles behind. But learning skills and using them in battle are two different things."
"I have full confidence in Garp's strength."
"Ponytail guy." Garp raised a fist the size of a cannonball. "You ready to get pounded?"
"Tch—"
Klein sneered. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Who's beating who is still up in the air."
"Before we spar, I gotta do some marketing!"
That's right.
A match between him and Garp? No way he'd let that happen without spectators—and ticket sales!
Otherwise, what's the point?
A showdown like this was sure to pull in the crowds.
And with it… the money.
"Ponytail guy, we agreed—this time, I get a cut of the ticket profits. Count it toward my debt." Garp patted Klein on the shoulder.
"No problem." Klein thought to himself—maybe he could turn Garp and Sengoku into his personal money-makers.
They owed him money anyway.
Otherwise…
He'd probably have to wait until graduation to see a single Berry from them.
As for Zephyr, who didn't have any cash at all, he'd just have to chalk up another IOU for his ticket.
Tough luck.
With that decided, Klein went around promoting the match between him and Garp to the students, collecting ticket fees.
Both of them had scored in the top three during entrance evaluations.
This was a fight worth watching.
Especially after Klein let it slip that Garp and Sengoku had learned Tekkai thanks to his help. That little flex stirred up a lot of interest—and even got people signing up for Klein's training course.
Money's coming in!
Money's coming in!
Hell yeah—
Another solid payday. Klein was grinning ear to ear.
At 5,000 Berries a head, he'd already raked in hundreds of thousands. With all the course signups, he was over 2 million Berries in profit.
In the training hall—
Students were packed in, murmuring among themselves:
"Who do you think is gonna win this one?"
"I think it'll be pretty even. Both of them know Tekkai. It'll probably come down to stamina—whoever lasts longer."
"Garp's huge. Big body, strong muscles. He's gotta have the edge in power and defense. I'd say he has the upper hand."
Right now, Garp was nearly three meters tall. And Klein?
He'd grown quite a bit in recent months, but still only stood at 1.9 meters. When they stood side by side, it gave off major Beauty and the Beast vibes.
"I think Klein will win. He's had Tekkai for over half a month longer than Garp."
"Garp's pretty talented too, though. He learned it that fast. Meanwhile, who knows when we'll manage to get it!?"
"Wait—you signed up for Klein's training course, didn't you? How's it been?"
"…"
Everyone had an opinion. Some were on Team Klein. Others backed Garp.
Sengoku, meanwhile, suddenly found himself wishing: Can't both of them lose?
Garp, the bastard, always called him "Afro-head."
And Klein? That guy kept making him sign IOUs every day…
Wouldn't it be great if both lost?
Among the crowd, Tsuru listened quietly to the buzz and perked up her ears. "Sounds like Klein's course is actually legit. The others say it's pretty effective."
"He seems really responsible with his students."
She couldn't help but feel a little tempted.
To Klein, the customer was king—so of course he'd "nurture" his little money crops with care.
Only healthy, thriving crops were worth harvesting.
If he went around cutting them down recklessly, ruined his reputation…
That'd make it harder to make money.
Maybe I should try Klein's course too… Tsuru thought. But for now, she decided to wait until the sparring match ended before making any moves.
At that moment—
Gasps rippled through the students. "I-Is that the instructor!? What's he doing here?!"
The room fell silent.
A tall, broad-shouldered man in a sharp black suit walked confidently into the training hall.
You could tell just by looking—this man was built. Otherwise that suit wouldn't have looked half as good.
"Oh? I heard Klein was gonna spar with Garp, so of course I had to drop by." The instructor smiled warmly as he addressed the crowd.
Then turned to Klein with a teasing grin. "You're not gonna charge me admission, are you?"
"…"
Klein's face twitched, but he quickly put on his best smile. "No way, sir! You're welcome to watch any time. No charge, of course."
"Any time!"
The instructor nodded. "Well, looks like everyone's here. Let's get started."
Garp, standing across from Klein, cracked his knuckles with a sound like thunder.
His huge eyes gleamed with excitement. He grinned wide. "Ponytail guy, I've been waiting months to go a round with you!"
"Let's go!"
"Time for my fists to finally have some fun!"
Under Garp's fiery gaze, burning like a raging flame—
Klein couldn't help but think of a certain phrase: "Brother, let me enjoy this!"
What kind of brother would I be if I let you enjoy it, huh?
If you're enjoying it—where's the fun for me?
Gripping his wooden sword, Klein's expression sharpened—his eyes like drawn blades. "Garp, don't say I didn't warn you. If you're going into a spar, you better be ready to lose!"
What answered him was Garp's rapidly approaching fist, growing larger by the second—veins bulging along his knuckles.
Pure, unfiltered power.
Even the air screamed.
Klein had Tekkai, sure—but he wasn't some anime moron who stood still and took punches to the gut just to look cool.
He wasn't stupid.
With a burst from his legs, Klein sidestepped the punch and swung his sword.
It was just a wooden sword—
But even so, a flash of cold light split the air, and its sharp pressure forced Garp to raise his arms in an 'X' to block it.
"Tekkai!"
CLANG!
The hit rang out, and Garp glanced down. "Damn, Klein—Tekkai really is awesome!"
His body, like iron, shrugged off the slash with ease.
Klein's face was calm. "Hey now, Garp, don't celebrate too early!"
"Tekkai's a deep technique. You're not ready to handle it yet!"
His deep, unwavering eyes were like still water.
Cold as ice.
He swung again. This strike was nothing like the last one—and Garp felt a chilling sense of danger rise in his gut.
What the hell…? It's just a wooden sword, but it feels like it could kill me!
Garp trusted his instincts. He leapt back, dodging the slash.
Shhhhhrip!
A jagged line tore through the stone floor of the training room, clean and sharp—several meters long.
"A wooden sword cut through stone?!" Garp's eyes widened. He looked at the weapon in Klein's hand—it was completely intact. "What the hell is this!?"
He didn't understand how it was possible—but one thing was certain.
Klein's strength had completely surpassed his expectations.