"You bunch of idiots!!"
Garp cursed loudly in anger.
But curse as he might, his body was still firmly pinned down by his subordinates.
Of course, this might also have been related to the fact that York himself remained in place and hadn't flown away with the pirate ship.
York looked at Garp with a smile, quietly waiting for Kaido and the pirate ship to vanish into the sky.
At this point, the Marines stopped holding Garp back. The latter broke free from their restraints and walked up to York.
"Brat! I let the pirate ship go, but don't think you can escape from my hands now!"
"I'm not running. In fact, I'm even willing to have a fight with you."
York turned his head. Not far away, Ivankov ran over holding a full-length mirror.
The mirror was set down. Stussy gently touched the surface, then walked directly into it.
Ivankov followed suit immediately after.
In the next second, Garp reached out and blocked York's path.
"Don't even think about escaping right in front of me!!"
"I already told you I'm not running."
York sighed silently. If he really wanted to run, would he just stand there motionless?!
"Fighting in Water 7 is inconvenient."
"You don't want to hurt the civilians here, and I don't want to destroy this place."
"So..."
York pointed at the full-length mirror.
"On the other side is a separate, independent dimension. If we fight inside there, we won't harm anyone outside."
"Of course, if you're afraid I'll summon my crew to gang up on you and don't dare to enter, that doesn't matter either."
"I'm the only one left here anyway. I'll always have a way to escape from your hands."
York wore a confident smile, seemingly certain that Garp would accept his invitation to battle.
And Garp did indeed look somewhat tempted.
However, as time ticked by minute by minute and Garp remained noncommittal, York's expression gradually darkened.
"Good grief, Garp, to think a guy like you would actually play stratagems with me!!"
"Heh! You finally figured it out!"
Garp, who had been maintaining a contemplative pose, grinned wide, revealing the standard "D" smile.
"You're too dangerous, kid. Although I don't really like Sengoku's schemes, this is indeed the best chance to capture you!"
As his voice fell, the silhouettes of warships suddenly appeared on the distant sea.
Looking into the distance, York clearly saw large characters written on the sails of the two leading warships.
— Sengoku!
— Tsuru!
"I didn't expect both Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru to come!"
"Add you to the mix, and it can be said that the Marine Trio has gathered!"
York was slightly surprised, but there wasn't much panic on his face.
After the initial annoyance passed, his confident smile returned.
This time, the surprised person turned out to be Garp.
He smashed the full-length mirror York had brought with a single punch and asked in a low voice, "Kid, aren't you afraid at all?"
"Afraid? What is there to be afraid of?"
York answered with a laugh.
"I've seen opponents on the level of God Valley. What is there to fear from a mere encirclement by you Marines?"
"Besides, you guys think you've outsmarted me, but how can you be sure I didn't let you surround me on purpose?"
Garp's eyes widened and his pupils constricted, seemingly unable to believe York's words.
"You brat, trying to bluff me?!"
"Whether I'm bluffing or not, judge for yourself."
York walked over to a rock and sat directly on it.
Sitting cross-legged, he showed no intention of running away.
"I'll give you time. Make whatever preparations you want. It would be best to evacuate all the residents of Water 7; that way, I won't have any reservations when I fight."
Garp frowned slightly.
York's display of absolute confidence actually bluffed him a little.
But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't find where York's confidence stemmed from.
If York could previously threaten Garp with the lives of the people in Water 7, now that he had even suggested evacuating them, Garp really didn't know what card he had left to play.
"Hmph! Brat! You'd better not regret this!!"
York grinned.
"The ones who I hope won't regret this... should be you guys!!"
As he spoke, York scanned the circle of people surrounding him.
At this moment, he felt a slight sense of regret in his heart.
Because this group of Marines, who had followed Garp for many years or joined under his command out of admiration, would soon be wiped out by him.
It was a pity to kill a group of Marines who held true justice in their hearts.
But there was no helping it.
He needed to survive, and the path of revolution was always paved with blood. This was already the method he could think of that would cause the least amount of collateral damage; he couldn't stop eating just because he might choke.
Seeing the fleeting pity in York's eyes, the confusion in Garp's heart grew stronger.
Where exactly was this kid's confidence coming from?
Could it be the legendary Devil Fruit Awakening?!
But even if it was a Devil Fruit Awakening, Garp didn't think it was that formidable.
During his years on the sea, it wasn't like he hadn't captured great pirates who had Awakened their Devil Fruits.
Although they were somewhat tricky, that was all there was to it.
York also noticed Garp's confusion.
Where exactly did his confidence come from?
It was simple, actually: Devil Fruit Awakening!
However, his Devil Fruit Awakening was just a *tiny* bit different from other people's awakenings.
To explain this, time had to rewind to one month before York and the others came to Water 7 from Sky Island.
...
38 days ago.
After finishing his daily training with Kaido and Dragon, York found a secluded place to sit cross-legged and meditate.
This practice was both to relax his mind and to summarize and comprehend the issues encountered during training by calming his heart and spirit.
Furthermore, this was actually the method York used when he first obtained his Devil Fruit.
Holding a small melon in his palm, he continuously made wishes upon it through meditation, thereby distorting reality and turning it into a Devil Fruit.
It was on this day, while meditating and reflecting, that York's consciousness suddenly entered a strange world.
Here, light lingered, as if the entire world was surrounded by radiance.
But at the same time, there was nothing here.
No, saying there was nothing wasn't accurate; there was something here.
In the center of this world of light stood a person who looked almost exactly like York himself.
Except his hair color was half black and half white. The pupil and iris on the side with black hair were pure white, while the pupil and iris on the side with white hair were pure black.
Aside from that, the clothes on his body were also half black and half white.
He wore a set of ancient Hanfu from York's past life. On the side corresponding to the black hair, the clothes were pure white with a pattern of a black sun.
Similarly, on the side corresponding to the white hair, the clothes were pure black with a pattern of a white sun.
York walked slowly towards this person who looked almost exactly like him, but whose hair color and attire were completely different.
He chuckled lightly and spoke: "Fruit Awakening? Do we need to go through the 'King and Horse' theory too?"
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