"Don't blame me for this, Grandpa."
Cain locked onto Garp's position with his Observation Haki.
Since the old man was not charging yet, Cain launched his attack.
"Boro Breath," he muttered.
Scorching flames swelled in his throat and erupted in a massive blast.
A continuous pillar of fire shot straight at Garp, tearing across the island.
The heat alone was enough to warp the air.
'Is this firepower too much?' Cain wondered. This was his first time using such a huge attack, and he worried he should have held back.
He was overthinking it.
"Hey, hey, Cain! These flames aren't even hot enough to boil my tea. Stop holding back!"
Garp strolled right through the pillar of fire. The flames washed over him without leaving a single burn mark.
A massive, excited smile stretched across his face as he stared at his grandson.
Cain felt a cold chill run down his spine.
His giant dragon form was great for clearing out weaklings, but against Garp, he was just a massive target.
If he wanted to survive a monster like him, he needed to fight in close quarters.
Cain's body shrank. In an instant, he shifted into his four-meter-tall Human-Beast form.
Pink scales covered his body, but instead of looking terrifying, he just looked sort of... youthful.
It made sense since he was only a few months older than Luffy, and his body was still growing.
Normally, he was about average height, nothing like the giant freaks of the one piece world, let alone Kaido's towering seven-meter body.
Even his full dragon form was smaller than Kaido's. But as he grew, his beast forms would eventually catch up.
Seeing Cain switch to his hybrid form, Garp looked thrilled.
He kicked off the ground and charged, a terrifying wave of Haki exploded from the old man.
Feeling that crushing pressure, Cain swallowed hard.
It was not an illusion.
The old man just wanted an excuse to beat him up!
"What are you thinking? This is just Grandpa's love-filled training!"
"How did you know what I was thinking?!"
"Idiot, that's just Grandpa's intuition!"
Before Garp even finished his sentence, he was high in the air.
His right fist, coated in thick Armament Haki, came crashing down like a meteor.
'Oh no, oh no, oh no!'
Cain panicked, but he did not freeze.
He shifted into a fighting stance. He bent his fingers into a claw shape, mimicking a dragon's grip and a layer of pitch-black Armament Haki coated his entire arm.
"Oh? Is that Dragon's fighting style? You're not using the moves Grandpa taught you?" Garp looked surprised, but his fist did not slow down at all.
"A dragon should use Dragon Claw, old man... Dragon's Talon!"
Fist and claw collided.
A massive shockwave tore through the air, rattling the steel factories across the island. Dirt and rocks blasted outward as the ground beneath them shattered.
'This kid... he has the potential to be an Admiral,' Garp thought.
Without warning, he threw his left fist.
"Bam!"
'I dodged it!'
"Idiot, I meant this fist!"
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
'Ryuo... the old man is definitely using advanced Armament Haki!'
'Whew. That kick should have launched him into orbit. Why does this old man always aim for the head?' Cain let out a breath and shifted back into his hybrid form, looking up at the sky to watch Garp fall.
"You should call me Grandpa, Cain. And don't forget to check your surroundings during a fight. Your Armament Haki is fine, but your Observation Haki needs work."
The voice came from right behind him.
Cain's stomach dropped as he realized he had completely missed the target.
He turned his head like a rusty robot, only to come face-to-face with Garp's smiling face!
"From our two exchanges, I can see that fruit gave you a great defense. Not bad," Garp noted.
'This isn't an exchange,' Cain grumbled inwardly. 'It's a one-sided beatdown.'
Not daring to say it out loud, he just watched his grandfather warily, bracing for the next hit.
"You have thick skin like Kaido now, so Grandpa doesn't need to hold back anymore."
Red and black lightning sparked around Garp's right fist, and a crushing pressure crashed down on the island.
Cain lost all desire to treat this like a spar.
'Conqueror's Haki coating?! Luffy hasn't even set sail yet, why am I dealing with endgame moves right now?!'
To break through the dragon scales, Garp was actually going all out!
'I'm just a rookie! I just learned the basics of Haki! Is it really necessary to go this hard?!'
"Since you have the potential, pay close attention to this next move," Garp said.
"Watch my every action."
Cain swallowed hard and nodded.
He readied himself to take the hit, knowing advanced Conqueror's Haki would be crucial in the New World.
If he wanted to survive, he had to learn how it worked.
Focusing intently, Cain coated his hands in Armament Haki and pushed out his own Conqueror's Haki, meeting Garp's nearly solidified lightning head-on.
"Looks like you are ready. Brace yourself, Cain. This one is full of Grandpa's love."
Garp smiled a kind, grandfatherly smile, but to Cain, he looked like a demon crawling out of hell!
Cain crossed his arms to block the attack.
The punch connected, and Cain shot backward like a cannonball.
He tore straight through the steel factory, smashing through walls and machinery before crashing on the far side of the island.
He lay sprawled at the bottom of a massive crater, looking like he had been struck by a meteorite.
"Grandpa... please stop aiming for the head," Cain gasped, covered in bruises and bleeding from his nose.
Thanks to the insane toughness of the Mythical Zoan fruit, he survived a Conqueror's Haki-infused strike that would have knocked out most pirates in a single blow.
Of course, only Garp knew how much power he actually put into that punch.
"Huh? Where did he go?"
Cain dragged himself out of the crater and looked around, only to spot Garp walking over, casually picking his nose with one hand and holding a ringing Den Den Mushi in the other.
"Huh? Someone is reporting a Marine? What? In the East Blue? Leave it to me!"
Cain dropped his hybrid form and walked over.
After asking a few questions, he figured out what was going on.
Axe-Hand Morgan had caused trouble. Remembering the plot, Cain knew exactly what this meant.
Garp was heading to the East Blue to investigate, but since Luffy had already beaten Morgan, the investigation was going to turn into an escort mission.
That meant Luffy had officially started his journey!
"Alright, Cain, let's keep training! That last hit wasn't even a warm-up!"
"No way!" Cain slumped to the dirt, looking utterly defeated. "I just want to be a regular Marine! I want to stay away from the frontlines, organize paperwork, drink tea, and eat senbei and donuts in peace!"
"Hey, I was wondering where my hidden donuts went! I thought Sengoku stole them... Wait, no, that's not the point!" Garp glared at him sternly.
"You brat, Marines are supposed to catch pirates! What is the point of hiding in an office all day? Besides, you keep saying you want to be a lazy soldier, but guys who just want to coast through life don't awaken certain powers."
"You mean... Conqueror's Haki?" Cain muttered softly.