"You don't know?"
Moses looked at Garp with some confusion. "I got along well with her two years ago. Didn't you know that?"
"Did you?"
Garp scratched the back of his head, thinking blankly for a moment before suddenly slamming his right fist into his left palm.
"Oh right, now I remember! Yeah, that did happen. Ahaha, I forgot."
"Ah, the noble forgets trivial matters, as expected. Clearly, someone as insignificant as me isn't worthy of your memory," Moses said gloomily.
Garp's drowsiness instantly vanished, his lips twitching violently.
He had figured it out—when Moses used "you," he was speaking normally. But when he switched to "your honor," he was about to stir up trouble.
Judging by the tone, it was definitely something he picked up from Kureha. Whether it was or not, Garp was convinced of it.
Garp's eyes widened slightly, his expression pained, but he still tried to explain. "I've been busy! Besides, small things like that are easy to forget. Can't blame me for that, right?"
"So, my matters are all trivial, unworthy of your attention, is that it?" Moses smirked faintly. "Fine, then. Go attend to your important business. I won't bother you anymore."
Garp's face instantly darkened, his teeth grinding uncontrollably. "Bo!gart!"
He suddenly recalled—this kind of "tea-sipping talk" was exactly what Bogart had taught Moses over two years ago.
Seeing Garp getting worked up, Moses knew it was time to back off. If he pushed any further, a giant iron fist might just come crashing down on his head.
Moses immediately said, "I'll head over first. If you feel like taking a stroll, feel free to walk slowly by yourself."
With that, he quickened his pace, almost fleeing as he dashed toward the distant forest.
Garp's lips twitched as he followed with an exasperated laugh. "Got tricked by this little brat again. No idea where he learned this from."
After a pause, he muttered, "Maybe I should take him under my wing. Who knows what he'll turn into if left alone?"
But then he hesitated. That woman, Dory, was a problem. Would she even agree to let him go?
If they were just ordinary acquaintances, it wouldn't matter. But now… Moses had been raised by her, practically from infancy. After all these years, if he went to her now to ask for the kid…
Garp shuddered.
His steps faltered as he grimaced.
"I'd die. That woman would absolutely dissect me. Might even ruin our relationship for good. Better think this through."
Unable to come to a decision, Garp picked up his pace and chased after Moses, shouting loudly,
"Moses! You brat, stop right there! Say those words to my face again if you dare! I promise I won't hit you!"
Moses, running ahead, twitched at the corner of his eye. "If I believe that, I deserve whatever beating comes next."
His strides grew even longer, as if he wished he had two extra legs to run faster.
Of course, extra legs were impossible, but Garp didn't seem to be chasing in earnest either.
Arms swinging in rhythm with his steps, Moses ran swiftly and naturally.
The two of them raced one after the other until they reached the yard in front of the Dadan Family Home. Moses finally stopped to catch his breath—only to sense a menacing gust of wind descending toward his head.
His body instinctively twisted left with the airflow, narrowly dodging the attack. But the moment he evaded, a massive fist came barreling toward his face.
Observing the trajectory of the incoming fist, Moses crossed his arms to block the punch—smack!—and used the recoil to leap backward.
Thud, thud, thud!
Before he could steady himself, Garp launched another relentless barrage of punches. Moses swayed like a willow in the wind, evading as much as possible and using his palms and forearms to deflect the unavoidable strikes.
Garp's fists grew faster and faster, but Moses nimbly dodged by riding the currents of the punches.
Noticing the crimson glint in Moses' eyes and his intense focus, Garp's interest was piqued.
"Observation Haki combined with Paper Drawing, huh?"
Suddenly, Garp lifted his right foot slightly and swept it horizontally toward Moses.
A gust of wind surged forth.
Moses instantly made his decision—he arched backward, bending at the waist to evade the kick. The howling wind grazed his face as he narrowly avoided it. Pressing his right palm against the ground, he twisted his body, pushed off with his arm, and flipped to the side—all while keeping his eyes locked on Garp.
The moment he landed and began to rise, his vision blurred. In the next instant, a massive hand shot toward his face.
Moses continued leaning back, kicked off the ground with both feet, and propelled himself backward. Midair, he adjusted his posture and landed steadily.
His gaze fixed on Garp a few meters away, Moses' expression turned grave. At that moment, Garp smirked, eyeing him with amusement.
"You like flying? Fine, I'll grant your wish, brat."
Shifting his stance slightly, Garp suddenly launched an uppercut in Moses' direction—whoosh!
The roaring gust of wind struck instantly. Moses felt a bizarre force lift him off the ground, sending him floating upward.
Buffeted by the relentless winds, his entire body was carried higher and higher. Moses had no choice but to lower his center of gravity to avoid being blown away entirely.
Then, he saw Garp clenching his fists and striding toward him, laughing boisterously.
A chill ran down Moses' spine.
Abandoning resistance, he attuned himself to the airflow and used the lightness technique of Paper Drawing to ride the wind, shooting straight into the sky.
In the blink of an eye, he soared ten meters into the air.
Looking down at Garp, who now stood directly beneath him, Moses suddenly noticed the man's face twisting into an even more entertained expression.
Moses' eye twitched. "Oh no," he muttered.
Just as expected, Garp widened his stance, leaned back slightly, and raised both fists to his sides.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!!!"
Punch after punch, each aimed at Moses in midair, Garp cackled wildly. The endless barrage of wind pressure merged into a raging tempest, kicking up dust and debris. Moses was sent higher and higher into the sky.
Garp's raucous laughter drew the attention of everyone inside. Ace, Sabo, and Dadan stepped out to witness the spectacle.
Sabo glanced at Ace, who was unusually silent, then back at Moses, who was being tossed around in the sky. Gulping, he asked, "Is this… how you usually trained?"
"Yeah, but never this extreme," Ace admitted.
Sabo wiped the sweat from his forehead in relief—until Ace continued.
"Back then, he just tied me to a balloon and let me float away, dumped me in the jungle to survive, or sicced a bunch of monkeys on me to fight."
Blinking, Sabo's face fell. He patted Ace's shoulder sympathetically. "Honestly, it's a miracle you're still alive."
Ace gave him a deadpan look. "Don't celebrate yet. Now that the old geezer knows you exist, you really think you'll escape this?"
"Eh?" Sabo's mouth hung open as he stared at Ace in disbelief. "No way…"
Just then—
"What won't happen?" Garp appeared in front of the two of them, grinning cheerfully. "If one kite is fun, then flying three together must be even more exciting."
In Sabo's eyes, Garp's figure was now wreathed in dark red smoke, his face twisted into something terrifying.
"Don't get tangled up now, brats."
With one hand each, he hurled them into the sky.
The roaring gusts of his punches followed.
Garp couldn't stop laughing.
Then he spotted Dadan, her face frozen in horror, and chuckled. "Oh? Dadan, care to join the fun?"
Dadan performed a dogeza with agility completely at odds with her bulky frame.
"Please spare me, sir! I don't wanna die yet!"
Garp pouted, looking thoroughly unimpressed.
"Boring. You're nowhere near as fun as Moses and the others."
With that, he ignored Dadan and her bandit crew, turning his gaze skyward with renewed interest.
Dashing across the field, Garp threw punch after punch, sending sheet-like gales, tornado-force winds, and spherical air blasts screaming into the heavens.
The terrified shrieks of Ace and Sabo filled him with delight.
Every now and then, he'd unleash a rapid-fire "Ora ora ora" combo!!
The howling wind filled Moses' ears as he entered a state of Unity of Heaven and Man, precisely controlling his body to float along the gaps between air currents.
Pushing his self-taught Paper Drawing technique to its limits, he swam through the wind like water.
Wind was simply the movement of air.
By sensing the airflow's direction with his body and dodging along its currents, Moses found endless joy in this game. He lay spread-eagled in the wind, using subtle movements to ride the gusts in smooth glides.
An extraordinary sense of exhilaration washed over him.
Perceiving the varying intensities of wind around him - sometimes Garp's punches created tightly packed currents - Moses would stomp forcefully, using the recoil to maneuver midair.
It was almost like he'd mastered Moon Walk.
Riding the winds, Moses soon reached their uppermost layer.
A hundred meters below, he could see Garp still punching away, and not far beneath him, his two little brothers tumbling through the air with terrified screams.
After twenty minutes, Moses grew bored and waved at Crow Dabao circling nearby.
Caw~
The large crow weaved through the winds to reach him. Moses timed his jump perfectly, leaping from a dense pocket of air to grab Crow Dabao's right claw as it flew overhead.
Using his Paper Drawing skills to navigate the crow's slipstream, he began drifting leisurely toward the distant forest.
Ten seconds later, with lush treetops rushing up beneath him, Moses released his grip at twenty meters up.
Adjusting his posture mid-fall, he spotted a fist-thick branch and grabbed it with both hands. With a loud crack, the limb bent at an impossible angle before snapping.
Using the branch's whipping motion for momentum, Moses landed smoothly on the ground.
Brushing dust from his hands, he stretched with satisfaction.
The solid earth beneath his feet brought a sense of relief.
Grinning widely, he mused, "That was actually pretty fun."
Watching Ace and Sabo still screaming through the distant sky, Moses offered them a brief moment of silent sympathy before chuckling rather shamelessly.
Above, the wind blocked the view somewhat, but from here it was clear that Garp's control over his strength was absolutely perfect.
This was a technique worth learning.
Without hesitation, Moses activated his Observation Haki, observing Garp's force application techniques.
Garp noticed Moses immediately, turning his head slightly in his direction, but only glanced for a moment before looking away.
"That brat's stealing techniques again. Not good—this puts me at a disadvantage. It'll ruin the fun later. Need to make it harder for him."
Armament Haki began circulating through his body, obstructing the unique perception of Observation Haki that was "hovering" around him.
Moses froze for a moment, then couldn't help but pout. "Cheapskate."
But then the corners of his lips curled up as he grinned smugly. "You have your tricks, but I have mine."
Sensing the wind currents Garp was generating, Moses entered a state of Unity of Heaven and Man, perceiving the frequency of the aura emanating from the wind. He began to "Disguise" his own aura frequency, synchronizing it moments later.
He merged his own aura into the wind Garp had created.
His perception began to adjust, becoming like the wind itself.
"Disguise" complete.
Because Garp was guarding against Observation Haki perception—not the ever-present wind he himself had generated.
Instantly, the feeling of obstruction around Garp lessened considerably.
At the same time, Garp felt the sensation of being watched fade and clicked his tongue.
"Giving up so easily? No persistence at all. Guess I'll have to lecture him later."
He then stopped circulating Armament Haki and focused on toying with Ace and the other in the sky.
Meanwhile, Moses, sensing Garp had dropped his guard, smiled and began observing without restraint.
Power rose from the ground, flowed through the legs, twisted the waist and hips, transmitted through the spine and muscles to the shoulders, gathering the body's full strength before exploding from the knuckles.
The entire body's muscles and bones worked in harmony—even the flow of blood within was affected.
Was this "Life Return"?
There was a fluid sense of effortless strength.
Moses observed with delight, beginning to mimic Garp's movements on the spot—his foot stomp, hip rotation, arm retraction, punch, and even his breathing rhythm.
Moses subtly adjusted his breathing to match Garp's in an instant, then chuckled wryly.
"Gramps is using the 'Effortless Breathing Technique'—my breathing technique. Can't blame me for this."
His expression calmed as he cleared his mind, focusing entirely on throwing punches and sensing every muscle movement in his body.
Gradually,
with each punch Moses threw, an air vortex burst from his knuckles, bending the grass and trees before him.
His movements became more refined, his technique sharper.
Qi Circulation Throughout the Body, strength permeating every part.
As he carefully perceived the flow of energy within his body and recalled Garp's movements, Moses gradually gained insight.
"All techniques of the 'Six Styles' unified into one, yet developing a personal style—effortless, with power born from the heart."
This was what Moses perceived from Garp's technique.
The next moment, Moses withdrew his perception. He had learned all there was to learn—continuing further would be overdoing it. Blind imitation would only turn him into Garp, not himself. Understanding up to this point was enough.
"What needed to be learned and understood is now clear. The rest depends on my own refinement."
"To temper my purity."
Moses took a deep breath in and out, withdrawing from his transcendent state.
Now it was time to enjoy the amusing sight of Ace and the other in their sorry state.
Perhaps out of boredom, or perhaps because without Moses and Garp there was no sense of achievement, Garp soon stopped throwing punches.
Just as the two were about to hit the ground, Garp effortlessly caught them, one in each hand.
Looking at their pale, terrified faces, Garp chuckled sheepishly.
"Alright, morning warm-up's over. Let's go for some swimming training."