Among the various fighters who could call Vice Admiral Garp an "old man," Master Roshi (Turtle Hermit) was arguably the least qualified.
Sure, beings like the Omni-King (Zeno), Beerus the Destroyer, and others were far older than Roshi—but they didn't look old. They radiated power and presence, not wrinkles and gray hair.
Master Roshi, however, fully looked the part. Bent back, long beard, sunglasses—it was clear he had aged, unlike the others.
Still, he wasn't about to accept that.
Master Roshi: "Even though I'm over 300 years old now, I still feel like I'm in my 30s. So I don't think calling Garp an old man is a problem."
Goku: "That guy—is he the strongest in this world? What kind of fruit did he eat? What's his ability?"
Vegeta: "Hmph. Devil Fruit users. Disgusting."
Goku: "Right! That's what they're called here. Devil Fruits!"
Piccolo: "If you want to find out what his fruit does, just keep watching. Everything will become clear eventually."
On the battlefield, Garp had not immediately attacked Jack. Instead, he chose to speak first.
"Who are you?" Garp asked, his voice low but forceful. "Why did you choose to help the Whitebeard Pirates?"
Despite the tension, Jack offered a calm smile. "I'm sorry, but I can't answer either of those questions."
"But maybe," he added, "you'll get your answer in time."
Garp narrowed his eyes, analyzing Jack's posture and tone.
Jack's answers weren't evasive in a malicious way. Rather, they were simply true. The truth was, only those who were part of the Thugs Group—or their employers—understood anything about them.
Even if Jack explained it all, no one here would understand.
Besides, he didn't pick sides based on justice or morality. The Thugs Group operated under a single principle: neutrality.
Whoever posted a job, they accepted it—pirates, marines, civilians, or emperors. Jack didn't care who was in the right or wrong.
Right now, the Whitebeard Pirates had been the ones to commission the job. So he would help them.
If, someday, the Navy made a request and he accepted the task, he might very well fight on their side.
Fair. Unbiased. Dangerous.
That's what made him terrifying.
"Tch. Why waste time talking?" Akainu sneered. "Just take him down. Interrogate him afterward!"
To Akainu, diplomacy was a waste of time. He had no interest in hearing Jack's reasons. He only believed in one thing: absolute justice. Capture the enemy, extract the truth later.
Besides, they now had the full power of the Navy's top brass: the three Admirals, and the legendary Iron Fist Garp.
Akainu couldn't imagine they would fail.
What's more, Jack wasn't even using Haki!
That white aura around him—it wasn't Conqueror's Haki, nor any known form of Armament. As far as Akainu was concerned, if it wasn't Haki, it couldn't harm him.
And with that, Akainu launched the first attack.
Garp moved in at the same time, coordinating with the three Admirals—Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu himself. This time, Kizaru and Aokiji weren't slacking like earlier. Garp's reprimand had motivated them to fight seriously.
Their speed and power were on a completely different level now.
Akainu hurled his signature attack: Meigou, a searing lava-fist aimed to incinerate its target.
Aokiji followed with Ice Time, launching a frozen wave intended to immobilize Jack instantly.
Kizaru, his body shimmering with light particles, launched a focused beam attack: Yasakani no Magatama—the same deadly rain of light energy that had once devastated entire fleets.
Unlike his lazy attack on the submarine carrying Luffy in the original timeline, this time, Kizaru was aiming to destroy.
As the combined attack closed in, Garp circled from the side, preparing to deliver a crushing blow from behind. He had no intention of helping block the Admirals' attacks—he wasn't foolish enough to get in the way of that kind of firepower.
But what Garp didn't realize…
Was that Jack had already noticed him.
Jack's eyes flicked sideways for just a moment, sensing Garp's movement without turning his head.
The three Admiral attacks reached Jack first, just as planned.
But Jack didn't dodge.
Instead, he calmly raised his right hand and tossed out three small energy orbs. They shone with bright, concentrated power and collided directly with the attacks of the Admirals.
The entire battlefield exploded in chaos.
Massive tremors rocked the island. Fire and ice collided, steam billowed upward, and light energy ruptured the stone plaza.
A deafening roar of power echoed as the explosion covered the battlefield in thick smoke.
Krillin—no, Jack—vanished into the cloud of debris.
The world went quiet for a breath.
On both sides, Navy and Pirate alike held their breath.
The pirates hoped Jack had survived. The Navy hoped—desperately—that he hadn't.
As the dust began to settle, a single silhouette emerged from the smoke.
Everyone stared, eyes wide.
Jack was still standing.
Not only was he unharmed, but the only visible damage on him was a bit of dust on his clothes. No burns. No ice. No cuts.
He had taken the combined assault of the three Admirals—and walked through it.
But that wasn't the most shocking part.
In Jack's left hand, held tightly and effortlessly, was Garp's fist.
The Navy legend's signature Iron Fist—famed across the seas for having crushed pirate ships with a single punch—was locked in Jack's grip.
Garp's punch hadn't even moved him.
Gasps echoed across the battlefield.
"That's impossible…"
"Garp's Iron Fist… he caught it?"
"No one's ever blocked it like that before!"
Even among Yonko-level fighters, few dared to take Garp's punch head-on. Yet Jack had done so casually, as if grabbing a passing ball.
Garp gritted his teeth. His arm trembled slightly from the force that had been stopped.
Jack gave him a glance and smirked. "Not bad for an old man."
Garp didn't respond. He simply pulled his fist back, stepping away cautiously.
Kizaru, still hovering midair, narrowed his eyes. "That aura… It's not Haki. But it's dense. Controlled. Almost like pure ki energy."
Aokiji said nothing, but the frost at his feet had already begun to recede.
Even Akainu, usually arrogant and aggressive, was now more cautious. He'd seen firsthand how useless their attacks had been.
The Marines were shaken. For many of them, their faith in the Admirals—and in Garp—was absolute.
But that faith had just been shaken to the core.
Pirates on the other hand cheered.
"That's our man, Mr. Jack!"
"He caught Garp's punch like it was nothing!"
"Unbelievable…"
Meanwhile, far away in the minds connected across space and dimension, the Z Fighters were still watching.
Goku: "Whoa… that was so cool! He just grabbed Garp's fist like it was a toy!"
Tien: "I can't believe even Garp's punch didn't move him."
Vegeta: "Hmph. Of course it didn't. He's one of us, not one of these second-rate muscle heads."
Master Roshi: "Jack may look like Krillin, but right now, he's fighting like a god."
Piccolo: "This power… he really is on a different level than anyone here."
Back on the battlefield, Jack dusted off his hands.
"I told you," he said calmly. "I'm not here to pick sides. I'm here because a job was posted. I completed the task, and now I'm just sticking around to see what comes next."
Akainu's fists ignited again. "Then get out of the way if you're done."
Jack chuckled.
"That's the thing," he said. "You're trying to hurt my client. I can't just let that slide."
He cracked his knuckles. "So if you want to get to Whitebeard or Ace… you'll have to get through me again."
The Navy's elite regrouped. For all their strength, they had underestimated Jack.
Now, they were beginning to understand…
Jack wasn't just strong.
He was in a league of his own.
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