Starting as a Roger Pirates Apprentice-Chapter 455: If it were that Orin guy, he definitely wouldn’t be confused, right?

Chapter 455: Chapter 455: If it were that Orin guy, he definitely wouldn’t be confused, right?

Kuzan really was a bit lost.

Even though he was Garp’s greatest disciple, he had never been able to learn that carefree air.

This man who had been a Marine for half his life had once wavered over the word "justice."

In his youth, when he followed Garp on operations to hunt down the Roger Pirates, he encountered the greatest enemy of his life—

Dotor Orin.

In the face of this troublesome and dangerous man, he once felt a sense of destiny, as if Garp meeting Roger all over again.

Back then, Garp-san had been eating senbei while laughing loudly as he said,

"Kuzan, the mission to capture that little brat who always ’use Black Gunl’ is yours!"

The term "Black Gun," in fact, was something Garp had casually blurted out at first. Somehow, in the end, it became the most representative title of Orin’s entire career.

But later he discovered that, as a Marine, he simply couldn’t pose any threat to Orin at all, because somehow the other party had actually become a Celestial Dragon.

And after entering the new era, Kuzan simply left the Marines—not only because of the limitations of the justice the Marines carried out, but also because of Orin.

But he gradually became somewhat lost, because he had no way to chase Orin everywhere like old man Garp had chased the Roger Pirates.

The difference in strength compared to twenty or thirty years ago only kept widening.

Sometimes he thought, maybe in this lifetime there wouldn’t be a chance anymore—to arrest that bastard who stirred the seas into utter chaos just for fun.

He was lost in his heart. Under such circumstances, how should justice be carried out?

Dying at Orin’s hands—that would also count as... a way of carrying out his own justice, wouldn’t it?

Kuzan thought he wasn’t afraid of death—he even regarded death as something to be faced calmly, like a true man.

But when his face was grabbed by that Armament Haki–coated big hand, and he heard what Orin said, he admitted he was a little shaken.

If he really just died like this, that bastard Orin would definitely cause even more absurd disasters upon the sea!!!

Thinking that, Kuzan, who had been smashed into the ground, let his body gradually become elemental and begin to freeze.

Under this move, the entire Punk Hazard trembled. The ground was shattered, and the glaciers stretching thousands of miles across the sea were smashed into fragments.

Even Doflamingo and Pink Dragon Kuina, who had originally been fighting fiercely in the sky, had their pupils suddenly contract and quickly left the epicenter of the erupting power.

Scenes like the end of the world—the heavens and earth shaking, tsunamis and towering waves rising on the sea.

Even though the Marine soldiers carrying Smoker had already run far away, they still staggered, unable to stand steadily.

"Crack crack crack crack—"

At the bottom of the crater left by the impact, a pile of shattered ice slowly gathered together, forming the thin, tall, curly-haired figure with a head covered in blood. He clutched his head and looked up into the sky.

"Hey... I’m not that easy to kill!"

Despite the blood continually dripping down, Kuzan still had a smile on his face.

Orin couldn’t help but curl his lips.

"You’ve gotten fired up, Kuzan."

Appearing before Kuzan, Orin shook off the bits of ice clinging to him. His strong and perfectly built body was filled with explosive power.

He gently clenched his fists, and black-and-red lightning instantly coiled around his muscular body.

The second round—began.

The two of them, as if very much in sync, didn’t use any Devil Fruit abilities.

Kuzan’s physical technique was not weak to begin with—after all, he was the greatest disciple of Garp, that master of Haki and physical combat faintly surpassing the kingly level.

His Haki had been trained through Garp’s "fist" training method, and with Orin’s invisible pressure pushing him forward rapidly, he could actually be considered something of a master in Haki.

But when facing Orin—whose learning ability was maxed out and whose monstrous strength plus Haki were near full level—he still felt powerless.

Every punch from Orin felt just like when he had once sparred with Garp, maybe even more than that.

"Damn it... the fist that shattered countless warships with bare hands, and it can only barely match the innate monstrous strength of someone like you..."

Kuzan felt like his fists were about to split open.

Orin’s fists kept greeting his face, and he swung back at Orin’s face as well, but each time it was he who was knocked back.

His punches were just that powerless.

This hand-to-hand brawl between men lasted nearly an entire day. Kuzan was like a cockroach that refused to die.

Even though Orin hadn’t used his true full strength, the fact that Kuzan could hold on this long was enough to show his willpower and physical foundation.

After a long time—the battlefield finally returned to calm.

"Sss..."

"Hah—"

Exhaling a puff of smoke, Orin sat bare-chested on a random ice block.

The view zoomed out—the heavily injured Kuzan was now breathing in less than he was breathing out, lying on the ground in the shape of a big "X."

Ice covered his cheeks, making it look like he wasn’t hurt much, but in fact his face was completely swollen and bruised.

The thousands of miles of surrounding glaciers had already been beaten into powder, leaving only the two figures at the edge of the island.

"You really went all out, you know."

Orin bit down on his cigarette, his hand lightly touching a bruise at the side of his face and the trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.

His gaze sank slightly.

"To be able to push yourself this far... that’s already enough, isn’t it?"

He couldn’t remember how long it had been since he’d last been injured.

"..."

On the other side, when Kuzan heard this, the words he wanted to say got stuck in his throat, and a dark line seemed to fall over his face.

This was called "enough"?

Right now, he couldn’t even feel the existence of his left leg.

This guy was just as infuriating as ever~

Kuzan was even so annoyed that he laughed, which tugged at the wounds on his face, sending another wave of pain through him.

Orin also laughed heartily.

"But seriously, Kuzan, the fact that you lost to Sakazuki really shouldn’t have happened~"

Orin crossed one leg over the other.

Perhaps only in this brief post-battle moment could the two of them speak calmly.

"I know his strength. If you weren’t as confused as before, your Haki could at least rise another level. The Fleet Admiral position would really be hard to call."

"..."

"Want me to talk to the Elder for you, get you back in the Marines, continue as an Admiral and fight for Fleet Admiral? You were definitely throwing that match before, right?"

"...Forget it. If I said that, those five old geezers would definitely be on full alert."

When Kuzan heard this, another dark line faintly appeared on his face.

"You bastard... Orin."

It was a somewhat unpleasant and halting conversation, mainly because Kuzan had been beaten so badly he could barely speak.

After that, Orin still left—leaving Kuzan with one leg—and then departed Punk Hazard.

After that, the Marine soldiers finally dared to approach and rescue this former Marine Admiral who had helped them.

Smoker and Kuzan lay side by side, both gazing up at the sky.

"Hey, Kuzan,"

Smoker, wrapped in bandages, looked to the side.

"Why did you come here?"

Kuzan was silent for a moment, staring up at the sky. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Maybe I thought that, when it comes to facing confusion and doubt, if it’s that bastard Orin, he must be really good at it..."