Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 283 Old Rascal Garp

As Xia Zuo flew, his body was covered in a layer of air, which created a brilliant flame after rubbing against the air, making him look like a shooting star.

The flames created by friction with the air indicate that Xia Zuo's control over air is still flawed, but also that his flight speed has reached an extremely high level.

So he quickly caught up with his own warship.

On the narrow warships of the East China Sea Special Mobile Fleet, the lookouts spotted Xia Zuo early on.

He shouted excitedly, "The Brigadier General is back!"

Upon hearing the lookout's cheers, all the naval officers and men rushed onto the deck, excitedly forming neat rows to welcome their commander's return.

They all stared longingly at the sky, their eyes fixed on the bright shooting star, muttering words they didn't even understand.

"Your Excellency can really fly!"

"Incredible! He's practically identical to Admiral Kizaru from Headquarters. Has the Commodore reached the same level of power as an Admiral?"

"Hmph, what's so special about a commander-in-chief? Brigadier General Garp has fought against him."

"Vice Admiral Garp? The naval hero, Vice Admiral Garp?"

"Yes, it's the Navy hero Garp."

"When did this happen? How come I didn't know about it?"

"When we patrolled to Windmill Village last time, the Brigadier General and Lieutenant General Garp had a duel on the high seas, and they fought to a draw."

"Good heavens, why didn't you guys tell me about something this important before?"

"Uh, Lieutenant Colonel Faye has issued a gag order—"

"Huh? But didn't you just say—ah!"

"Oh no, I'm going to be put in solitary confinement!"

"Solitary confinement, locking me in a dark room—I'd rather fight pirates to the death!"

Fear or worry, when Xia Zuo flew over the warship and landed on the deck like a superhero, all the naval officers and soldiers felt only excitement, admiration and pride.

Our Brigadier General can fly!

No one cared that Xia Zuo's officer's uniform was damaged; they believed that the brigadier general would not fail, and that his enemies would surely suffer an even more miserable defeat, being driven away in disgrace.

Amidst the cheers of his subordinates, Xia Zuo, who had landed on the deck, heard their thoughts.

This time, he wasn't going to hide it anymore.

The battles against Shanks and Mihawk confirmed that Xia Zuo's strength was undoubtedly superior to that of the Emperor.

Although he was not able to completely defeat Hawkeye and Shanks' combined attack today, he still has a lot of room for improvement, unlike Shanks and Shanks who are already close to the limits of the world, and their room for improvement lies only in the level of skills and combat philosophy.

Looking at his carefully trained subordinates, he ordered, "Set sail and go home."

The naval warships increased their speed dramatically and sped toward the 77th branch.

Shazor returned to his room, where the Marine Corps commander, his former adjutant Major Borg, had already prepared a new general's uniform for him.

While helping Shazo change his torn clothes, Borg asked, "Commodore, who has slipped back from the Grand Line this time?"

Xia Zuo replied, "It's Red-Haired Shanks. I didn't expect that after Vice Admiral Garp and Admiral Kizaru defeated him two years ago, this guy has never given up and has been going back and forth between Windmill Village and the Grand Line."

"What's infuriating is that we didn't notice it before."

Borg was startled by what he heard.

He wasn't worried about not knowing the Red-Haired Pirates were in the East Blue, but rather he was terrified by Xia Zuo's encounter with Shanks.

The East China Sea is extremely vast. As long as the ship is large enough, the navigator is skilled enough, and has a detailed understanding of the East China Sea, it is possible to avoid the major islands and shipping lanes.

In the vast East China Sea, searching for a fleet that never docks is no different from finding a needle in a haystack.

As long as Shanks doesn't cause trouble and strictly follows the direct route from one point to another, the entire Navy will not know that he has come to the East Blue.

However, this is also a rather grueling way of sailing. Ships may not see land for a long time, endure the lack of navigational markers for extended periods, and eventually find themselves constantly wondering if they have deviated from their course.

Compared to the Grand Line, which is fraught with terrifying weather dangers but has clearly defined defensive lines, this is a danger that no individual can withstand.

But the redhead actually persisted for two years.

Furthermore, this is combined with the Devil Fruit he brought specifically, which is called the Rubber Fruit but is actually the Nika Fruit.

Xia Zuo concluded that Shanks must know something; he must know crucial information about Luffy, which is why he went to such lengths to establish a connection with Luffy and guide him into the ranks of pirates.

Two years ago, Xia Zuo would have definitely tried his best to find out the secret behind this, so as not to be unwittingly tricked and killed.

But now he doesn't care at all.

The Saiyan Shazo's explosive power made him completely certain that he would one day crush Im and take control of the planet.

When Saint Seiya Shazam masters the Seventh Sense, or when Naruto Shazam completes the Bloodstained Net, he will gain unparalleled violence.

By then, the secrets Shanks possessed might still have value, but they would be meaningless.

Because in front of Xia Zuo, dragons must coil up and tigers must lie down.

The Xiazuo warship was fast, but it was still just a ship, and sailing in the vast East China Sea always took a long time.

Moreover, they are a special mobile fleet; when they encounter pirates, they must turn around and chase them away from the main shipping lanes.

Xia Zuo had long since stopped caring about such routine tasks and left them all to Lieutenant Commander Faye, who would handle them perfectly.

Faye excelled at controlling the intensity of the pursuit of the pirates, and he never disappointed Xia Zuo.

So after returning to the warship, Xia Zuo stayed in his room, focusing on digesting his combat power and resolving the various imbalances caused by the rapid increase in power.

Until a colossal presence appeared in his [Heart Network] that could not be ignored. The intensity of this aura even surpassed that of the red-haired man, giving people a sense of weight and solidity like a giant island.

This was a scent that Xia Zuo was very familiar with; it belonged to the naval hero Garp.

"This old man has gone home to visit his family again."

Xia Zuo got up from his bed, not even taking his coat, but wearing his comfortable marine uniform, and went to the bow of the warship to look in the direction where the dog-headed warship was about to appear.

Xia Zuo suddenly realized that the range of his Observation Haki-enhanced "Mind Net" had expanded, and the red-haired Shanks he had unintentionally trapped seemed to have left from the East Blue and was preparing to cross the Calm Belt to return to "Pirate Paradise".

The timing of Shanks' operation was impeccable, perfectly aligning with Vice Admiral Garp's actions.

Xia Zuo whispered, "Red-Haired Shanks, this Pirate Emperor, is not simple. He was able to operate in the East Blue for two years without being discovered by me or being caught by Vice Admiral Garp, which means he has detailed intelligence about the Navy."

"Among the high-ranking officials of the Navy, the World Government, and the Celestial Dragons, there are definitely Shanks' intelligence sources, and there may be more than one."

"It's not impossible for them to be in all three places —"

Xia Zuo raised his head and looked at the dog's head that was already faintly appearing in front of him. He smiled and said, "I don't need to worry about this. It's best to tell this old brute in front of me and let him take this opportunity to cause a ruckus."

"Huh? This old killer, is he always this hot-tempered from the start?"

On the ship's hull, a huge cannonball was launched by the blurry figure, flying towards Xia Zuo with a sharp whooshing sound.

Xia Zuo laughed and raised his hand to unleash a flying slash, rushing towards the huge cannonball and effortlessly splitting it in two.

But that shell was too big and too heavy; even though it was split in two, it still possessed terrifying destructive power.

Xia Zuo had no choice but to follow up with another flying slash, and this time the sword energy was completely under his control. The moment it touched the two halves of the cannonball, it condensed into a ball and enveloped the cannonball.

In an instant, the enormous cannonball was shredded by the sphere of sword energy surrounding it, turning into approximately 400 million cubes, each 1 millimeter in diameter.

Such a small piece of iron cannot fly far in the air. After only traveling a dozen meters, the iron particle fell into the sea like sand.

The flying slash that split the cannonball was easily shattered by Garp's iron fist, causing no damage whatsoever.

"Hahaha, Xia Zuo, your gift is really something else!"

Vice Admiral Garp's loud laughter was like a demonic sound, causing Xia Zuo to frown involuntarily.

He immediately retorted, "Lieutenant General Garp, wasn't it you who threw the giant cannonball first?"

"I was only acting in self-defense when faced with your provocation, Lieutenant General, and that's when I made a mistake and caused this accident."

"Even if your dog-headed warship is split in two, don't blame me."

Garp was speechless, completely unable to think of a reason to defend himself, so he skillfully played dumb: "Ah, did I provoke you first?"

"How come I didn't know?"

"Who can prove that what you're saying is true? Do you have any evidence?"

Xia Zuo has been meeting with Garp every quarter for the past two years and has long been used to his shameless behavior.

Therefore, he wasn't angry and jokingly said, "You old rascal, you're being shameless again."

"I have some news for you. I saw Shanks three days ago."

Garp, unaware of the gravity of the situation, rubbed his hands together and asked, "Oh, this kid dares to come to the East Blue?"

"Good heavens! How dare he disregard this old man! Where is he? Is he following you?"

"This time, I'm going to teach him a lesson he won't forget, and show him who really calls the shots in the East China Sea!"

"Come on, who calls the shots in the East Blue?" Xia Zuo waved his hand to interrupt Garp's rant, pointing to himself and saying, "Of course I do!"

"Besides, I've already driven Shanks away. He should be sailing in the Calm Belt by now, so you won't have a chance to beat him up this time."

Karp clicked his tongue: "Fine, he got there fast."

Xia Zuo glanced at the old man and said, "Old man Kap, don't be so happy, things aren't that simple."

"When I met Shanks today, I saw his ship, the Red Fox. The barnacles attached to its hull are a species unique to the East Blue, the kind that is extremely intolerant of cold."

"So I tricked Shanks and found out that he had been infiltrating the East Blue for the past two years, and each time he would secretly stay in Windmill Village for a period of time."

Garp had already sat on the side of the ship, loudly directing the marines of the 77th Division to prepare tea and donuts for him.

Upon hearing Xia Zuo's words, the old man's smile and shouts froze. He slowly stood up, exuding a powerful aura, transforming from a robust old rascal into a naval hero who had fought his way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood.

Decades of bloodshed and violence, millions of naval officers and soldiers, and countless pirates' blood and tears were needed to forge this naval hero.

Vice Admiral Garp can choose not to be promoted if he doesn't want to, and he can hurl insults at the Celestial Dragons, leaving them with no choice but to swallow their anger. This is definitely not a result that can be achieved through mere recklessness.

Lieutenant General Garp's generosity, genuine nature, and unpretentiousness are definitely his true nature, but they are also a smokescreen he uses to conceal his intelligence.

If he were truly brainless, he would have caused a huge mess long ago and died in some insignificant mission.

Do you really think the World Government and the Celestial Dragons are incompetent cowards?

If that were the case, the navy would have turned the tables long ago and become its own master within 800 years.

The most obvious and recent example is Zephyr.

Once known as "Black Wrist," a powerful and domineering master, Xia Zuo once aspired to become the head instructor of his student, Zefa.

Just a few months ago, Zephyr led a group of elite naval cadets on a training ship when they were attacked by a mysterious pirate in waters not far from the Navy Headquarters.

This mysterious pirate is unknown, but his strength is extraordinary. He not only destroyed the escorting warships, but also defeated the former admiral Zephyr and broke his right arm. However, it is unknown why he did not kill Zephyr.

But this pirate killed all of Zephyr's students, and only Ain and Binz escaped death by sheer luck.

To be able to do all this on his own, this pirate undoubtedly possesses strength at the level of an Emperor. How could a pirate with such strength be a mere nobody?

As the old saying goes: "The poor study literature, the rich study martial arts."

While studying is not cheap, practicing martial arts requires substantial resources.

Meat, medicine, and venue are the most basic elements. To grow into a general at the pinnacle of the world, one also needs a master teacher and to undergo a true test of life and death.

A great teacher produces great students, so the students of a great teacher naturally possess a good reputation.

The life-or-death test is even more extraordinary. A powerful opponent is likely to have a well-known reputation, and defeating him is tantamount to becoming famous by stepping on him.

How could there be a nameless, unknown, and unknown Emperor-level pirate?

Moreover, what kind of pirate, after defeating a former Marine Admiral, would not only refrain from boasting about his strength and raising a banner to start a crew, but instead simply disappear into the sea?

Therefore, there are no nameless and faceless Emperor-level pirates. There are only nameless and faceless Emperor-level agents within the World Government's system.