The Squid Pirates

(Garp POV)

I am standing on deck and waiting for our ship to catch up to the Squid Pirates. Ours is faster than theirs and it looks like ... they stopped running away and are prepared to face us. Good. The Commodore is giving out commands to prepare to fire the cannons as soon as they get into range. 

I am getting pumped right here. My 'first' fight so to speak. I feel like I was always Garp and yet I have memories of my past life as well. So I didn't really take over the body but just unlocked my memories when Sensei knocked me out. Good for me I guess. I also didn't undergo some transformation suddenly when I woke up, but my body already had the physique and shape I wanted. That's good, I don't want to explain what happened to me. 

Finally, we are in range and the cannons have started to fire. On both sides. I can see the pirates cheering and preparing themselves for the fight. This isn't my first fight against pirates, but my first time on the Grand Line. So these ones should be a lot stronger than those in East Blue ... or so they promised. 

"Marines prepare yourself!! Ready ... GO!", the Rear Admiral screams and orders us to attack. The ships are now parallel to each other and the pirates have begun to board us. The fight has officially started. 

.

I duck underneath a sword slash and then punch the sod who attacked me. I feel my fist impact his face and feel his skull getting rattled. A few teeth fly out of his mouth and the pirate flies back and to the ground. He's out of the fight for today, that's for sure. I used about 50% of my full strength right there. So there is still room for improvement.

Another pirate comes at me and I welcome him with open arms. This one had a pistol in his hand and pointed it at me. I use 'Soru' immediately and flash next to him and out of his firing direction. 

*BANG*

He fires the gun and I pull back my arm. I deliver a right hook to his face and cause his head to spin, followed by his body. I don't even look anymore and just move on. Stopping to look is dangerous, as I just noticed before. I continue to attack the next pirate in my sight. This one is rather large and swings around a big hammer. 

He is powerful, I can tell. He lifts his hammer and then smashes it down on a Marine. I use 'Soru' again and push the Marine out of the way. A mistake, I realise as the massive hammer with enormous power hits me on the clavicula and almost breaks it in two. I managed to use 'Tekkai' at the last moment and reduced the impact somewhat. But the pain is still there. 

I clench my teeth and attack the tall guy. I use 'Soru' and 'Geppo' to reach his face. Then I pull back my fist and apply 'Tekkai' to it and punch the pirate in the face, full force. 

*BOOM*

"Urgh!", the big pirate grunts. He is not out cold yet. I guess he is also very durable. No matter, I will just do it again. When I land on the ground, I kick at a very high speed and strength, resulting in a sharp compressed blade of air. 

'Rankyaku'

The blade reaches the big guy's left leg and creates a deep wound. Blood splatters out of the wound. 

"RRAAAAHHH!", I hear him scream. I don't stop there, however. I know that this is still not enough to take him down. I use 'Tekkai' on my fist again and punch the man's kneecap with my full strength. 

*Crack*

I hear the bones break and his leg bends 90° to the wrong side, causing the pirate to lose his balance and fall to the ground. He falls to his knees and I can see his pain. But he is full of adrenaline and doesn't think about his wound for now and only looks at me in pure fury. 

He roars loudly and swings his hammer at me in a horizontal arc. I move out of his range and point my finger at his face. Then I use a variation of 'Shigan'. 

'Tobu Shigan'

A projectile version of Shigan that fires a sharp compressed air shockwave from the finger thrust enabling the user to injure someone without getting close. I don't even think about what I am doing fully and just do it. The compressed air shockwave reaches the man's eye and pierces it, causing him to roar in pain again. 

This is the chance I use. I use 'Soru' and flash towards him. Pulling back my arm and using 'Tekkai' in tandem, I punch out and smash the pirate in the face using all of my strength. 

*BOOOM*

This is enough to knock the tall guy out. He loses consciousness and falls on his back. I am breathing rather normally, for someone that just went through a tough fight. But this was still an amazing experience. I used a variation of Shigan, which I knew from the show but hadn't practised at all. And yet it somehow worked regardless ... that had to be my talent and the 'superpower' I wished for. 

*Bang!* *Bang* *Bang*

"ARGH!", I exclaim as I am hit in my shoulder again. I react quickly and move out of the way using 'Soru'. I don't waste any time and immediately attack the man holding two guns in his hands. He changes his aim towards me again, but I am too fast for him. I use 'Soru' again and change directions again, throwing him off once more. I reach him again and then attack him. I don't go easy on him and punch him in his stomach and then the face in quick succession. 

*BOM BOM*

After that, I move to the next one. 

.

I continue this way and everyone is currently fighting someone. Even the Rear Admiral and the Commodore. Even though they wanted to see what I 'got', they had to stop Nicolas Posquid and his Vice-Captain. I punch another pirate into the sea and look forward. There I see that the Commodore seems to be in a stalemate with the Vice-Captian. But that doesn't interest me as much as the Captain. I want to have a piece of him. 

I move fast and observe the fight between Real Admiral Compton and the Captain of the Squid Pirates. If I were still the previous Garp, I would probably just attack right away. But I wait for a good moment. And after a few seconds, I see it. I use my top speed and 'Soru' to appear next to Posquid. I harden my muscles to the level of iron using 'Tekkai' and cause my fist to dense as I punch the pirate in his side. 

*BOOOM*

My hit lands and the pirate looks at me with surprise. He then turns angry and I see his body transform into a giant squid. It looks ridiculous honestly but who am I to judge? 

"I'll leave this to you, Garp.", Compton says and I just nod. 

I focus on the fight ahead. This will be my strongest opponent yet. Not counting Sensei during the Academy. I'm not sure which one of them is stronger, but I'd say Sensei is still a bit stronger. Never mind that. I prepare and look at Posquid. His current Zoan form should give him enhanced strength and regenerative prowess. That and the poison he can use makes him a formidable opponent for the current me. But the current me is weak. Time to change that. 

Posquid attacks me with one of his arms. I dodge his attack. He attacks again using another arm and then another. I move around and dodge his attacks. I don't have Haki right now and neither do I have a sword to cut off his tentacles. I need to get in close and punch the living daylights out of him. That will be hard though. 

.

I continue to dodge his attacks for a while and try to understand his patterns. But there isn't that much to understand as he attacks randomly. So I decided to just forget all my plans and go ham. And for some reason, this appeals to me. I use 'Tekkai' full force and 'Soru'. I flash towards him and attack him. He seems surprised and my fist actually hit. 

*BOOOM*

I use this chance and attack again. 

*BOOOM* 

"Urgh!", I hear him groan and spit blood. Before I can attack again though, one of his tentacles wraps around my waist and begins to squeeze. Thanks to my 'Tekkai', I don't feel it right now and attack him again using my full strength. 

*BOOOM* *BOOOM* *BOOOM* 

I continue to attack him without care in the world. More and more arms wrap around me and begin to squeeze harder and harder. I start to feel the pain and my 'Tekkai' is starting to get overwhelmed. I clench my jaw harder than before and decide to go all out and increase my efforts. I push beyond my limits and increase the speed of my attacks. 

*BOOOM* *BOOOM* *BOOOM* *BOOOM* *BOOOM* 

"Kuuck!", the damage begins to pile up ... but not just with him ... with me as well. 

*CRACK*

I feel my bones breaking suddenly and the air in my lungs getting pushed out. I also spit out blood. I can tell that this is a battle of attrition. One of us will die ... and ... it won't be me. Faced with this, I laugh ... I just laugh. 

"Bwahahahahahaha"

I laugh and again begin to punch him without worrying about the damage I am suffering. I punch and punch and punch and he begins to squeeze harder and harder. One of us will give up. This squid has a healing factor but at the speed I am punching, I am sure to overpower his healing. 

*BOOOM* *BOOOM* *BOOOM* *BOOOM* *BOOOM* *BOOOM* *BOOOM* *BOOOM* 

I feel more and more bones breaking but before everything completely breaks, I am suddenly flung away by Posquid and hit the wall behind me. 

"Urgh...!", I groan as I hit the wooden wall. A big grin makes its way to my face and I use all of my strength to pull myself up. After I have made it to my feet, I look at Posquid and see him also standing there looking at me with hate. Then, we both attack each other again. I use 'Soru' again and appear in front of him. I punch using as much strength as I can. I won't run out of stamina thanks to one of my 'superpowers'. 

*BOOOM* 

My fist impacts his face. 

*BOOOM* 

One of his larger tentacles hits me and almost makes me fall to the ground. 

*BOOOM* 

I upper-cut him and caused his brain to shake in his skull. 

*BOOOM* 

He grabs me with two tentacles and then smashes me to the floor.

*BOOOM* 

I pull his tentacle towards me and then kick him in the face. 

*BOOOM* 

We continue this way and exchange one punch after the other. His Zoan fruit gives him a lot of stamina and strength. I however also have that. I am immortal and my durability is very high. But my strength isn't there yet. This fight is my way to get stronger. Neither of us is willing to give up and we just attack without care in the world. 

After a while, my fist impacts his face one final time.

*BOOOM* 

Posquid however doesn't hit me again. His Zoan transformation stops and he falls to the ground. I look at him through my left eye. My right eye has blood inside, which stems from the many wounds on my head. I could still go on, but for some reason, the wounds on my body don't heal instantly. I must have a special type of immortality. Maybe my healing will improve with time or something like that. 

I suddenly feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around and see Real Admiral Compton nodding at me. 

"You did well, Garp. They didn't lie about your strength. You will go far in the future.", he says to me and I nod as well. I sure will.