At The Peak of One Piece

 Victor and Garp stood facing each other. 

"Kid, how old are you?" Garp's laughter faded, replaced by seriousness. 

"Fifteen. Sixteen in a few months. I want to join the Marines—but step-by-step enlistment bores me. Since I found you, I want passage directly to Marineford." Victor laid out his demand. 

"Oho? Got some fire in ya!" Garp grinned. "Prove you're worth skipping the line. Careful—my fists hurt!" Victor's aura intrigued him; it matched a mediocre Rear Admiral's at Headquarters. 

Victor led Garp from the docks to a nearby beach. Onlookers gaped—challenging the Hero of the Marines? Rebecca and Vice Admiral Tsuru watched intently. 

Victor drew both swords, settling into a combat stance—one blade forward, one back. 

Gasps rippled through the crowd. 'Insane!' They respected Victor's strength, but this was Garp. 

Tsuru chuckled. "Rebecca, fetch a med-kit. Your neighbor's about to get pummeled." 

Rebecca flushed, turning away as Tsuru laughed softly. 

Victor attacked. Vanishing from sight, he reappeared instantly beside Garp—speed rivaling Soru without using the technique. 

"Two Blades Style: Mountain Splitter!" 

Garp's eyes widened. 'Impressive velocity—New World ready.' His fists snapped up, blocking the swords inches from his skull. No Armament Haki coated his hands—he refused to bully a youth. Yet decades of Haki conditioning made them iron. Victor's iron-cutting edge failed to breach them. 

"Pilar's Sword!" 

Victor dropped low, swords slicing horizontally at Garp's legs. Garp—now serious—flared Observation Haki. Red light flashed in his eyes. He leaped, flipping upside-down, fist aimed like a piston at Victor's head. 

Victor rolled aside. Garp's fist cratered the sand. 

Their speed blurred combat to spectators. Only Tsuru and Rebecca tracked the flurry of movements. 

"Remarkable potential," Tsuru murmured. "The Marines need this boy." 

Rebecca only nodded, enthralled. She'd never seen Victor fight unleashed. 

"Egg Splitter!" 

Victor sprang from his roll into a crouch, then lunged diagonally upward. Sword arced toward Garp—still inverted—aiming to cleave him from crotch to crown. 

Garp twisted mid-air. His fist met the descending blade. 

CLANG! 

The shockwave shredded the ground beneath Garp into rippling fragments. 

"Cheeky brat!" Garp roared, landing unscathed. "Targeting a man's treasures? Hah! Even retired ones!" 

"You'd dodge it, Hero. Or tank it barehanded." Victor smirked. He knew Garp held back his Haki. 

Victor backflipped two meters away, then charged again. Blades became a storm of steel—thrusts, slashes, whirlwinds. Garp parried every strike, grin widening. 

'An uncut gem.' Garp decided. 'Worth polishing myself.' 

"Ravenous Wolf!" A blade of condensed aura shot forth. 

"Fist of Love!" Garp's punch shattered it into harmless sparks. 

Victor unleashed a barrage of Aura Slashes projectiles. Garp's single punch generated a pressure wave, scattering them like leaves. 

'Useless at range.' Victor closed in, blades dancing like twin dragons. Speed surged—the Swift-Swift Fruit's power humming through his veins. 

But as Victor's speed increased, Garp matched it effortlessly. The battlefield was already in ruins, with several massive craters now filled with seawater. 

The onlookers were stunned. They had never imagined a battle could reach such intensity. 

Two hours had passed, and despite the relentless combat, Victor felt no fatigue—a testament to his years of rigorous training. Garp, meanwhile, was thoroughly impressed. 

Fists clashed against blades in midair; punches met dual swords on the ground. Victor knew his current swordsmanship couldn't breach Garp's defenses. 

Using the Swift-Swift Fruit, he accelerated his slashes, enhancing their impact and lethality. 

Yet, it still wasn't enough. His swords, lacking Armament Haki reinforcement, were beginning to strain under Garp's monstrous fists. 

"I have to hand it to 'Axe-Hand' Morgan—dude actually managed to cut Garp's chest open. Respect. Truly the 'Axe Emperor' of the East Blue." 

Another hour passed. Victor hadn't so much as scratched Garp. 

"Hahaha! Kid, I've seen enough. Time to wrap this up—I'm hungry!" 

With a burst of Soru, Garp vanished. 

Victor's Observation Haki detected him, but it was too late. 

WHAM! 

A fist the size of a cannonball slammed into his face, sending him cratering into the ground. 

"VICTOR!" Rebecca screamed, lunging forward—only for Tsuru to hold her back. 

Groaning, Victor staggered to his feet moments later. 

"Not bad, kid! Tough body!" Garp laughed, though inwardly shocked. That punch should've knocked him out cold. 

Victor spat out blood, his once-handsome face now swollen. "This old man really loves punching faces, huh?" 

"I'll take that as a compliment. Still not enough to beat you, though." 

Garp grinned. "At your age, I've never seen anyone train their body to this level. And your swordsmanship? Already Sword Master-tier. Without Armament Haki, few in the world could block those blades. Learn it, and you'll rival Marine Vice Admirals." 

"Observation Haki too—no idea how you awakened it, but your talent's insane. Join the Marines. Graduate training, then serve on my ship. What d'you say?" 

Garp saw it clearly: This kid's potential surpassed even the Admirals'. Given a few years, he'd be a candidate for the top. 

"Sounds perfect. Serving under you should be... interesting." Victor grinned. Years of relentless training had led to this moment. 

"Hahaha! You'll make a fine Marine!" Garp boomed, already walking toward his ship. "Gotta check on my grandson first. I'll come back for you two!" 

The crowd—both Marines and civilians—stood frozen, jaws on the floor. The beach was gone, replaced by trenches carved from flying sword slashes and fist shocks. 

"Humans... can be this strong?!" 

"Tsuru, I'm off! See you soon!" Garp waved before boarding. 

As the ship departed, the townsfolk stared at Victor with newfound awe. They'd known he was strong—but this defied logic. 

Tsuru, meanwhile, studied Victor like a prized recruit. 

"No way I'm letting this monster slip away."