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The latest installment of One Piece brought back a very powerful character under the spotlight. At the end of chapter 1071, Eiichiro Oda hyped fans with Monkey D. Garp's unexpected appearance.
To this day, Garp is the strongest Marine ever. In his prime, he was powerful enough to fight on equal grounds with Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King. Even in his old age, Garp remains a top-tier-level character.
One Piece chapter 1071 showed Garp ready to rescue Koby, his beloved disciple, who Blackbeard had kidnapped. As such, it seems that the Marine Hero will get quite the spotlight.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1071 and reflects the writer's personal views.
Monkey D. Garp is the strongest Marine in the entire One Piece series
Who is Garp?
Garp is a very important character in the series. In fact, he is the father of Monkey D. Dragon, the adoptive grandfather of Portgas D. Ace, and the biological grandfather of the main character Monkey D. Luffy. He oversaw Ace and Luffy's babyhood before entrusting them to the Dadan Family.
Along with Kong, Sengoku, Shiki, Silvers Rayleigh, Gol D. Roger, and Whitebeard, Garp was one of the main figures of the Old Era of Piracy. His feats earned him immense notoriety and prestige, making him one of the most notorious characters in the One Piece world.
Given his incredible power, which allowed him to go head-to-head with Roger, Garp was offered the promotion to the rank of Admiral several times throughout his career. However, he refused the offer every time. For this reason, he remained a Vice Admiral.
Around the beginning of One Piece's current narration, Garp took charge of both Koby and Helmeppo's training, making them his disciples. After the Paramount War, Garp became a Marine Instructor. However, he still retained the rank of Vice Admiral and continued operating for the Marines.
Garp is one of the most powerful One Piece characters ever
Roger's achievements earned him the title of King of Pirates and inspired the Great Piracy Era, making him a legendary figure. Due to his all-powerful Haki, Roger's might was immense.
Monkey D. Garp's strength was no less than the King of Pirates, as he could fight on equal grounds with him. It was stated that Garp cornered Roger more than once. Their battles were tremendous, with both almost killing each other several times.
Despite being enemies, Roger and Garp respected each other. During the God Valley incident, which happened 38 years before the story's current events, they teamed up to defeat a common enemy, the dangerous Rocks D. Xebec, whom the entire World Government feared.
This achievement earned Garp an everlasting reputation as the "Marine Hero". Another testament to Garp's greatness, he needed a single punch to defeat Don Chinjao, a mighty pirate who, combining his Armament Haki and his physical strength, had enough power to split a continent with a headbutt.
After this dominant feat, Garp became renowned worldwide as "The Fist." This epithet hints at the tremendous power of his punches. Garp stated that he crushed eight mountains during his training to face Chinjao.
According to Chinjao, all pirates saw Garp as a sort of devil. Even Whitebeard, the World's Strongest Man and one of the Four Emperors, declared his sincere respect for Garp's strength.
Even as a 76 years old man, many years past his prime, Garp could quickly overpower Marco, Whitebeard's right-hand man. With a simple jump, Garp outmaneuvered him. He then hit Marco, damaging him with a basic punch, despite the latter's regenerative abilities.
Even in old age, Garp can bare-handedly launch iron cannonballs as if they were baseballs, propelling at higher velocities than if they were fired from a real cannon. He can even carry and throw a giant iron ball several times bigger than the Thousand Sunny.
Like Whitebeard, even the aged version of Garp can increase his power through rage. After Ace's death, Garp would have even killed Admiral Akainu if Sengoku had not restrained him.
Garp's exact level of Haki mastery is yet to be revealed. However, given that he was able to fight on par with Roger, who possessed an outrageously strong Haki, it's likely that Garp is a mighty Haki user as well, just like the Pirate King.
Garp's status is such that even the Celestial Dragons don't dare to try to get rid of him despite his rebellious personality. He is very respected among the Marines, having mentored many other prominent soldiers of the organization, including Kuzan, the former Admiral Aokiji.
A further testament to Garp's greatness, his teachings helped Koby and Helmeppo become reliable Marine officers despite starting as absolute weaklings. Koby, who became a skilled Haki user, owes so much to Garp.
Garp is free-spirited, making him an interesting individual
Garp is an eccentric but caring man. Somehow, he manages to be loyal to both his family, consisting of outlaws and the Marine Headquarters. Interestingly enough, Garp overall acts in a very similar manner to his grandson, falling asleep during conversations and being absent-minded.
After countless battles to the death, Roger started considering Garp as much of a friend as the rest of his crew. After surrendering himself to the Marines, Roger requested Garp to take care of his son, Ace.
Garp, who also respected Roger, eventually agreed to his final wish. When Ace was about to be executed for being a pirate, Garp started crying, desperately asking him why he didn't choose to be a Marine.
In summation, Garp has always been a free-spirited individual. Despite Roger being a pirate, he never came to hate him. Moreover, Garp highly values his freedom and family and is no stranger to bending the rules to accommodate these values.
For instance, he refused to capture Luffy in Water Seven until explicitly ordered. He even allowed Luffy to hit him so that he could pretend to be out of commission to allow Ace to be freed. This implies that Garp values his family over his duties as a Marine.
Even when he fulfills his duties, Garp follows his moral code. According to Sengoku, this is why Garp, who was not interested in guarding the Celestial Dragons, refused the promotion to Admiral.
With Koby, a SWORD member, being a direct subordinate of Garp, it appears very feasible to think that the latter is at least aware of the secret unit. Garp apparently works for the World Government, but he may not be willing to fight his grandson, Luffy.
In fact, Garp was already torn about which side he had to take during the Paramount War, with his indecision indirectly fostering the death of Ace. Given his close ties with Sengoku, many One Piece fans assumed that if Garp is part of SWORD, then the former Fleet Admiral is as well.
One Piece chapter 1071 featured Garp taking Helmeppo and Hibari, two members of SWORD, along with him and setting sail to Hachinosu, the island where the Blackbeard Pirates are based.
Without a doubt, Garp's self-declared intent is to beat up Blackbeard and rescue Koby. The mission, however, doesn't seem to be an easy challenge, even for an individual of the caliber of the Marine Hero.
Will Garp fight with Blackbeard on Hachinosu?
At the moment, it's not clear how the conflict between Garp and the Blackbeard Pirates will play out. Garp is heading to Hachinosu, but Teach is currently located on Winner Island, where he is fighting against Trafalgar Law.
Admittedly, Teach is expected to make short work of Law. Despite being a very powerful pirate in his own right, Law should not be able to push the sworn nemesis of Luffy to more than a certain extent in a 1v1 battle.
As such, it is possible that Blackbeard is going to quickly win the fight and return to Hachinosu. In that case, he would meet Garp there. From a narrative point of view, it's hard to imagine Blackbeard losing against Garp at this point in One Piece's story.
Some time ago, Rayleigh was able to intimidate Blackbeard, forcing him to leave Amazon Lily. However, even the "Dark King" admitted that he couldn't have defeated Teach in a 1v1 fight to death due to his old age.
Final thoughts
As a legend of One Piece's old era, Garp suffers the same problem as Rayleigh. Those powerhouses may have been more than capable of challenging Blackbeard in their prime versions, but that shouldn't be the case now. But that's not to say they wouldn't give him a hell of a fight.
In fact, Blackbeard preferred to give up his previous intent and leave Amazon Lily rather than take the risk of fighting Rayleigh. This time, however, it seems that a confrontation with Garp is unavoidable, given the latter's intent to save Koby, who Blackbeard captured.
Moreover, Blackbeard's crewmembers, such as Shiryu, are not to be underestimated. After Oda's recent declarations about a forthcoming dramatic fight, One Piece fans are eager to know what will happen between Blackbeard and Garp.
Some fans speculated that a tremendous 2v2 battle could be unleashed between Blackbeard/Shiryu and Garp/Aokiji. In fact, the former Admiral, who apparently joined Blackbeard, is likely to turn against him. Admittedly, it doesn't seem feasible for Aokiji to ally with such a wicked man.
