As soon as Whitebeard finished speaking, there was a whoosh, and the golden Buddha landed beside Garp.
Sengoku stared at the twisted, deformed remains of the warship before him, his expression slightly stiff.
After a while, his brows gradually relaxed. No matter what, the remaining Heavenly Tribute had finally been protected. It was just that the method of protecting it was somewhat embarrassing.
"Sengoku." Garp turned around and faced the still-churning sea. "Switch with me. Newgate is yours. I'll go deal with that bastard called Ron."
Sengoku's gaze fell on Ron. Then his expression changed abruptly.
Garp sharply noticed Sengoku's abnormal reaction and instinctively followed his gaze toward the sea.
At this moment, the nine-tailed fox demon had opened its mouth. A massive dark red energy sphere was condensing and expanding inside, producing a low hum.
And on the several chakra arms extending from both sides of its body, every palm held a lava fireball.
"Damn it." Sengoku gritted his teeth, his anger suppressed to the limit. "Without realizing it... we walked into a trap. That bastard Ron has grasped our weak point."
To be precise, he had grasped Sengoku's weak point.
Only Sengoku took the mission of escorting the Heavenly Tribute too seriously.
If this batch of Heavenly Tribute was lost in his hands, the World Government's accountability, the instability of his position, and the collapse of his future prospects-these consequences were all things Sengoku could foresee, yet was unwilling to bear.
And Garp?
If it was lost, it was lost. Let them hold him accountable however they wanted. Even if he was demoted to an ordinary Marine, his heart would not ripple at all.
That was where the problem lay.
If Sengoku dodged, the remaining Heavenly Tribute would inevitably be reduced to dust.
If he did not dodge, he would have to take all of Ron's attacks head-on.
This was an open scheme.
An upright, aboveboard open scheme with no hidden tricks.
He, Sengoku, had to make a choice.
"That bastard." Sengoku squeezed those words through clenched teeth.
"Sengoku..." Garp glanced at Sengoku's stiff side profile, then stopped himself. A moment later, he suddenly smiled in relief. "You always say I love acting recklessly, but aren't you the same?"
"Here it comes!" Sengoku suddenly shouted.
Boom!
In an instant, the fully charged Tailed Beast Bomb and the lava fireballs shot out at the same time.
In that moment, the sea was torn apart.
An enormous trench extended from the nine-tailed fox demon's feet all the way to the beach. The seawater was forced to roll to both sides, revealing sand and reefs beneath.
White walls of water rose high like two massive gates split open.
"Hah!"
Sengoku violently pushed his palm forward. In the palm of the golden Buddha, a shockwave emitted a sharp shriek.
Then it slammed toward the Tailed Beast Bomb and lava fireballs at terrifying speed.
Boom!
A deafening explosion resounded in every direction.
The terrifying aftermath spread outward like a tsunami.
At the center of the explosion, firelight and smoke intertwined into a giant sphere, devouring all light.
"Garp!" Sengoku's voice pierced through the roar of the explosion.
That palm shockwave had not completely neutralized Ron's attack. It had only slowed the Tailed Beast Bomb and destroyed part of the accompanying lava fireballs.
The dark red energy sphere still pushed forward slowly, radiating a pressure that made one's heart tremble.
"Leave it to me!"
Garp answered and leaped up. His figure rose into the air in the afterglow of the explosion. Haki instantly covered both fists, and then he struck.
"Fist Bone Meteor!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
In midair, Garp's fists moved so fast they became afterimages.
With each punch, a terrifying shockwave was fired, pouring down toward the Tailed Beast Bomb like a meteor shower.
The instant the shockwaves collided with the Tailed Beast Bomb, dazzling white light and deafening roars erupted.
Boom!
Boom!
Explosions rang out one after another, and aftershocks spread outward like ripples.
All the lava fireballs were destroyed.
But the Tailed Beast Bomb still moved forward.
Sengoku did not sit still and wait for death. The golden Buddha swelled again, growing taller, and both palms pushed forward to block the Tailed Beast Bomb from the front.
Bang!
The giant Buddha's palms pressed against the dark red energy sphere.
His body was forced step by step backward under the impact of the Tailed Beast Bomb, plowing two deep trenches into the ground.
"Aaaaaah!"
Sengoku's roar echoed in every direction. His ten fingers dug deeply into the energy sphere, and Haki covered it at incredible speed.
Then he suddenly exerted force and twisted the Tailed Beast Bomb's trajectory to one side.
Whoosh!
The redirected Tailed Beast Bomb could no longer be stopped. It roared toward the mountains on the other side of the island.
A while later...
Boom!
An explosion suddenly rang out, and the entire island shook violently.
In the distance, a huge mushroom cloud shot into the sky. The shockwave swept rocks and dust in every direction, covering the entire island in a thick layer of sand.
Sengoku panted, his face unreadable.
Garp copied Sengoku's usual tone and scolded him. "Hey, you were too reckless, Sengoku. If that thing had exploded beside you, you definitely wouldn't have been able to handle it."
"You idiot... the battle isn't over yet!" Sengoku wanted to complain, but now was clearly not the time.
In that gap, a light voice drifted over from the sea.
"What are you two muttering about? I've already prepared the second round. What about you?"
Sengoku waved his sleeve, stirring up a gust of wind that violently scattered the surrounding smoke and dust.
On the sea, the nine-tailed fox demon had its mouth open, and a Tailed Beast Bomb larger than the previous one was forming.
The good news was that this time, there were no lava fireballs condensed on its chakra arms.
The bad news was that every one of those palms was holding a Tailed Beast Bomb.