Although Kuzan acknowledges Garp's strength 120%, everything that just happened reveals a major problem: the moment Garp falls into even the slightest disadvantage, the entire army's morale crumbles instantly!
If Grimm had seized that chance earlier to strike down those ordinary soldiers, countless of them would have lost all will to fight back entirely!
That's exactly why Garp must never be allowed to lead the front lines. He is truly a double-edged sword — we cannot let him take action until there is absolutely no other choice!
"Oh? You won't let the Hero Garp step in? Then what exactly do you think you can achieve, Kuzan?!"
Grimm delivered a fierce kick straight at Kuzan's ice blade, splitting it clean in two. At the very last second, Kuzan clamped both hands tightly around Grimm's foot, the corners of his thick lips curling upward slightly.
"Ara ara… don't underestimate the Navy's new generation, Mr. Grimm. In the three years since you and Shiki attacked Marine Headquarters, I certainly haven't spent every day just sleeping! And I remember you were the one who said it: the future belongs to us!"
No sooner had Kuzan finished speaking than a deafening roar boomed from the sky. Grimm looked up and saw a bright red point piercing through the dark clouds, hurtling straight toward them!
Ten seconds later, Grimm saw it clearly — it wasn't a red dot at all. It was a meteorite, blazing with raging fire.
"The ultimate technique to rain down meteorites… I remember this move… isn't this…"
Uchiha Madara? Did he also get transported to this world?!
Grimm narrowed his eyes. As the meteorite loomed ever larger in his vision, Kuzan took advantage of Grimm's momentary shock and leaped hundreds of meters away together with Garp!
In an instant, Grimm was left standing all alone in an expanse of ground the size of a football field!
BOOM!!!
The meteorite slammed into the earth, sending up clouds of dust and shaking the very ground itself. Debris and sparks sprayed out in every direction.
Even officers like Doberman and Momonga couldn't help but frown, thinking to themselves: "We really recruited some incredible talents this time…"
"That was amazing!"
"That's the new student brought in by Instructor Zephyr… a total monster who graduated under him in just one single year…"
Wave after wave of astonished exclamations rose from the marines as they witnessed the power of that attack.
Thud… thud… thud…
Just then, a heavy, rhythmic sound of something striking the ground echoed out. The other soldiers quickly cleared a path, and walking slowly down the center was a burly, blind man wearing a simple pale purple kimono robe.
He appeared to be between thirty-five and forty-five years old, with short black hair. His most striking features were the long scars slashing across both eyes, and the fact that his eyelids were permanently shut tight.
He was completely blind.
"Ara ara… is everyone alright here?"
The large man also wore the official marine cape, emblazoned on the back with the word Justice. Judging by his rank insignia, he was only a Captain!
Yet despite his rank, officers ranked Commodore and above — including Momonga, Doberman, and Strawberry — all stood straight and showed him the utmost respect.
"Ara ara… the reinforcements Teacher Zephyr sent really are terrifying. Absolute monsters, every one of them!" Kuzan exclaimed dramatically.
The burly blind man smiled gently. "I am merely a newcomer who has only just formally joined the Navy. You flatter me far too much, Vice Admiral Kuzan."
Marine Headquarters Captain — Issho!
One of the new generation of officers recruited by Zephyr; a prodigy who mastered both Armament Haki and Observation Haki completely in just one year of training under him!
"Now now… don't get too excited just yet, you brats!" Garp stuck one finger up his nose and motioned for everyone to look past the crater left by the meteorite. Of course, Issho couldn't "see" anything at all — instead, he "sensed" everything.
Everyone shifted their attention from Issho to the battlefield. In front of the crater, golden light poured down from a radiant "sun" that had formed in the sky, and Grimm's figure slowly took shape within the glow!
"I never thought that even you, Issho, would show up here!" Grimm said as he laid eyes on him. Indeed, neither the Revolutionary Army's Dragon nor the spies Grimm had planted inside the Navy had ever reported anything about such a terrifying figure existing.
"Ara ara… I'm just a newcomer who joined less than a month ago. Hardly anyone at Headquarters even knows who I am. It really is quite surprising that a renowned Emperor like you is already aware of my existence!" The skin over Issho's closed eyes twitched slightly.
SWISH!
A flash of golden light landed right between Issho and Kuzan — it was none other than Kizaru.
"Mr. Garp is our ace in the hole, you see — a double-edged sword we only use as a last resort. For now, let the three of us take the lead here…"
Kizaru grinned broadly, then turned to the marines stationed all around and called out: "Everyone else, be ready to move in and support at any moment!"
"AYE AYE, SIR!!!"
Issho and Kuzan stepped forward, flanking Grimm on the left and right, forming a three-versus-one formation!
"I hope I won't end up being a burden to you two. Win or lose… let's bet everything we have on this fight!"
Issho drew his cane-sword just a few centimeters out of its sheath. His gentle, humble smile vanished completely, replaced instantly by boundless, burning fighting spirit!
"I never imagined that so many subtle changes would start taking place in this world…"
Grimm spoke words that left Kizaru, Aokiji, and the others utterly confused. Suddenly, a pair of pure white wings unfurled from his back. He gripped Ashbringer in his right hand; a streak of golden lightning flashed across the sky, and the Hammer of the Lightbringer appeared in his left.
"Then let us begin. Beneath the radiance of the Holy Light… let us fight to our hearts' content!"
"Then… allow me to test my skills just a little first…" Issho said slowly.
Suddenly — draw, then sheathe.
Less than half a second passed between the two movements, yet a streak of purple sword energy shot straight up into the heavens!
This time it was even faster: within five seconds, countless meteorites began falling from the sky, like fire raining down to burn the entire city to ash.
But compared to the single massive one earlier, these were far smaller; clearly, he had traded sheer size for a massive area of effect.
"That really is… quite outrageous!"
Grimm chuckled softly, and charged straight toward the three of them — completely ignoring the meteors crashing down all around him.
Issho froze, sounding stunned. "What… he charged right through without a moment's hesitation, even against an attack like mine… truly a terrifying enemy!"
Although he was blind, much like that certain perm-haired blind swordsman who loved using electricity, Issho perceived everything through his heart and senses. He knew Grimm's state and movements perfectly well!
Grimm charged recklessly through the hail of rocks. He knocked aside anything he could block with his weapons, and didn't even bother dodging the ones he couldn't — he just kept going.
It was exactly like playing an online RPG: if there were no limits on how many times you could be revived in a dungeon, those veterans sitting on tens of thousands of revival tokens would definitely slam the table and say, "Who needs potions? Who needs to dodge skills? Who needs cooldown reduction gear? Just revive over and over! And reviving resets all your abilities anyway…"
That was exactly what Issho felt: Grimm died… then he came back to life. Then he died again… and again…
Kizaru watched Grimm keep rushing closer through the falling debris, and waved his hand lazily. "Machine gun units, don't let up either~! Since he can just come back to life, you have to keep killing him over and over, okay?"
__________________
For more advance chapters visit patreon.com/bars45.
For 10$- All advance chapters.
"Schedule"
Monday - Friday - Update 3 Chapters a Day
Saturday - Sunday - Off