"Garp... you bastard!"
Golden Lion Shiki floated in mid-air, his eyes fixed on the sight of one of his precious heavy warships being smashed into burning scrap metal. Beneath his wild blond hair, his arrogant face twisted into a mask of pure rage. He had meticulously planned everything, pushing Roger into a corner where the fruits of victory were finally within his grasp. And yet, this mad dog of the Marines had crashed into the party without any warning!
"Jiehahahaha! Good! Very good!" The Golden Lion laughed, though the sound was fueled by extreme anger. "Since the Marine wants to join the fun, then today I will bury both of you, along with your ships, right here!"
"Bring it on, trash!" Garp picked his nose with his free hand and responded with a dismissive look that treated the legendary pirate like garbage.
On the other side, aboard the Oro Jackson.
Pluton Rayleigh adjusted the glasses on his nose and sighed helplessly as he watched Garp's sudden intrusion. "Honestly, Captain, the trouble is getting bigger and bigger."
"Doesn't that make it more interesting?" Roger grinned, revealing a row of bright white teeth, his eyes shining with pure excitement. "Rayleigh, I will leave the boys to you!"
With that, Roger stomped his foot against the deck, launching himself into the air like a cannonball. He drew the Supreme Grade Blade from his waist. Pitch-black Armament Haki instantly infused the steel. Accompanied by violent red and black lightning, Roger gripped the sword with both hands and slashed down toward Garp!
"Garp! Let's continue that unfinished fight!"
"Just what I wanted! Roger!"
Garp laughed wildly. His iron fist, which had pushed Roger into a corner countless times, was already as black as ink. Without any wasted movement, he punched straight into the edge of the descending blade!
Boom!
The blade and the iron fist did not actually touch. In the void between them, barely half a foot apart, the air emitted a crisp sound like cracking glass, and visible black cracks began to spread in all directions.
Zzzzt! Zzzzt!
Dark red Haoshoku lightning, looking like ferocious giant pythons, erupted frantically from the center of their clash. The pressure instantly tore apart the thick dark clouds in the sky! This was the proof of the truly strong—Conquerors Haki Coating!
Immediately after, a terrifying shockwave exploded outward. The mere aftershock of the collision forced a massive depression hundreds of meters in diameter into the sea's surface. The subsequent waves tossed several nearby warships of the Flying Pirates into the air like toys before smashing them back down into the depths!
"Are... are you kidding me! These two monsters!" Within the Golden Lion's fleet, a pirate Captain watched the apocalyptic scene. His legs went weak, and he collapsed directly onto his own deck.
"Everyone, steady yourselves!" Golden Lion Shiki let out a roar, and his own Haoshoku soared into the sky to challenge the others. "Zanpa: Shishi Odoshi!"
He swung the famous blades in his hands casually. Two massive golden slashes tore through the curtain of rain—one aimed at Garp and the other at Roger!
"Annoying flies!"
Garp and Roger shouted simultaneously, tacitly abandoning their own duel to face the golden slashes. In the next second, without any more nonsense, the three men who represented the pinnacle of the old era collided violently on this boiling sea!
"Roger!!!" "Garp!!!" "Shiki!!!"
The names of the three men turned into three forces of will that tore through heaven and earth, clashing head-on.
Rumble!
The world changed color. The dark clouds that had been pressing down were completely shredded by the three invisible forces, and purple-black lightning raced frantically across the sea. The ocean seemed to lose gravity as tens of thousands of tons of seawater were swept into the sky by the shockwave, forming a circular curtain of water connecting heaven and earth.
On the dog head warship.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The Marine soldiers on the deck fell like mowed wheat, foaming at the mouth and fainting in heaps. Their spirits simply could not withstand the impact of the top-tier Conqueror's Haki released by those three monsters!
"Hold on! Everyone, hold on!"
Bogard slammed his long sword into the deck, gripping the hilt tightly with both hands to keep himself from kneeling. His forehead was drenched in sweat, and his face was as pale as paper.
On the lookout tower.
Kane felt as if his head had been struck hard by a sledgehammer.
Buzz!
The world went silent instantly. The sound of wind, rain, and thunder all vanished. He could only feel an irresistible will crudely tearing at his soul, trying to drag him into a bottomless darkness. It was a crushing pressure originating from the very level of their existence! In the face of this power, the Storm-Storm Fruit he took pride in and the Armament Haki he had just awakened seemed like a joke.
Kane's knees buckled, and his body began to sink uncontrollably.
No! I cannot kneel!
The little black figure in his mind guarding the money bag screamed. I am the man who is going to become the Fleet Admiral, trample all the Celestial Dragons underfoot, and throw a party in the Holy Land Mary Geoise!
How many discipline points are the three of you worth together? Are you even worthy of making me kneel?!
"Ugh... aaaah!"
Kane bit the tip of his tongue hard, the sharp, metallic taste of blood and intense pain clearing his consciousness for a brief moment. He gripped the railing of the lookout tower so tightly that his nails embedded themselves directly into the wood. Blood flowed from between his fingers. He looked up, staring fixedly at the three god-like figures at the center of the battlefield.
Is this the pinnacle of the world? Is this an Emperor-level battle?
It turned out that so-called Logias and so-called Haki did not even have the qualification to earn a second glance from these true monsters.
Pfft!
A mouthful of blood sprayed from Kane's mouth. His body was trembling, not out of fear, but because of excitement! He saw it! He saw the path leading to becoming a truly powerful person!
Kane roared frantically in his heart, using every ounce of strength to resist the will that was almost crushing him. His eyes were bloodshot, and his vision began to blur. But he remained standing stubbornly, firmly rooted at the highest point of the lookout tower.
In the battlefield.
Roger forced back the Golden Lion with a sword strike. Amidst his wild laughter, he glanced at the distant dog head warship and happened to see the Marine kid who was trembling all over but still standing tall, even with a hint of a smile on his face.
"Oh?"
The corners of Roger's mouth curled into an intrigued arc. There was actually such an interesting brat on Garp's ship? Anyone who could stand under the combined Haoshoku of the three of them was no small fry.
"Roger! You dare to get distracted while fighting me!" Garp's iron fist, carrying destructive power, had already reached him.
"Gurarara! Sorry, sorry!"
The battle escalated once again! And Kane, at the edge of this battlefield where gods fought, was like an ant that could be crushed by the storm at any moment, struggling to maintain his last shred of consciousness. His consciousness had already begun to sink into the darkness.
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