...
Above the light screen, the roar of battle; outside the light screen, a suppressed, deathly silence—forming a bizarre duet.
Rocks watched the subordinates on the light screen scattering like frightened birds and beasts: Silver Axe's furious roar, Golden Lion's declaration, those once-familiar faces now filled with nothing but fear and flight.
No one stopped for him. No one looked back even once at this former "overlord of the seas."
Disintegration. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter.
Exactly as expected.
A trace of self-mocking coldness flashed instantly through Rocks' chest.
But soon, this chill was diluted and scattered by even more complex emotions.
He even felt a hint of… relief.
Yes, the Rocks Pirates had always been a loose alliance of ambitious schemers, madmen, and monsters gathered by profit alone. Loyalty? Brotherhood?
In the face of absolute terror and survival, those were always luxuries.
They had no obligation to accompany him into hell.
Even Whitebeard, Kaido, Linlin… the fact that they had tried to intervene and stop him in that moment—even if they failed…
That very "attempt" had already gone beyond the realm of self-interest, carrying a trace of old bonds and the pride of true powerhouses.
For Rocks, that was enough. Worth remembering.
"It's for the best."
Rocks murmured silently in his heart, his gaze refocusing on the two battered yet blazing-with-fighting-spirit figures standing side by side in the light screen: "On the final stage of the future, having opponents like you to see me off… at least it's not lonely."
Inside the light screen, at the center of the battlefield.
"Rocks…"
Garp wiped the blood foam from the corner of his mouth, looking with complex eyes toward the depths of the dust cloud: "Roger! I came here originally to arrest you lot—who knew… I'd run into this kind of damn mess!"
His tone carried heavy frustration and a touch of absurdity.
Roger grinned, showing a mouthful of white teeth; though the smile twisted somewhat from the pain of his wounds: "Arrest me? My goal was to take the treasure of God Valley—and Shakky too!
I figured I'd grab it and run, but who thought I'd get dragged into this vortex."
Roger paused, his gaze sweeping toward the direction where Rayleigh and the others were desperately evacuating in the distance: "But… talking about that now is pointless."
The two exchanged a glance. One was the man destined to overturn the world as "King of the Pirates"; the other was the Navy's "Hero" sworn to uphold justice.
Natural-born arch-enemies who should have been like fire and water—yet now, because of a "monster" that had to be stopped,
and the people each cherished and had to protect behind them, they were forced to stand on the same side.
"The people behind us have no path of retreat."
Garp said in a deep voice, clenching his fist again as Armament Haki coated his skin.
"Yeah, I know."
Roger held Ace horizontally in front of him, red-black arcs of Conqueror's Haki leaping once more: "So… temporary truce. First, let's deal with this eyesore of a 'thing' together—how about it?"
Garp spat a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva: "This has got to be the worst damn proposal I've ever heard in my life! Teaming up with a pirate…"
His tone shifted abruptly, eyes sharpening like a hawk's: "But right now, there's no other way! Let's go, Roger!"
"Exactly what I wanted!"
The moment their words fell…
"BOOM!"
Dust exploded! The demon Rocks moved so fast he left only afterimages!
He seemed to judge Garp as the greater threat; the pitch-black demonic blade tore through the air with a shrill whistle, slashing straight toward Garp's head!
Fast and vicious!
However, Garp's battle instincts had long reached the realm of perfection!
In the instant before the demonic blade could connect, Garp leaped into the air, dodging this deadly thrust!
"Swish!"
Due to the full-force slash's momentum, the demon Rocks' body experienced a fleeting, uncapturable lag!
His entire back was completely exposed!
In that same instant, Roger moved!
Pushing his speed to the limit, as if merging with the wind, he appeared behind the demon Rocks in the absolute gap between old force expended and new force not yet generated!
Both hands gripped Ace tightly; terrifying black lightning erupted along the blade!
This was the ultimate slash—Haki, swordsmanship, and will all condensed into a single point!
The strike landed viciously on the demon Rocks' undefended back!
"Pssshhh!!!"
The demon Rocks let out a roar mixed with pain and fury; his entire body was sent lurching forward by Roger's full-powered sword, crashing like a cannonball toward the rock wall ahead and to the side!
"RUMBLE!!!"
The massive impact caused the entire rock face to collapse; shattered stones flew everywhere, dust rising once more.
The assault did not stop!
In the moment he dodged that slash, Garp had already anticipated Roger's strike and the direction the demon Rocks would be sent flying!
Like a cheetah, he sprang forward. In the split second before the demon Rocks' body was fully buried by the collapsing rock wall—
Veins bulging on his large hand, he plunged straight into the dust and rubble, seizing the demon Rocks' left ankle with pinpoint precision!
"Got you!!!"
Garp roared. His waist exploded with power; terrifying monstrous strength erupted like a volcano!
He actually yanked the demon Rocks—half his body embedded in the rock wall—out like pulling a radish!
Then, using the spinning momentum, he swung the massive body toward a relatively open area on the other side—where the ground was hard as iron—and slammed it down viciously!
"BAM!!!!!"
The earth shook and mountains trembled!
More violent than any previous impact!
The ground caved into a huge crater; web-like cracks spread outward for a hundred meters!
The demon Rocks' entire body was deeply embedded in the earth; shattered stone and dust shot skyward.
Garp stood panting in place, staring fixedly at the center of the dust cloud.
There was no joy in his eyes—only a heavy, almost interrogative urgency: "Hey! Rocks! That messed-up state… it's a curse, isn't it?!"
Garp's voice thundered through the dust like muffled lightning: "Tell me! Is there really no way to break this curse?!
Snap out of it already, you bastard!!!"
Garp would rather face the arrogant, wild Rocks who clashed head-on with him than this monster devoured by darkness, stripped of self, reduced to nothing but destructive instinct!
For Rocks himself, this was a fate more cruel than death!
Almost the instant Garp's words fell, Roger—who had already regulated his breathing—leaped into the air once more! Ace raised high overhead!
Conqueror's Haki surged madly; the space around the blade began to tremble and distort faintly!
He knew ordinary attacks had limited effect—he needed something stronger!
"Take this!!! Rocks!!!"
Roger roared; blade light poured down in another slash even more condensed than before, hacking ruthlessly toward the still-undispersed dust pit at the center below!
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM——!!!"
Explosions and roars rose one after another in the central area; flashes of Conqueror's Haki clashed; the earth kept fracturing; the sky's clouds were repeatedly torn apart and reformed.
The aftershocks of this battle had already completely reshaped the terrain of this part of God Valley—like the arrival of the apocalypse.
At the edge of the battlefield, on the shattered road leading to the coastline.
Rayleigh, carrying the unconscious Shakky, led the remnants of the Roger Pirates in a desperate sprint toward the anchored ships on the shore.
His Observation Haki remained firmly locked on the terrifying collisions of auras at the battlefield's center.
Every violent explosion, every clash of Haki, wrenched Rayleigh's heart tight.
He could feel Roger and Garp's auras fluctuating wildly—sometimes surging, sometimes weakening—but always like two unyielding flags, firmly planted in front of the demon Rocks.
"Mr. Rayleigh! The captain…!"
A young crew member ran while looking back, tears mixing with sweat.
"Don't talk… run!"
Rayleigh barked hoarsely yet with unshakable resolve: "Believe in him! Roger will keep fighting… until he's certain we've all safely escaped this island!"
How could he not want to turn back?
How could he not want to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with Roger, entrusting each other's backs…
But he was the vice-captain—"Dark King" Silvers Rayleigh!
The moment Roger handed him command and tasked him with protecting the crew's evacuation,
his duty lay here—on this escape route to survival!
He had to bring out every single one of the comrades Roger cherished!
This was his mission as vice-captain, and his promise to Roger!
Rayleigh took one last glance at the constantly roaring battlefield center behind him, complex emotions flashing in his eyes…
"You have to come back alive… Roger."
He murmured softly, then sharply turned his head, his gaze cutting like a blade as he scanned for any obstacles ahead.
"Pick up the pace! The coast is right in front! Get on board—set sail immediately!!!"
The final deathmatch of God Valley proceeded without a single interruption!
...