He pointed at the demonic Rocks. "Look at that monster. We've been fighting for so long, but he doesn't seem to have any substantial injuries!"
Garp also realized the problem. "That's because he's also using Conqueror's Haki to defend. Our attacks must have been canceled out."
"So," Roger's eyes flashed with determination, "if the intensity of the Haki we unleash can't surpass his, we won't be able to inflict any real damage. If we keep depleting our stamina and Haki like this, we'll be the ones to lose in the end."
Garp immediately understood his meaning. "So... we settle this in one go with our strongest Conqueror's Haki?"
"That's right." Roger nodded. "We'll stimulate all of our Haki, condensing our stamina and will into a single, ultimate strike. Even if it means exhausting all our Haki and stamina, we'll do it."
Garp was silent for a few seconds. "If we do that... we won't make it back alive."
"That's why," Roger said, his voice low as he looked at Rocks, "once this move decides the victor, all three of us will be unable to continue fighting or moving."
"If we lose," Garp grinned, "we're done for."
Roger didn't answer.
He walked toward Rocks, stopping ten meters away from him.
"Hey, Rocks," he said softly. "I don't know how to comfort you, nor do I know what exactly happened to you. But there's one thing I do understand—your unwillingness to accept this."
The demonic Rocks's body trembled, and his tears flowed even more fiercely.
At that moment, Roger's Observation Haki was pushed to its absolute limit.
He closed his eyes, and then he "saw" it—
A man knelt in the darkness, his hands bound by countless black chains. He struggled desperately, roaring, but the chains only grew tighter. At the other end of the chains was an abyss.
The man turned his head and glanced at Roger.
It was Rocks.
Rocks in his human form.
There was no plea for help in his eyes, only an entreaty—kill me, before I completely turn into a monster.
Roger opened his eyes, covering his tear-filled eye socket with his left hand.
"Don't cry, you idiot," he seemed to be saying to himself.
Then, he raised the Famous Sword Ace.
Conqueror's Haki began to gather.
Not coating, but "infusing."
Dark red Haki, like a tangible aura, surged from Roger's body and converged entirely onto the blade of Ace.
Garp also made his move.
He swung his right arm, spinning it rapidly like a windmill. It wasn't just a physical rotation; he was continuously compressing his Haki during the spin!
Black and red Haki formed a spiral airflow on his fist. The airflow spun faster and faster, eventually forming a visible Haki vortex half a meter in diameter!
At this moment, the demonic Rocks roared in agony, seemingly awaiting his final end.
Roger charged out first!
"Hinokagutsuchi no Ace—!!!"
The instant the Famous Sword Ace was swung down, the Haki flames on its blade transformed into a firebird flapping its wings!
Garp followed close behind.
"Infinitum Explosion: Meteor Fist!"
His entire body turned into a black and red meteor. The Haki spiral on his fist tore through the air, creating a vacuum tunnel!
The demonic Rocks met them head-on.
He didn't use any complex moves, simply pouring all his Darkness Power into his Black Blade, and then—he slashed!
The three forces converged at a single point.
Time seemed to stand still.
In the next instant, with the point of impact as its center, a spherical energy field expanded at a speed exceeding that of sound!
Everything in its path was disintegrated, pulverized, and vaporized!
The ground was thrown up into hundred-meter-high waves of earth, which were then themselves ground into dust by the subsequent Shockwave!
The surrounding ruins, rocks, and trees all vanished in an instant!
It wasn't until three seconds later that the Shockwave reached the outer perimeter.
BOOM—!!!
The entire island of God Valley shook violently!
The already shattered island began to collapse on a massive scale, and seawater poured in madly through the cracks!
The survivors watched in terror as a pillar of energy connecting the heavens and the earth rose from the center of the island.
When the light faded and the dust settled, a hemispherical crater over five hundred meters in diameter appeared in the center of the battlefield.
At the edge of the crater, Roger and Garp lay limply on the ground.
And in the center of the crater, the demonic Rocks knelt on the ground.
His Black Blade was broken in two, stuck in the ground beside him.
All the Dark Scales on his body had peeled off, revealing the battered human form beneath. The fleshy wings on his back dissipated into black smoke, the horns on his head were broken, and his pure black eyes gradually returned to their original color.
He had changed back.
Rocks had returned to his human form.
But he was also on his last breath.
A large hole had been pierced through his chest, caused by Garp's Meteor Fist.
Rocks struggled to lift his head and look at the sky.
Sunlight streamed down from a rift in the clouds that had been sliced open, falling upon his face.
"Eris... Teach..."
He murmured in a low voice, a slight smile gracing the corner of his mouth.
Then, he pitched forward.
He never stood up again.
The ultimate combined strike of Roger and Garp had pierced and torn apart the demonic Rocks's body. The Darkness Power of Domi Reverse that controlled Rocks had also crumbled and disintegrated under the attack of the strongest Haki.
...
"Roger! Garp!"
Rayleigh and Gaban rushed to the edge of the crater. They each hoisted Roger and Garp onto their shoulders and turned to flee.
The island was collapsing at an accelerating rate; if they didn't leave now, it would be too late.
"What about Rocks?" Garp asked weakly.
Gaban answered while sprinting, "Still worried about the enemy?"
"You guys are enemies too," Garp managed a weak smile.
On the other side, Roger also opened his eyes. "Rayleigh... How is Rocks?"
Rayleigh was silent for a second. "By the time we arrived... he was already dead."
Roger closed his eyes and said nothing.
Just then, an even more terrifying commotion erupted from the northern part of the island!
BOOM—!!!
Immediately after, a Haki Shockwave swept over from the north. Wherever it passed, the forest was snapped in half, and the already ruined twin peaks were completely leveled!
"That is—" Rayleigh's expression changed drastically.
Roger turned his head with difficulty. "It's Raiver... and that black monster... They're still fighting..."
All four of them felt it.
The battle fluctuations coming from the north were even more intense, even more... inhuman than their own battle with Rocks just now.
Gaban cursed as he ran, "Hey, hey, hey! Roger! You're not planning to go over and help, are you?! We can't handle that monster! People will die!"
He was serious.
Even from this distance, the waves of Conqueror's Haki coming from the north of the island made his heart palpitate. That was already beyond the scope of a "strong person"; it was a "god"-level existence.
Garp coughed up a mouthful of blood and said with a bitter smile, "That kid Raiver better not die here... I still want to catch him with my own hands."
But Roger burst out laughing, even though it sent a sharp pain through his broken ribs.
"Garp! You're not as good at judging people as I am, are you?"
He looked to the north, a complex emotion in his eyes.
"That kid possesses the strongest Devil Fruit... Don't you underestimate the Power of Space—"
"Besides, if he can't win... he can still escape."
As his voice fell, another massive roar came from the north.
This time, the entire island tilted.
The four of them stopped talking and sprinted toward the coast at full speed.
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