The interest that had been dampened earlier recovered a little. Recently, the only opponent he'd been fighting was Yamato, practically bound one-on-one with him, to the point that even Rayquaza had started taking it easy.
Yamato's combat strength was more than sufficient, but facing the same opponent over and over, even Kaido would find it monotonous.
No matter how good something tastes, eating it nonstop for a month will make you sick of it; at times like that, cheap instant noodles instead bring a special kind of satisfaction. Unfortunately, the fight hadn't gone on for long before a new disruptor showed up.
"Sir Kaido! If you keep fighting, Kuja will be destroyed!"
What affected Kaido wasn't the enemy, but the island itself. In just the few minutes that Garp and Kaido had been fighting, the damage dealt to Kuja was actually worse than the Marine bombardment earlier. The coastline had already been completely leveled, and the interior of Kuja had suffered considerable damage as well.
At this moment, Shakky forced her way through the wind pressure and approached, shouting those words at Kaido.
When she had just heard from Gloriosa that Kaido had come to help them relocate, she'd been utterly confused, but all in all, it was a good thing.
In the current state of the seas, only Kaido could provide Kuja with sufficient protection.
Since Kaido had come to move them, he couldn't very well flatten the place first and then move it.
Given how the battle was going now, he'd clearly gotten carried away, which was why Shakky came to give Kaido a heads-up.
[Worororo, I'll move that island back in one piece.]
Kaido recalled the bold words he'd boasted before leaving. Looking at the island he'd nearly caused trouble for, he suddenly felt relieved. Good thing he hadn't gone all out from the start. If he'd really wrecked the island, he'd most likely be met with disappointment from his subordinates and ridicule from his daughter.
[Dad, look at that b*stard father, he did it on purpose. He's totally unreliable.]
Yamato would probably complain like that to Arceus, then gleefully watch him get embarrassed. Olga might also look rather disappointed. Kaido was actually quite mindful of his old subordinates' reaction.
"Tch, this place really isn't suitable."
If he wanted to cut loose, it'd have to be either a deserted island or enemy territory, otherwise, the only option left was the training ground left behind in the Reverse World.
It was different from the Summit War. That had been enemy territory to begin with, and back then Whitebeard had already been prepared to die. Both of them had abandoned defense and gone all out in a final clash, which was why things had turned out that way.
An aging Garp had gradually gone from an all-around powerhouse to something of a glass cannon, but if he really wanted to fight to his heart's content, it would still take a full day. Unless some teammates dragged Garp down, which would be another matter.
But once the fight was over, regardless of whether the Marines had reinforcements or not, Kuja would probably be finished. He didn't want to move back a pile of ruins. If he remembered correctly, news of a social event had already been announced on Onigashima.
"Garp, I'll give you a chance. Take these Marines and get out of my sight, or you'll stay here forever."
Garp understood what Kaido was worried about. He didn't take advantage of the moment, but instead cautiously retreated to the warship with Koby.
Garp hadn't lost confidence; he still believed he had the ability to fight Kaido. But he was also well aware that this battle would not be a short one.
And besides Kaido, there was also Shakky, Rayleigh, and Hancock who could completely suppress the Marines. Kuja's warriors were also stronger than their soldiers. If this dragged on, they'd probably end up completely wiped out.
Even Rayleigh, who had been enjoying his retirement, had shown up here. In that case, it wouldn't be strange at all if he attacked the Marines.
Famous pirates were never soft-hearted; their infamy was earned through battle. Even Hawk Eyes, the lone wolf, bore the title of Marine Hunter.
Being able to retreat with the remaining personnel instead became the best possible choice.
"Vice Admiral Garp."
Seeing Garp suddenly return to the deck, Yamakaji froze for a moment.
"Retreat. The mission has failed."
"Is that really okay?"
"What's the problem? Did you receive orders to engage an Emperor of the Sea?"
"No."
"Then that settles it."
Garp, who had always acted on his own without heeding orders, suddenly began to follow Marine regulations, leaving Yamakaji momentarily bewildered. Even so, the withdrawal continued without pause, and after gathering the remaining Marines, they evacuated the area.
Before they had even fully withdrawn, they saw Amazon Lily fly straight into the air. Kaido's flame clouds became the island's new foundation, carrying the entire island as it flew off toward the other side.
Meanwhile, on the New World's New Fishman Island, a completely different scene was unfolding.
By the time Regigigas reached its designated position, the Marines had already launched an attack on New Fishman Island. However, just as the battle began, it was forced to halt because of Regigigas.
The location of the New Fishman Island was close to sea level, near a mid-ocean ridge. The surrounding waters are only about a hundred meters deep, but Regigigas appeared before the many warships; no longer miniature in size but a giant standing 200 meters tall.
Even Sanjuan Wolf, known as the "Colossal Battleship," looked incomparably small in front of Regigigas.
"Don't panic! It's just a big guy, continue the battle!"
Aboard the foremost warship, Akainu personally issued the order. Acting under the World Government's command, he was leading this mission himself, which was why Yamakaji's attempts to contact Akainu from the Kuja side had failed.
The Marines had dealt with enemies of this size before and quickly prepared for another round of combat.
"Meteor Volcano!"
A massive barrage of magma projectiles shot from Akainu's hands toward Regigigas and the New Fishman Island. Watching the magma fall from the sky, Regigigas slowly raised one arm, making no immediate move to attack.
When humans are attacked by ants, they usually dismiss it and don't bother to strike back. But when sufficiently annoyed, they might casually flick down a bottle cap.
What seems insignificant in human eyes can bring cataclysmic disaster to ants.
Regigigas's arm appeared to emit an invisible gravitational pull, drawing the magma in the sky together until it condensed into a massive sphere of magma, which it then hurled toward the Marines.
Splash!
When the magma sphere slammed into the sea, it produced no steam. The searing magma seemed to have already cooled, even transforming into a gigantic piece of pumice floating on the surface.
Crack—
With the sound of stone splitting, the pumice suddenly broke apart, and a creature with an upper body shaped like a sphere crawled out from within.
"Regi~"
The six red dots on its hexagonal face flickered as its gaze locked onto the Marines ahead.
****Please support on pat*eon for extra chapters; there is date to date subscription enabled on patreon. [There is a 7-day trial version availabe on patreon.]
https://www.pat*eon.com/dmtranslations
You can read ahead upto 75 chapters on my pa*reon.