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The very air seemed to warp, scorched by an immense heat.
Garp had transformed into a living furnace, burning his own blood and life force to become a small giant, far surpassing his normal size.
"Galaxy Impact!!!"
A world-shaking roar tore at the eardrums, and in that instant, the eyes of the world were fixed upon him.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!"
He stomped on the air itself, the current beneath his foot unable to escape before it was brutally crushed. Garp twisted his joints, and his figure shot forward, appearing before Arthur in the blink of an eye.
"Brat, you should never anger a man who is willing to give his life for his convictions!!"
His iron fist carried a terrifying, oppressive weight, erupting like a volcano.
"Hahahaha! Just a desperate last stand. But still... this is the only thing that makes the sea fun!" Arthur's expression turned to one of pure exhilaration.
The sea—it never disappointed. Every moment, it was a stage for miracles.
"Garp..."
Sengoku, no longer able to withstand Whitebeard's earth-shattering blows, was finally defeated. He lay powerless on the ground, staring blankly at his dearest friend, his heart filled with both sorrow and awe.
To give one's life for one's beliefs—that was a resolve every man who roamed the seas possessed. But who among them could be like Garp, who could do so without a second thought, with such absolute freedom?
He fell to his knees, his body wracked with a pain that felt like being torn apart, his very bones and flesh on the verge of being shattered by the tremors. Sengoku ignored it all, his eyes locked on the battle in the distance.
"Garp, you have to live! As long as you're alive, there's hope!!"
His eyes grew moist as he screamed himself hoarse. As long as Garp was still breathing, then with the resources of the World Government, with all its miraculous Devil Fruit abilities, they could surely pull him back from death's door.
His only fear was that Garp had given no thought to the consequences at all.
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"Galaxy Impact!!"
Garp's furious roar echoed through the island. And with that world-shaking shout, his giant-like body retained an impossible speed, so fast the naked eye couldn't follow. In a fraction of a second, he was in front of Arthur.
His outstretched iron fist was enveloped in a sphere of air compressed to its absolute limit, transforming into a colossal fist of light, like a mountain crashing down from the sky.
The blow was earth-shattering.
Arthur, locked in its sights, seemed to have no way to dodge. Caught within the massive, brilliant white fist, he felt a sudden, fleeting illusion of his own insignificance.
The purple currents around his body began to bloom. The small amount of stamina he had just recovered was once again ignited as he entered his Thunder Emperor form.
'Can a man truly unleash such terrifying strength just by casting aside all consequences and moving forward with some unwavering belief?'
Arthur's brow furrowed slightly as he watched the infinite power erupting from Garp's body.
In truth, anyone could make such a choice. Arthur himself, on his journey to this point, had risked death many times, moving forward without regard for his own life. When the path you have chosen allows for no retreat, the only thing you can do is see it through to the bitter end.
He felt the sea was boring, that he needed to seek out excitement. Even knowing a fierce tiger was blocking the path ahead, he had to go and see for himself. To die on a path of his own choosing—there was no shame in that.
If Garp was a man making a noble sacrifice, giving his life for the Marines, then Arthur was a man acting purely for his own whims.
One was for others, the other was for himself. It had nothing to do with right or wrong.
The two were similar in one respect: for anything they deemed worthy, they would fight to the very end.
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Garp's ferocious eruption carried the strongest punch of his life. His unwavering conviction had pushed his strength to its true pinnacle.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!"
The two met in the sky, instantly colliding.
An unprecedented explosion eclipsed all light between heaven and earth, making the sun itself seem dim. A violent torrent of air blasted out from the epicenter of their fists.
In that instant, this patch of sky became a vacuum, everything within it either blasted apart or dissipated into nothing.
For several kilometers, it seemed as if the very air had vanished. The sea below, as if pushed aside by a merciless giant hand, was forcibly parted, revealing the land hundreds, even thousands of meters below.
In the battle zone, several of the mangrove trees could no longer bear the strain and were shaken to dust by the aftershocks, scattering with the hurricane-force winds.
Even with their efforts to protect the Sabaody Archipelago from harm, the island had still lost a quarter of its area.
How could an island formed of fragile trees possibly remain intact in such an intense clash?
High in the sky, the stalemate continued...
Garp's unstoppable iron fist swung again and again, continuously colliding with Arthur's lightning-wreathed blows.
Arthur was still in a state of shock. Overwhelmed by the berserk Garp, he had lost the upper hand. In just a moment, the lightning coiling around him was blasted away by the sea's strongest Armament Haki, and the fist of brilliant white light slammed heavily into Arthur's chest.
"CRACK!!"
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!"
Another deafening roar, this one mixed with the sound of shattering bone.
His lightning defenses scattered, Arthur took the full force of Garp's all-out blow. He was grievously wounded, sent crashing from the sky by the force of the punch, plummeting toward the ground.
A spiderweb of cracks spread from the mangrove roots as Arthur lay embedded in a deep crater.
His physique was still far from the monstrous level of Kaido's. To have survived such a blow without being beaten to death was already a testament to his incredible strength.
During the live broadcast, the crowd fell silent, holding their breath, eyes transfixed on the scene that stole the air from their lungs.
"Pfft!!"
A mouthful of dark blood sprayed from his lips. Arthur struggled for a moment, then staggered to his feet.
"Cough, cough, cough!!"
Every movement sent a searing pain through his chest that shot through his nerves. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
As if ignoring the trauma, he wiped his mouth, clearing away the blood. A grin slowly spread across his face, and his expression began to turn crazed.
"Hah... Hahahaha! That was... exhilarating, old man Garp! The sea never disappoints! Cough, cough, cough!"
The loud laughter agitated his injuries, and Arthur let out a violent cough.
At their level, finding an evenly matched opponent was next to impossible. The Garp who wasn't putting his life on the line was, in the current Arthur's eyes, truly a bit weak.
But now...
This man, who was using the Six Powers' Life Return to control the flow of his blood, as if he were burning from the inside out—he could kill anyone on the seas.
He ripped off his shirt and blue greatcoat and rubbed his aching chest. A deep, purplish-blue fist print was emblazoned there, like a brand.
The ribs around the edge of the print were irregularly spaced; many had been broken.
Without the constant, moment-by-moment strengthening of his Electric Field, Arthur might have been killed by that one punch. On the seas, a powerful body was too important. It not only provided vigorous life force but also allowed one to withstand any attack.
"And you're still not dead after that! Bwahahahaha!" Garp also threw his head back and laughed.
"But what a pity... I can't hold on any longer!!"
His Armament Haki rapidly dissipated. The body that had been burning with blood and life force instantly shrank from its giant form back to its original size.
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