BOOM—!!!
A violent shockwave burst forth as an air cannon blasted straight toward Garp.
It was fast—absurdly fast.
Garp's eyes narrowed. He immediately threw a punch, cloaked in Conqueror's Haki, taking the attack head-on.
But before the impact settled—
WHOOSH——
Might Guy flashed into another position.
"This is... that technique Mr. Guy spoke of—Evening Elephant?!"
In the distance, Lee, standing on Sasuke's Susanoo, unconsciously opened the Eight Gates, green energy enveloping his entire body.
"Second Step!!!"
Might Guy raised his fist.
CRACK——
The bones in his hand let out a crisp sound.
The full effect of the drug had now kicked in.
Even so, pain still surged through his body.
He paused.
Evening Elephant — a five-step strike, each blow faster and more powerful than the last.
"I see... it really hurts."
BOOM BOOM——!!!
On the other side, Ichizu's air cannon attack was also met head-on by Garp's iron fist, neutralizing the force.
As expected from Iron Fist Garp, the Navy's hero.
"Good... I'm used to this pain now."
"And next—comes the barrage."
"I'll give him no more space to breathe."
Below, Lee's eyes brimmed with tears.
He hadn't realized... that Might Guy would survive this.
"Even opening just to the Gate of Limit already brings immense strain on the body... The pain from the Gate of Death must be far beyond what I can imagine."
"Sasuke! Faster!" shouted Shikamaru.
Sasuke didn't respond. His Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan spun wildly, and his Complete Susanoo gained speed.
"A taijutsu technique that strikes the air to produce shockwaves?" Garp muttered, raising his arms.
He looked up at Might Guy, who had stopped moving.
"If he lands four or five of those... it's over."
Far away, Madara Uchiha's expression darkened. He could sense it.
Originally, this move was developed to fight him.
But before he could say more—
"No... You're underestimating Garp."
Sengoku finally spoke up.
"Garp won't dodge. And if it's just air cannons... that's nothing to those of us who've mastered Haki."
WHOOSH——!!!
As if to prove Sengoku's point, Garp leapt skyward with a single step.
His fists still radiated with undiminished Haki.
Though his body was covered in dust and dotted with shallow wounds, there were no serious injuries.
Might Guy looked up.
There was no emotion in his gaze.
BANG—!!!
He took a step forward.
Just like the Navy's Geppo, he stepped on the air.
The boom that followed was so loud that everyone below—pirates and navy alike—heard it.
Guy, like a wild beast, started running up through the sky, step by step.
BANG. BANG. BANG——!!!
Each step came with a dull sonic boom.
Then—he launched himself upward like a cannonball, hurtling toward Garp.
"Huh?!"
"You can run in the air?!"
Garp's heart skipped a beat.
He couldn't follow Guy's movements anymore.
Might Guy didn't strike immediately.
Instead, he stepped and spun around Garp, forming a spiral of raw pressure.
A suffocating sense of oppression filled the air.
Even his Haki was briefly suppressed by this overwhelming aura.
But Garp...
grinned.
He was getting excited.
Far below, even Madara Uchiha's expression changed.
"...I take back what I said."
Even he was shocked.
Let alone the others—navy and pirates alike—who could only stare upward in awe.
Marco, the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, had just recovered.
He looked skyward—and fell silent.
"Gurarara~"
"With that kind of power... even without Haki, I'd have to give it everything."
"That old man Garp... must be shaking with excitement up there."
He was.
But for Shanks, Ace, and others on the battlefield—
They weren't just witnessing power.
They were learning what it truly meant.
Want to be Pirate King?
Maybe… start by becoming Jellyfish King first.
"First Step!!!"
Might Guy's roar shook the sky.
Garp's face tensed.
"Fast!"
He watched the massive air cannon closing in.
Garp inhaled deeply—and swung his fist.
BOOM——!!!
Fist Bone Impact.
A powerful punch clashed with the shockwave.
The friction set Garp's clothes on fire.
Sparks flew like fireworks as Conqueror's Haki clashed against raw force.
The wind howled, lifting Garp's white hair straight up.
Before the air cannon dissipated, Might Guy appeared behind him.
Garp twisted around—fast—
"Second Step!!!"
Guy's body was now releasing blood-red steam.
He punched out.
BOOM——!!!
A stronger air cannon exploded from his fist—faster and more violent than the last.
Garp's eyes widened.
He immediately countered with his other fist.
"Fist Bone Impact!!"
BOOM BOOM——!!!
The air trembled.
Might Guy increased the tempo of his assault.
"Third Step!!!"
He vanished from one spot and reappeared in another—then launched a powerful punch.
BOOM—!!!
Another air cannon fired straight at Garp.
Garp twisted his neck and braced himself with a sharp kick.
But his legs—less durable than his fists—took the brunt of it.
This time, the air cannon struck with such force that his expression contorted.
It was like getting hit by an uppercut straight from a dragon.
"Reckless Step!!!"
Guy's assault didn't end.
Stepping through the air, he reappeared once more from another angle.
Then unleashed another air cannon—stronger than the one before.
BOOOOM——!!!
Shockwaves burst out like raging gales, closing in from multiple directions.
Garp was caught in the middle.
Pinned at the very intersection of the air cannons, he couldn't even descend.
He had no choice but to unleash a surge of Haki, cloaking his fists in Armament and Conqueror's Haki.
He punched wildly, striking down the incoming shockwaves.
Each blow packed enough power to obliterate buildings or shatter warships.
His Haki-hardened fists held strong—but even so...
"Damn... I can't break free!" Garp gritted his teeth.
Guy, watching carefully, clenched his fists.
This next move… would be the final step of the Evening Elephant.
"Fifth Step!!!"
But this time—there was no air cannon.
Instead, Might Guy charged directly at Garp.
Even with his blurred vision, Garp noticed the crimson aura closing in.
BOOM——!!!
It landed.
A full-force hit.
But Garp didn't go down.
He twisted his body and retaliated with a punch of his own—his fist cloaked in Armament Haki, overlapped by an intense burst of Conqueror's Haki.
"Fist Bone Clash!!!"
The impact of Garp's counter was so powerful, it could've cracked the head of the mutated Evil King fused with Beehive Island.
KACH—!!!
Guy's right arm snapped, twisting into an unnatural angle.
A moment later—
KACH—!!!
A clean snap echoed again—Garp's right arm had fractured too.
BOOM BOOM——!!!
In that instant—
Another shockwave blasted from behind Garp—more powerful than the previous four air cannons.
At the same time, a barrage of air cannons erupted from behind Might Guy.
BOOM—
Both of them were thrown backward.
CRASH——!!!
But neither fell helplessly.
Their feet skidded across the Wood Release platform conjured by Hashirama Senju, gouging out deep furrows in the floor.
"Huff… huff…"
Both men stared each other down—breathing hard, eyes locked.
"Garp!"
"Guy!"
They shouted simultaneously.
Below them, navy soldiers and pirates stood frozen.
Their minds went blank.
Just now… did the entire ground quake?!
"You actually withstood all five of the Evening Elephant's strikes?"
Might Guy lowered his stance slowly.
Garp let his injured right arm hang limply.
He ignored the frantic shouts from Sengoku—and the worried cries of his two disappointing grandsons.
He crouched down.
Clatter—
His left fist, coated in pure Haki, touched the ground.
At once, an overwhelming surge of battle intent exploded from him.
"This is it, Guy… Let's end this."
Might Guy didn't speak.
Cold sweat streamed down his face—the pain wracking his body was becoming unbearable.
He stepped forward and pressed his left hand to the ground.
"Garp!"
"Stop it already!"
"You'll die if you keep going!"
But Garp didn't even look at Sengoku.
Because the man in front of him fought the way he did.
This was a battle of Chakra vs. Haki, of Will vs. Will.
Even the full might of the Evening Elephant hadn't shattered Garp's Iron Fist.
But that didn't mean he came out unscathed.
Just like how Garp's Haki-imbued punch can block Hawkeye Mihawk's slash—
—the shock that follows still damages the body from within.
So at this moment—
Neither Guy nor Garp bore visible wounds.
But internally, both had suffered severe damage.
There's a kind of force… that doesn't break armor—
—it bypasses it.
And strikes the fragile body inside.
"The final blow…"
Guy murmured.
"Sekizō… Final Step—Night Guy!!!"
BOOM—!!!
The Wood Release platform beneath their feet began to vibrate.
The entire Marineford was shaken.
Garp's clenched fist began to glow, tiny flecks of light dancing on his knuckles like stars.
As the two powers collided—
The earth itself quaked.
Stronger than the tremors from Whitebeard's Quake-Quake Fruit.
A torrent of blood-red steam exploded from Might Guy.
In the blink of an eye—
—a storm of pure force surged outward,
obliterating the last remnants of the frozen tsunami.
Awooo——!!!
A blood-red dragon's head surged forward, trailing a stream of crimson steam in its wake.
Might Guy's aura roared to life.
At the same time, Garp's Haki flared—soaring skyward like lightning crawling across the sky.
"This chakra..."
Madara's eyes narrowed, gleaming with battle lust.
"I recognize it."
"Among all the shinobi I've ever seen—no one can surpass you in taijutsu."
"I, Uchiha Madara, acknowledge you as... the strongest!"
Beside him, Hashirama and Tobirama Senju exchanged glances.
They didn't quite understand why Madara was suddenly so fired up—but they couldn't deny it.
His words rang true.
"Here it comes!"
As those words fell, Might Guy launched forward.
The blood-red steam trailed behind him—forming the coiling body of a dragon, clad in scaled armor, born from sheer heat and will.
It roared—a deep, trembling howl that echoed across the battlefield.
Garp, too, charged.
Crackling arcs of Conqueror's Haki burst out behind him, leaving distorted ripples in the air.
For an instant—space itself warped between the two.
Might Guy leapt skyward, twisting in midair, his leg raised high above his head.
"Night Guy—!!!"
At the same moment, Garp hurled his final punch.
"Live in the moment!!"
"Fist Bone—!!!"
BZZZZZ——
That moment.
When Night Guy met Fist Bone.
Time... stood still.
The explosion never came.
Not at first.
The clash was too fast, too condensed—beyond the human senses.
And then—beneath their feet—
Cracks.
Dozens, hundreds, thousands of fractures split the earth below.
Hashirama's Wood Release platform splintered.
The Naval Headquarters' foundation began to crumble.
Even the mighty Myojin Gates, summoned through Wood Release, shook violently—before finally shattering into pieces.
BOOM BOOM——!!!
Buildings collapsed one after another.
But among all that noise, the loudest sound—
Was the sound of bones breaking.
SNAP——
A brittle, piercing snap that echoed like thunder.
Smoke and debris surged into the air.
Everyone turned to look, wide-eyed.
"…How… how is this possible?!"
There, lying on the shattered platform—
Might Guy's right leg had turned to charcoal, seared black and crumbling with cracks.
His entire body looked like a burned log, falling apart.
On the other side, Garp's fist seemed intact…
But it had smashed into his own right shoulder.
Not a glancing blow. A direct hit.
His entire right shoulder—gone.
THUD—
The immense pain and overexertion proved too much.
Garp collapsed, unconscious.
And at that moment—
Might Guy's body stopped breaking.
He was unconscious.
His soul had started to drift free from his body.
But something held him back.
A warmth.
A force that refused to let go.
In that haze, Might Guy caught a glimpse—
Of a familiar figure.
Might Duy.
The man who once kicked the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist into the Three Treasures.
"...Father…"
Might Guy rubbed his eyes, but the image vanished.
"Father!"
"Don't leave me~!"
He ran, barefoot and broken, through an endless void—
As if he had returned to the days when he still misunderstood the man who raised him.
His breath grew shallow.
More exhaling than inhaling.
The price of opening the Eight Inner Gates.
A silent voice seemed to whisper:
"This is why taijutsu and self-destruction... should never walk hand in hand."
But then—softly—
A voice reached Guy's ears.
Kind. Gentle. Familiar.
But just then—softly—
a voice reached Guy's ears.
Warm. Gentle. Familiar.
"You've done well... Guy..."
In the darkness, Might Guy froze.
"Now, now..."
...
TN:
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