The battle between the three was nearing its end, and the first to notice the situation was Bob.
Several times he had considered intervening, but in the end, he held back.
If Rocks had been like Kaido, Bob would have acted without hesitation, saving him and bringing him into his own crew.
But Rocks was not like that.
His goal had always been to stand at the pinnacle of the world, to rise above all others.
This ambition was destined to fail in this world of One piece, for the formidable foes he would face were not Kong, Garp, or even Roger.
They were the Five Elders, and beyond them, Imu.
Bob could save him once, but what about the second time, the third?
Would Rocks simply survive under Bob protection?
For a top-tier powerhouse, this would be an insult. Given Rocks' pride, such a fate would likely be harder for him to bear than death itself.
After all, if he had been willing to live like that, he wouldn't have been called Rocks. His Conqueror's Haki wouldn't have surpassed all others, and this era wouldn't have been known as the Age of Rocks.
...
On the battlefield in mid-air.
As the supreme-grade sword Ace pierced through Rocks' body, the pitch-black sword slash he had unleashed flew forth.
It sealed off all of Garp's escape routes, overwhelmingly domineering.
In an instant.
That black sword slash struck Garp arms.
"Boom!"
A deafening explosion erupted, its sound rivaling that of a meteor striking the Earth. The shockwave swept through the sky, dispersing the clouds and revealing the azure heavens.
Those with weaker strength on God Valley hurriedly covered their ears, all eyes turning toward the battlefield.
In the air, Garp body was sent flying backward.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The sound of sonic booms continuously erupted from Garp back, the air compressed to its limit, flashing with white light.
It was as if a booster had been attached to him.
In the next moment, Garp body crashed into the ground, plowing through over a dozen small hills before finally coming to a halt.
Rocks and debris buried Garp figure, dust filling the air.
Meanwhile, in mid-air.
Roger, who had just stabbed Rocks in the heart, tried to pull his sword back, his wrists exerting force, the blade trembling.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull it out.
The supreme-grade sword Ace seemed to have fused with Rocks' body, firmly embedded within him.
"Kehahaha! Even in death, I, Rocks, will drag someone down with me!" Rocks laughed, his voice carrying a mix of sorrow and weariness.
"Kid, ever seen a fist the size of a sandbag?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Rocks' eyes sharpened, his previously waning aura suddenly surging.
With a single fist clenched, a purplish-black aura swirled around it.
With a swift swing of his arm, moving at an incredible speed, he slammed his fist toward Roger's left cheek.
"Clang!"
The sound of metal clashing rang out.
Roger watched as the fist, as large as a sandbag, rapidly grew in his vision. Unable to dodge in time, he was struck head-on.
Not long after Garp body was sent flying, Roger figure was also hurled backward.
The supreme-grade sword Ace, no longer suppressed by Rocks, was pulled out by Roger under the force of the immense backlash.
"Boom!"
In an instant, Roger body crashed into the ground, rocks and debris flying everywhere, dust filling the air.
A massive crater appeared on the ground.
As for Rocks in mid-air, he wasn't faring much better either.
The previous strike had drained all his strength, and his body plummeted straight down from mid-air.
"Is Captain Rocks' battle over already?"
"I don't know! Two figures just flew out! Accompanied by two loud explosions!"
"That sound was absolutely earth-shattering. I could feel my body trembling!"
"The dust is too thick. I can't tell who those two were that flew out!"
"It must be Garp and Roger. I saw clearly that Rocks fell from mid-air!"
"If Garp and Roger were both sent flying, our Captain Rocks must have won again this time!"
"Bullshit! Your Captain Rocks couldn't even hold on and just fell straight down!"
"..."
The marines and pirates watched as the three combatants in mid-air separated in the blink of an eye.
Two of them crashed into the ground, while one was in free fall, descending toward the earth.
For a moment.
The pirates and marines, with tacit understanding, ceased their fighting and focused on the situation of the three.
They knew that the outcome of the top-tier battle in the God Valley War would determine the final result.
Some speculated that Rocks must have won, as the two who were sent flying were Garp and Roger, who were likely either dead or too injured to continue fighting.
Others guessed that Rocks had lost, as he was now unable to even stabilize himself, let alone continue the fight.
The high-ranking fighters also noticed the shift in the top-tier battle, their expressions shifting between uncertainty and concern.
As the dust settled, a blood-stained hand emerged from the distant ruins.
"Whoosh!!"
Garp stood up from the rubble, his body drenched in blood. If not for his tattered marine uniform, it would have been hard to recognize him.
His arms were torn and bloodied, and wounds covered the rest of his body. His eyes were filled with exhaustion, his strength nearly spent.
The black sword energy had exploded in front of Garp, its residual force terrifyingly powerful.
Had Rocks been at his peak when he unleashed that attack, Garp believed he would have been reduced to a corpse.
On the other side, Roger climbed out of a massive crater, a fist mark still visible on the left side of his face.
Even with the protection of Armament Haki, he had still endured a tremendous impact.
Blood spilled from his mouth, and half of his face was swollen.
"Garp!" Vice Admiral Tsuru, who was currently engaged with Kaido, shouted. The rest of the marines rushed toward Garp.
Meanwhile, the members of the Roger Pirates also abandoned their fights, gathering behind Roger.
"How is Captain Rocks? Let's go check on him!"
"Retreat first..."
The crew of the Rocks Pirates, anxious at the prolonged absence of their captain, began to withdraw from the battlefield, heading toward Rocks' location.
However, just as they started moving, a figure leaped out from where Rocks had fallen.
It landed straight onto the deck of the Rocks' ship. As the dust settled, they saw their captain, kneeling on the deck, the blood from his chest already dried.
His eyes were closed, and there was no sign of life left in him.
Standing beside him was Bob, the commander of the Rocks Pirates.
Sending Rocks from the battlefield to this place, allowing him to rest in peace on his own pirate ship, was the final respect Bob could offer him.
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