Chapter 130: Conqueror's Clash! A Thrilling Fight!
"Puhahaha! I see!"
The dust slowly settled, and Garp took a step forward. The clothes on his chest had been torn to shreds, revealing a surprisingly muscular torso for a man his age.
He casually ripped off the tattered remains of his shirt, his bronze-colored muscles rippling with power, gleaming like metal.
"Not bad, kid!" the old man said, rubbing his slightly caved-in chest and laughing heartily, his white teeth shining in the sun. "That was a hell of a punch!"
"Your body is the one that's a hell of a thing!" Shane sneered. "Crocodile died from that move, but to you, it seems it was just a scratch!"
"That's not true!" Garp shouted indignantly. "You used the internal destruction technique of Armament Haki with that, didn't you?! It was so strong, I felt like my organs were going to be rearranged!"
"And I can't be the only one to suffer that kind of pain!"
SWISH!
Before he could finish his sentence, Garp's figure blurred.
Shane's pupils constricted, a red light flashing in his eyes. His Observation Haki screamed a warning, but he was a split second too late—
"Ocean Drop!"
With Garp's roar, one of his hands grabbed Shane's right fist, which had been thrown to block. He tossed him into the air and then, with a flash, he was above Shane.
His other hand, which was already charged with a thick layer of Haki, came crashing down on Shane's abdomen!
BOOM!!!
The power of this punch was far greater than the last!
Even though Shane had immediately coated himself in Armament Haki for protection, he was still sent flying like a cannonball!
He carved a trench hundreds of meters long in the ice, but he still hadn't completely absorbed the force. He crashed through the ice and sank into the sea.
One hundred meters, three hundred meters… five hundred meters!
At over nine hundred meters, Shane finally managed to stop his descent.
At a depth of nearly a thousand meters, the sunlight could no longer penetrate. All around him was an inky darkness.
Shane floated in the icy water, the only sound the roaring of the blood in his ears.
He looked down at his abdomen. The protective layer of Armament Haki had been shattered, and there were bloody patches on his skin.
Garp's mastery of internal destruction was more than a level above his.
Although the skin on his abdomen was mostly intact, and it didn't look like he had suffered a serious injury, his stomach and the surrounding intestines felt like they had been through a meat grinder, twisted into a knot of agonizing pain.
"That damn old man, he really likes to give as good as he gets!"
He grinned, revealing a mouthful of bloody teeth. The pressure of the deep sea made his wounds sting, but the rhythm of his heart grew more and more frantic—
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
With every heartbeat, the seawater around him trembled, and ripples spread out from his body, creating circles of vacuum in the deep sea!
"But this level…"
Shane suddenly looked up, the muscles in his legs coiling like springs, tensed to their absolute limit—
"—is still not enough!!!"
BOOM!
The current beneath his feet instantly collapsed, sending violent ripples outward. He shot up through the water like a torpedo in reverse!
Three hundred meters, two hundred meters, one hundred meters—
BOOM!!!
The moment the ice shattered, Shane, wrapped in a column of water, leaped into the air!
The sunlight pierced through the mist, illuminating his powerful body. The heat from his body vaporized the water, distorting the air.
Garp couldn't help but look up, squinting. His gaze met the black-haired young man's, and they both grinned.
"I'm telling you, you're getting a little too serious, old man," Shane said, spitting out a mouthful of icy saliva and wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth as he landed. Though he said that, the fighting spirit in his eyes only grew stronger.
"This is the attitude you deserve now, you idiot brat!"
Garp cracked his knuckles and took a step forward with a laugh. "Let's go all out, kid! Show me what you've really got!"
"Is that so?"
Shane grinned, his eyes meeting Garp's. "That suits me just fine!"
VWOOM—
In the next instant, both of them vanished!
"Finger Pistol: Ripple Barrage!"
Shane's hands became a blur, and dozens of shockwaves, wrapped in ripples and Armament Haki, shot out like a torrential storm.
Garp didn't dodge. His iron fists became a blur in Shane's vision, each punch precisely intercepting the shockwaves, creating a continuous series of sonic booms.
"Useless, useless, useless!!!"
Garp charged forward with a wild laugh, his right fist pulled back and charged. "Try this!"
"Iron Fist!"
Before the fist even arrived, the terrifying pressure was already distorting the muscles on Shane's face. He quickly retreated with Moonwalk and, at the same time, raised his right leg high, a tide of black Armament Haki spreading over it—
"Tempest Kick: Ripple Meteor!"
BOOM!!!
The leg blade and the iron fist crashed together, a clash of incredibly powerful Armament Haki!
Black lightning flashed and crackled around them.
The ice beneath their feet instantly vaporized, revealing the churning sea below. Garp's fist faltered for a moment, and Shane seized the microsecond opening, his left hand, fingers pointed like a blade, shooting for his opponent's throat!
SQUELCH!
His fingertips successfully pierced Garp's neck, but the moment they touched the bone, they could go no further. Shane's wrist had been caught in an iron-like grip. Garp leaned forward, his grinning, snarling face inches away.
"I've got you again, you brat!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Shane was swung and slammed into the ice, again and again, each impact creating a seismic roar.
However, after only a few repetitions, the young man suddenly curled up and flipped, his legs wrapping around Garp's arm. He twisted his torso with all his might—
CRACK!
With a sickening crunch, Garp's right arm was bent at an unnatural angle and hung limply at his side.
"You were charging up?"
Garp winced in pain, but then he realized what had happened. "So it was a trap. You let me catch you on purpose?"
"Of course!"
Shane sneered, breaking free from Garp's grasp. At the same time, he sent an elbow strike at Garp's face. "The same trick won't work on me twice!"
BOOM!
Shane's elbow, wrapped in a ripple of energy, slammed into Garp's face. Blood gushed from the old man's nose, but he just laughed heartily.
"You're a terrifying kid! No wonder those five old geezers are so restless! Puhahaha! How about this?!"
Garp suddenly ducked his head and slammed his forehead into Shane's, like a battering ram!
Just what I was waiting for!
Shane didn't dodge. He met the headbutt with his own.
THUMP!
The dull thud of skulls colliding was sickening. Shane's vision went black, and a searing pain shot through his broken nose. Garp had a similar reaction. They both recoiled, but in the next second, they charged forward again in perfect sync—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The afterimages of their fists and feet were as dense as a torrential rain. The black flashes from their clashing Armament Haki had already dyed the sky a dark color.
Most of the massive ice field that Nojiko had created was gone. The sea at the center was now a swirling vortex hundreds of meters in diameter, created by the aftershocks of their battle!
"What a fight! What a fight!!!"
The more Garp fought, the more exhilarated he became, his face flushing with excitement. "It's been years! Years since I've had someone who could make me unleash my full strength!"
In recent years, the opponents he had faced had either relied on some flashy Devil Fruit ability or had just swung a sword around.
Boring! So boring!
This, a pure clash of physical strength, fist against fist, is the ultimate romance of a true man of the sea!!!
"Hey! Bogard! Get the warship out of here!"
Garp suddenly took a moment to turn and shout at the warship.
"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp!"
On the warship, the Marines had been tossed back and forth by the shockwaves countless times. Many of them had collapsed on the deck, dizzy and sick.
Hearing the order, they were overcome with relief. They didn't even need Bogard's command. They quickly turned the dog-headed warship around and sailed away.
"Nami! You too!"
Shane, anticipating what was coming, also turned and shouted a warning.
When both ships were at a safe distance, the two of them, who were only a few meters apart, met each other's gaze in perfect sync.
Garp cracked his neck, the joints popping like firecrackers.
"Are you ready, you brat? This last move, if you don't use your strongest attack, you won't be able to block it."
"Bring it on!"
With a thought, in the span of a single breath, Shane's body suddenly deactivated his "Paper Art: Martial Body" form and returned to its true appearance—
A 4.2-meter-tall, 800-kilogram behemoth of a man, his muscles sleek, a combination of strength and beauty!
THUMP!
Shane took a step forward, and the already-collapsing ice trembled.
"Oh? Ohhhhhh!!"
Garp's eyes lit up, and he drooled. "What a magnificent body! So this is your true form! I was wondering about that! So that's how it is!"
"Wondering about what?"
Shane looked down at Garp, surprised.
"Your height, of course! You were already 1.9 meters tall when you were fourteen or fifteen. How come you've shrunk this time?! So this is why!"
Garp laughed heartily. "It's Life Return, right? To be able to maintain that form for so long… hey, hey, hey, you brat, your control over your own body has reached an incredible level!"
"Thanks for the compliment," Shane grinned. "But since you're asking me to use my strongest move, you'd better be prepared yourself, old man!"
"Puhahaha! Such arrogant words, brat!"
Garp threw his head back and laughed. "But I like it!"
Slap. In the next instant, his right fist was pulled back to its limit, the muscles in his arm bulging, his veins popping.
With the movement, a faint "bari, bari" sound could be heard.
And then, thick, black and red lightning began to crackle and spread from between his fingers and knuckles—
So he's using that…
Conqueror's Haki Infusion!
Shane licked his lips, his eyes glowing with an even more intense and ferocious excitement.
This was the first time he was facing the full power of a Conqueror's Haki Infusion, but it didn't matter!
To him, now, nothing could be the Thunder Bagua that had knocked him out with a single blow!
"GALAXY IMPACT!!!"
Garp's roar was like a clap of thunder. The fist, which held all his strength, was finally unleashed!
CRACK!!!
In an instant, black and red lightning wrapped around his fist, distorting the space in its wake and creating a spiderweb of cracks. The terrifying force of the blow swept out in all directions!
Before it even made contact, the ice had vaporized, creating a thousand-meter trench. The boiling seawater was forced apart by the pressure of the punch, revealing a vacuum that reached all the way to the seafloor!
"Bring it on!"
Shane's eyes were red, his corded arm muscles bulging. He clasped his hands together, and Armament Haki and ripple energy erupted from them like magma.
"Spear of Elbaf—"
His 4.2-meter-tall body bent back like a fully drawn bow, his vertebrae cracking. His black, hammer-like fists, trailing a meteor-like tail of Haki, met Garp's punch head-on!
"—IKOKU KAI!"
This was a new move he had developed during his intense training with the Poneglyph!
It was a perfect fusion of the ripple energy and the unique power generation technique of the giants.
Compared to the original Ikoku, its destructive power was on a whole new level!
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The seafloor, which was two or three thousand meters away, was now cracking and collapsing under the immense pressure. Garp's and Shane's gazes met, and the distance between them rapidly closed.
The intertwining lightning of their Conqueror's and Armament Haki reflected a savage, bestial light in their eyes, and the grins on their faces grew wider and wider, twisting their features into a ferocious snarl.
And in that instant, their fists finally crashed together!
BOOM—!!!
The moment their fists collided, the concept of time seemed to be erased.
The black and red lightning and the ripple energy became a swirling black pillar that shot into the sky, like a writhing black dragon, tearing massive, circular holes in the clouds.
The ice field, which was over a hundred thousand square meters, completely shattered under the immense force of the impact!
Countless massive columns of water shot into the sky, becoming a torrential rain that crashed down on the broken ice, creating an endless white mist that obscured their vision.
"Waaah—!"
Even though they had retreated several kilometers, the people on the warship and The Curtain Call were still tossed about by the shockwave. The decks rocked violently, and the masts groaned under the strain.
"T-This is too much, isn't it?!"
Nami clung to Gin to keep from being thrown overboard, her face pale. "To be able to fight my brother like that, is that old man even human?!"
"Hey, you've got it backward!"
Smoker couldn't help but turn his head. "It should be, is Boss Shane even human?! To be able to fight Mr. Garp to this extent with just pure physical arts!"
That's Mr. Garp, who has been a terror on the seas for decades, who once chased the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, all over the world!
Although they were just sparring, and Garp was clearly not fighting for his life, to be able to do this was still terrifying!
And to think that the captain is only eighteen years old…
It's even more terrifying!
"So this is… a battle of the world's top fighters…"
In a corner, Robin stared at the black and red pillar of light that was piercing the heavens, her eyes glazed over.
In her arms, the little mochi-like creature was trembling in fear, hiding in the crook of her arm.
It peeked its head out and saw Gin looking at it with contempt.
Waaah, dammit!
I want to grow up fast too, so I can help!
The little mochi-like creature glared back and, with a gritted teeth, its white body suddenly began to glow faintly, as if a change was about to happen.
Unfortunately, everyone's attention was focused on the earth-shattering battle in the distance, and no one noticed.
…
The black and red Conqueror's Haki lightning finally dissipated, and the thick fog that had been covering the sea gradually cleared, revealing the ravaged battlefield.
The ice field, which had once stretched as far as the eye could see, was completely gone.
Garp was lying on his back on a barely floating piece of ice, gasping for breath. His chest was covered in bloody gashes, and his Justice coat had been reduced to ashes, only a few tattered strips of cloth remaining on his shoulder.
He was sputtering blood like a leaky faucet.
But his eyes, which were looking up at the sky, were still shining brightly, and there was even a hint of a satisfied smile on his face.
And on the other side, Shane's injuries were much more severe.
Half of his body was submerged in the icy water. His right arm was nearly useless, the white bone of his elbow piercing through the flesh. Blood was steadily spreading, dyeing the surrounding water a dark red.
His left arm could still move, but his five fingers were twisted and deformed, the knuckles a bloody mess. He had clearly taken an unimaginable amount of rebound force in the clash.
But the most shocking injury was on his chest.
A gruesome gash stretched from his neck to his abdomen. The muscle tissue beneath the skin was visible, and through the wound, you could even see his faintly beating heart.
"Hah… hah…"
The young man's breathing was weak and ragged. With every breath, a froth of blood bubbled from his lips. His internal organs had clearly been severely damaged.
The wind howled, whipping up shards of ice.
The two of them turned their heads and looked at each other across the shattered ice. A wide grin spread across Garp's face.
"Puhahaha! How about that, you brat… can you still stand?"
Shane glanced at him.
He snorted and, without another word, did a kip-up, his legs supporting his body as he stood up.
He was a little shaky, but after a few seconds, he was steady on his feet.
"Hey, don't be a fool!" Garp said, a mixture of shock and anger in his voice. "I was just teasing you! This is not the time to be stubborn! You'll really get yourself killed… huh?"
The old man's eyes suddenly widened.
Before him.
Gurgle—
With a grotesque sound of squelching flesh, the broken bones in Shane's right arm snapped back into place. The muscle fibers, as if they had a mind of their own, began to knit themselves back together, and the wound healed at a visible rate.
The gruesome gash on his chest also began to close. The tissue beneath the skin rapidly regenerated, and even the wound that had nearly reached his heart scabbed over and fell off in a matter of seconds, revealing fresh, new pink skin.
"This…"
Garp's pupils constricted, and he shot up.
He had fought on the seas for decades, seen countless strange and bizarre things, countless strange and bizarre abilities, but the scene before him was beyond his comprehension—
It wasn't a Devil Fruit ability.
And it wasn't like the strange, immortal regeneration of the Holy Knights or the Five Elders, which they had gotten from who knows where.
Shane's recovery was purely a terrifying, physical self-healing!
"Puhahaha!"
After a moment of shock, Garp suddenly burst out laughing. "Interesting! So interesting! You brat, your bloodline is not simple, is it?"
"What bloodline? This is all my own hard work and sweat!"
Shane said, flexing his newly healed right arm with a grin. "So, old man, you still want to fight?"
"Tsk, you monster…"
Garp clicked his tongue, then suddenly scrambled to his feet and patted the ice from his butt. "No more! No more! If we keep going, this old man's bones are really going to fall apart!"
"Stop pretending!"
Shane scoffed. The old geezer had definitely gone all out with that last blow, and he had barely managed to block it.
But the old man still had plenty of stamina. He could have kept fighting at that intensity for days.
If anyone was pretending, it was him.
Although his wounds had mostly healed thanks to his regeneration, and his aura seemed to have stabilized, in reality, the energy consumed by the regeneration had drained the last of his strength. He was now just an empty shell.
If Nami were to punch him now, he'd probably…
No, Nami would still be the one with the broken bones. Let's say, if Nojiko were to punch him, she might have a chance of knocking him out.
In any case, for the time being, he couldn't handle another high-intensity battle. He could only bluff.
…
The clouds in the sky were shattered, as if they had been torn apart by a giant, invisible hand, revealing a large patch of blue.
The intense sunlight poured down through the gaps, scattering on the ravaged ice field and creating countless small, glittering flashes, like scattered diamonds.
The sea breeze rustled.
The two of them sat cross-legged on the ice, facing each other.
"Puhahaha! What a fight! I haven't had this much fun in years!"
Garp laughed, slapping his thigh. Then, as if he had just remembered something, he reached into his pants.
The action made Bogard, on the distant warship, facepalm and sigh—and then he saw the old man pull out a wrinkled document, the edges of which were stained with a suspicious liquid, and toss it to Shane.
"I've finished my business. I might as well take care of this too. Here, take a look."
After throwing it, Garp went back to picking his nose.
Shane, his face impassive, kicked the document into the icy water. After watching it bob for a moment, he picked it up and shook off the ice.
It was a formal document with a gold-leaf cover, the seal of the World Government on the front page.
"A Warlord agreement,"
he said, flipping to the first page and glancing at the terms. They were basically the same as the promises the World Government had made to the other Warlords:
Revocation of his and his crew's wanted posters, the right to legal plunder, exemption from all taxes, and the right to call on the Marines for support in an emergency…
Nothing new there.
What was surprising was that there was a blank space in the middle of the terms.
According to the note below, the World Government was allowing Shane to add one additional demand, like a blank check.
As long as it wasn't too outrageous and didn't cross the World Government's bottom line, they would grant it.
This was both a recognition of the strength Shane had displayed by defeating two Warlords in a row, and an extra incentive to increase the chances of a successful negotiation.
Shane couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
"Not bad, right?"
Garp said with a grin. "Just sign it, and your grudge with the World Government and Marine Headquarters will be wiped clean. From now on, you can sail the seas openly!"
Shane finally closed the document.
He looked up, a half-smile on his face as he looked at Garp.
"Sail the seas openly?"
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