Garp's expression was calm as he looked up at Shiki, who had been sent flying, and slowly lowered his right hand.
The ground shook violently.
The feeling of weightlessness became increasingly obvious.
As Shiki was knocked unconscious, the island that had been lifted several kilometers into the air by the Float-Float Fruit's ability began to plummet toward the sea below.
"Hey, kid..."
Garp turned his head to the right.
Reddy had already emerged from the alternate dimension.
Garp said solemnly, "I know you have the ability to steal Shiki's power, but he must be sent to Impel Down. Don't covet the Float-Float Fruit ability."
The Float-Float Fruit ability was an extremely destructive power.
Back then, even when he and Sengoku joined forces, Shiki had destroyed half of Marineford before they finally defeated him.
He knew that Reddy's Bloodline Factor technology could steal Devil Fruit abilities. If Reddy managed to seize Shiki and then mass-produce clones with the Float-Float Fruit ability, Reddy's threat level would skyrocket.
It might even provoke the World Government to eliminate him at all costs.
Garp's thoughts aligned with Tsuru's. He hoped Reddy would use this world-changing technology for good—such as suppressing the increasingly rampant pirates—rather than opposing the World Government.
Reddy shrugged and said nothing.
There was no way he would give up on the Float-Float Fruit ability.
The town's residents had already been safely evacuated to ships below that hadn't been swallowed by the tsunamis caused by the island's ascent.
Mon and five other cloned Door-Door Fruit users had already taken positions across the island.
When Shiki was knocked unconscious by Garp's full-power punch and sent flying, one of the clones had already moved to seize the unconscious Shiki.
Seeing this, Garp turned to face Reddy and punched his palm. "Looks like I'll have to use my Fist of Love to enlighten you."
At this moment, the island's descent was accelerating under gravity.
Falling from an altitude of roughly four kilometers would take only about a minute.
Garp frowned and urged, "Get the clone you made to control this island now. I know he's here."
"Aren't you planning to evacuate?"
Reddy snapped his fingers, and one of the clones opened a door in front of Garp.
Garp laughed loudly, stepping around the door and continuing to face Reddy. "I'm not a Devil Fruit user."
Devil Fruit users couldn't swim. Even if the island fell into the sea, he could rely on his own immense strength to swim back to land.
"There are still many residents below."
Reddy reminded him again.
After Golden Lion Shiki lifted the island, there were no other islands nearby for the residents of Loguetown to take refuge on.
And Reddy wasn't saintly enough to transport all of them to safe land.
He had simply dumped them onto the ships that had survived the tsunamis.
"I'll destroy this island after defeating you. There's still time."
Garp laughed, then instantly disappeared from his spot, moving so fast that even Reddy couldn't track him.
Though Reddy couldn't track Garp's movements, the clone with a Bloodline Factor rating of LV13 could.
A door instantly opened in the air.
Arms coated in Armament Haki crossed, and Mon blocked Garp's punch at the last moment, though he was still sent flying into the door.
Almost simultaneously, five doors opened.
One clone after another surrounded Garp with expressionless faces.
"Defeating me won't be easy."
Reddy quickly distanced himself, having no intention of fighting Garp head-on.
The Lunarian race's natural defenses could nullify physical damage, but they couldn't eliminate the pain of being hit.
"Horohorohorohoro!"
Perona was the last to emerge from the door, waving her small hand as three Negative Hollows cheerfully rushed toward Garp.
After wiping out CP9, her confidence had reached unprecedented heights.
Seeing this, Reddy silently gave her a thumbs-up.
This loli really had nerves of steel.
The three Negative Hollows passed through Garp's body.
Perona grew even more smug, but before she could gloat, the scene before her left her dumbfounded.
"What kind of ability is this?"
Garp patted his chest where the Negative Hollows had passed through and shook his head. "Didn't you know Haki can negate Devil Fruit abilities?"
"Huh?"
Perona was completely baffled—she had never heard of such a thing.
Garp rolled his right shoulder and urged, "I don't want to hit a little girl. Get out of the way."
Perona was furious, but Reddy stopped her.
Reddy kindly advised, "He's the Marine Hero Garp. You're no match for him. Don't throw your life away."
"Hero Garp?"
Perona was utterly shocked.
This old man was Hero Garp?
Where am I?
What am I doing?
"If you can't beat him, come find me. I'm not afraid of him."
Perona arrogantly tossed out a tough-guy line before flying away faster than anyone else, hiding in the distance.
Garp punched his palm, his fighting spirit blazing. "Come on, Dr. Reddy. Show me your full strength."
Reddy smiled without speaking and snapped his fingers.
Garp's eyebrows twitched, and without hesitation, he swung his fist behind him at the empty air.
A dull thud sounded.
A transparent figure appeared in the air but was only forced back about ten meters before vanishing again.
"Seems I'm being underestimated."
Garp punched and sent In flying, but a figure emerged from his shadow and threw a punch at his face.
The sneak attack was sudden, but Garp's reaction was even faster.
Just as Garp was about to block the attack, a beam of light shot from the side.
In an instant, Garp's movements slowed by 99%, allowing Shadow to land a solid punch on his face.
"Ha!"
Garp's body shuddered, and his movements returned to normal.
The accumulated force from the brief slowdown exploded outward, sending him flying.
"Omoshiroi..."
Garp's feet carved two shallow trenches into the ground before he steadied himself.
At that moment, three Negative Hollows suddenly burst from the ground beneath him, piercing upward through his body.
At the same time, the clone codenamed Control made a strange hand gesture and fired another Slow-Slow Beam, using the brief moment of immobilization from the Negative Hollows to hit Garp again.
The two hard-control abilities bought one second.
Bang!
With a crisp gunshot, Garp, who had just broken free from the control, barely had time to cross his arms before a bullet struck him, sending him flying once more.
In the distance.
Reddy held an oversized Barrett rifle, steadily firing shot after shot at the airborne Garp.
After a few shots, he casually tossed the Barrett aside and shook his head helplessly. "Never mind. I never practiced shooting. Can't hit a moving target."
The Barrett then transformed back into a maid.
Amid the intense friction, Garp's legs carved long marks into the ground as he used his right hand to grip the earth and cancel his momentum, stabilizing his stance.
"I got a little carried away, hahaha."
Despite suffering consecutive setbacks, Garp wasn't frustrated or angry. Instead, he laughed heartily.
The clones under Reddy's command hadn't shown any Haki proficiency—no, wait, the Mon he had punched earlier felt unusual.
But these clones each had their own unique and effective abilities.
From In, who could turn invisible and ambush, to Shadow, who could emerge from his own shadow, to Control, who could drastically slow movements, and Spirit, who had the same ability as the little girl.
With their coordinated teamwork and Devil Fruit abilities, these clones had completely suppressed him for a time.
And that wasn't even counting Reddy's final attack or the other clones who hadn't yet made a move.
But...
Garp suddenly slammed his fists together, and his aura instantly transformed.
"Kid, Haki is the power that reigns supreme above all else!"