Garp scanned the area with his eyes and grinned.
At this moment, the other seven clones were unharmed. However, through his careful planning, he had created an opportunity to grab Specter and deliver a fierce beating, achieving quite impressive results.
In battles of the same level, every advantage is accumulated bit by bit.
The first round had injured one clone, which greatly boosted his confidence.
However, at that moment, Reddy snapped his fingers.
A clone suddenly appeared beside him.
"So you've created a new clone, huh."
Seeing Reddy summon a new clone, Garp examined it with interest.
After sizing it up, he confirmed it was weak.
This was the intuition of a top-tier fighter.
The new clone was still modeled after Reddy—tall and lean, with muscles that seemed somewhat lacking compared to the other Reddy-based clones.
Even when compared to Reddy's main body, this clone was clearly inferior.
"He's weak."
Garp shook his head, giving an honest evaluation.
"His codename is Heal."
With limited resources, Reddy had created this clone using his own genes as the blueprint. He hadn't added any other genetic fragments, only incorporating the Heal-Heal Fruit ability and modules for both types of Haki. He hadn't even installed a swordsmanship module.
The final genetic rating of this clone was only LV11.
This new clone was indeed lackluster.
Because his energy reserves weren't enough to create a top-tier clone.
But for a healer, why would they need top-tier specs?
Heal was a special model clone Reddy had specifically prepared for today's battle, with a singular purpose.
Healing!
With a snap of Reddy's fingers, Heal activated his ability.
"Hmm?"
Garp watched as this new clone wiped his fingers across his eyes, then flicked a teardrop onto Specter's body.
In the next moment, Specter's external injuries miraculously healed.
Garp was stunned.
What kind of ability was this?
Distracted for just a moment, Mon suddenly opened a door in the air behind him and punched him away.
Garp tumbled mid-air before landing on his feet, sliding back several meters due to inertia before coming to a stop.
"Wait..."
Garp wanted to protest Reddy's lack of sportsmanship, but the other clones didn't give him a chance to speak.
It was Reddy's familiar rhythm again.
After temporarily gaining the upper hand, the eight clones no longer attacked all at once. Instead, they rotated in shifts.
Two clones teamed up to attack Garp.
After a few rounds of fighting, two other clones seamlessly took over, replacing the first two in attacking Garp.
After another few rounds, the remaining two clones continued the rotation.
The last clone served as a flexible reserve, ready to replace any injured clone at any time to buy time for Heal to heal them.
With a healer assisting, clones like Pyo abandoned defensive tactics entirely, opting for an all-out, injury-trading fighting style.
This made Garp extremely uncomfortable.
Unlike Kaido, whose regenerative abilities were astonishing, or Big Mom with her steel-like skin, Garp's advantage lay in his versatility.
He had speed, strength, and incredibly powerful Armament Haki.
As the battle dragged on, Garp felt like cursing internally.
Often, he could injure a clone with a single punch, but in the blink of an eye, another clone would step in to take its place.
Meanwhile, the injured clone would retreat, receive a teardrop from Heal, and instantly return to full health.
"What a terrifying brat!"
Garp grumbled inwardly before suddenly slamming his fist into the ground.
A loud boom echoed as dust billowed into the air, instantly engulfing the two clones fighting him and the others waiting to rotate in.
In the next moment.
Several figures abruptly flew out of the dust-covered battlefield, landing nearby and surrounding the obscured area.
Reddy smirked.
This variation of the blinding tactic worked in one-on-one fights but was nearly useless against multiple opponents.
By creating distance, the wider field of vision made it easy to monitor even the slightest movements.
And Garp's purpose for using this tactic was practically written on his face.
Suddenly, a black shadow flew out of the dust.
Mon expressionlessly flashed into its trajectory and punched.
Rocks of various sizes scattered everywhere.
Reddy was slightly surprised.
The black shadow turned out to be a boulder roughly the size of a person, not Garp.
Almost simultaneously, another black shadow shot out of the dust.
Pyo immediately intercepted.
Again, it was just a boulder.
A second later.
Black shadows flew out of the dust one after another, heading in all directions.
"A diversion?"
Reddy frowned, quickly analyzing Garp's true intentions.
Without a doubt, in team battles, the healer is the first target.
Garp's ultimate goal had to be taking Heal out of the fight first.
And these boulders coated in Armament Haki, hidden within the dust, made it hard even for Observation Haki to distinguish whether it was Garp himself or not.
Realizing this, Reddy decided to play it safe. While directing the clones to intercept from all angles, he retreated with Heal, leaving Secretary and Maid as the third line of defense.
He had already ordered the two clones obscured by the dust to launch indiscriminate attacks, forcing Garp out.
As for whether they'd get injured, as long as they weren't dead, Heal could restore them to full health instantly.
The sound of explosions echoed continuously from within the dust.
Powerful shockwaves spread outward, dispersing the dust and revealing the shattered battlefield.
"Where is he?"
Reddy's pupils contracted.
Only Ray 1 and Ray 2 stood on the fractured battlefield.
Garp, who should have been tightly surrounded with no chance of escaping the clones' surveillance, had mysteriously vanished.
"The sky?"
Reddy suddenly looked up.
Pyo was already airborne, monitoring the entire battlefield from above.
"Then it's underground!"
Reddy couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
Experience truly was invaluable.
In terms of pure strength, the eight clones were enough to overpower Garp.
But the reality was that Garp, relying on his vast experience, had narrowed the gap to a negligible difference.
Of course, this was also related to Reddy intentionally using Garp to stimulate the clones' growth.
Two clones fighting Garp didn't have a clear advantage.
Reddy could even outline Garp's movements.
First, create dust to obscure vision. Then, use human-sized boulders to deceive the other clones. Simultaneously, use his iron fists to smash through the ground and tunnel underground to close the distance, finally taking Heal out of the fight.
But now that he had discerned Garp's intentions... Reddy snapped his fingers.
All eight clones struck the ground simultaneously.
The earth shattered.
The entire island trembled violently.
Large chunks of soil and rocks crumbled from the island's base into the sea, sending waves surging higher and higher.
Before long, Garp emerged from underground, covered in dust and looking utterly disheveled.
The moment Garp was forced out of the ground, the encirclement reformed.
"Interesting!"
Surrounded once again by eight clones, Garp's fighting spirit remained undiminished. His gaze shifted to Heal, who was under Reddy's protection, and he grinned. "Seems like I'm in trouble now."
Reddy smiled and was about to speak.
At that moment, a figure rushed over at high speed from the distance.
"Bastard!"
Hancock angrily delivered a Perfume Femme kick toward Garp.
Not only was Garp stunned, even Reddy was momentarily dazed.
Had Garp offended her?