— — — — — —
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, what in the world is going on here?"
A Rear Admiral who had followed in looked utterly bewildered. The prison building had looked twenty meters tall from the outside, yet inside its walls now towered over a hundred meters. Whoever designed this place had to be insane.
"Some kind of Devil Fruit user… either storage or space Devil Fruit," Sengoku muttered grimly. His body shimmered, bursting into golden light as he transformed into a massive golden Buddha. With one step he lunged forward and slammed his fist against the wall.
BOOM!
The impact shook the ground, but Sengoku froze in disbelief. He hadn't gone all out, but even so, a prison wall shouldn't have shrugged off his strike. What the hell was this made of? Seastone?
"Fleet Admiral!" Several vice admirals hurried over.
Sengoku glanced at them, jaw tightening. "Everyone inside with me! Capture Roger at all costs!" His expression darkened. How had the intruders even gotten in here? What were the Marines outside doing—sleeping? But then again, he had been outside too. That thought made his face even blacker, and he unconsciously quickened his pace.
Inside, Ramiris had already noticed the intruders. "Rimuru, they're in. How much longer do you need?"
Rimuru glanced at Roger, whose body was cocooned inside a giant slime. He wasn't exaggerating—every single cell in Roger's body except for his brain had been replaced. The poison that had ravaged him was terrifying, burning away nearly all his vitality. Most of his cells had been utterly dead. The fact that Roger had survived this long was a miracle.
Now, using his Mimicry ability, Rimuru had swapped Roger's decayed cells with his own recreated ones. When Roger finally woke, his strength would be higher than ever. But fusing body and spirit took time. He wouldn't be waking up soon.
Rimuru absorbed Roger into his own body for safekeeping, then looked at Ramiris. "I'm done here. What about you?"
Ramiris grinned mischievously. "I think I'll go play with them for a bit."
Rimuru sighed. "Don't overdo it."
"Got it!" she chimed, then zipped off.
...
Outside, the battlefield was chaos. Milim Nava was still tearing through the Navy ranks. It wasn't a massacre—she'd held back from killing anyone—but the wounded were piling up fast.
Garp was sent flying again, smashing through dozens of houses. Coughing and sucking in air, he clawed his way out of the rubble. Watching the pink-haired girl casually knock out vice admirals one after another, he swore under his breath. "What kind of monster is this?!"
A sudden shadow fell over him. Garp rolled aside just as another building collapsed, crushed by the body of a vice admiral Milim had swatted away.
"Galaxy Impact!"
Snarling, Garp wrapped his fists only in Armament Haki and charged.
"Hmm?" Milim caught his punch with one hand. She was about to smash him into the ground when a blast of molten magma shot straight at her face.
She didn't flinch. Instead, she rammed her head straight into it.
BANG!
The magma exploded apart. Sakazuki staggered backward, his body covered in burns, blood gushing from split skin.
"Damn it!" Garp didn't care much for Sakazuki personally, but watching a Marine be toyed with like this still burned his pride.
"Galaxy Divide!"
Garp unleashed his full strength, his fist tearing the very air as space itself seemed to twist under the pressure. His blow crashed into Milim's stomach, blasting her across the ground. She skidded for hundreds of meters, the streets erupting in shrapnel and stone.
"Huff... finally, I... Fuck" Panting, Garp looked up—and his eyes went wide. Out of the dust walked Milim, completely unharmed.
Impossible. That punch could sink an island, yet she had taken it head-on without so much as a bruise.
Milim tilted her head, intrigued. "Not bad. You actually managed to knock me back. Even if it was a lucky shot, I'll give you credit. I'm a Dragonoid, you know, and with all this magic flooding my body, my physique is one of the toughest among Demon Lords. Aside from Rimuru, nobody's sturdier."
She grinned at him. "Hey, I'm Milim. The Destroyer—Demon Lord Milim Nava! What's your name?"
"Garp. Monkey D. Garp," he said, fists still raised. "Just a Marine. Nothing more. You're here to break Roger out, aren't you?"
"Pretty much. Though Roger's already safe." Milim shrugged. "By the way, want to be my subordinate? I'll give you any treasure you want."
Garp blinked, then shook his head firmly. "Sorry. I'm used to being a Marine. All I want is to keep the seas peaceful and knock around some pirates. As long as I can buy donuts, I've got enough."
"Really? That's too bad…" Milim pouted. "Rimuru's got tons of amazing people working for him. I wanted some strong followers too."
"Rimuru?" Garp's brow furrowed. "Who's that?"
"My best friend!" Milim said proudly. "The greatest, smartest, strongest friend in all the worlds. He's the one who decided to save Roger!"
Then she stretched. "Anyway, this has gone on long enough. Guess I'll wrap it up now."
She slipped a ring off her finger.
Garp frowned. Finish this in one move? Not a chance. He glanced at the battered vice admirals around him, at Zephyr still standing with difficulty, and at Kong lying unconscious in the rubble.
The moment the ring came off, the air itself roared. Magic burst upward in a tidal wave, pressing down on the battlefield like a mountain. Every Marine below vice admiral rank collapsed instantly.
Only Garp and Zephyr remained standing, their bodies trembling under the crushing weight.
.
.
.