Huff...
Huff...
Roger breathed heavily, almost unable to bear the pain in his body.
He had already been injured in his brief fight with Aatrox. Then, Aatrox's magic attack made his injuries even worse.
But Aatrox wasn't in good shape either. He hasn't been able to replenish his flesh since arriving in Alabasta. If they could just hold on until his body naturally decayed, they would win!
Bang!
The monster rushed over at top speed. Roger didn't dodge, but instead charged at Aatrox just as fast. Aatrox's target was Garp, and the one-armed Garp would have a hard time dealing with Aatrox's heavy strikes!
That was Roger's purpose. If anyone else fought Aatrox one-on-one, they probably wouldn't be able to withstand even one of his serious attacks. But he could, and he could even engage Aatrox in a brief fight!
Without him, no matter how many people there were, they would be easily defeated by Aatrox. Once Aatrox got serious, no one could react to his attacks.
Bang!
Just as Garp was about to be killed, or at least seriously injured, by Aatrox, Roger suddenly appeared. Like an ant, Roger swung his sword, which was like a tiny needle compared to Aatrox. The power that exploded from his swing changed the world around them.
Rumble...
Garp stared blankly at Roger, who had suddenly appeared in front of him. He gritted his teeth and reluctantly threw a punch, fighting Aatrox alongside Roger.
He really was unwilling. He hadn't felt this way in years. It was the feeling of a weakling, and he hadn't been weak for a while.
But now, in front of Aatrox and Roger, he really was weak!
If it weren't for Roger, he would have been seriously injured by Aatrox. His Haki-hardened body might not have been able to stop Aatrox's greatsword. The difference in their strength was too big.
If he had both arms, he would have been able to defend against a few attacks, but losing an arm was a huge blow to someone who relied on their fists.
Bang!
He and Roger were both forced back by Aatrox's power. At that moment, the attacks from the others reached Aatrox.
The flesh on Aatrox's body writhed. He swung his greatsword, and the attacks from the world's top fighters disappeared without a trace.
Garp fell to the ground, looking at Roger still standing. A wave of shame washed over him.
The Marines had been reduced to relying on pirates. He had a hard time accepting the God Valley incident because it was something he, Sengoku, and Roger's pirate crew had done together.
And the World Government ignored Roger's pirates and said that he and Sengoku did it alone. How could he accept that?
Now, it was like that scene was being replayed, but even more humiliating. The Marines couldn't do anything!
The shame quickly grew in Garp's heart, even turning into an ugly murderous intent and hatred!
Roger was too strong. If he defeated Aatrox now, who in the world could stop Roger?
Looking at Roger fighting Aatrox on the front lines, Garp suddenly had a wicked idea. If they could wipe out all the pirates at this moment...
"Vice Admiral Garp?! What's wrong?"
Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard Ah Xing's voice. The powerful sound of the transformed Buddha woke Garp up. He snapped back to reality and realized he was still lying on the ground, while Roger and the others were fighting Aatrox.
What...
What was I just thinking?
Garp felt like he had fallen into an ice cave. Why would he think that?
Garp looked at Ah Xing, who had come to his side, and shook his head violently. Then his expression changed and he shouted, "Be careful! The demonic aura from Aatrox can corrupt people! Don't stay near him for too long!"
"Tsuru! Come help me!"
He suddenly remembered that the information from The Black Order often mentioned that demons had the ability to tempt people. They would often use conditions and benefits to corrupt people's souls. He had undoubtedly been affected by this ability.
His words changed the expressions of the people around him, including Roger. He had indeed felt some dark thoughts rising in his heart.
Garp was relieved to see everyone's expressions, because Tsuru was here.
Tsuru was a Wash-Wash Fruit user. She could wash people like clothes, making them clean and pure. She could also wash away the darkness in people's hearts, purifying them.
Right now, there was no ability more suitable.
She was the second most important person here, after Roger!
"This is troublesome."
Tsuru had come to Garp's side. She sighed, "I'm almost out of strength..."
Garp then noticed that Tsuru was covered in blood, with many torn wounds on her body. The torn areas looked dark and gray, as if they were dying. A sense of lifelessness filled the air around them.
There was blood on the corners of her mouth. She was reaching her limit in this intense battle.
Tsuru was very strong among the Marines, but she wasn't a top-level fighter like Whitebeard in the world. She had done incredibly well to last this long in a battle of this scale.
"It's not just the two of us..."
Garp looked at the battle in the distance and said with a bite, "Everyone is almost done for."
This battle hadn't been going on for long, unlike many duels that could last for dozens of hours or even days and nights. But in this battle, everyone was fighting at full power all the time, which was extremely taxing on their stamina.
Roger could see the situation around him, but the darkness in his heart had also been stirred up by Aatrox. Normally, with his strength, he wouldn't have been affected so quickly, but he had eaten monster cells, and now he was in monster form, which was already very dark.
That darkness had been suppressed by Roger's will, but now Aatrox's power was amplifying the darkness in his heart, and...
This darkness seemed to be unstoppable?!
He had a feeling that even if Aatrox was gone and they really sealed Aatrox away, this darkness wouldn't disappear!
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