Garp indeed had no interest in fighting Kaidou. Although he declined the promotion to Admiral, his status within the Navy was much higher than that of a regular Admiral. In terms of strength and reputation, he was not inferior to an Admiral, not to mention the "Hero" aura he carried.
Therefore, he was well aware of some of the World Government's policies. Sengoku often confided in him, and the only ones Sengoku could trust with his innermost thoughts were Garp, Tsuru, and that goat.
Originally, Zephyr was also among them, but after his intern ship was nearly annihilated and he lost an arm, he became somewhat strange, and Sengoku was hesitant to discuss any secret information with him.
Garp knew about the World Government's dealings with the Hundred Beasts, and the balancing policies regarding the Sea Emperors.
Moreover, whether it was Kaidou or Whitebeard, BIG MOM or Shanks, if they truly wished to leave, it would be difficult to detain them with just one person.
If he could, Garp would prefer not to fight Kaidou at all, only wishing to stop that rampaging dragon. Unfortunately, after that one blow, Kaidou never gave him another chance.
"Does a battle need a reason? Is there anything more interesting than this?"
"....."
"A person's value can only be revealed in battle. Come on, Garp, let me truly experience the value of a Navy Hero. Let me see what kind of man it was who defeated Rocks!"
His body swelled to twice its size, and Kaidou directly entered his dragon form. This was the G-1 Branch, with Mary Geoise just behind, and not far away was the Navy Headquarters. In a few hours at most, support from headquarters would arrive here.
His time was limited; he didn't have time to play around with Garp.
Before, he hadn't even entered his transformation state, but Garp hadn't shown much advantage, which also made Kaidou realize that Garp's mind wasn't fully here.
Garp's whereabouts were unpredictable, and it wasn't easy to encounter him. Kaidou wanted to enjoy the thrill of the moment.
The air was split, accompanied by a whistling sound, as Kaidou's fist came towards Garp.
A fist encased in dragon scales was utterly disproportionate to Garp's figure, yet Garp's seemingly small fist contained terrifying strength.
Boom!
The two fists didn't touch but collided from a distance. Although it was just a physical collision, the sound exceeded that of any technological creation.
The clash of fists generated massive shockwaves, extinguishing the flames set by the Eight-Headed Dragon under the strong wind pressure. Damaged buildings collapsed, and some weaker individuals were even blown away by the force of the fists.
With the wind swirling around, Garp's coat flew off, but he remained as steadfast as an iron fortress, standing at the front of the G-1 Branch.
"It's Vice Admiral Garp! Vice Admiral Garp blocked Kaidou's attack!"
At the window of the temporary medical station, several robust Navy soldiers held steel plates against the window to prevent the outside gale from entering. After sensing the power dissipate, they looked out at the environment outside.
Thanks to the tales shared by the higher-ups, everyone had heard of Garp's heroic deeds. Seeing him still standing firm in front, the soldiers settled into a sense of calm.
"Vice Admiral Squirrel and Junior Admiral Bogard have managed to hold off that monstrous dragon! Support from headquarters is on its way, victory will be ours!"
Inside the base's broadcast room, an announcer relayed the latest news they received to boost the low morale caused by casualties.
"Hey! Did you hear that? Just hold on a little longer, support is almost here. Don't die in this place!!"
A medic pressed a soldier's wound, while others assisted other injured personnel nearby.
They couldn't contribute to the fight outside or operate the turrets, but as medics, this was their battlefield. Every soldier they saved marked another victory for them.
...
"Is this the reason for your attack with that monster?"
"Monster? Look how beautiful a body born for battle is, and that's something you in the Navy could only envy. Even if you wanted such a magnificent steed, you probably wouldn't find one, wuhahaha!"
Things have two sides; in Garp's eyes, the Eight-Headed Dragon was a creature solely for destruction, but in Kaidou's view, it was a "beautiful white horse," and he didn't hide his delight at owning such a powerful creature.
"You madman... all of you pirates are unruly outlaws."
"Oh? You know I'm a pirate, right? Does a pirate need a reason to attack the Navy? It's just a child and needs a grand stage for its debut. This is the venue I've chosen for it!"
"After all this needless talk, it's about time you got serious, old man!"
To Garp, Kaidou's behavior was insane and incomprehensible. His reason for attacking a Navy branch seemed merely to show off his dragon, which was even more absurd than his previous attempts to get captured by Prison Ships just for a meal.
But he also understood that if he didn't deal with Kaidou, he couldn't intervene in the other areas of battle.
Vice Admiral Squirrel and Bogard could limit the Eight-Headed Dragon, but they couldn't completely stop all its attacks. Buildings were occasionally destroyed; Navy casualties had been reduced but not halted.
To end this chaos, he had to deal with Kaidou first; this guy wouldn't let him focus on the dragon without interference.
Muscles flexed across his arm, the entire limb enveloped in immensely powerful Armament Haki. With strength from his legs and waist, he threw off Kaidou and leaped, swinging his fist towards Kaidou's face.
In Garp's Observation Haki sensing, Kaidou's behavior was highly irregular. He made no attempt to avoid the attack, and indeed, Garp's punch solidly connected with Kaidou's face.
His enormous body flew backward, leaving a giant humanoid imprint on the wall of the G-1 Branch.
By rights, this was an opportunity, but Garp adjusted himself and charged in the direction where Kaidou landed. Although he had hit the mark, the feel of the punch told him he hadn't scored a significant result.
From the ruins, Kaidou wobbled to his feet.
"Wuhahaha, is this the feeling of your punches?"
Whitebeard and he once sailed on the same ship, so he knew a bit from the memory. While Garp was the nemesis of the Rocks Pirates at the time, Kaidou didn't have the qualification to battle him then, as he was just an ordinary intern.
To better gauge his opponent's strength, he chose to experience the punch with his own body.
Even with the defense of Haki, the force sent him flying.
"It's truly exhilarating!"
As Garp abandoned the idea of interrupting the fight with the Eight-Headed Dragon and focused solely on this battle, Kaidou's fighting spirit completely ignited as he brandished the Hassaikai, charging at the oncoming Garp...