When fighting pirates in the past, Sakazuki had once bribed other pirates to betray information about their captains, and had even ordered them to attack their own captains.
But although Sakazuki enjoyed playing that kind of game, he did not want traitors to exist within the Navy he served.
Garp's entire body was covered in iron-blue Armament Haki, but parts of his left arm had been burned black.
During their exchange, his Navy uniform had already become torn and ruined.
Garp simply tore off his clothes, revealing his strong upper body.
"If you want to defeat this old man, you still need more time, Sakazuki."
Both sides had already forgotten that this was a battle over the position of Fleet Admiral.
Instead, they had brought out every past grudge between them.
They intended to settle all their old debts while Raleigh and Sengoku competed for the Fleet Admiral position.
Boom!
Sakazuki charged forward again with a magma fist raised.
Garp showed no fear and threw his right fist toward Sakazuki's attack.
"Great Eruption!"
"Fist Bone: Impact!"
Boom!
The collision of their fists once again erupted with violent force, even more intense than Raleigh's battlefield.
The magma on Sakazuki's body spread along his arm toward Garp.
Because Garp was covered in Armament Haki, he only felt extreme heat.
But the pride of an old Navy soldier made him refuse to retreat even a single step.
Garp had trained Armament Haki for his entire life precisely because his fighting style had always been direct and overwhelming.
There was no such thing as retreat.
"Open up for me!"
Veins bulged on Garp's forehead. Then his body suddenly exerted force, sending Sakazuki flying.
The ground trembled.
A massive crater was smashed into the earth.
Magma flowed out along the edge of the pit, and Sakazuki's figure emerged from within.
Garp's eyes widened in anger. With Soru, he vanished into the air.
When he appeared again, he was already in front of Sakazuki.
His fist smashed toward Sakazuki's head.
Whoosh!
Sakazuki's head exploded directly into magma. His right fist smashed powerfully into Garp's chest.
"Meigou!"
Boom!
Garp was sent flying by Meigou's tremendous attack power.
Only then did Sakazuki's head slowly return to its original shape.
Observation Haki prediction combined with early elementalization to avoid damage.
These were already Sakazuki's battle instincts.
Garp crawled out from a small mountain in the distance. A large scorched-black mark had been burned into his chest by Sakazuki's magma.
The two looked at each other.
Then they once again charged toward one another with raised fists.
...
In the sky, Sengoku and Raleigh's battle had also entered a white-hot stage.
Many times, both Sengoku and Raleigh had begun to stop dodging attacks.
Even at the cost of taking one punch from Sengoku, Raleigh would still slash Sengoku once.
From the initial contest of skill, the battle had turned into a contest of physical quality, recovery ability, and sensitivity to danger.
Sengoku and Raleigh fought from the sky to the ground, then from the ground back into the sky.
Traces of their battle were left everywhere.
The two gradually moved away from Marineford and continued their attacks above the sea.
Because battles between admirals were simply world-shaking, even the aftershocks were not something Headquarters could withstand.
So they could only shift in the direction of the sea.
On the shore, Zephyr stared blankly at the two people fighting fiercely over the sea.
He did not understand.
Why had two people who had still seemed harmonious during the day suddenly started fighting each other at night?
Moreover, with his strength and seniority, he had no way to control the two combatants.
So he could only seek help from Kong, who had already taken office as Commander-in-Chief of the three military branches.
After receiving the news, Kong rushed with all his strength from the Red Line toward Marineford.
After half a night of battle, when the sky had already begun to show a faint trace of light, the battle finally reached a turning point.
Relying on his advantage in physical ability, Raleigh became fiercer and fiercer in his battle with Sengoku, gradually suppressing Sengoku into a disadvantage.
And just a few dozen meters below Sengoku's feet was the sea.
"Everyone, stop!"
A loud and extremely furious voice descended from the sky.
Kong's body fell from the sky like a meteor, rushing straight into the battle circle between Raleigh and Sengoku.
His right hand was already covered in dense Armament Haki as he forcefully charged into the space between them.
Boom!
Like divine punishment, Kong instantly broke through the protective layers of Raleigh and Sengoku and appeared between them.
Kong threw a punch at each of them at the same time, forcibly separating the two.
"Enough! Do you still not think this is embarrassing enough?!"
Kong cursed angrily.
At this time, because of Kong's sudden intervention, both men withdrew from the battlefield after each taking a punch.
However, judging from their expressions and movements, it seemed as if they were ready to start fighting again at any moment.
Kong's veins throbbed continuously.
His Conqueror's Haki also began suppressing Raleigh and Sengoku's Conqueror's Haki.
"I do not care what reason you two have! Both of you, get back to Headquarters!"
At Marineford's rear mountain, the place was now riddled with destruction.
Shattered rocks were everywhere, and magma flowed through the cracks.
Both sides had tacitly refrained from using large-scale techniques.
Instead, they had adopted the most primitive form of combat: hand-to-hand fighting.
At this moment, large stretches of beach behind the mountain had already vanished into the sea.
The vice admirals had gathered at the edge of the rear mountain, staring at the scene inside, which looked like a battle between prehistoric beasts.
Every one of them was dumbfounded.
Kuzan and Borsalino were responsible for keeping the range of the two fighters' battle limited to the rear mountain, preventing the shockwaves from destroying buildings in the residential area.
Zephyr looked bitterly at the two people still fighting within the field.
Since leaving the position of admiral, Zephyr's condition had declined day by day.
Now, he simply did not have the strength to stop the two men fighting fiercely.
Moreover, both men had already fought until their eyes were red with killing intent. Naturally, they would not allow anyone to interfere in their battle.
At the center of the battlefield, Sakazuki's condition was extremely poor.
His left arm hung limply from his body.
During his fierce battle with Garp just now, Garp's iron fist had smashed into his left arm, directly fracturing the bone.
At the same time, Sakazuki's Meigou had also struck Garp's head.
However, at the critical moment, Garp had tilted his head.
So Garp had only lost one ear and part of his hair.
Garp, whose entire body was covered in burns, and Sakazuki, who had multiple fractures, once again moved at the same time.
Boom!
Sakazuki's only remaining right hand condensed magma and Armament Haki, smashing toward Garp's heart.
Garp once again punched toward Sakazuki's head.
Neither side retreated.
Neither side yielded.
They would not stop until one of them died.
"Now!" Zephyr shouted.
Kuzan suddenly appeared behind Garp.
The cold air in his hand pressed directly against Garp's back, freezing Garp in place.
Borsalino appeared at Sakazuki's side.
His right leg kicked high against Sakazuki's wrist, sending the fully formed Great Eruption into the sky.
The Great Eruption exploded directly in midair, then turned into a rain of magma that fell downward.
After a crisp cracking sound, Garp also shattered Kuzan's ice and walked out.
Zephyr stood between the two of them and said helplessly,
"Stop fighting. If you don't stop now, Marineford is going to be destroyed."