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"Bogard—full speed! Don't let that bastard slip away again!"
Garp's shout boomed across the deck.
Bogard obeyed instantly. The warship surged forward once more, cutting across the sea and closing in fast on the Oro Jackson.
The distance between the two ships shrank visibly with every heartbeat.
"Is he insane? He brought a bunch of rookie Marines and thinks he can fight us?"
Rayleigh, short blond hair glinting in the sun, stared at the young faces on the warship. He sounded genuinely surprised.
"Hahahaha! C'mon, Rayleigh—you know Garp."
"That's exactly the kind of man he is."
"Even alone, he'd chase us to the ends of the world."
Roger laughed, eyes fixed on the oncoming warship. His right hand settled on the hilt at his waist.
"Every time I run into that guy, my blood starts boiling all over again."
A fierce spark lit his eyes, his aura swelling by the second.
Silvers Rayleigh slowly drew his western-style sword, eyes narrowing.
Behind him, Jabba, Seagull, Sunbell and the rest followed suit, steel scraping free in unison.
Douglas Bullet stared ahead, hesitation flickering in his eyes before he clenched his fists.
"Roger… With that disease eating you away… can you still keep up with him?"
A sudden gust howled across the deck, whipping everyone's hair.
The dog-headed warship closed in, stopping barely four or five hundred meters away. For ordinary ships, that was well beyond cannon range—but for monsters of their level?
Four or five hundred meters was nothing.
And then it happened.
"Hm!"
Roger drew his blade in a flash, his aura erupting in a wild surge and crashing toward the warship like a tidal wave.
Space itself seemed to crackle with black lightning.
The warm sunlight and calm sea were instantly drowned beneath a suffocating pressure—pure, overwhelming Conqueror's Haki.
The air trembled as the wave of force swept toward the Marines.
"Hahahahaha!"
Garp ripped off his white Justice coat, revealing the black shirt beneath, stretched tight over bulging muscle.
"Conqueror's Haki! Again!"
Behind him, Sakazuki gritted his teeth, eyes full of anger—and fear.
He didn't know if he could withstand that crushing pressure.
Across the deck, the other officers looked just as terrified.
Then the air around them suddenly thickened. A second aura surged upward—no weaker than Roger's—and slammed forward with blazing momentum.
A sharp crack split the sky.
The two auras collided, lightning arcing through the air. The sky and sea split into two distinct halves.
Sakazuki froze, staring at the boy standing beside Garp—the black-haired youth in a white Justice cloak.
" Kyle!"
Kuzan chuckled and drew his saber.
The young man to Garp's left radiated a dazzling intensity, his presence fierce enough to stand against a world-class pirate.
"That kid's spirit… it can match Roger's…?"
Sakazuki clenched his fists, stunned.
Even the pirates aboard the Oro Jackson were caught off guard.
"Hahahaha!"
"Looks like our enemy isn't something we can take lightly!"
Roger laughed.
That black-haired boy at the warship's bow—none of them recognized him, and none expected such power.
Both ships sped forward. In the blink of an eye, only three hundred meters separated them.
Then Garp suddenly leapt skyward.
Kyle looked up. Garp shot into the air with terrifying speed, silhouetted against the sun.
"How many times have we done this now, Garp?!"
Almost immediately, another figure soared up to meet him—Roger, laughing as he ascended.
"Who knows?!"
"It's not like it matters!"
The two hung in midair, nearly three hundred meters above the sea. Everyone on both ships stared upward.
Then, in the same instant, Garp swung his fist—Roger swung his blade.
Lightning tore across the sky. A roaring wind whipped across the decks as the two attacks closed in.
"Fist Bone: Impact!"
"Divine Departure!"
Their fists and blade never even touched, still ten meters apart—yet power collided all the same. Black-red and gold lightning exploded outward. The air froze around them, pressure rippling in every direction.
For a heartbeat, the world held still.
Then—
BOOM!
A deafening crack split the sky. Invisible shockwaves rolled outward, warping the air until sunlight burst into rainbow colors. Wind and pressure rattled everyone's chests.
Kyle shaded his eyes. When the glare faded, Garp was already back beside him.
And Roger was back on the Oro Jackson's bow.
"Roger! That slash of yours… it's not what it used to be!"
Garp shouted.
As his longtime rival, he sensed immediately that something was off.
"Hahahahaha!"
Roger just laughed without answering.
Then he turned to his crew and nodded.
"Let's go. We don't have time to waste on this lunatic."
Rayleigh nodded back.
The rest of the crew shot one last glance at the warship before moving quickly.
Only Bullet stayed still, fists tight, eyes glued to Roger.
"Are you still… the strongest in the world… Roger?"
But he swallowed the words.
"What's wrong, Bullet?" Roger asked with a knowing grin.
"…Nothing."
Bullet lowered his fists, voice low.
Roger smiled faintly, then looked toward two small figures nearby.
"Buggy. Shanks. You two brats—stop spacing out and go help Rayleigh."
"Yes, Captain!" the two replied loudly.
The Oro Jackson blasted forward like an arrow loosed from its string, pushing its speed to the limit.
"They're escaping!"
"After them, Bogard!"
Garp roared.
He grabbed a stack of cannonballs beside him and started hurling them like pebbles.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A storm of cannonballs tore through the air, far beyond normal cannon range, raining down over the Oro Jackson.
Roger sliced through them with easy, laughing strokes.
Rayleigh, Bullet, and the others joined in.
"Even alone, Garp's a nightmare to deal with," Gaban muttered.
No one disagreed. They all knew that stubborn enemy far too well.
" Kyle! You too!"
"We're not letting Roger get away!"
Garp barked.
Kyle blinked, then moved. "Yes, sir!"
He grabbed a cannonball and hurled it forward—though much slower than Garp's.
"No, no—this is how you throw it!"
Garp corrected him immediately.
Moments later, Kyle tried again.
This time, the cannonball exploded right above Roger's head.
"That young kid… really isn't someone you can underestimate," Roger murmured.
"..."
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