"Damn it!"
Garp was still being tied down by Kaido.
The Beast Emperor was strong, no question—but in front of Garp, he still came up short. He'd already eaten several of the old man's punches.
"Wororororo! Keep going, Garp!"
Kaido didn't seem angry about the beating at all. If anything, he looked… excited.
Zoan users awakened when they were on the verge of death. In his opinion, a few more of Garp's punches might be just what he needed.
"What? Planning to stall me here so Whitebeard can finish off Sakazuki and then double-team me?"
Garp's fist slammed into the spiked head of Kaido's kanabo.
"Wororororo. And if you've figured it out? What then? Got any backup left? How long do you think that magma brat can last against Whitebeard?"
Garp's face twisted.
Akainu was an admiral-level powerhouse—but that was Whitebeard he was fighting.
Conqueror's Haki reinforcing quake blows… magma wasn't worth much in front of that. And that was before you even counted the Gura Gura no Mi.
"…Then I'll just have to take you out first!"
Lightning-like Conqueror's Haki crackled around him.
Zzzzt—
The ice around Garp exploded into chunks from the pressure.
"If you can do it, then try, old man!"
Kaido's own black-red lightning surged as he raised his kanabo.
"Thunder Bagua!"
"Galaxy Impact!"
Two titanic Conqueror's Haki attacks collided.
The ice around them split apart in colossal slabs.
It was miserable work for Aokiji—trying to hold the field together while fending off Big Mom. He was constantly being pushed back, constantly at a disadvantage.
Kaido's teeth ground together.
"That damn old man's fists… still hurt as much as they did back then."
Garp laughed loudly.
"Ha ha ha! Kaido, you're still too green!"
They both ramped up the power behind their blows.
This time, it was Kaido who was slowly being forced backward.
"Look at the sky!"
Marines and pirates alike stared up, eyes wide.
"Th-the sky… it's splitting!"
"Mama… I'm scared… Is that really power a person can have?!"
"ORARARARARA!"
"MUDAMUDAMUDA!"
Kaido eventually dropped his kanabo entirely and started trading bare-knuckle blows with Garp.
Feeling the force behind the old man's fists, Kaido gritted his teeth.
It hurt.
All he could do was pray that Whitebeard would hurry up and finish things on his side.
Far in the distance—
"Wahahahaha! Big news! BIG NEWS! Three Emperors besieging a Marine base—Marine forces being driven back everywhere!"
Wherever there was a massive battle, Morgans was there.
Other pirate crews had arrived as well, loitering outside the main battlefield, watching the clash of monsters from a "safe" distance.
On a crimson-hulled ship with a bird figurehead, Doflamingo lounged on a chair, glass of red wine in hand, laughing as he watched.
"Fuffuffuffuffu… let it all burn. The more chaotic this rotten world gets, the better!"
He had never imagined that assassinating Whitebeard's Sixth Division Commander, Blamenco—and pinning it on the World Government by also slaughtering people tied to the other Emperors—would spiral into this.
Now?
Watching the New World itself tremble, Doffy felt nothing but exhilaration.
"Fuffuffuffu… stir it up more… Let the whole world be swallowed by war. That's when a king is born."
On a candlelit raft nearby, Hawkeye Mihawk held a glass of red wine, golden eyes fixed on the battlefield.
"So that's the man they call the world's strongest—Edward Newgate…"
His gaze slid from the quakes and shattered sky to a different clash.
"The Fifth Division Commander, Vista, huh? And that Marine…"
He watched Ain and Vista trade blades, wind and rose petals slicing the air.
"That girl's sword style… a gale sword path. After this war, if she survives, she won't be far from the rank of Great Swordsman."
He took a slow sip.
"The more Great Swordsmen there are in this world, the better. Then I won't be so lonely."
On another ship, the William Pirates watched in silence.
Williams stared at the inverted tides, shattered air, frozen sea, flying magma, and torn sky. His heart trembled.
"So this… this is the power of the New World's monsters."
He remembered boasting about challenging Whitebeard one day. Now, just imagining taking one punch from that man made his legs weak.
If he hits me once, I'm gone.
"I have to get stronger," he muttered. "If I stay this weak, I'll never survive here. I beat a few small fry and started thinking I was something… idiot."
Back on the main battlefield—
"Gurararara… magma brat, are you about done?"
Sakazuki's breath rasped in and out like a broken bellows.
"Don't… look down… on justice!"
Covered in burns, cuts, and bruises, Akainu forced himself back to his feet. Magma burbled over his body, patching him together.
"Gurararara… then I'll just send you on your way."
Whitebeard raised Murakumogiri.
Quake energy and Conqueror's Haki surged along the blade, the air around it cracking.
Garp saw it and cursed internally.
Aokiji also noticed, and his face sank.
"Gurararara… Die for me, Marine!"
The naginata fell in a massive arc.
"Great Eruption!"
Akainu threw a giant magma fist to meet it—but the moment they touched, the quake slash annihilated the magma and kept coming.
He watched the blade fall toward him, eyes wide.
"AAAHHHH—!"
He roared, pulling both arms in and wrapping them in dense Armament.
CRACK—!
"GUAAAHH!!"
The strike caught him full on, carving him up and sending him flying again.
"Damn it!"
Garp smashed Kaido back with one punch and tried to sprint for Whitebeard, desperate to keep him from following up.
He was halfway there when he felt it—a presence, a killing intent—and his face twisted.
Damn pirates…
Before he could turn back, a familiar blade came roaring at him.
"Gurararara! Garp! Been a while since we had a proper fight!"
"Out of my way, Newgate!"
He dodged that slash by the slimmest of margins and tried to keep going, but Whitebeard dogged him, laughing.
"No can do, Garp. We hardly ever get to meet these days. We might as well see if you've slowed down in your old age!"
"Damn it… we're not gonna make it!"
Garp swore bitterly.
The truth was, that "last punch" he'd landed on Kaido had only connected because Kaido let it.
If Kaido hadn't backed off on purpose, Garp would never have gotten free so easily.
The Beast Emperor wasn't stupid.
He had seen perfectly well where Whitebeard's last blow would send Akainu flying.
And now, he was there waiting.
Kaido watched Akainu's trajectory and grinned, lining up his swing.
"Wororororo… Marine admiral!"
Crackling black lightning danced over his kanabo as he raised it high.
"Not good…"
Aokiji saw the scene unfolding and his heart sank.
"Ma-ma-ma-ma… mind your own business, little ice brat!"
Big Mom cackled and brought Napoleon down in another crushing blow, forcing Aokiji to defend instead of intercept.
Elsewhere, Doberman was locked with Whitebeard's Ninth Division Commander, Blenheim, but even he froze when he saw what was about to happen.
On the ice—
"Wororororo… Thunder Bagua!"
Kaido's kanabo descended straight toward the prone Akainu.
BOOOOOM!
The blow smashed into the ice, and Sakazuki's body bounced from the impact before collapsing limply. His eyes rolled up. He was completely unconscious.
Staring at Akainu's crumpled form in the crater, Kaido burst into triumphant laughter.
"Worororororo! A Marine admiral… looks like you'll be the first one to die on this sea!"
At that exact moment, two more pirate ships appeared on the horizon, closing in fast.
"…Looks like leaving today won't be easy," Garp muttered.
He tore his uniform coat apart, baring a chest crisscrossed with old scars—silent proof of a lifetime of war.
"Gurararara… looks like you're staying here today, Garp," Whitebeard said, also noticing the approaching ships.
One flew the flag of the Beasts Pirates, led by King the Wildfire.
The other carried Big Mom's "perfect masterpiece"—the crème de la crème of the Charlotte Family.
"I'll head in first," King said, spreading his wings.
He dove, one blazing kick sending the already-injured Ghost Spider flying as the vice admiral tried to run toward Sakazuki.
"Out of the way, marine."
Katakuri surveyed the battlefield and spoke calmly.
"Sweep the grunts quickly. Don't get careless and don't get hurt."
"Yes, Big Bro!" his brothers and sisters replied in unison.
They all cherished their elder brother deeply. Hearing concern in his voice made them straighten instantly.
Katakuri tightened his grip on his trident, Mogura, and rushed toward a Marine vice admiral.
You took out the heavy hitters first—that kept his siblings safe.
"Worororororo… the tide's turned. Marines…"
Kaido raised his kanabo again, aiming this time at Sakazuki's head.
"Now you can just die."
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