"Monkey D. Garp, you are unworthy of the name D!"
Boom!
Luffy, in his Nika Form, burst out from underground, swinging his giant arm as he smashed a devastating punch toward Garp below.
Garp was inwardly shocked by Luffy's current form, but what unsettled him the most was the Conqueror's Haki coating Luffy's fist. That level of Haki was proof that Luffy had already stepped into the realm of top-tier powerhouses.
Seeing the metallic sheen covering the massive fist descending upon him, Garp quickly composed himself, his expression turning serious.
He bent his legs slightly, then suddenly pushed off the ground. His body shot upward like a cannonball, meeting the massive fist head-on.
"Fist of Impact!!"
Crackle!
Dark lightning erupted from the violent clash of Haki, tearing through the sky as destructive shockwaves spread in every direction.
Even Foosha Village, far away from the battlefield, was caught in the aftermath. Large sections of houses collapsed into ruins almost instantly.
Below, the Revolutionary Army struggled against the terrifying pressure. Aside from a select few, most could not even raise their heads to witness the battle overhead. Many were knocked to the ground, falling into the cracks spreading beneath their feet.
After what felt like an eternity, the deafening roar gradually faded.
Two figures descended from the sky and landed on a relatively intact patch of ground, standing opposite one another.
Luffy and Garp.
Luffy lowered his head, his arms hanging loosely by his sides, swaying like pendulums.
Garp, however, staggered the moment he landed.
Pfft!
He spat out a mouthful of blood.
Clutching the arm he had used to block the attack, he stumbled back several steps before finally regaining his balance.
Frowning, Garp glanced at his injured arm.
Bright red blood seeped continuously from the wound, dripping onto the ground.
Seeing Garp injured, Lindbergh and the others immediately prepared to take advantage of the situation.
At this point, they no longer cared that Garp was Luffy's grandfather.
After all, Garp had killed and injured countless Revolutionary Army soldiers. The conflict between both sides had already reached the point of no return.
However, before anyone could move, a powerful shout stopped them in their tracks.
"Back off!"
Luffy's voice echoed across the battlefield.
The overwhelming pressure of his Conqueror's Haki instantly froze every Revolutionary Army soldier in place.
Lindbergh looked at him in confusion.
"Luffy, Garp injured so many of our people. Are you still going soft on him?"
Luffy slowly raised his head.
The expression on his face looked strangely distorted, as though joy and rage existed at the same time. Even his voice sounded contradictory, youthful yet carrying an inexplicable heaviness.
"He will fall by my hands alone."
A strange smile spread across his face.
"From the Buccaneer race to the D Clan, traitors have always existed."
"Hehe…"
"Hahahahaha!!"
Suddenly, Luffy burst into wild laughter.
As his laughter echoed, a loud drumming sound thundered from his chest.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The white flame-like clouds surrounding his body spiraled violently.
The ground beneath him began trembling uncontrollably.
Then, impossibly, the earth churned like waves across the sea.
Garp frowned deeply.
"Luffy, what exactly happened to you?"
"What is this power?"
Luffy stopped laughing and tilted his head slightly.
"I have no interest in explaining anything to a traitor."
Garp's face darkened instantly.
Being called a traitor repeatedly by his own grandson was enough to make the veins bulge on his forehead.
He clenched his fists tightly.
"You brats are all the same, always causing trouble!"
"Do you even understand?"
"Everything this old man has done was for your own good!"
"Ridiculous."
That single word completely ignited Garp's fury.
He charged toward Luffy at terrifying speed.
"Is this how Dragon taught you to speak to your grandfather?!"
Luffy's expression twisted in anger.
He slammed his foot heavily into the ground and roared back.
"You still dare mention my father?!"
Buzz!
The earth instantly surged upward in massive waves.
Like an unstoppable landslide, layers of rubberized ground crashed toward Garp one after another.
Garp punched forward.
Boom!
His fist blasted a massive indentation into the approaching terrain.
However, the ground's nature had completely changed.
It had become absurdly resilient, like hardened rubber.
Caught off guard, Garp was swallowed by the endless waves of earth and forcibly buried beneath them.
Moments later, an enormous smooth hill stood where he once had.
The sight stunned everyone present.
Lindbergh swallowed hard.
"Did… did it work?"
The moment those words left his mouth, the hill began shaking violently.
Boom!!
The entire structure exploded upward.
Chunks of earth flew into the sky as Garp burst free.
Luffy showed no surprise.
After all, this was Monkey D. Garp, a man once capable of standing against Gol D. Roger himself.
Even if some stories were exaggerated, no one could deny his terrifying strength.
Hovering in the air, Garp looked down at Luffy coldly.
"Who exactly are you?"
He had already realized something was wrong.
Luffy's current state reminded him too much of Roger from the past.
The form.
The strange abilities.
That bizarre laughter.
Everything seemed connected to that Devil Fruit.
A terrifying thought crossed Garp's mind.
Could Luffy have eaten the same Devil Fruit Roger once possessed?
And worse…
Could that Devil Fruit influence its user's mind?
A determined look appeared in Garp's eyes.
If his suspicions were true, then he had even more reason to take Luffy back.
Perhaps everything Luffy had done was the result of being influenced by that cursed power.
But Luffy had no interest in giving him time to think.
He stomped through the air.
Using both his own strength and the elasticity of the ground, he launched himself upward with explosive speed.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared directly before Garp.
Without hesitation, Luffy stretched both arms outward.
His giant hands expanded rapidly from opposite directions.
"Gomu Gomu no White Vise!"
Clap!
Both palms slammed into Garp simultaneously.
Garp's body compressed under the overwhelming pressure, twisting unnaturally.
Still, unlike Kizaru in the original battle, he was not flattened.
Grinding his teeth, Garp resisted with everything he had.
Sweat covered his forehead.
"What the hell is this power?!"
"How can a Devil Fruit reach this level?!"
He could feel his Armament Haki being weakened by an unknown force.
The consumption was horrifying.
This was Garp's Armament Haki.
Its quality and quantity far surpassed that of ordinary fighters.
Yet even it was being suppressed.
Luffy stared at the struggling Garp indifferently.
"Do you feel it?"
"This is the will of freedom."
"A power capable of breaking rules and shattering restraints."
Garp gritted his teeth.
"You're talking nonsense again!"
"What would a brat like you know about rules?!"
A golden gleam flashed through Luffy's pupils.
His voice deepened.
"Rules create order."
"And countless layers of order become chains."
"Chains that imprison people."
"What I want…"
"Is to destroy those chains."