Garp slowly raised his head and looked into Luffy's flickering eyes. A faint smile appeared on his aged face as he spoke in a low voice.
"Luffy, this Devil Fruit gave you terrifying power, but are you truly controlling it, or is it controlling you? Looking at you now, I'm afraid it's the latter."
Luffy's pupils shrank violently. The color in his eyes turned pitch black as he looked at Garp with a conflicted expression.
"Grandpa, I..."
Before he could finish speaking, his pupils suddenly turned golden again. The warm and radiant glow should have felt comforting, yet at this moment, it carried an eerie chill.
"Garp, traitor of the D. Clan, this outcome is entirely your own fault."
The smile on Garp's face disappeared.
He knew the person standing before him was no longer truly his grandson.
Narrowing his eyes, Garp replied coldly,
"I've served as a Marine my entire life. I may have done plenty of outrageous things, but I've never betrayed my justice. Not in the past, and certainly not now."
Luffy fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
"Your persistence is admirable, but misplaced. In the end, it only makes you look pathetic."
Garp snorted dismissively.
Despite his battered condition, he forced his body upright, lifted his chin, and straightened his back. At that moment, he looked like the fearless Marine who had first stepped onto the battlefield decades ago.
"You're the pathetic one. Occupying someone else's body while pretending to be righteous, someone like you has no right to lecture this old man!"
A trace of anger surfaced on Luffy's face.
"I've wasted enough time speaking with a traitor. Now you'll pay the price for your actions."
Black Armament Haki slowly spread across Garp's fists.
The two stared at each other for a brief moment before attacking simultaneously, their fists crashing toward each other's faces.
But Garp's body had already reached its limit.
Even the Armament Haki coating his fists flickered unstably. His punch only managed to tilt Luffy's head slightly in his Nika form.
Meanwhile, Garp himself was blasted backward, skidding several meters across the ground.
The monstrous physical strength granted by the Nika form was no longer something the current Garp could withstand, even without additional Haki enhancement.
The surrounding Revolutionary Army immediately erupted into cheers, their faces filled with satisfaction. Countless comrades had been injured or killed by Garp's fists earlier in the battle.
Yet their celebration only irritated Luffy.
His brows furrowed tightly as he suppressed the growing restlessness inside him. Step by step, he walked toward Garp, who lay on the ground ahead.
Before he could approach fully, Garp slowly rose to his feet once more.
He wiped the blood from his face with force and took up another fighting stance.
Then, with a roar, he charged forward again.
Luffy clenched his teeth.
"Stop getting back up!!"
Bang!
A heavy impact echoed across the battlefield as Garp was sent flying once more.
This time, Luffy had infused the attack with Haki, yet Garp still struggled back onto his feet like before and charged at him again.
Luffy's frustration finally exploded.
He simply stood where he was, waiting for Garp to rush him over and over again, only to knock him back down each time.
Again.
And again.
And again.
After several exchanges, even Lindbergh could no longer watch silently.
"Luffy, he's your grandfather after all. Everyone's vented their anger enough already. Just give him a quick death."
Luffy caught Garp's incoming fist with one hand. Feeling the weakening strength behind the attack, he spoke in a low voice.
"It's time to end this."
Since the battle began, Garp had attacked relentlessly without pause. Yet now, he suddenly lifted his head and stared directly into Luffy's eyes.
That gaze, sharp enough to pierce through steel, made the so called Drum of Liberation inside Luffy's chest skip a beat.
Luffy steadied himself inwardly.
"It's just the last flicker of resistance... just a traitor..."
The indifference returned to his face.
"Before this ends, do you have anything else to say?"
Truthfully, he had wanted to eliminate Garp long ago.
But the original will remaining within this body had constantly resisted him.
Now, however, he had grown tired of the struggle.
Black and crimson Conqueror's Haki slowly gathered around his fist, condensing into enough destructive force to shatter Garp's heart completely.
Under normal circumstances, gathering this level of power would have been effortless.
But Garp was different.
The blood connection between this body and the old Marine ran deeper than flesh and bone, making it difficult for him to gather his strength smoothly.
Garp's facial muscles twitched slightly before he forced out a smile uglier than crying.
Yet somehow, that smile felt incredibly gentle in Luffy's eyes.
The Haki surrounding Luffy's fist nearly dispersed.
He violently shook his head and forced himself to steady his emotions before slowly raising his fist toward Garp's chest.
"Nothing to say? Then..."
"Luffy..."
Garp's hoarse voice interrupted him.
Luffy froze instantly.
His pupils fluctuated wildly, one turning black while the other remained gold.
Garp slowly raised his other fist.
"Even if it's late, this is the only gift Grandpa can still give you. Take it. Your father used to love this the most..."
Luffy stared blankly.
"What?"
A strange redness suddenly spread across Garp's face. The veins on his arm bulged violently like writhing earthworms as he drew back his fist.
Then he roared with everything he had left.
"The Final Fist of Love!!!"
Bang!!
Garp's bloodstained fist smashed directly into Luffy's face.
There was no Haki infused into the attack.
Yet that single punch still sent Luffy flying backward in his Nika form, his body crashing through the Revolutionary Army like a cannonball.
The battlefield erupted into chaos.
Meanwhile, Garp remained standing in the same posture he used to throw the punch.
Silent.
Motionless.
Like an unshakable stone statue.
Moments later, Luffy reverted to normal and stumbled out from the crowd like a madman.
"Grandpa!!!"
It was obvious that he had regained control of himself.
Unfortunately, Garp could no longer answer him.
As darkness slowly consumed the last traces of his consciousness, countless thoughts echoed through Garp's mind.
"So it's finally over... At least I wasn't killed by my own grandson. Still, what a pathetic ending for me..."
"Dragon... Dad can finally see you again. I'm sorry. I failed to raise you properly. Can you forgive me?"
"Sengoku, Tsuru, Zephyr... looks like I'm leaving first this time. I'm being selfish again. Sorry for causing all of you so much trouble..."
"Lloyd... as a Marine, this time... was I worthy?"
Then everything faded into darkness.