Roy seized a moment when Garp's offense slightly slowed, and in the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Garp.
He suddenly reached out a hand and firmly pressed it against Garp's face, veins bulging on his arm.
With a low, guttural roar, Roy slammed Garp's entire head violently into the ground, the force so immense that Garp's body was driven deep into the earth like a falling meteor.
However, Garp was, after all, a legendary figure in the Navy; the next moment, he launched himself up from deep underground.
"Fist Bone Impact!"
Before the words faded, Garp's fist shot out like lightning.
Though Roy reacted swiftly, he was forced backward by the overwhelming force of the blow.
This scene left Momonga and the others present utterly dumbfounded.
Yet the battle did not cease. Garp and Roy steadied themselves almost simultaneously and resumed their fierce offensive and defensive exchange.
Momonga and the others could barely follow their movements.
"Bam!"
With a deafening crash, Garp threw a punch that sent Roy flying hard.
However, this strike did not subdue Roy completely. Garp paused briefly, gazing at Roy in the distance with a slight frown.
He had already sensed the sheer toughness of Roy's body; even he found it difficult to inflict substantial damage on Roy in a short time.
"Roy, boy, if you've got more moves, bring them on! What you've shown so far is far from enough!"
Garp called out with a boisterous laugh.
Hearing these words, Roy, still in the distance, curled the corners of his mouth into a mysterious smile.
He slowly closed his eyes.
The next moment, when his eyes reopened, a deep crimson filled his sockets. His pupils spun like mysterious clock faces, the three tomoe transforming into three hands that rotated wildly, radiating a power that stirred the heart.
The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan now blazed within Roy's eyes.
"That Roy kid's eyes... they changed!"
Seeing this, Garp's frown deepened.
He sensed an unprecedented, formidable power emanating from Roy's crimson eyes, compelling him to be on high alert.
"A strange ability..." Garp muttered to himself, then threw another punch. This time, his fist was coated in dense Conqueror's Haki, and a terrifying shockwave hurtled toward Roy.
Yet, facing this heavy strike from Garp, Roy's left eye began to spin wildly. In that instant, time itself seemed to slow.
The ability of his left eye—Moment of Twilight—activated silently. Garp's relentless assault, upon encountering the uncanny force emanating from Roy's left eye, was abruptly slowed countless times, as if dragged into a temporal bog by an invisible force.
Simultaneously, Roy waved his right hand, and a dazzling beam of light shot toward Garp.
Garp dodged with a flicker of his form; with his extraordinary agility, such an attack was easy to evade.
However, at that critical moment, the power of Moment of Twilight activated once more. The previously slow-moving beam suddenly accelerated dramatically, time seemingly sped up, and it detonated directly against Garp.
"A time ability?" Garp emerged from the dust, shock plain on his face.
In that instant, he confirmed it—Roy wielded the power of time.
Refusing to accept it, Garp charged again, appearing before Roy with ghostly speed.
But just as he prepared to strike, Roy's right eye also began to spin fiercely—Eternal Hourglass activated silently.
Garp's form was instantly frozen in place. His very thoughts seemed locked in time; everything became slow and heavy.
Seeing this scene from afar, Momonga and the others were awestruck, disbelief filling their hearts.
"Vice Admiral Garp... could he have lost?"
The sight before them silently spoke this truth.
Still, they could hardly believe it. Garp was hailed as the Hero of the Navy.
"Admiral Kizaru... has he grown this strong?"
There was an unmistakable note of complex emotion in Hiken's voice.
He knew Garp's power well, yet he never expected Roy could push him to such an extreme.
Seconds later, Roy looked at Garp, still immobilized, and prepared to release the ability.
After all, restraining a fighter of Garp's caliber within a temporal cage consumed immense energy.
He intended to release the ability and let Garp recover.
But just then, Roy's eyebrow rose sharply.
He noticed with surprise that Garp's form had begun to tremble slightly.
Massive amounts of Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki intertwined and merged. Empowered by this fusion, Garp slowly broke free from the frozen state.
"Huff... huff... impressive." Garp panted lightly, a sheen of sweat on his brow. He watched Roy gravely, a glint in his battle-hardened eyes.
Strictly speaking, he had lost. Though a part of him resisted the conclusion, the fact stood undeniable.
While his unfamiliarity with Roy's mysterious abilities and underestimation of them played a part, the sheer strength Roy displayed was undeniable.
Garp knew that if he hadn't held back at the critical moment, his defeat might have been even more decisive.
"I've lost this one." Garp suddenly laughed heartily, a trace of acceptance in his voice, and directly conceded defeat without any pretense.
"I accept your terms!" Garp's tone grew serious, but then a smile tugged at his lips.
"However, before that, Roy boy, I want to see... your full strength."
Garp's eyes blazed with a challenging light. He wanted to see just how many cards this fellow had yet to play.
Garp laughed again, briefly fusing his Conqueror's Haki with his Armament Haki, elevating his power to an unprecedented level.
Though this fusion was fleeting, he wanted to use this chance to probe Roy's limits.
"As you wish." Roy smiled proudly, his own eyes reflecting a fighting spirit.
Yet he knew clearly that using Wood Release here and now was inadvisable. Moreover, against a formidable opponent like Garp, Wood Release might not prove very effective.
Unless he employed Sage Art and unleashed a devastating technique like the Top Transformed Buddha, but that would undoubtedly reveal his deep connection to Hashirama Senju—something he preferred to avoid at present.