"At this point, who I am doesn't really matter anymore, does it?"
Uchiha Madara stood atop Susanoo's forehead, arms crossed over his chest, his face filled with excitement.
"Damn it… how did I run into a lunatic like you?" Garp frowned and cursed.
Clearly, Madara had no intention of responding. He simply controlled Susanoo and launched another attack.
Garp didn't dare underestimate him. After their earlier exchange, he already knew—
the man before him was extremely strong.
"Whoosh!"
As Susanoo's blade came down, a massive slash of energy descended.
The tail end struck first—
and the ground split apart like tofu.
Seeing the sheer power of the attack, Garp didn't hesitate. Armament Haki instantly coated his weapon as he charged forward to meet it.
"Bang!"
The energy slash collided with his blade.
The resulting shockwave spread outward like a gaping maw, devouring everything around it.
The impact was so immense that even the clouds in the sky were blown apart.
Garp was forced backward step by step, cracks tearing through the ground beneath his feet as he retreated.
After several dozen seconds—
he finally deflected the attack.
"Boom—!"
A violent explosion erupted in the distance.
At that moment, Garp was completely fired up.
He tore off his coat and loosened his tie.
"You… you've really got me excited now. This trip… wasn't a waste after all."
Now both of them looked like they had been injected with adrenaline—
thrilled beyond measure.
Naturally, such an intense battle brought devastating destruction to the surroundings.
Craters formed at a visible pace.
Yet Garp's strength was no joke. After all, he was the man who, in the past, had fought alongside Roger to bring down Rocks.
And so, the battle continued for about five minutes—
"Bang!"
With a heavy collision, both of them were forced back dozens of steps.
Just as they were about to charge at each other again—
Garp suddenly sensed a powerful, beast-like aura rapidly approaching.
He instinctively looked up toward the sky on his right.
Within less than ten seconds—
a figure with flaming wings entered his view.
"Is??? What are you doing here?"
Before Is could speak, Madara had already called out.
"Is?"
At first, Garp's attention had been drawn to the flaming wings.
But when Madara said the name, Garp carefully examined Is's face.
Though he had never met him in person, he had seen basic information about him at Marine Headquarters—including a photo.
No mistake… even though I've never seen him in person, this guy is definitely a Celestial Dragon—Aurelius D. Virel Is.
Garp muttered inwardly.
For the first time, a Celestial Dragon gave him a strange feeling—
one he couldn't quite put into words.
Is glanced at Garp, slightly frowning.
"What's going on here… Madara?"
Madara smiled faintly.
"It's just a misunderstanding. But he seemed pretty strong, so we had a little spar."
"He's right," Garp added. "Aurelius D. Virel Is—Saint. I didn't get your name wrong, did I?"
As he spoke, Garp walked over to where he had thrown his coat earlier.
Fortunately, it hadn't been caught in the crossfire—only buried under dirt.
But when he picked it up—
he realized it wasn't just buried.
Only half of it remained.
Garp paused, then casually tossed the ruined coat aside.
Is slowly descended to the ground, the flaming wings behind him fading away.
"You're correct. Marine Vice Admiral—Monkey D. Garp."
The moment he heard his full name spoken—
Garp's expression turned serious.
"Relax," Is said calmly. "The fact that you're from the 'D' clan doesn't interest me. What they say—that your clan is our natural enemy—I don't care about that either."
Hearing this, Garp's tense expression eased.
"Hahaha! Just like Sengoku said… looks like a strange one has appeared among the Celestial Dragons."
After saying it, Garp seemed to realize something and quickly added,
"Ah—maybe that wasn't the best way to put it. Sorry. I don't interact with Celestial Dragons very often."
"Doesn't matter. I don't care," Is replied indifferently.
Garp found Is's demeanor surprisingly comfortable.
There was none of the arrogance or ignorance he typically associated with Celestial Dragons.
"This really was my mistake," Garp said calmly. "I mistook your man for a fleeing pirate. My apologies."
"Doesn't matter. He helped pass the time for me," Madara replied, already stepping beside Is.
"Heading back?"
Is nodded.
"Alright."
With that, Is turned and left.
He had nothing more to say to Garp—
so he simply ignored him.
Madara quickened his pace to follow, but before leaving, he glanced back.
"If there's another chance, I'd like a proper fight with you—from start to finish."
"I'll be waiting at Marine Headquarters!" Garp responded.
Watching the two figures leave, Garp fell into thought.
"If not for our positions… I'd really like to spar with that guy Sengoku keeps praising. That would definitely be interesting."
—
On the way back—
"How was he?" Is asked.
Madara tilted his head slightly.
"That guy is strong. His Armament Haki is already at an extremely high level."
Hearing this, Is simply smiled faintly.
Of course.
In the original story, Garp was known as the "Hero of the Marines," the man with the iron fist—
the one who could even flatten Chinjao's famed drill-shaped head with a single punch.
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