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Hearing Garp's resolute declaration, Vice Admiral Tsuru fell silent.
According to Marine Headquarters, the standing order for all personnel encountering the Thunder Emperor was to prioritize retreat. Fleeing was not considered a failure of duty.
However, no Marine with true integrity would ever follow such an order. To flee before a pirate was to bow one's head in the face of evil.
A person with their own justice and principles could never compromise.
Just like Garp the Hero. Though he usually acted carefree and scatterbrained, he was a man who adhered to his principles with absolute rigidity. Even when his heart was breaking, he would stand in the way of anyone trying to rescue Ace, simply because he was a Marine, and the word "Justice" was emblazoned on his back.
Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru were the legendary "Golden Triangle" of the Navy. They knew each other's character better than anyone.
"You... be careful!"
Tsuru, always the picture of calm, gritted her teeth. She ordered the Marines to evacuate Rosinante—who was desperate to protect the barely-breathing Law—and Drake, who was wailing in agony over his murdered father.
Dozens of Marines scrambled back onto the warship, leaving Minion Island occupied by only two men: Arthur and Garp.
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Garp's colossal obsidian body, laced with veins of glowing lava, radiated waves of heat that turned the surrounding snow into rivers of slush.
THUD!
THUD! THUD!
The ground shook as if a mountain were migrating.
In his Titan form, Garp walked forward step by step, his momentum skyrocketing like a rising tsunami. His mountain-like physique made observers feel as powerless as ants facing an elephant. The pressure was suffocating. Every inch of his bulging, rocky muscle looked harder than steel, exuding unmatched ferocity.
Minion Island itself seemed unable to bear the weight, trembling as if in the grip of an earthquake.
Hurricanes materialized out of nowhere, churning the calm sea into a violent frenzy.
"Brat, if you want to kill me, you're still a hundred years too early!!" Garp's aura reached its peak and detonated like a volcanic eruption.
Arthur stood firm amidst the gale, rooted to the ground and unmoving. He let the terrifying aura wash over him, his blue coat snapping violently in the wind. He looked up, his cold, indifferent gaze meeting Garp's featureless, obsidian face.
"In all the seas, I've only ever respected two men. One was Roger, who single-handedly started this New Era. The other is you... Garp!"
"Open-minded, living every day exactly as you please!"
"To be admired by a pirate is my shame!" Garp's voice boomed like thunder, echoing through the clouds. "Don't think flattery will make me show mercy!!"
"Either you pay with your life for Kong, or you kill me right here!!"
"Aha! Then take my admiration with you to Hell!" Arthur's fighting spirit ignited into a towering inferno.
"The one going to Hell is you, brat!!"
Garp unleashed the rage he had bottled up for years. With a furious roar, he raised an arm as thick as a skyscraper and brought it down with apocalyptic force, a blow capable of shattering the heavens and the earth.
Driven by pure hatred, the terrifying power of this punch was unimaginable. It rivaled even the destructive force of Whitebeard.
BOOM!!
Shockwaves rippled outward, shattering eardrums as the sonic boom exploded from the tip of Garp's descending fist. Even before the fist connected, the compressed air canon alone was enough to fracture the island!
The dormant volcano could no longer be suppressed; it erupted with violent, world-destroying intent.
"Killing you would only take a snap of my fingers!" Arthur remained composed under the meteor-like fist plummeting toward him.
With his Future Sight, he had already seen the timeline where his Positron Cannon annihilated Garp's head. But... that wasn't what Arthur wanted to see.
The pinnacle figures of Roger's era deserved respect. He wanted these legendary remnants of the past to burn with their utmost brilliance before he personally sent them on their way.
"Out of respect for you, Garp! I will crush you in your strongest domain..."
Arthur's voice was low, his words snatched away by the howling wind. He looked up to meet Garp's terrifying strike.
Violet-red lightning went berserk inside his body, coursing wildly over his indomitable physique. His sleeves shredded as his muscles swelled, coated in Armament Haki that emitted a purple-red halo. He launched his fist upward to meet Garp's descending hammer blow.
BOOM!!
CRACK—!
The amplification of Devil Fruits, the clash of Armament Haki, the ultimate collision of physical might!
Amidst an earth-shattering roar, Minion Island began to disintegrate like fragile glass under their terrifying assault. The earth cracked open...
Bottomless fissures spread across the snow-covered ground as seawater poured in from all sides.
The earth shook and the mountains swayed. From the epicenter of their colliding fists, an unimaginable shockwave blasted out toward the sea, slamming giant waves against the distant dog-headed warship.
Vice Admiral Tsuru lost her composure, staring blankly at Garp on the island. She had wanted to tell him not to be reckless, but the words had died in her throat.
Having executed missions together for decades, she knew his convictions. Whether pirate or Marine, there were lines of principle that could not be crossed.
From the moment they received the mission to secure the Op-Op Fruit, to the moment he laid eyes on the Thunder Emperor... Garp had already decided to put his life on the line.
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On the island, the layer of snow was stripped away by the shockwaves, exposing the frozen brown earth beneath. The perennial snowfall had made it difficult for vegetation to grow, leaving the land barren and scarred.
Now, it was utterly ruined, covered in deep trenches.
"DIE!!"
With a thunderous roar, Garp moved again after the initial clash.
In this battle, one of them was destined to die. But without a brutal fight, who would admit defeat?
WHOOSH—
A gigantic palm, like a dark cloud covering the sky, descended from above. Carrying immense, unstoppable force, Garp intended to flatten Arthur into meat paste.
In terms of raw physical strength, neither Whitebeard, nor Kaido, nor Big Mom could compare to Garp in his Titan form. Not even Arthur was an exception!
Under the palm that blocked out the sun, the air had nowhere to escape and was compressed until it exploded.
Arthur stood directly beneath it, as immovable as a mountain. This kind of raw, physical collision was the most direct way to awaken the boiling blood hidden deep in his heart.
His expression was fervent and excited. He crouched slightly, condensing every ounce of power in his body into his fist.
BANG!!
The sheer mass advantage was overwhelming. After a momentary deadlock, Garp's iron palm swept through, sending Arthur flying violently.
Pain exploded in his chest as the massive force detonated inside his body. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but Arthur ignored the pain entirely. The moment he was sent flying, he arrested his momentum, stomped heavily on the ground, and launched himself back at Garp with even greater speed.
Moving like a phantom, he soared up to Garp's chest level. He cocked his fist back and drove it ruthlessly toward the Titan's heart.
BOOM—
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