Chapter 176 – The Battle Between Ryuunosuke and Garp!
On the outskirts of Marineford, far from the chaos of the main battlefield, Ryuunosuke and Garp sat together in a large crater.
"Oi, brat," Garp mumbled, chewing on a senbei. "Is it really alright for us to be sitting here eating snacks?"
He glanced toward the distant battlefield where explosions and clashing powers lit up the sky.
"There's a war going on out there. If someone spots us slacking off like this, wouldn't it look... y'know, bad?"
Unfazed, Ryuunosuke calmly took a bite of his apple and replied, "Nothing bad about it."
"If we join the fight now, all we'll do is raise the death toll. It won't change the outcome one bit."
Without warning, he raised his fist and slammed it into the ground. The crater they were in widened further, deepening with cracks and rubble.
This had become a routine. Every few minutes, they'd punch the ground—just enough to make it seem like a battle was raging from afar.
Garp frowned. "So, what's your plan here, kid?"
"This mess doesn't change much for the Dragon Hunter Pirates, the Whitebeard Pirates… not even the Navy."
"Best-case scenario, Blackbeard gets killed, and the rest get out alive. Even then, all it really does is shift the Navy HQ somewhere else. And what's the point of that?"
Ryuunosuke finished chewing before answering.
"We're going to the New World."
Garp blinked. "The New World? What's the difference? Marine HQ is Marine HQ—whether it's here or over there."
"As long as the World Government's in charge, nothing really changes."
Ryuunosuke shook his head. "Think about it, Uncle Garp—what is the New World?"
"If the Navy relocates there, it puts them closer to the Four Emperors and the real action. Whether it's launching assaults or securing routes, everything becomes easier from there."
"And ask yourself—why did the World Government want the Navy to stay here for so long?"
"When the Navy finally pulls out, the balance they tried so hard to maintain starts to crumble."
"But the changes won't be immediate. It's like boiling a frog in warm water—the World Government won't notice until it's too late."
He grinned. "Smart, right?"
Garp was quiet for a moment, then chuckled.
BOOM!
He punched the ground, creating a shockwave that dwarfed Ryuunosuke's earlier strike.
"You old geezer…" Ryuunosuke muttered, amused. "Still competitive, huh?"
"By the way, Uncle Garp—do you have Conqueror's Haki?"
"Can you teach me how to use it?"
As he asked, a surge of Conqueror's Haki pulsed from his body, causing the air to tremble slightly.
Garp looked at him, eyebrow raised. "Teach you?"
"Conqueror's Haki isn't something you learn. It awakens naturally. Everyone uses it differently. The intensity and control just vary."
He raised his fist, and with a hum of power, both Armament and Conqueror's Haki wrapped around it like a living storm.
Ryuunosuke's eyes sharpened. So this is Conqueror's Haki infusion…
He could feel the raw oppression radiating from Garp's punch. If they fought seriously, he was certain the two of them alone could bring down all of Marineford.
"Damn… That pressure's insane."
He let out a breath. "Any tips on how to get stronger with it?"
Garp shrugged. "There's no real trick."
"You want to improve? Then fight more—with it. Let your Conqueror's Haki clash with others. That's how it grows."
"Now watch closely—Boom!"
Without warning, Garp lunged and threw a punch.
Ryuunosuke casually tossed his apple core into the air and exploded with energy—Strength Enhancement, Armament Haki, and his monstrous physique surged in unison.
Then—BOOM!
Their fists collided.
The shockwave flattened the nearby terrain. Rocks shattered. Trees snapped. Dust filled the air.
Ryuunosuke stepped back slightly, breathing evenly. Then, he froze.
Around him, a strange force field shimmered into existence. In this space, his senses sharpened. His awareness of his body reached new levels. Every muscle, every tendon, every internal pulse—he could feel it all.
"Is this… inner vision?" he thought.
He'd only read about it in cultivation novels.
Yet here it was.
A moment later, the energy around him grew. His Conqueror's Haki surged stronger, its aura thick and blazing.
"This feels like the Sulong form of the Mink Tribe," he muttered. "Could Conqueror's Haki… actually be a super buff?"
As quickly as it appeared, the force field faded.
But Garp was already coming at him again.
"You know, sneak attacks are a bad habit, old man—"
Ryuunosuke paused mid-sentence. His Observation Haki picked something up.
"…Vice Admiral Tsuru?"
Sure enough, Tsuru was approaching, clearly trying to figure out what they were doing.
But when she saw the battlefield—scarred earth, collapsed terrain, residual Haki pressure everywhere—she was stunned.
This… this doesn't look staged.
If she were the director of this act, she'd have fainted from frustration. The script had clearly been tossed aside.
Elsewhere, Sengoku was also frustrated. With no viable targets left, he turned his attention to Chrollo.
The moment he attacked, Chrollo, Tatsumi, and Machi rushed in to intercept. From a distance, Main rained down long-range attacks.
Sengoku was overwhelmed. His golden Buddha form gave him defense, but even he knew he couldn't hold out forever. The form consumed too much stamina.
Meanwhile, chaos reigned across the battlefield.
Blackbeard, under heavy bombardment from Ace and Enel, looked like a mess—his clothes torn, his face bruised—but he kept getting up.
This bastard really is built like a tank…
Any other man would've died a dozen times over.
Yet, even as he screamed and staggered under the assault, Blackbeard suddenly burst into laughter.
"Ze… Zehahahaha!"
He leapt onto the execution platform, arms spread wide, grinning like a madman.
"Watch closely…!"
"This world will be reshaped by me, Blackbeard!"
"Today marks the dawn of a new era!"
Darkness surged behind him, crackling with lightning and flickering with flames.
An immense, monstrous aura erupted from his body—
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