Although the sudden outbreak of battle quickly caught the attention of every Marine officer and soldier in Marineford, no one below the rank of Vice Admiral dared approach.
At the very beginning, a few had been jolted awake by the clash and rushed over immediately, only to be sent flying by the terrifying shockwave before they could even get close. Some even passed out on the spot under the sheer pressure of Conqueror's Haki.
Even the Vice Admirals only dared to observe from a distance, not daring to draw any closer.
In front of Marineford Headquarters, the ground cracked and buckled as rising clouds of blazing heat surged into the air. The towering Headquarters building in the plaza finally gave way, unable to withstand the strain. With a thunderous groan, a jagged fissure split across its wall.
"Elio, Mr. Garp!"
Seeing the wall of the Headquarters building fracture under the force of the impact, Tsuru gritted her teeth and stabbed her sword into the trembling ground to anchor herself. Lifting her head, she looked toward Elio and Garp, just one collision between them had ruptured both the ground and the building wall. She shouted with all her might, "Stop! Stop now! The Headquarters is going to collapse!"
Buzz-
Buzz buzz-
Before Tsuru could finish, that disorienting, low-frequency vibration roared again, completely drowning out her voice.
Then, another devastating shockwave burst outward from the center where Elio and Garp clashed.
"Ahahaha, you never cease to surprise me, Elio!"
Wreathed in blazing clouds, Garp clenched his fists and took a powerful step forward, laughing boldly, "Now let's see if your Armament Haki is just as ferocious!"
As his words echoed out, another surge of terrifying aura exploded from Garp's body.
The next instant, he disappeared in a blur. Soaring high into the air, his body became encased in Armament Haki, his fists glowing black with a metallic sheen, wrapped in flaming clouds and an aura of pure force.
"Fist Bone Impact!"
Garp, without a moment's hesitation, brought his hardened, Conqueror-infused fist crashing down on Elio like a meteor.
At that very moment...
Swoosh!
A sharp rip through the air signaled Elio's movement. A mere afterimage remained where he once stood as he flashed out, appearing directly in front of Garp like a ghost.
"Old man, you're too slow!"
Without hesitation, Elio's own fist, equally charged with terrifying power, expanded rapidly in Garp's pupils.
Boom!
With a muffled thud, Elio's punch tore through Garp's Armament Haki like it was paper. A second later, before the watching Marine officers could even react, Garp was sent flying like a cannonball, slamming into the ground hundreds of meters away.
Before the stunned officers could even blink, Elio turned to Tsuru, raising a hand toward her from a distance.
"Tsuru, lend me your blade for a moment."
Before she could reply, the famed sword Kompira flew from her waist straight into Elio's waiting hand.
The moment Elio gripped Kompira, the blade ignited with swirling flames.
Then, with explosive speed, Elio launched himself forward, swinging Kompira toward the distant Garp with a slash that cleaved the very air.
In an instant, the radiant blade light surged like divine judgment. The air trembled with that same eerie vibration, as the slash, brimming with terrifying destructive force, hurtled straight toward Garp, who had just staggered to his feet.
"This is..."
"Divine Departure!!!"
Seeing the incoming slash enlarge rapidly in his vision, Garp's eyes widened in horror. He tried to dodge, but it was far too late. All he could do was unleash both Armament and Conqueror's Haki to shield himself.
Even so, he was still a step too slow.
BOOM!
With a deafening blast, red and black clouds of energy exploded, engulfing the battlefield. Garp was swallowed by a wave of deathly pressure and flung backward again at blistering speed.
BOOM BOOM BOOM-
Crash after crash echoed as Garp smashed through several buildings before finally coughing up a mist of blood. He landed amid a rain of rubble, his body skidding across Marineford Plaza.
For a moment, silence fell over the plaza. The watching officers stood frozen, their eyes wide in disbelief, Garp had just been defeated by Elio in a single strike.
Not only the officers below, on the rooftop of Headquarters, Admirals Borsalino and Kuzan also watched in silent shock, unable to contain the cold breath they sucked in.
They had known Elio was hiding his true strength. When his Conqueror's Haki clashed with Garp's, it became clear. But even so, they had underestimated his upper limit.
"Was that... Divine Departure?"
After a stunned pause, Borsalino adjusted his glasses with rare seriousness. "I didn't expect that after all these years, the legendary technique Roger created would reappear in Marine Headquarters."
"That wasn't Roger's Divine Departure."
Kuzan shook his head solemnly. "Back before the Edd War, I followed Mr. Garp to the New World. Roger used Divine Departure while standing still. But Elio performed it mid-movement. And back when Roger was executed, Elio would've only been six or seven years old, there's no way he saw Roger in action, let alone learned swordsmanship from him."
"As impossible as it sounds, that Divine Departure... was Elio's own creation."
But no one was more stunned than Tsuru.
She had been the first to teach Elio swordsmanship during her time as a temporary instructor at the officer training camp. Noticing his incredible talent, she took him under her wing for a while.
Though his progress over the years had astonished her, she still believed herself slightly ahead. But after witnessing that divine strike, she realized Elio had grown into a swordsman far beyond her reach.
Cough cough cough-
Suddenly, a series of violent coughs shattered the silence of the plaza.
Garp slowly sat up, completely ignoring the ghastly wound across his chest. He glared at Elio, who still stood with the blade in hand.
"We agreed on testing Conqueror and Armament Haki. Why the hell did you bring out a sword all of a sudden..."
"Owww..."
Garp cried out mid-sentence, lowering his head to stare at the deep gash across his chest. He groaned, cursing in frustration, "You brat, were you trying to kill me!?"
Seeing his reaction, Elio's mouth twitched slightly. He tossed Kompira back into the scabbard at Tsuru's waist and replied casually, "You're still yelling, so clearly you're not dead."
With that, Elio turned around and walked toward Tsuru. "Let's go. After that fight, I'm even hungrier now~"