Bang!
Shhh—shhh—shhh…
Even though Garp twisted his massive body and pushed himself to the limit to dodge, the giant's terrifying Elbaf's Spear: Hakoku still clipped his flank. The strike—hundreds of times more fearsome than Roger's Divine Departure—tore open his mighty body in an instant.
Blood rained down upon the sea, dyeing the waters crimson.
"Old man Garp!!"
"Vice Admiral Garp!!"
From the island, Sabo and Aokiji shouted in alarm when they saw it.
The two of them charged for the shore like madmen. Reaching it in a heartbeat, they didn't waste a single word—both attacked at once.
Sabo, the stronger of the two in close combat, took the lead. Dark energy surged from him, locking down the giant's movements. With every ounce of his strength, he unleashed a perfected Dragon Claw Fist straight for the giant's chest.
His arm turned pitch-black—sparks of violet-black lightning crackled violently from it. It was Conqueror's Haki coating, something he had never understood before, but now, in the heat of the moment, it erupted naturally.
Aokiji's eyes flickered with shock, but he didn't hesitate. Planting his hands into the beach, he let out a deep shout:
"Ice Age!"
Crack… crackle… craaack!
Cold surged from his arms and palms, freezing the sand and racing toward the giant.
The giant, having just spent enormous energy on his "Hakoku" and lost the use of one arm, couldn't react in time to the combined assault.
The sand and seawater beneath his feet froze instantly. He couldn't feel the cold or pain, but the ice bound his movements.
Seeing Sabo closing in, the giant reflexively raised his massive sword to block. Boom! The blade caught the Conqueror's-coated strike.
This time, Sabo wasn't knocked away—the blackened dragon claw held firm against the giant sword.
"You bastard… to do that to the old man…"
Sabo's star-like eyes were tinged with blood. His teeth clenched. "I will never—ever—forgive you…"
With his roar, the hardened dragon claw flashed even more violently with purple lightning.
Zzzzztttt!
Through the screech of energy, faint cracking sounds rang out—the giant's sword was fracturing under the strain.
"Brat, if you just die obediently, I promise to spare everyone else!"
The giant grinned despite the pressure. He felt the weapon giving way. He didn't fear pain or even death—but a meaningless death would contribute nothing to the organization. He was a war machine without pain, but not without thought.
"Don't listen to him!"
Below, Aokiji shouted when he saw hesitation flicker in Sabo's eyes. If Sabo faltered now, the entire island might be slaughtered.
"Idiot, like I'd believe that for a second! You think I became Chief-of-Staff through connections?"
Jolted by Aokiji's words, Sabo snapped back with a sarcastic quip—though clearly, no one here appreciated his humor.
And with that, the Conqueror's Haki on his claws didn't fade—it surged even higher.
Under the violent energy, the giant sword was as fragile as glass.
Crack!
With a sharp report, the weapon shattered. The unleashed power roared forward, driving toward the giant's heart.
For an instant, both the giant and Aokiji seemed to see a phantom black dragon claw, wreathed in purple lightning, its razor tips plunging straight through the giant's pectoral muscle.
Splaaash!
Blood—bright as fresh paint—erupted outward.
"Worm! Damn you!!"
The absence of pain didn't mean the absence of rage. Seeing his chest torn open, the giant's fury exploded.
He—a vice-captain of the Ancient Gigant Soldier Corps—had been torn apart by an insect. It was humiliation, a stain on his career.
Snarling through the injury, the giant swung his fist, wrapped in wild energy, toward the tiny figure before him.
"Die, you crawling pest!!" Bloodlight blazed in his eyes.
The giant, bleeding freely, had gone berserk. Up above, Sabo's movements slowed—his body taxed from overusing his abilities. In his state, dodging was almost impossible.
But he wouldn't just wait to die. Relaxing his body, he let gravity pull him into a freefall.
"Freeze!"
On the ground, Aokiji's heart pounded. In a flash of inspiration, his gaze locked onto the giant's gushing wound. It was a reckless idea—but he acted without hesitation.
The blood pooling on the ice instantly froze into crimson crystals.
As the blood froze, the cold raced upward, carried along the spilled fluid. Under Aokiji's fine control, the half-formed crystals in midair flattened into an ice plane—channeling the blood along it, straight toward the giant's arm.
Layer upon layer, red ice piled up into a spear that grew rapidly in size.
The technique was consuming both his stamina and concentration at a terrifying rate—it was nothing like his usual attacks. But with Sabo's life at stake, he had no choice but to endure it.
Though it seemed long, the whole sequence happened in seconds. The blood-red ice spear slammed into the giant's arm.
Pshhh!
Ice—when sharpened—could be deadlier than any blade. The spike pierced through the giant's arm instantly.
With a crack, the crystal shattered—severing his tendon completely.
Worse still, the frozen blood at his abdomen broke apart from the impact, and the jagged, needle-sharp shards stabbed deep into his gut.
The giant—hit hard in both arm and abdomen—finally buckled, crashing to his knees with a thunderous rumble.
From start to finish, the entire complex assault had taken barely half a minute. Fueled by rage, the two had brought the giant down. Aokiji caught Sabo as he fell.
"Damn it… damn you, ants!"
Kneeling, blood streaming from mouth, chest, and belly, the giant still radiated menace. His enormous blood-red eyes glared like a predator's as he slowly—steadily—rose again.
Bang!
Whoosh!!
Suddenly, with a loud impact and a blast of wind, Garp appeared—one wing torn and lined with cracks. His two hooked hind claws sank into the giant's back, ripping open a pair of massive wounds.
The giant crashed to the ice, shattering the frozen crimson crystals on his chest.
Through the torn flesh, black, metallic-looking bone gleamed—blood poured out like a burst dam. Where it touched the ice, it instantly became vivid, ruby-like frost.
"Old man!"
Seeing Garp alive, Sabo's eyes glistened. Then he glanced at the still-breathing giant and scowled. "Tch… what a pain—he's still not dead?!"
"Looks like we'll have to destroy the head."
A flicker of joy passed through Aokiji's eyes, quickly replaced by grim resolve.
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