"Garp-san!" Kuzan shouted, his voice laced with panic. "Aren't you going to dodge?!"
Kuzan slammed his palms together.
A massive, thick wall of ice erupted from the ground in front of him, absorbing the barrage of missiles and high-energy laser beams. Explosions rocked the shield, sending shards of ice flying like shrapnel.
But Garp didn't build a wall. He didn't even move his feet.
He stood in the center of the kill zone, arms crossed over his chest, a bold, manic smile plastered on his face.
"Dodge?" Garp laughed, the sound booming over the explosions. "Bwahahaha! These attacks can't threaten me yet, brat!"
As he spoke, the air around Garp began to warp.
A terrifying, invisible pressure began to leak out, though Garp wasn't even trying to use it fully.
The sheer density of his Armament Haki coating his body acted like an invisible suit of armor.
PING! PING! BOOM!
Lasers struck his chest and dissipated like water hitting a hot pan.
Missiles exploded against his shoulders, leaving nothing but soot on his white suit.
However, the enemies surrounding them were not human. They were emotionless mechanical creatures.
They felt no fear.
They sensed the rising power of the Marine Hero, but their programming overrode any survival instinct.
"Extermination mode active," the robots droned.
Under Vegapunk's remote command, the mechanical beasts rushed forward madly. Their hydraulic joints hissed.
They opened their bloody, metallic maws, revealing rows of spinning saws and grinders.
"Just a bunch of lifeless toys," Garp grunted, unimpressed.
He unclenched his arms. His fists turned a deep, glossy black.
"Let me show you, Kuzan," Garp roared, "the Armament Haki I tempered after destroying eight mountains with my bare hands!"
The Haki on Garp's hands grew brilliant, almost emitting a dark red lightning.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
The jet-black iron fist collided with the lead mechanical tiger.
What should have been a formidable body of reinforced titanium alloy crumpled like wet cardboard.
The shockwave of the punch traveled through the robot's body, shattering every gear and piston instantly.
Sizzle—
Garp pulled his right hand out of the mechanical creature's chest. He held a sparking bundle of wires and a crushed energy core.
"Hahahahaha!" Garp laughed heartily, tossing the scrap metal aside. "It seems these steel toys still aren't as tough as my tempered fists! They need more reinforcement!"
...
Deep beneath the earth, in a room illuminated by hundreds of screens, Dr. Vegapunk watched the scene with wide eyes.
"Fascinating..." Vegapunk whispered, adjusting his goggles.
It must be said, Vegapunk rarely took the initiative to engage with the world's strongest fighters. He preferred data to duels.
This was the first time he had witnessed someone who had honed their Armament Haki to such an extraordinary, physics-defying level. Garp wasn't just strong; he was a biological anomaly.
"His skin density... his muscle fiber recruitment... it defies standard biology," Vegapunk muttered, typing furiously on a console.
In the current world, Garp's mastery of Armament Haki was arguably second to none.
"If only I could obtain some of his Lineage Factor..."
Vegapunk stared at Garp on the screen.
"Perhaps," Vegapunk mused, tapping his chin, "the humanoid war machines I conceptualized earlier... could draw inspiration from such formidable individuals."
If he could clone that strength... if he could replicate that durability...
"No, focus," Vegapunk scolded himself. "The immediate priority is to assess the Marine's strength. Let's see how the Logia user handles the swarm."
Vegapunk typed a command, redirecting the remaining units.
...
"Garp-san!" Kuzan shouted, blasting a robot with a wave of frost. "Shouldn't we hurry and capture Vegapunk? What if he's already starting to flee while we fight his toys?"
After dodging the first wave of attacks, Kuzan had adapted.
His Observation Haki combined with his fluid, elemental combat style allowed him to dance through the chaos.
"Ice Age!"
Kuzan leaped into the air. He spread his hands wide, releasing an intense burst of white mist toward a cluster of seven mechanical bears.
CRACK-SNAP.
The near-absolute-zero cold froze the humidity in the air instantly. The frost bypassed the armor, seeping into the joints. Circuits snapped.
Hydraulic fluid froze and expanded, bursting the pipes.
One by one, the mechanical creatures stiffened mid-charge. They toppled over, reduced to nothing more than statues of scrap metal.
"All clear," Kuzan panted, landing gracefully.
He looked over at Garp.
The Vice Admiral was squatting over the remains of a robot, poking at it with a stick.
"Hey, Kuzan," Garp said, looking fascinated. "Look at this. How does he fit a missile launcher in a space this small? It's amazing."
"Garp-san!" Kuzan groaned. "Focus!"
"Ah, sorry, sorry!" Garp stood up, scratching his head guiltily. "I got carried away and forgot about everything else. You're right—if we keep playing around, the old men at Headquarters will yell at me."
Garp tossed the robot part away. His expression turned serious.
"But you know," Garp said, looking at the wreckage. "Vegapunk truly lives up to his reputation. Just looking at these things... it's clear he's at least 500 years ahead of the scientists in the Marines."
"Our guys are still figuring out better cannons," Garp scoffed. "This guy is building armies."
A sense of urgency finally rose within Garp.
"If Vegapunk can create machines like this," Garp thought, "then designing an ultra-fast ship to catch Roger would be child's play for him."
Garp's eyes lit up.
He needed that ship.
He needed to catch that bastard!
"Alright!" Garp shouted. "I'm tired of walking. Let's take the shortcut."
"Shortcut?" Kuzan blinked. "What shortcut? We don't know where the entrance is."
Garp grinned. He raised his fist high into the air. The Haki condensed until his fist looked like a black meteor.
"The entrance is wherever I say it is!"
"Giant Impact!"
BOOM!
Garp slammed his fist straight down into the dirt.
The impact didn't just break the surface. It sent shockwaves rippling deep into the earth's crust.
CRACK... CRACK...
From the center of Garp's fist, layers of spiderweb-like fissures rapidly spread outward, tearing the forest floor apart. Trees toppled over.
RUMBLE...
From beneath their feet came the sound of something shattering—metal, concrete, and rock.
"Garp-san!" Kuzan yelled, losing his balance. "What is that sound—"
Before Kuzan could finish, the ground vanished.
The earth beneath them dissolved into dust. A massive sinkhole, hundreds of meters wide, opened up like a hungry mouth.
"Falling!" Kuzan screamed.
"Bwahahaha!" Garp laughed as they plummeted into the darkness.
"Garp-san! You crazy old man!"
Kuzan reacted on instinct. He leaped toward Garp in mid-air.
"Ice Capsule!"
Kuzan spread his arms, firing vast amounts of ice to create a massive, thick cocoon that enveloped both of them, protecting them from the falling debris.
BOOM!
The ice cocoon slammed into the floor of the underground facility. The shockwave triggered violent tremors across the entire island. It felt like a magnitude-7 earthquake.
Inside the base, lights flickered. Alarms blared.
HISS...
The ice cocoon melted away. Garp stepped out, dusting off his suit. Kuzan stumbled out behind him, looking pale.
"Garp-san..." Kuzan looked around. "Where is this place?"
They were standing in a wide, metallic corridor. The ceiling above them was a jagged hole revealing the sky.
Garp patted Kuzan's shoulder.
"This is Vegapunk's underground research base," Garp explained casually. "I sensed the vibrations of machinery under our feet earlier."
"Rather than searching for a hidden door like a thief," Garp grinned, "it was simpler to knock on the roof."
Seeing Garp's relaxed expression amidst the destruction, Kuzan's annoyance faded, replaced by awe.
"Garp-san..." Kuzan whispered. "That move was incredibly cool! You must teach it to me!"
Garp chuckled heartily. "I'll teach you when we return to Headquarters. But for now..."
Garp pointed to the ceiling, where massive rocks were still loosening.
"We should leave this area quickly. I might have used slightly excessive force."
Garp and Kuzan hastily moved away from their entry point, advancing deeper into the base.