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Chapter 78: Sengoku's Resolve
This was a true, inescapable net!
It was the ultimate kill-squad, formed by the Navy's three strongest powers, betting everything!
Anyone caught in it... would only feel despair.
However.
The man wreathed in green steam... once again... let out a deafening, wild laugh!
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Amidst the laughter, the green steam and blue-purple lightning on his body exploded!
He didn't dodge! He didn't retreat!
Instead, he charged head-first into the apocalyptic scene!
His figure instantly became a blurred, green phantom, weaving through the dense network of attacks at a speed that defied all logic!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
He didn't even bother to block the magma fists. He just punched at the air!
The violent fist-wind formed invisible shockwaves, precisely detonating several of the magma fists in mid-air!
Brilliant fireworks of magma exploded. And his figure... strolled through the rain of fire... as if it were a walk in the park!
He easily sidestepped Aokiji's tricky ice spears, and with a back-elbow, shattered another spear that attacked him!
Facing Sengoku's golden palm descending from the sky, he stomped the ground, shot up like a cannonball, and, in the most brutish way, slammed his head straight into the giant hand!
RUMBLE!
The golden shockwave and the green steam clashed again!
Sengoku's golden Buddha form... was actually knocked back slightly by this violent force!
"How is this possible!"
A storm raged in Sengoku's heart!
Garp's power... had gotten stronger! Again!
In the instant he was locked with Sengoku, Akainu had already repositioned and shot out again!
"Die, traitor!"
He roared. His arm, which had just been fractured, was forcibly held together by magma. A "Great Eruption," even more ferocious than before, aimed straight at Garp's back!
"Sakazuki, you're a long way off from doing that!"
Garp laughed wildly, not even looking back!
He twisted his waist, his leg snapping back at an impossible angle!
The leg, wrapped in green steam and lightning, once again slammed into Akainu's magma fist!
Bang!
This time, Akainu didn't even last a second!
His magma fist instantly exploded!
The crushing force traveled up his arm and slammed into his body!
"Pfft!"
Akainu spat a mouthful of blood. His entire body, like a broken kite, was sent flying again. He slammed hard into the distant fortress building, smashing a giant, man-shaped hole in the solid wall, his status unknown.
Dead silence. Again.
Aokiji's cold air stalled.
Sengoku's golden palm froze in mid-air.
They stared blankly at the figure embedded in the wall. Their minds were blank.
Marine Admiral, Akainu Sakazuki...
Defeated?!
And... in such a one-sided, crushing... way!
Garp slowly lowered his leg. The green steam flowed around him, like a god or a demon.
He cracked his neck, pop, and his sharp eyes slowly turned to the pale, horrified faces of Aokiji and Sengoku.
"Bwahahaha!"
"Whoever invented this 'Chakra' thing... it's really useful!"
He grinned, showing his white teeth. His smile... was more like a madman's... than any villain on the battlefield.
"So..."
His figure left an afterimage and vanished.
"Who's next?"
The green steam flowed.
Garp stood on the ruins of the execution platform. The lightning and life energy on his body formed a destructive film of light.
His gaze swept the battlefield.
Akainu Sakazuki... was embedded in the fortress wall, his status unknown.
Aokiji Kuzan... had cold sweat rolling down his temples, his cold air leaking uncontrollably.
And Sengoku.
This golden Buddha, the Marine Fleet Admiral... was silent.
His wise eyes stared at Garp, filled with an extremely complex mix of emotions.
Pain, anger, unwillingness, and... a deep, deep helplessness.
"Garp..."
Sengoku's voice was low, as if forced from his chest.
"Do you really... have to go this far?"
Garp didn't answer.
He just... flexed his wrist, his knuckles popping.
The fighting spirit in his eyes... said more than words ever could.
Sengoku closed his eyes.
A moment later, he opened them.
All the hesitation... was gone.
Only... a pure resolve remained.
"I understand."
He took a deep breath, and his golden body began to shrink.
The Buddha form was released.
Sengoku returned to his normal size. His white Admiral's coat, the symbol of the Navy's highest authority, flapped in the wind.
He raised his hand... and slowly... undid the clasp.
Whoosh
The pure white coat... slid from his shoulders, fluttering down onto the ice.
The moment that coat, with the word "Justice" on its back, hit the ground... the air of the battlefield froze.
Every Marine... stopped breathing.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku... took off his coat?
What does that mean?
Aokiji's pupils shrank.
Whitebeard paused, his sharp eyes locking onto Sengoku.
And Garp.
The wild laugh on his face faded slightly. His eyes... for the first time... showed a rare gravity.
"Sengoku..."
He muttered.
After removing his coat, Sengoku's entire aura changed.
The scholarly, calm demeanor of the strategist... was gone.
In its place... was a primal, ultimate... warrior's... fury and resolve!
He slowly raised his head, his gaze locked on Garp.
"Garp."
His voice... was terrifyingly calm.
"I don't know where you came from."
"And I don't know... what kind of devil's gift... that power of yours is."
He walked toward Garp, step by step, each step making the ice tremble.
"But I... am the Fleet Admiral of the Marines."
"I... carry the justice of the entire Navy, and the entire world, on my shoulders."
His voice grew lower, but heavier.
"No matter who you are."
"No matter how strong you are."
"I... cannot let you... disgrace justice here!"
The moment his last word fell.
BOOM!
A Conqueror's Haki, more terrifying than ever before, exploded from Sengoku!
It wasn't the pressure of a king.
It was... the resolve... of a man... prepared to die!
The air trembled!
The ice cracked!
The clouds were blown away by this will, revealing the blue sky!
Aokiji was forced back, his face filled with shock.
The Whitebeard commanders' faces all changed!
Even Whitebeard himself... looked grave.
"That guy, Sengoku..."
He muttered.
"He's putting his life on the line."