Midair, Luffy's expression changed.
Visibly, his entire arm was rapidly shriveling. It looked like even the bones could be seen.
He frowned, then forcefully shook his arm. It returned to its original state.
Crash.
The wind howled, making Luffy grimace. "I really need something to eat, Gramps."
Gear Fifth, the Nika form, consumed stamina at a terrifying rate. With continuous battles, his body was nearing its limit.
Unlike Garp and the others, who had been taking it easy, Luffy's achievements stood out. A Warlord's ear. An Admiral's arm.
These were solid results from hard-won battles.
"Hah? You think I would agree to such a ridiculous request?"
"Hey, we are allies now, are we not?"
"Stop joking!"
Without looking back, Garp yelled, "A pest is a pest. You are you. Once this thing is dealt with, you brat better prepare yourself to be personally thrown into Impel Down by me!"
Gradually, the Haki aura around him began to condense.
His peak-level Armament Haki was incredibly terrifying.
In the distance, Sengoku's face darkened.
He had been slacking off from the very start. How much had he been holding back?
What was this?
Was he only motivated to fight against the World Government?
But what was that monster?
Back at God Valley, Sengoku had also learned for the first time that the World Government had such beings.
Almost simultaneously, another wild laugh sounded.
"Jihahaha! I have seen this kind of monster before too, in that hellish place!"
Shiki laughed, soaring into the sky, both swords pointing straight at Imu. "Last time, I only saw them from a distance. I never got a chance to cut one down."
At God Valley.
Floating high in the sky, Golden Lion had seen the situation from afar.
Later, he had learned a few details about that battle from Newgate.
A monster that six people working together could not kill?
That was only because he was not there!
"Newgate, you old bastard, do not embarrass yourself. If you cannot do it, just step down."
Whitebeard looked at Golden Lion with a face that practically said "punch me" and said, "It makes no difference whether you are here or not. If you can run now, then run."
Golden Lion laughed. "Do not joke around. Do you think I cannot keep up with the younger generation?"
He looked at the figure landing ahead. "Hey, Straw Hat. You should retreat. This is not a battlefield for a young pirate."
"But, that thing looks like it is coming for me."
Boom, crash.
He landed steadily. The ground was shattered by black-red lightning. A black-red glow flickered around Luffy.
"And seeing a monster like this, I really want to beat it to a pulp too."
"Gurararara. Straw Hat has quite the spirit."
"Heh. Do not expect me to collect your corpses."
"Relax. This old man will lock each of you up in Impel Down."
One remark after another. Garp, Luffy, Whitebeard, and Golden Lion—four of the world's top combatants—completely locked onto Imu from four different directions.
The gloomy sky mirrored Imu's gloomy face.
Imu watched these four figures tearing through the sky. The rage in his eyes could not be contained.
At God Valley, He had been surrounded like this before.
That time, it had been six monsters.
Rocks, Roger, Garp, Whitebeard, Kaido, Big Mom.
And this time, it was four.
Two of them had been there that time too.
Once was not enough? They wanted to do it a second time?
"How dare you!"
Boundless Haki and dark purple flames shot into the sky. The black trident in Imu's hand burst into a darkness that devoured light.
"Stop it, Vice Admiral Garp! That is the government's..."
Garp raised his fist. "Do not tell me. I have already beaten this kind of pest once before."
Golden Lion laughed. "Newgate, step down if you cannot do it. I will take this prey."
Whitebeard turned his head. "Gurararara. What are you talking about? Same rules as always. Whoever gets it, keeps it. Do not let the kid beat you to it."
"Ooooh, I am going first."
Luffy charged ahead. Black-red Haki flickered around him.
The very air was oppressive.
"Gomu Gomu no Hakoku!"
"Genkotsu Shōtotsu!"
"Hakū!"
"Shishi: Sengireya!"
Cataclysmic.
The violently fluctuating scene ahead made the faces of the strong fighters still standing change one by one.
Those were the monsters currently standing at the top of the sea.
Iron Fist Clash falling like a meteor shower. Hakū tearing through the atmosphere. Gomu Gomu no Hakoku annihilating gods and demons. Shishi: Sengireya cutting through everything.
Four of the world's top combatants, challenging the echo of the world, declaring war on a god.
"Hey, is this not a bit much?"
Ivankov felt an inexplicable familiarity with this disturbance.
Back at God Valley, there seemed to have been a similar commotion.
And this thing was still not dead?
Even a monster like Number 46 had been cut down by Luffy in one slash.
There were four monsters with this kind of power here.
But this monster seemed different.
The force, enough to tear apart an island and evaporate an entire sea area, washed over Imu's body.
At the center of the attack.
Imu's body, wrapped in dark purple flames, along with the black trident and the grimoire, was reduced to scattered energy fragments under the impact of these four ultimate, overpowering forces.
The space ahead of the attack seemed to become a chaotic void. Light twisted. Sound vanished. Even the ice was directly vaporized into a bottomless crater.
Crash, crash, crash.
The seawater rushing in from below was suppressed by some force, forming a vacuum zone.
"D-Did we succeed?"
In the distance, Luffy panted heavily.
The next second, that dangerous presence returned.
Terrifying Haki tore through everything. Imu's overwhelming presence overturned the entire sea area. Even the elites and the strong fighters all collapsed. Even the monsters known as Marine Admirals watched ahead with cold sweat running down their faces.
This level of Conqueror's Haki?
Even stronger than an Emperor's!
Even Red-Haired Shanks, currently recognized as having the strongest Haki among the Emperors, probably could not reach this level.
Did the World Government have this kind of combat power?
Then what was the point of the balance of the Four Emperors that had been maintained for so many years?
No... someone noticed. That was the Conqueror's Haki of Luffy and the other four. Imu was simply deflecting it back at them.
"Gurararara. Do not underestimate this thing. Back at God Valley, even with Rocks and Roger, the six of us together could not truly destroy it."
Whitebeard was the first to land, leaning on his blade.
Suddenly, he spat out a mouthful of congealed blood, his face grim as he stared at the gradually fading center of the energy storm.
"Even that did not kill it. It is a monster among monsters."
Luffy also landed, breathing heavily.
Throughout his journey, he had seen many creatures with tenacious vitality.
Take himself, for example.
The Mythical Zoan Nika fruit's ability to get back up was already strong.
Then there was Blackbeard, with his special Paramecia—actually Logia—Yami Yami no Mi. Even though he should have died long ago after taking so many attacks, no one really knew if he was dead or not.
The masked God's Knights member had clearly been out of place.
He had a kind of immortal body, but his strength had not kept up. He could only be cut down by Luffy in one slash.
But what was this monster before them?
The strength of their attacks went without saying. Their attacks had been coated in Conqueror's Haki, even Conqueror's Haki Infusion.
Luffy saw the flickering dark figure before him slowly recovered.
Rapidly healing.
"Just like back then. A nearly immortal monster."
Garp stood at the front.
"Ridiculous."
Golden Lion could not help but complain, floating nearby as he focused his Observation Haki ahead.
Before everyone's eyes, at the center of the explosion, which should have been empty, tiny dark purple flames ignited out of nowhere and quickly gathered.
The air seemed to be kneaded by an invisible hand. A blurry, flickering dark figure was rapidly reforming.
It had recovered again.
"Do not let its attacks hit you directly, Whitebeard."
Garp spoke. "Otherwise, things worse than death will happen. You understand what I mean, right?"
Whitebeard was silent for a moment. His expression grew even darker.
Would he become like Rocks back then?
He remembered Rocks's final, crazed monster form.
He had thought at the time that Rocks's ambition had swollen, that he saw even his crewmates as obstacles.
After all, the Rocks Pirates, in a way, was that kind of pirate crew.
Whitebeard had also had nowhere else to go. He had just hung around Rocks for a few drinks.
Now he realized, that had been a vicious curse.
"It seems you understand."
Garp exhaled.
"You have encountered this kind of unkillable monster before, Gramps? Then there must be a way to deal with it."
Luffy never believed there was anything that could not be killed.
If there was, he would just kill it again.
After a moment of silence, Garp said, "Luffy, you brat, leave now. I am letting you off this once."
"Hah?"
"Your body is about to give out, is it not?"
He had fought through the entire battle. Even though Luffy was still maintaining the Nika form, his body was like a leaky balloon, full of holes.
And this monster was clearly targeting Luffy.
Garp did not know the specific reason.
Luffy laughed. "Do not be ridiculous. How could I..."
Before he could finish speaking, a red dot suddenly flickered in his eyes. It spun like a spiral, whirling wildly, making him look at Garp in surprise.
"Gramps, you..."
Luffy tried to move, but the pain in his body spread uncontrollably.
He could not help but fall to one knee.
He had seen it.
But.
Thud.
A wave of force exploded from beneath Garp's feet. Like a cannonball, he shot straight toward Luffy. With one punch, he sent Luffy flying.
His target was the Whitebeard Pirates' Moby Dick.
"Heh. You could not let go after all, Garp."
Whitebeard laughed. "As expected, you are the most likeable Marine."
Garp did not dare to look at Sengoku. He stared at Imu. "Dying to a monster and dying to a Marine are two different things."
Bang!
Luffy's body streaked across the sky, leaving a blur. He flew rapidly over the battlefield.
For a moment, the entire ice plain battlefield fell into an eerie silence.
In truth, there were not many people left standing.
Aside from the Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals, only the Warlords and the emotionless Pacifistas remained.
This war was a nightmare for anyone weak-willed or timid.
Every so often, terrifying Conqueror's Haki would erupt.
Many people had not even woken up from one Conqueror's Haki shock before the next hit.
But this scene still shocked those present.
"Luffy-sama!" Hancock bit her finger and headed straight for the Moby Dick.
Even if it was Luffy's grandfather... at least do not hit him so hard!
"How interesting. Does the Marine Hero also believe he cannot win against that enemy?"
Crocodile, a cigar in his mouth, looked grim.
Doflamingo grinned, laughing quietly. "After all, he knows what he is facing."
He was facing the world itself.
Hawkeye stood alone on a floating chunk of ice, Yoru in hand.
His gaze briefly lingered on Garp and Luffy, then returned to the chaotic energy center ahead.
A rare flicker of gravity appeared in the eyes of the World's Strongest Swordsman.
Very strong. And not just strong in the ordinary sense.
Even he could not survive an attack of that level.
To survive it... could no longer be described as simply a monster.
On the Marines' side, only the elite Vice Admirals and the three Admirals remained conscious.
"Vice Admiral Garp, do you know what you are doing?!" Veins bulged on Akainu's forehead.
The Marine Hero was helping a pirate escape?
Unforgivable.
Especially since that bastard had cut off his own arm. If Luffy just ran away like that, where would his pride go?
"Arara. This is troublesome."
Kizaru curled his lip. "But what should we do now, Sengoku?"
Even the Admirals seemed uncertain.
The successive events had been enough to shatter an elite Marine soldier's faith.
For those who knew more, the closer they got to the truth, the more terrifying it became.
Like Kuzan, who had been silent from the start, ice crystals slowly spinning around him.
His gaze fell on Garp's tall but slightly lonely back, then toward the distant Moby Dick. In the end, he said nothing.
"Damn it."
Watching Garp face off against that monster, Sengoku gritted his teeth. "The war is not over. The pirates and prisoners cannot leave here."
Whatever happened, that was his only remaining bottom line.
Let Garp do what he wanted.
At worst, Garp would lose his title of Marine Hero. He would go down with him and lose his title of Fleet Admiral.
At the center of the battlefield, Garp ignored the discussions and looks behind him.
He stared at Imu and slowly spoke.
"Alright, pest. Now it is our turn."
...
On the Moby Dick.
"What a decisive punch. I have got it!"
Ivankov screamed, jumping up. His huge head shot forward. His entire body, like a spring, catapulted into the air. He reached out and caught Luffy.
Bang!
The tremendous impact force made Ivankov slide several meters on the deck before he could barely steady himself.
He looked down at Luffy in his arms and gasped.
"Hey, Straw Hat Boy! Are you alright?" Ivankov shouted.
Luffy's condition was terrible. Gear Fifth, the Nika form, had canceled automatically. His once white, swollen body had deflated like a leaky balloon. His skin had an unhealthy grayish-white tone and was covered in fine cracks.
His cheeks were sunken. His eyes were deep-set. His lips were cracked. He looked like he had aged dozens of years. His breathing was weak and rapid.
"Cough, cough..."
Luffy coughed weakly.
His eyes were still looking toward the sky ahead.
"What a decisive punch." Ivankov muttered.
But he had to admit, Garp's decision had been correct.
In his current state, Luffy could not even dodge a punch from Garp that had not been thrown with full force. His body had clearly deteriorated to the point of collapse.
Or rather, after a series of battles with Blackbeard, Akainu, Hawkeye, the God's Knights, and even Imu, the fact that he could still stand and throw such an earth-shattering attack was already a miracle.
"Straw Hat Boy, that is a battlefield you cannot participate in anymore, in your current state." Ivankov's expression was grave.
"At least not right now." Luffy's voice was hoarse.
He was well aware of his own condition.
He had maintained Gear Fifth for so long. His body had already been near the breaking point.
He did not have enough stamina.
It had seemed like a long time, but in reality, only a few hours had passed in a single day.
The Pirate King Training Plan was considerate enough to keep him in combat training mode. At least he did not have to worry about that.
The Whitebeard Pirates' commanders quickly gathered around.
"Straw Hat, are you alright?!"
Marco rushed forward first, crouching down to check Luffy's condition.
As the Whitebeard Pirates' ship's doctor, he immediately saw how serious the problem was.
Luffy's body had become withered, like an old man who had aged decades. If you did not know better, you would think he was the same age as Pops.
Even Marco, with his healing flames, found the situation extremely difficult.
"Is there any food?" Luffy asked weakly.
"Food?" Marco was taken aback.
"Yes. Our Moby Dick is stocked with a lot of food."
Diamond Jozu said in a deep voice. "Enough to feed several hundred people for a month."
"Give me food," Luffy repeated.
"We should treat you first!" Marco said urgently.
Luffy's injuries were far more severe than Ace's.
Blue-green regeneration flames danced in his hands. He tried to cover Luffy's wounds, but Luffy gently pushed them aside.
"Marco, do as Luffy says. Get the food." Ace's voice came from nearby.
Ace had been unconscious for some time and had only just woken up.
Holding his chest, he staggered over.
His chest was covered in dense burn scars from Akainu's magma. It looked quite serious. But compared to Luffy, he was in decent shape.
"No one knows Luffy better than I do. His abnormal vitality and recovery have nothing to do with medicine. He just needs food to recover." Ace said.
Ace knew Luffy too well.
He was trying to eat a lot so he could force his body back into that fight.
"Luffy, you cannot go back," Ace said seriously.
"But Gramps and your Pops are still there."
Luffy struggled to sit up. With one sentence, he silenced all of Ace's arguments.
Ace was quiet.
***
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