"Full speed ahead, Bogard! Don't let that guy get away again!" Garp shouted.
Bogard obeyed immediately, and the battleship sped up once more, cutting across the sea and rapidly closing the distance with the Oro Jackson.
The gap between the two ships shrank at a visible speed.
"Is he insane? Bringing a bunch of Marine recruits to fight us?"
Rayleigh, his short golden hair shining in the sunlight, looked at the young faces on the battleship and spoke in surprise.
"Hahaha! You and I both know Garp, don't we? He is exactly that kind of man! Even if he were alone, he'd still chase us across the world."
Roger let out a hearty laugh. His sharp eyes locked onto the rapidly approaching battleship, and his right hand moved to the hilt of the blade at his waist.
"Every time I run into that guy, my blood starts boiling!"
A gleam of battle intent flashed in his eyes as his presence grew stronger by the second.
Silvers Rayleigh slowly drew the sword at his hip, narrowing his gaze.
Behind him, Gaban, Seagull, Sunbell, and the others also drew their weapons in unison.
Douglas Bullet stared at the approaching figure. Hesitation flickered in his eyes, but ultimately, he clenched his fists tightly.
"Roger... You're suffering from a deadly illness. Can you still fight that man?"
The sea wind suddenly picked up, sweeping across the deck and blowing through everyone's hair. Moments later, the dog-headed battleship was four to five hundred meters away.
For ordinary ships and cannons, this was beyond the typical firing range.
But for the strongest individuals in the world... four to five hundred meters meant nothing. It was but an instant.
And then...
Buzz!
Roger drew his longsword in an instant. His aura exploded outward like a storm, surging toward the battleship ahead.
The air itself seemed to spark with black lightning.
Just a moment ago, the sun was warm and the sea was calm. Now, an overwhelming aura of crushing pressure and suffocating dominance filled the atmosphere.
This overwhelming aura swept across the sea like a hurricane or thunder, reaching the battleship in an instant.
"Hahahahaha!"
Garp burst out laughing and ripped off the white Justice cloak behind him. The black shirt beneath was stretched to its limits by his bulging muscles.
"Haoshoku! Again with the Haoshoku!"
Behind him, Sakazuki clenched his teeth, feeling equal parts anger and fear. He didn't know if he could withstand such overwhelming, violent willpower.
The other Marine officers on deck were pale and trembling.
Then, suddenly...
The air around them froze.
An aura no weaker than Roger's surged upward and radiated forward with unstoppable brilliance.
Buzz!
The two auras collided, and streaks of lightning rippled through the air. The sky and sea seemed to split into two halves.
Sakazuki stared in shock at the figure standing on the bow wearing a white Marine cloak.
"Kōjin!"
Kuzan grinned as he drew his military sword.
Standing to Garp's left, the black-haired youth radiated overwhelming, awe-inspiring dominance, his eyes blazing with light.
"This guy's spirit...he can actually match a world-class pirate." Sakazuki clenched his fists in disbelief.
The pirates aboard the Oro Jackson were also shocked by this unexpected display.
"Hahahaha! It seems our opponents aren't people we can take lightly!" Roger laughed heartily.
None of them had ever seen the black-haired youth on the Marine battleship's bow before. The ships continued moving forward. In the blink of an eye, the distance shrank to three hundred meters.
Suddenly, Garp leapt high into the air.
Kōjin looked up and saw Garp soaring upward at an astonishing speed, his silhouette outlined against the sun.
"How many times have we fought now, Garp!?"
Almost immediately, another figure rose into the sky, accompanied by a booming laugh, closing the distance with Garp rapidly.
"Who knows!?"
"There's no point in counting such things!"
Garp laughed.
The two men seemed suspended in midair, nearly three hundred meters above the sea. Everyone on both ships looked up.
Then, in the next second...
Garp threw a punch and Roger swung his longsword.
Lightning filled the sky.
Dense arcs of lightning burst outward with terrifying momentum, and a violent gale swept across the sea below.
"Fist Bone... Clash!"
"Kamusari (Divine Departure)!"
Despite being more than ten meters apart, the two launched their attacks without hesitation.
Fist and blade collided. Black-red and golden lightning exploded outward, blindingly bright. A formless pressure froze the air above them, spreading its oppressive presence in all directions.
For a moment, it felt as if everything in the world had stopped.
Two or three seconds of absolute stillness passed.
Bang!
A deafening shockwave finally erupted. Invisible ripples spread through the sky, and the warped space refracted sunlight into seven colors. The violent winds and overwhelming pressure made every onlooker's heart pound uncontrollably.
Kōjin looked up. Through the blinding light, he realized that Garp had returned to his side without his noticing.
At the same time, Roger landed on the bow of the Oro Jackson again.
"Roger, your stroke today lacks the edge it used to have!" Garp shouted.
Having fought him countless times, Garp immediately sensed that something was wrong with Roger's attack.
"Hahahaha!" Roger laughed without answering.
Then he turned and nodded to his crew.
"Let's go. We don't have time to waste on this madman."
Rayleigh nodded as well.
After a quick glance at the Marine battleship behind them, the other crew members moved swiftly.
Only Bullet stood still, fists clenched and eyes locked on Roger.
"Are you still the strongest in the world?"
"Roger..."
But he couldn't bring himself to say the words aloud.
"What's wrong, Bullet?" Roger sensed something was wrong and turned back with a smile.
"... Nothing."
Bullet released his fists and replied in a low voice. Roger chuckled softly, then looked at the two youngsters nearby.
"Buggy, Shanks. Quit staring. Go help Rayleigh."
"Yes, Captain!" The two shouted in unison.
The Oro Jackson suddenly accelerated to its limit, shooting forward like an arrow released from a bowstring.
"They're running! After them! Bogard!" Garp roared the moment he saw the ship speeding away.
He grabbed several cannonballs beside him and began hurling them forward with both hands.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Shell after shell tore through the sky, forming a rain of cannon fire. They traveled much faster than any conventional cannon, covering the air above the Oro Jackson.
Roger drew his blade and laughed as he effortlessly cut through the incoming shells.
Rayleigh, Bullet, and the others moved to intercept as well.
"Even alone, Garp is a nightmare to deal with."
Gaban sighed.
No one disagreed. Having fought him so many times, they knew exactly how relentless the man behind them was.
"Kōjin, you too! We absolutely cannot let Roger escape!" Garp shouted.
Kōjin blinked in surprise, then responded immediately.
"Yes, sir!"
He grabbed a cannon shell as Garp had shown him and hurled it forward.
The shell shot out, but significantly slower than Garp's had.
"No, you need to use your strength like this!" Garp corrected him on the spot.
Moments later, Kōjin finally got the hang of it. His next throw sent a shell exploding in the air above Roger.
"That young kid… he's not one to underestimate." Roger remarked with admiration.
(End Of This Chapter)
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