"Little girl, that lightning attack from earlier hurt like hell!!"
The gigantic Bullet threw a punch straight at the Sunny.
Seeing this, Yamato immediately swung her kanabo and leaped forward to intercept him.
"Raimei Hakke — Eight Trigrams Thunder!"
Conqueror's Haki wrapped around the strike.
Boom!!
The fist and the kanabo collided in midair, and the deafening explosion sounded like thunder itself.
Bullet was secretly shocked inside the blue giant.
She was a user of Haoshoku?!
Even he did not possess the ability to coat attacks with that power!
In his memory, the last woman capable of using such a technique was Big Mom, one of the Four Emperors.
And the horned woman before him was the second!
"Seriously... that Straw Hat woman..."
Zephyr had been about to move, but upon seeing that scene, he could not help but laugh.
He had to admit that the boy was not shallow... or perhaps he was simply far too popular with women.
It was not enough that all the women around him were beautiful—their strength was also absurdly high.
As an old man, Zephyr could only feel that the youth of this era were truly incredible.
His gaze sharpened, and his figure shot forward like lightning.
As he approached the blue giant, he looked as small as an ant before the opponent's massive body.
Bang!
The crusher installed on his right arm, coated in powerful Armament Haki, violently smashed into the giant's left leg.
Boom!
With a single strike, the impact pierced straight through the leg.
The blue giant lost its balance and immediately fell into disadvantage against Yamato.
In the next instant, Yamato ran along the monster's enormous arm toward its head. Her kanabo was covered in black and red lightning.
"You are not allowed to destroy the ship! How am I supposed to explain it to Luffy if you wreck it?!"
Her kanabo slammed into the giant's face, and with a thunderous crash, the entire front of its head cracked apart and collapsed.
"What... this guy...?"
Blackbeard's face went blank with shock.
"Now is the time to lose focus?"
From afar, Garp grinned, and his figure vanished in an instant.
His Rokushiki was many times greater than that of ordinary people.
His speed was so absurd that Blackbeard could not even react.
"The Dark Fruit... when I was investigating the Rubber Fruit, I saw this ability once! A power this dangerous... I cannot allow you to wreak havoc in the New World!"
Garp grabbed Blackbeard's face with one hand.
His body spun violently, and then the old hero hurled him straight into the ground.
"Seabed Fist!"
A strike coated in Conqueror's Haki.
Blackbeard could not resist. His entire body was smashed into the earth, opening a deep, bottomless crater.
"Captain!?"
Lafitte was horrified.
This was Garp?!
Nearly the same age as Whitebeard, yet he still possessed such terrifying oppressive power?
If this had been during his prime, no one would have even dared imagine it!
Just as Garp was crushing Blackbeard...
Onigashima.
When one of the Five Elders died, the morale of the Marines collapsed.
Fujitora, who had assumed supreme command, immediately ordered a full retreat.
It was not a wise choice to continue fighting against two Yonko and so many monstrous subordinates under them.
Vice Admiral Tsuru, who was observing the battlefield from afar, also gave the order to withdraw.
The objective of the operation could no longer be achieved.
The first, second, and third objectives had all failed completely.
As supreme commander of this campaign, Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro had taken responsibility for the defeat with his own life.
"Retreat!"
Tsuru watched the battle on the distant island through binoculars.
The great golden Buddha was still blocking Straw Hat.
"Sengoku... will you be able to come back alive?"
She thought worriedly.
She could not help but hope that Luffy, out of respect for Garp, might show some mercy.
But remembering that Straw Hat had killed Ryokugyu without hesitation, that thought felt far too naïve.
At the same time that the Admiral and Headquarters ordered retreat, all Marines began withdrawing rapidly.
But Charlotte Linlin clearly had no intention of letting them escape.
"Chase them down!"
Charlotte Linlin sneered.
"Zeus! Prometheus! Napoleon!"
In the next instant, a white cloud appeared before her.
Big Mom leaped onto Zeus, while flames engulfed her hair, turning it into a blazing mane.
The pirate hat on her head transformed into a living saber.
Her target was the fleet surrounding the island.
If the warships were destroyed, no one would escape.
"Mamamamama!! Use the lives of those tens of thousands of Marines to show the whole world what happens to anyone who invades my territory!!"
At the same time...
Ruins of the Skeleton Castle.
The great golden Buddha still stood before Luffy.
At that moment, Sengoku noticed Big Mom's movement and immediately shouted:
"Kizaru, go!"
"Then I'll leave this to you, Mr. Sengoku."
Kizaru could hardly wait to leave.
This time, while trying to save Nusjuro and a Holy Knight, one of his legs had been injured by Luffy, and he needed time to recover.
Worst of all, he had failed to save anyone.
That left him deeply embarrassed.
"Farewell, Monkey D. Luffy... and Monkey D. Dragon."
Before leaving, Kizaru bid the two of them goodbye in an unexpectedly serious tone.
Right after that, his body shone and transformed into a golden beam, instantly shooting toward Big Mom.
Luffy watched him leave.
"What the hell is wrong with that guy?"
He could not help but feel confused.
Kizaru was extremely serious whenever it came to rescuing people.
But in battle, he always seemed relaxed, as if he were saying—
Luffy shook his head.
"Forget it. I'm not interested in talking to Kizaru."
It was truly difficult to deal with a user of the Pika Pika no Mi.
If he wanted to flee, the only way was to stop him beforehand.
Even Luffy could not do that easily.
Looking at the golden Buddha before him, Luffy sighed.
"Why try so hard? You've already retired, and you're still on the front lines?"
"This is for justice!"
Sengoku spoke seriously, staring at the white dragon-man before him.
"Justice reigns supreme!"
"Is that so?" Luffy smiled faintly.
As someone awakened in Conqueror's Haki, Sengoku also possessed an iron will.
"My grandfather was looked after by you for a long time... and I caused you a lot of trouble too. Sorry."
Luffy spoke calmly.
"After saying all that... what exactly are you trying to say?" Sengoku asked.
"Come join the Neo Marines."
Luffy raised his right fist and struck with all his strength, punching the air itself.
Boom!!
In an instant, Onigashima was shattered!
The vibrational force spread toward the fleet, and monstrous waves suddenly rose across the sea.
(End of Chapter)