Amid all the chaos and destruction, Garp's fighting style could not have been more different.
There were no flashy techniques.
No bizarre Devil Fruit powers.
Nothing elaborate at all.
Garp relied on the one thing he had honed throughout his entire life—
pure, overwhelming Haki.
Decades of relentless training and countless battles had refined his Armament Haki to an extraordinary degree, and now every ounce of it gathered around his enormous fist.
The fist turned pitch-black.
So dark that it seemed to swallow the surrounding light.
Beneath that hardened surface lay physical power of the most violent kind, compressed into a single blow and ready to erupt.
"YOU'RE NOT LEAVING WITHOUT A PARTING GIFT!"
Garp came hurtling down from above like a meteor.
His fist rose high.
Then all of his fury and top-tier Haki came crashing toward the center of Kaido's massive Azure Dragon back.
"GALAXY IMPACT!"
The punch was fast.
So fast that following its trajectory with the naked eye was nearly impossible.
Brutal.
Not a single ounce of force was held back.
And precise.
Garp's fist was aimed directly at the center of Kaido's spine.
The air exploded ahead of it.
BOOM!
A white sonic cloud burst into existence around Garp's fist before immediately being torn apart by the shock wave.
Even the space around the attack seemed to distort beneath its sheer force.
Kaido and Bullet sensed the danger behind them at the same instant.
Kaido's enormous eyes snapped backward.
And there—
he saw Garp descending like a god of war.
That blackened fist looked powerful enough to smash through anything in its path.
Kaido's pupils contracted.
"GARP!!"
Surprise and fury mixed in his roar.
He immediately tried to evade.
"You old bastard! You're already past your prime too!"
But Garp was too fast.
And the attack had come too suddenly.
There was no time.
BOOOOOOM!!!
Garp's fist slammed squarely into the center of Kaido's back.
No tricks.
No elaborate ability.
Just a fist.
And monstrous power.
CRACK!
The sickening sound of bone breaking rang through the air.
"GAAH—!"
Kaido coughed up a huge mouthful of scorching dragon blood.
The blood splashed into the sea below, staining the waves crimson.
His enormous body buckled under the impact.
It was as though a speeding Sea Train had crashed directly into his spine.
A pained roar escaped Kaido as the punch drove his gigantic dragon body violently downward.
For one terrifying moment, he nearly plunged straight into the ocean.
Bullet, still standing on Kaido's back, stumbled from the sudden impact and almost went flying before managing to stabilize himself.
Garp's furious opening blow was devastating.
"YOU OLD BASTARD!!!"
Kaido finally managed to steady himself.
Agonizing pain burned through his back.
His rage instantly exploded.
Bloodshot eyes locked onto Garp, who remained in the air above him.
The fury inside them was almost tangible.
He had thought he could simply leave?
Not anymore.
If Kaido wanted out of Marineford, he would first have to get past the Hero of the Marines.
Garp's return transformed a battle that had already seemed close to ending.
The storm had begun all over again.
"Garp!"
Sengoku's grim expression immediately brightened at the sight of that familiar figure—and the earth-shattering punch he had just delivered.
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Sengoku saw a genuine opportunity to turn the situation around.
"HAHAHAHA!"
Garp laughed loudly from above.
"Sengoku! I'm not too late, am I?"
He flexed one fist.
Crack. Crack.
His knuckles popped loudly.
That booming laugh rolled across Marineford and seemed to lift some of the oppressive despair weighing on the surviving Marines.
Then Garp looked down at the ruined Headquarters.
His expression sharpened instantly.
"These two little bastards trashed our home this badly…"
His gaze returned to Kaido and Bullet.
"…and now they think they can just turn around and leave without paying for it?"
Garp grinned.
"Since when do things work that conveniently?"
Below him, golden light erupted around Sengoku once again.
The brilliance surged upward like a second sun, illuminating the devastated battlefield.
Behind the Fleet Admiral—
an enormous golden Buddha began to emerge once more.
...
The enormous golden Buddha behind Sengoku radiated solemn authority, every line of its form seeming to contain immense power.
Then the apparition rapidly merged with Sengoku himself.
In an instant, his presence surged.
Wave after wave of overwhelming pressure rolled across Marineford.
"That's right!"
Sengoku's voice boomed over the battlefield.
"Today, we'll remind them that Marine Headquarters is not a place where they can run wild whenever they please!"
Beside him stood Garp.
The Hero of the Marines looked every bit as imposing as ever, his broad frame packed with power despite his age. Time had carved deep lines across his face, but his eyes remained steady and fierce.
Garp and Sengoku.
Two legends who had stood at the pinnacle of the Marines during the previous era.
They had fought side by side countless times across the turbulent seas, facing pirate crews and monsters whose names had once terrified the world.
Again and again, they had survived.
Again and again, they had upheld the Marines through battles that should have broken lesser men.
And now, with Marineford facing one of the greatest crises in its history, the two veterans stood together once more.
Their presence alone changed the atmosphere.
Garp's Haki spread outward like a vast, bottomless ocean.
Sengoku's pressure descended like an enormous mountain.
The two forces overlapped, covering Marineford beneath an invisible weight that seemed to push back against the despair Kaido and Bullet had brought with them.
The Marines felt it immediately.
"It's Vice Admiral Garp!"
"Vice Admiral Garp is back!"
"And Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
"They're fighting together!"
Cheers began spreading through the surviving ranks.
"Keep them here!"
"Make them pay for our fallen comrades!"
Weapons were raised once more.
Marines who had been moments away from giving in to exhaustion tightened their grips and forced themselves upright.
Hatred burned in their eyes.
So did determination.
Even Kuzan, despite his grievous injuries, endured the pain and raised his head.
He could not afford to collapse yet.
Not now.
Magellan, still dealing with the strain left by his battle with Bullet, also felt the shift in morale.
His eyes sharpened.
Garp and Sengoku fighting together meant far more than simply adding the strength of two top-tier combatants.
To the Marines, they were symbols.
Proof that Marine Headquarters had not fallen.
Proof that even after everything Kaido and Bullet had done, the Marines were still capable of standing back up.
"KAIDO!"
Sengoku's voice thundered across the battlefield.
"BULLET!"
His eyes locked onto the two retreating monsters.
"You're staying here today!"
Garp was already moving.
"Fist Bone—Meteor Barrage!"
His arms became a blur.
Countless blackened fist strikes erupted outward, each one carrying terrifying physical force and Haki.
The barrage descended like a meteor shower.
One punch after another filled the sky, overlapping into a dense net that sealed off nearly every possible route of escape for Kaido and Bullet.
There was nowhere easy to slip through.
Then Sengoku attacked at almost the exact same moment.
"Buddha Impact—All Creation!"
He brought his palms together.
Golden light gathered between them, rapidly condensing until it became almost blinding.
Then Sengoku thrust both hands forward.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A massive golden shock wave erupted.
It was denser and larger than the attacks he had used before, surging across the battlefield like a golden tsunami.
Garp's black fist barrage blocked every escape route.
Sengoku's golden shock wave filled the space between them.
For the first time since deciding to withdraw, Kaido and Bullet were being attacked by two legends of the Marines at full force simultaneously.
Even they could no longer treat the situation casually.
Kaido's dragon eyes darkened.
"Tch…"
His enormous body tensed.
"This is getting troublesome."
It was not fear that made him react.
It was pressure.
Real pressure.
For the first time since Garp arrived, their escape was no longer guaranteed.
And the combined assault was already upon them.