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Chapter 412: Garp: This Punch is the Pinnacle of Human Martial Arts
High in the firmament, the massive artificial star bled. Crimson steam, resembling molten iron, frantically spilled out through the cracks in the rock.
Sizzle—!
The indestructible stone shell rapidly softened and collapsed under the intense heat, melting into scalding droplets of magma. Like a hard-boiled egg being violently peeled open from the inside.
"This volume of chakra…" Hovering in mid-air, Madara involuntarily retreated half a meter.
His usually arrogant and indifferent face was now etched with astonishment. Through the fissures, he saw a red beast awakening. That aura actually induced a phantom sensation of "fear" in his long-stilled Edo Tensei heart.
BOOM!!!
Accompanied by an eardrum-shattering explosion, the Chibaku Tensei, spanning tens of kilometers in diameter, completely detonated. The sky-filling debris was instantly vaporized by the crimson storm before it even reached the peak of its arc. A figure bathed in blood-red steam, looking like an Asura crawling out of hell, stood proudly at the apex of the sky.
Monkey D. Garp!
His entire skin had turned a bizarre, dark crimson. It was the terrifying anomaly formed by the complete rupture of the subcutaneous capillaries and the evaporation of his blood. His hair stood on end, wrapped in the blood-red steam, resembling a feral, red-haired demon god ready to devour humanity.
"Hah… Hah…" With every breath Garp took, high-temperature white smoke visibly spewed from his nose and mouth.
The surrounding space wailed and distorted just from his mere existence.
"Garp! You old bastard!!!" Sengoku, who had charged out right behind Garp, saw his old friend's state, and his eyes instantly welled up.
He grabbed Garp's smoking shoulder, his palm instantly sizzling from the heat.
"Stop it! Stop this state right now!!" Sengoku roared hysterically, his voice trembling. "This is the precursor to the 'Gate of Death,' isn't it?! Your life force is burning! Your internal organs are carbonizing!! Is it worth throwing your life away for a dungeon?!"
Sengoku had dismissed his golden Buddha form, staring dead into Garp's bloodshot eyes.
"If we lose, so what? We can just quit and start over! It's only a hundred million Beri! Even if it's a billion, or ten billion, the Marines can afford it! As long as we're alive, we have countless chances to challenge it again! Why throw your life away here?!"
To think he's burning his very soul to this extent just to win a game? If this isn't mental illness, what is?!
"Start over?" Garp slowly turned his head, the grating sound of bone friction echoing from his neck.
Yet, an incredibly pure smile suddenly spread across that demonically ferocious face.
"Sengoku… It's been too long since you've stood on the edge of a cliff." Garp raised his charred right hand, gently clenching his fist. The air crackled and popped under the immense pressure in his palm. "What dungeon, what game, what starting over… None of that matters the moment I throw this punch."
An unprecedented, fanatical fire burned in Garp's eyes.
"Because I felt it. That door is right there. The limit of humanity, the pinnacle of the martial arts I've pursued my entire life… It's right inside this burning blood!!"
BOOM!
The red steam surrounding Garp skyrocketed once more, shooting straight into the clouds like an erupting volcano.
"If I can glimpse the true peak of martial arts today… I can die tonight without a single regret! For a martial artist to touch this realm in their lifetime… Even if I die in the next second, it's worth it!! It's the ultimate thrill!!"
These words slammed into Sengoku's heart like a massive bell, and they slammed into the hearts of everyone watching the live broadcast. Inside the tavern in Foosha Village, dead silence reigned. Even the typically boisterous Kid and the endlessly arrogant Doflamingo were staring with their mouths wide open, unable to utter a single sound.
That old man… He was genuinely enjoying his own death!
"Gurararara…" Whitebeard suddenly began to laugh, tears welling in the corners of his eyes as he did. "That old bastard… This is a true man of the sea! What Four Emperors, what Marines—in front of his pure martial heart, it's all complete bullshit!"
Kaido was trembling with such excitement he wanted nothing more than to smash through the screen and bow down before Garp. "This is the ultimate violence! This is the sublimation of life! Compared to this, my previous suicide attempts look like child's play!"
Back on the battlefield, Sengoku watched the fanatical Garp, his lips moving slightly, but ultimately failing to utter a word of rebuttal. He knew he couldn't stop him. Once this old comrade—whom he had fought alongside and against for a lifetime—set his mind to something, not even a team of ten Sea Kings could drag him back.
"But… you will die." Sengoku's voice dropped, carrying a deep sense of powerlessness.
"Die? Bwahahaha!!!" Garp suddenly threw his head back and laughed, the sound overflowing with unrivaled dominance.
He shook off Sengoku's hand and pointed at his own chest, which was constantly cracking and repairing itself.
"Sengoku, you underestimate me too much! Open your eyes and look closely!"
Sizzle—
Within the charred cracks of his skin, a vibrant green energy full of life could be faintly seen flowing. It was Senjutsu Chakra! It was forcibly repairing the damage caused by the Eight Inner Gates at an astonishing speed. Although the healing couldn't outpace the destruction, this vitality managed to keep Garp hanging onto his last breath.
"I am a man with a 'Sage Body' after all! You think a mere precursor to the Gate of Death is enough to take my life? Come back in a hundred years!!"
Garp grinned, revealing two rows of blood-stained teeth.
"Besides… Do you really think I'm a brute who only knows how to march to his death?" Garp gently patted his trouser pocket with his intact left hand. Something seemed to be hidden in there. "I still have a 'trump card' in my hand. As long as I have this thing… Even if the King of Hell comes in person, he'll have to spit me right back out!"
Hearing this, Sengoku was stunned. Could it be…?
"Stop daydreaming, Sengoku!" Garp didn't give Sengoku time to think. He whipped around, locking his murderous gaze dead onto Madara Uchiha in the distance. "Fire up your giant Buddha! Cover me! That bastard god sitting up in the sky…"
Garp slightly bent his knees, instantly compressing the air beneath his feet into a physical springboard.
"If I don't beat that smug face of his into a pulp today… My name isn't Monkey D. Garp!!!"
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