Garp's words left everyone present momentarily stunned.
A slash?
Did he mean from the Gate of Justice all the way here?
At such a distance, even Hawk-Eye's slash should not be able to do something like that.
"How terrifying."
As Kizaru said those words, a trace of shock flashed through the eyes hidden behind his brown sunglasses.
Cyrus had become stronger again!
Buzz!
"It's here!"
A piercing sound suddenly appeared. Aokiji leaped up, ice pillars forming from both hands and connecting to the sea below.
"Ice Age!"
Aokiji's voice rang out, and the entire sea was completely frozen as the temperature plummeted.
However, a slash directly tore open the frozen sea, reaching them in the blink of an eye.
Its target was Impel Down.
"Great Eruption!"
"Ama no Murakumo Sword!"
One golden figure and one red figure rushed out, standing before the others and blocking the already weakened slash.
At this moment, when everyone looked in the direction the slash had come from, they saw an enormous canyon of frozen ice appear before their eyes.
The frozen sea had been cut apart, and seawater was now pouring back into the gorge, visible cold mist rising from it.
"Huff."
Everyone exhaled, white mist spraying from their mouths and noses.
But even though the temperature was dropping, it could not compare to the chill in their hearts.
"It seems the Gate of Justice really is finished."
Sengoku frowned.
Although the slash was powerful enough to shock him, what he cared about more was why the Gate of Justice had not been opened.
He had issued the order to open it long ago.
Yet now, such a mistake had happened.
As he was thinking, Sengoku suddenly froze. He thought of a possibility and turned to look at Vice Admiral Tsuru.
Tsuru had clearly thought of something as well.
She turned to look at Sengoku, and when she discovered that Sengoku was also looking at her, she gently shook her head without saying anything.
Sengoku understood at once. His gaze swept casually over the crowd behind them.
Although his eyes did not pause, Sengoku still saw the few people at the back of the crowd who had only recently joined the Marines and yet had already become high-ranking officers.
People sent by the World Government.
Were they the ones causing trouble?
Or was the World Government trying to force the Marines and Cyrus into battle at Impel Down?
'Had those people gone mad?'
Sengoku turned his head back, but his mind continued working.
'No. The Five Elders are not that stupid.'
Sengoku secretly shook his head.
This matter had been handled very roughly, and it did not align with the World Government's interests.
Although there had been some minor conflicts between the Marines and the World Government recently, they were still standing together against the Hunter Guild.
More importantly, the Marines had no confidence in taking down Cyrus.
Creating this kind of incident now would only cause the Marines enormous losses.
As Sengoku thought about it, his pupils suddenly contracted.
He understood.
After letting out a soft breath, a cold light flashed behind Sengoku's glasses.
'It seems merely joining the Marines is no longer enough to satisfy certain people's appetites. Even with the enormous threat of Cyrus before them, it still cannot restrain some people's ambition.'
Sengoku thought this inwardly, but nothing unusual showed on his face. He turned to look at Garp.
"Old friend, it seems we'll have to fight side by side this time. Ever since God Valley back then, there haven't been many times when we fought together."
Garp froze, raised a hand to scratch his head, then gave Sengoku a broad, toothy grin.
Sengoku's words made the hearts of those around them tighten, and everyone raised their guard to the highest level.
Were they really going to fight here?
Time passed second by second as everyone waited nervously.
After a long while, at the far end of their vision, beyond the ice canyon now being filled by seawater, a ship slowly sailed into view.
Bang, bang!
Garp raised his hands.
His fists, wrapped in Armament Haki, struck against each other and produced a dull metallic sound.
"After that probing exchange last time, I haven't really fought Cyrus again. I wonder if he was hiding his true strength back then."
Garp narrowed his eyes and looked toward the ship approaching from the distance as he spoke.
"Garp, avoid fighting if possible."
Sengoku warned him.
Although this opening had gone badly, and with the Gate of Justice broken, a direct clash between the two sides now seemed very possible, they still had to avoid fighting if they could.
Because when facing an opponent at Cyrus's level, win or lose, the losses would be enormous.
Once battle began, no one knew how many people here would survive.
Of course, that was exactly what the person behind the scenes wanted to see.
If no one died, how could those positions be emptied?
After all, the newly added positions were no longer enough to satisfy certain people's appetites.
"I'll go say hello!"
The moment Sengoku finished speaking, Garp had already rushed out, as though he had not heard Sengoku at all.
Sengoku's face instantly darkened. His eyes locked onto Garp's back, his expression unfriendly.
That bastard had acted on his own again.
"Don't worry. Although Garp is reckless at times, right now, he definitely knows what he is doing."
Vice Admiral Tsuru spoke in a low voice.
Garp looked reckless, but his mind was actually very sharp. He simply rarely showed it.
Garp's foot landed on the ice, and then his figure shot forward, skimming over the ice like a black shadow.
Only after his figure had flown out of sight did the ice where he had stepped suddenly explode.
The ice had originally frozen the sea around Impel Down completely, but with this one step, cracks spread outward.
The frozen surface around Impel Down split apart, then shattered.
...
On the Rose Hunter.
Cyrus's left hand rested on the hilt of the long sword at his waist, his eyes looking toward the somewhat blurry giant structure in the distance.
His eyes could not see clearly through the icy mist, but his Observation Haki had already enveloped Impel Down completely.
"How lively."
Cyrus clicked his tongue, then turned to look at Whitebeard and the others.
"You're about to meet your old friends. How about it? If your hands are itching, before you enter Impel Down, do you want to fight your old friends one more time?"
"You want us to work as your fighters?"
Charlotte Linlin glared at him, her expression unfriendly.
"Don't worry about that part. Just tell me whether you want to or not."
Cyrus spoke again, but then he frowned and turned his head.
A black shadow broke through the icy mist and leaped high into the air, black lightning erupting around it.
"That reckless bastard!"
Whitebeard suddenly raised his head.
Swish!
On the ship, Cyrus's figure disappeared.
When he appeared again, he was already high in the air.
Two kinds of Haki wrapped around his fist.
"Brat, back in East Blue, were you just messing with this old man?"
The moment Garp saw Cyrus, he laughed loudly. Then his fist, wrapped in terrifying Conqueror's Haki, smashed down toward Cyrus.
Cyrus narrowed his eyes and swung his right fist upward.
Black lightning erupted in the air, striking the sea below and the ice layers on both sides.
The entire sky seemed to darken, as though all light had been swallowed by the terrifying impact between their fists.
A dangerous dark-red glow flickered in the sky.
"Vice Admiral Garp, I didn't hide my strength last time."
Cyrus punched upward, his expression relaxed as he spoke.
"Not bad. You didn't disappoint this old man!"
Feeling the force rebounding through his fist, Garp widened his eyes at Cyrus and grinned.
Then he swung his left fist, which was also wrapped in heavy, dense Haki.
Cyrus's left fist struck out as well.
The blow seemed to detonate thunder itself. Their two figures separated one after another, but in the next instant, both stepped through the air and rushed at each other again.
Their fists collided once more.
"Sengoku has no intention of starting a war. There's something strange about what happened with the Gate of Justice."
Just as Cyrus thought Garp wanted to have a proper fight, Garp's voice suddenly sounded.
The voice was not loud, but Cyrus heard it clearly.
Cyrus frowned slightly, then exerted strength through his right arm, directly sending Garp flying backward.
After that, he raised his hand and gripped the hilt of his sword.
Swish!
A flaming slash was cut out by him and flew toward Garp.
"You brat!"
After being thrown back by Cyrus, Garp had already felt how terrifying Cyrus's strength was.
But when he saw Cyrus attack again without hesitation, even sending out a slash, he understood.
It seemed Cyrus wanted to fight too.
"Bounty money!"
Garp's figure suddenly dropped, avoiding the flaming slash.
His feet stepped onto the sea below, and his body rebounded upward, arriving once again not far in front of Cyrus.
"Didn't you come here this time to collect your bounty?"
Hearing that, Cyrus looked at the sword in his hand, then clicked his tongue and sheathed it.
He flipped around and flew back down toward the Rose Hunter.
"Prepare to receive Whitebeard and the others."
Cyrus left those words behind as he turned away.
Garp, stepping through the air with Moonwalk, had already seen the four familiar figures sitting on the deck below.