If the Hero of the Marines, Vice Admiral Garp, were to fall here, the morale of the entire organization would shatter.
The new generation of Marines watched in terror, their hearts pounding.
Kaido, hovering in the air, sneered. "Wororo! This isn't your era anymore, old man! You have no power here!"
"Big words," Garp spat on the ground, clenching his fists. "Let's see if you can back them up!"
In the next instant, Garp was gone.
He shot forward like a cannonball, his fist, blackened with an incredible density of Haki, smashing directly into Kaido's face.
CRUNCH!
The sound of impact was sickening as Garp's fist sank deep into the dragon's flesh, sending a spray of blood into the air.
"AGH!" Kaido roared, a sound of pure pain and rage.
He hadn't expected the old man to be so fast or to hit so hard.
"YOU'RE DEAD, YOU OLD BASTARD!"
His body twisted, morphing instantly into his half-dragon hybrid form.
He swung his mace, Hassaikai, now wreathed in the same black, necrotic lightning that had annihilated the Seraphim, and brought it down on Garp.
BOOM!
Garp met the blow, but the unholy power behind it was too much.
The mace struck his shoulder, and a sickening crack echoed across the battlefield as the bone shattered, his arm exploding in a spray of blood.
"AGHHH!" Garp roared in pain.
Kaido didn't let up.
He swung again, smashing the mace into Garp's abdomen and sending the hero crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust and debris.
The Marines on the wall cried out in despair. It was over.
"You're finished!" Kaido roared, raising his mace for the final, executing blow.
But Garp, lying in the rubble, didn't panic.
He crossed his arms over his chest as the mace fell, and a faint, shimmering layer of Haki formed over his skin.
CRACK!
The Haki shattered under the blow, but it had done its job, deflecting the worst of the impact.
Seeing his attack blocked, Kaido frowned and raised his club again.
But in that split second, Garp's eyes flashed.
He shot from the crater, appearing directly above the dragon's head, and drove his fist straight down.
BOOM!
The punch connected with Kaido's skull, smashing the Emperor face-first into the dirt.
Kaido pushed himself out of the mud, blood and spittle flying from his mouth.
He was in disbelief.
He was about to taunt the old man, but the pain in his head exploded.
How could this fossil, a man he had just crippled, hit him so hard?!
Garp stood, patting the dust off his uniform.
His shoulder, which had been a bloody, mangled ruin just seconds before, was now perfectly healed.
He calmly chewed and swallowed the last of a small, green bean.
"This stuff really works," he mused to himself.
He grinned.
He had deliberately taken the hit, a reckless, insane gamble to create an opening.
He wasn't about to let his reputation as the Marine Hero be tarnished by this punk.
He took a deep breath, his strength, vitality, and Haki all fully restored.
He kicked off the air, using Moonwalk to shoot toward Kaido again, his fist cocked for another blow.
Kaido stared, his mind reeling, completely unable to understand how this old man had just reversed his own death and come back even stronger.
But Kaido knew one thing: he had to defeat this old man. If he couldn't break through here, the assault on Marine Headquarters would fail.
He roared, and charged again.
CLANG!
The sound of Garp's Haki-clad fist meeting Kaido's mace rang out, and the shockwave sent the surrounding Marines reeling in surprise.
Could it be? Was the old Marine Hero actually strong enough to defeat Kaido head on?
Kaido staggered back, a fresh line of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
He was furious.
He, the invincible Kaido, was being suppressed by this relic.
But he would not, could not, admit defeat.
He gripped his iron mace and charged again, the two titans exchanging a flurry of cataclysmic blows.
Then, Garp took a deep breath.
A quaint, tortoise-shell energy pattern, ancient and powerful, appeared on his fist.
The air around him became calm and heavy.
This was it—the power of his Mythical Zoan, the Black Turtle.
The moment Kaido felt that aura, his face changed.
The fruit's power was stronger, purer than it had ever been before.
A wave of pressure, far greater than his own, washed over him.
Garp didn't give him time to think.
He flashed forward, his fist radiating an overwhelming force, and slammed it into Kaido's chest.
BOOM!
Kaido was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground, a serious internal injury making him cough up blood.
But he was Kaido.
He gritted his teeth and, with a roar of pure determination, got back up.
"I still... have a chance!"
He leaped, raising his iron rod high over his head, and brought it down with all his might.
BOOM!
The stick struck Garp full on the forehead, sending the old hero flying backward.
Garp got up, his expression now deadly serious.
The power in that blow was terrifying. Even he hadn't dared to block it head-on.
But Kaido did not press his advantage.
He was breathing heavily.
He exhaled a cloud of black mist, and as he did, strange, jet-black runes began to crawl across his skin, glowing with an unholy light.
"You Marines..." Kaido snarled, his eyes like ice.
He could feel a new, explosive power filling his body, a gift from the Necromancer's Staff.
"Get the hell out of my way!"
He felt like he had infinite strength. He would become the strongest man in this sea!
"How is this possible...?" the Marines watching in awe whispered.
The muscles on Kaido's body swelled, and his black dragon scales reappeared, his aura soaring to an invincible, terrifying state.
But at that same moment, Garp suddenly shot into the sky.
His own aura exploded outwards, and behind him, the majestic, spectral phantom of the Black Turtle materialized, its ancient eyes glaring down at the dragon.
"ROAR!"
Garp unleashed his most powerful blow.
The avatar of the magic dragon and the phantom of the divine turtle collided.
The very air trembled and then shattered.
BOOM!
Huge cracks spread across the Red Line.
The sea itself was torn apart, and the resulting waves swallowed dozens of pirate ships whole.
The power of the two legends was unmaking the world around them.
"What terrifying power..." a Marine whispered, his eyes full of awe.
When the dust settled, Garp stood in a corner of the ruined battlefield, his breathing heavy, his eyes cold and sharp.
He turned slowly, looking at Kaido.
The Emperor was still standing, but his clothes were in tatters, his body stained with his own blood.
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Please Read My new One Piece fic : You call this a Pirate ?