In that instant, golden light shone around Sengoku. His body rapidly expanded, transforming into an enormous golden Buddha.
Pop!
Garp continuously leaped through the air, causing rings of white shockwaves to explode beneath his feet. He drew back his right fist and quickly gathered power, Armament Haki wrapping around it like black armor.
"Interrupt him before he finishes!" Sengoku shouted as the golden Buddha thrust his giant palm forward.
Boom!
An extremely fierce shockwave howled down from midair.
'Damn it!'
Ron cursed inwardly. A Tailed Beast Bomb was good in every way except that it needed time to charge. Without that, it was hard to unleash its full power.
But now, Sengoku's shockwave was already right in front of him. He had no time to keep charging. Gritting his teeth, he fired the half-finished Tailed Beast Bomb directly.
Thud!
The instant the Tailed Beast Bomb launched, the sea beneath Ron's feet exploded. Giant waves surged in every direction, pushing his body several meters backward.
Then the Tailed Beast Bomb and the shockwave, two completely different powers, collided in midair.
Boom!
The violent explosion was deafening. The aftershock turned into a visible ring of air that swept outward in every direction, raising layer upon layer of giant waves on the sea.
Before the aftermath had scattered, another shout exploded in the air.
"Found you."
Garp's figure burst out from the lingering light of the explosion. His right fist was raised high, and black lightning even sparked around the Haki-coated fist.
"Fist Bone Impact!"
The fist carrying destructive power smashed toward Ron's position.
Boom!
A huge depression was punched into the sea surface. Water shot into the sky, and rolling waves roared outward in every direction.
"Ron!" Kaido's eyes darkened. He did not want to see his Apprentice Alliance disband only a few days after it was formed.
Whitebeard's expression was grave. He understood Garp's strength too well. More importantly, they were fighting on the sea, making Ron's situation even more dangerous.
Once his method of ignoring seawater failed, Ron would have no way out.
"Hey, hey, hey, Stussy, why are you slowing down?" Ochoku urged anxiously. "If those Marine bastards catch up, we'll all be buried here!"
"Ochoku, what are you saying?!" Kaido snapped his head around, anger in his eyes. "Ron is buying us time! Otherwise, how could our speedboat outrun their warship?"
He gripped his kanabo tightly, wishing he could hit Ochoku first.
Just as his words fell, a dark red figure suddenly shot out of the rising wave.
Bang, bang, bang.
Ron, still transformed, ran desperately across the sea on all fours, splashing water behind him.
In only a moment, Ron had caught up to the speedboat. A giant beast claw reached out and grabbed the bow. Then he exerted force again and sprinted wildly.
"This broken thing isn't even as fast as me. Everyone hold tight. If you fall off, I'm not picking you up," Ron warned in his transformed voice.
"Ron, you're too reckless." Whitebeard stood steadily on the speedboat and said in a deep voice, "If Garp's punch had knocked you into the sea, I can't think of any way to save you."
"I know what I'm doing," Ron replied indifferently.
"Hey, Ron." Kaido suddenly pointed at Ochoku, still angry as he tattled. "Why are you dragging this bastard along too? He wanted to abandon you and run just now!"
"Hey, hey, hey, bastard Kaido, don't say things that hurt unity!" Ochoku immediately retorted. Then he turned to Ron and squeezed out a smile. "Believe me or believe him, decide for yourself."
Ron froze slightly.
The next second, he used his other free beast claw to pick up Kaido, Stussy, and Whitebeard.
In an instant, Ochoku was the only one left on the speedboat. He clung tightly to the side, his face pale.
"What... what are you trying to do, Ron?" Ochoku asked through gritted teeth.
"I feel a little guilty making you wait," Ron said with a trace of amusement in his voice. "So I wanted to let you go first."
As soon as he finished speaking, he threw the speedboat forward. The speedboat shot out like a thrown dart, skimming across the sea in a long arc.
Faintly, Ron could hear Ochoku's curse.
"Bastard Ron, I'll kill you!"
"Well done, Ron!" Kaido shouted excitedly.
"Your heart is pretty black..." Stussy added, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Hey, there's the outline of an island to the right! Let's head that way. Once we're on the island, it'll be advantageous for us."
Ron looked up and, sure enough, saw a faint stretch of green at the edge of the horizon.
"Mm!" After answering, Ron's speed rose again, leaving a white trail across the sea.
-------------------------------------
A short while later, on the sea some distance from the shore, the World Government warship slowly stopped.
Sengoku and Garp stood at the bow, looking in the direction where Ron and the others had disappeared, brows tightly furrowed.
They now faced two choices. Continue pursuit, but an island was unlike the sea. There were far too many places to hide, and the difficulty of search and capture would greatly increase.
Even if they found them, they might not gain any advantage.
Or they could abandon the pursuit, return to their route, and pretend nothing had happened.
"What was that guy with four tails?" Garp turned to glance at Sengoku. "If that thing hadn't suddenly jumped out, this would've gone smoothly."
"That man's name is Ron," Sengoku said slowly, his gaze still looking into the distance. "A pirate who appeared on the sea this past year. His epithet is 'Cold-Blooded Butcher.' I didn't expect him to join the Rocks Pirates too."
"Ron?" Garp repeated the name in a low voice. The corners of his mouth slowly split into a grin, revealing white teeth. "Good kid. I'll remember him. I'll definitely let him taste my fists."
Sengoku was silent for a moment. In the end, he sighed. "Forget it. Let's go. The cargo is all with us. If we lose it, we won't be able to explain it to the World Government."
"Fine." Garp nodded.
Then he suddenly leaped up, stepping repeatedly through the air as his figure shot toward the shore.
"Hey, Garp! What are you doing?!" Sengoku shouted.
"Don't worry about me!" Garp's voice came from the distance. "You keep escorting the cargo back. I'm going over there by myself to find them!"
"You idiot, get back here!" Sengoku cursed angrily. Earlier, he had thought Garp had changed a little and actually understood the bigger picture. In the next breath, he started acting recklessly again.
Garp ignored him completely. After landing on the shore, he ran into the island without looking back, his back quickly disappearing into the coconut trees.
"He really makes people angry." Sengoku gritted his teeth and complained. However, he did not order the ship to leave. He could not feel at ease abandoning his partner, who always liked causing trouble, so he decided to wait where he was.
A long while later.
A loud voice suddenly rang out from the shore.
"Hey, Sengoku, are you waiting for me?"
Sengoku, who had been sitting on the warship's railing in a daze, jolted and instinctively looked toward the shore.
On the beach, a burly man holding a naginata entered his eyes.
"Edward Newgate?"