At the same time.
Outside the dungeon, in the East Blue, Foosha Village.
On the lively market street, time seemed to stop for a second.
Luffy and Ace, the two little brats, were staring dumbfounded at the scene before them.
Garp, who just a second ago had been standing there, cursing and getting ready to flip the stall... was gone.
He had vanished into thin air.
He didn't even leave a puff of smoke.
"..."
"..."
Luffy blinked hard, then rubbed his eyes forcefully.
It was empty.
Ace was also stunned, his impatient expression turning into pure bewilderment.
Patak.
A rice cracker rolled out of the bag Garp had dropped on the ground and broke in two.
Silence.
A dead silence.
The next second.
"Grandpaaaa!"
Luffy's signature loud voice, tinged with tears, tore through the street's peace!
His rubber neck stretched out, scanning around frantically like a searchlight!
"Grandpa's gone!"
"Hey! You damn old geezer! Stop playing this stupid joke!"
Ace also yelled at the air, but only the wind answered him.
The faces of both boys instantly turned deathly pale.
That old bastard.
Even though he hammered them with the "Fist of Love" every day, forced them to eat horribly disgusting beasts, and threw them into deadly jungles... that was their grandpa!
One of the few relatives they had in this world!
The man they cursed at, but whose strength, like a high mountain, they had never doubted!
"It was you!"
Luffy whipped his head around, his furious eyes locking onto the white-haired kid still leaning lazily behind the stall.
"Where did you send Grandpa!"
His arm stretched instantly, wrapping around a nearby eave, and his whole body shot forward like a cannonball!
"Gomu Gomu no..."
Amidst the childish roar, his small fist tensed, aiming right at Blake's face!
"Pistol!"
"Luffy! Stop!"
A figure was faster than him!
Ace lunged forward, grabbing Luffy's waist from behind and using all his strength to drag him back!
Bang!
Luffy's punch went wide, smashing heavily into the stall's wooden board and leaving a big hole.
"Let me go, Ace!"
Luffy struggled frantically, his arms and legs turning to rubber, stretching and flailing wildly.
"I'm gonna send this guy flying! Make him bring Grandpa back!"
"Calm down!"
Ace's forehead was covered in cold sweat. His arms ached from Luffy's struggling, but he refused to let go. He stared at the white-haired kid, who had remained expressionless from the start, his heart pounding.
"You idiot! Don't you see!"
"That old bastard... is Garp!"
Ace's shout made Luffy's movements freeze.
"Someone who can make him disappear without a sound... Do you think we can handle someone like that?!"
That's right.
That's Grandpa.
The grandpa who eats mountain-sized boars for dinner and uses warships as punching bags.
Luffy stopped struggling. He turned his head, looked at Ace's pale face, and the color drained from his own face too. Fear, belatedly, gripped his heart.
Just then, the white-haired kid finally reacted.
He yawned and stretched, looking like he'd just woken up.
"So noisy."
He glanced at the two brats with boredom.
"It's just your grandpa."
"He went on a trip to another world. He'll be back in a few days."
"..."
"..."
The air... froze.
Ace's brain was still trying to process the completely out-of-scope term "another world."
But Luffy had already reacted. He blinked blankly.
"A trip?"
He released his clenched fist. Then, he slammed his right fist into his left palm.
"Oh!"
Luffy had a revelation. All the fear and anger on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a clear "Oh, I see" expression.
"So that's how it is!"
He even grinned, flashing a big smile.
"He scared me! Geez, that damn old geezer didn't even say he was going on a trip!"
Ace: "???"
He slowly, inch by inch, turned his head. He looked at his brother, who had completely relaxed and was even starting to pick his nose. An indescribable rage shot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head!
"You...! You absolute, total, moron...!"
Ace's furious shriek echoed through the entire street. He reached out with both hands, grabbed Luffy's cheeks hard, and pulled them in opposite directions!
"You just believe anything he says?!"
"A trip to another world?! You believe that crap?!"
"What's in your head besides meat!"
"Mmph... mmph... It hurths! Ace!"
Luffy, pulled so hard tears were welling up, protested indistinctly.
"But... but he's telling the trufth..."
The two little brats immediately started wrestling on the spot.
And the instigator of it all just propped his chin on his hand, watching the scene with great interest, a playful smile on his lips.
Blake raised his arm and looked at the time.
"Hmm..."
He spoke slowly, to himself.
"It's about time."
"It should be... about time to decide a winner."
Inside the barrier, Unrai Gorge.
That sphere, composed of black and purple energy, had already expanded to a terrifying size!
Destruction!
Pure destruction!
That suffocating, terrifying aura made the air in the gorge thick. Every breath felt like it was burning!
Tailed Beast Bomb!
The wild smile on Garp's face vanished completely for the first time. His pupils shrank to their limit, staring intently at the black sphere that was continuously compressing energy.
"F*ck!"
He couldn't help but curse.
"Are you kidding me!"
"If that thing explodes, I'll be finished here too!"
On the other side, the furious Lightning Release Armour on the Third Raikage flickered for a moment. The anger and fighting spirit on his face were replaced by an unprecedented gravity.
He knew the power of this thing better than Garp. He knew even better the consequences of it exploding in the confined space of the Four Violet Flames Formation!
Mutual destruction?
No!
It would be complete and total annihilation, not even dust would remain!
The next second, the two top-tier powerhouses from different worlds made the exact same decision.
They snapped their heads, their gazes colliding in mid-air!
No words.
No communication.
Just a momentary understanding, the tacit agreement of the strong!
Move!
"BWAHAHAHA!"
Garp's wild laughter rang out again, but this time, it carried an unprecedented ferocity!
"First, I'm gonna stew you, you disobedient big octopus!"
The ground beneath his feet exploded, and his whole body shot towards the Eight-Tails like a cannonball!
At the same time!
The Third Raikage also moved! He turned into an even brighter, even faster blue bolt of lightning, his target also the giant beast gathering power!
"Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite!"
The Raikage's roar echoed through the gorge!
He focused all his Chakra into the three fingers of his right hand. Those three fingers became harder than diamonds, flashing with blinding electric light, turning into the indestructible Strongest Spear!
And on the other side!
"For me... Get down!"
Garp leaped high, his weathered iron fist covered in an invisible, overwhelmingly tyrannical power!
From the left and the right!
One fist, one spear!
Before the Eight-Tails' terrified eyes, the two attacks simultaneously struck its giant head!
BOOM!!!
The violent power exploded on the Eight-Tails' body!
Its mountain-like body stiffened.
The Tailed Beast Bomb that had already formed in its mouth instantly lost control of its energy, and then... pfft, it fizzled out.
The Eight-Tails' massive body fell backward, crashing heavily to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
It was subdued.
The dust scattered.
Garp and the Third Raikage stood at opposite ends of the gorge, facing each other. Both were breathing heavily.
To stop the Tailed Beast Bomb, they had both used enormous power and expended a great deal of energy.
Garp shook his slightly sore arm.
The Lightning Release Armour on the Third Raikage was also flickering uncertainly.
For a moment, the gorge fell into an eerie silence.
"Not bad, old man."
The Third Raikage spoke first, his voice hoarse but full of praise.
"However, we're not finished."
Garp grinned, revealing his white teeth.
"BWAHAHAHA! Of course!"
He clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking.
"The warm-up is over!"
At this moment, their fighting spirit surged back to its peak!
"Let's settle this with this one last move!"
The Third Raikage roared, gathering all his remaining Chakra frantically into the fingertips of his right hand!
The light of his Lightning Release Armour dimmed rapidly, all its energy concentrated into that one piercing point on his fingertips!
The Strongest Spear, betting everything!
"Suits me just fine!"
Garp laughed wildly, settling into an unprecedentedly serious stance.
He slowly pulled his right fist back, his entire body tensing to the limit. An even more terrifying, more unfathomable aura rose from him!
"Take this!"
"This is my... Fist of Love!"