Darkness. Boundless darkness. A sense of weightlessness came from all directions, making Garp feel like he was falling endlessly.
"Hmm?" Garp frowned, looking around. There was nothing here: no wind, no sound, and no light.
"Hey! You damn brat!"
"What the hell kind of place did you send me!"
His roar echoed in this strange silence, but he received no response.
Garp pouted and began to move his arms and legs. "Just playing mysterious games." His battle-hardened intuition told him there was no danger here.
The next second, points of starlight suddenly lit up in the dark void. Countless colorful fragments emerged from the depths of the darkness, slowly revolving around him like a galaxy, each fragment reflecting a completely different image.
A blond boy in orange clothes gathered a high-speed rotating blue energy ball between his hands. A man in jet-black armor made heavy breathing sounds as he swung a red lightsaber. A giant green monster wildly destroyed a city, letting out a sky-shaking roar.
Garp's eyes widened slightly.
"What... is this stuff?"
He reached out, trying to touch the fragment closest to him. In that fragment, a white-haired dog demon with a crescent moon mark on his forehead was swinging a giant demon sword. His finger passed through the fragment without resistance, not causing a single ripple.
"An illusion?"
Garp pulled back his hand, an impatient look on his face.
"What's the use of all this flashy stuff!"
"One million Beri, just to show me this?"
He clenched his fist, his knuckles making sharp cracking sounds.
"When I get out, I'm definitely going to flip that white-haired kid's stall!"
Just then, all the surrounding fragments began to spin faster. Streaks of light flew, images overlapping. Finally, all the pictures froze on one scene: a land scorched by war.
A man. A dark-skinned man with an extremely sturdy body stood alone, surrounded by tens of thousands of ninjas. He was bare-chested, his bronze muscles as indestructible as bedrock, covered in crisscrossing scars. Crackle! Blue-purple arcs of electricity danced wildly over his body, making a piercing roar and making him look like a thunder god descending.
Garp's pupils shrank suddenly. The impatience on his face vanished, replaced by the excitement of a hunter spotting prey.
"Oh?"
He grinned, showing his white teeth.
"This guy..."
"He looks a little interesting!"
At this moment, a cold, emotionless mechanical voice sounded in Garp's mind.
[Dungeon Selected: Strongest Spear]
[Mission Objective: Survive the Third Raikage's assault, or defeat him.]
[Countdown Initiated]
Giant, blood-red numbers appeared in front of Garp, each number's appearance causing the entire space to shake violently.
[3]
Garp's muscles tensed instantly, his gaze becoming incredibly sharp.
[2]
He burst into a loud, wild laugh.
"BWAHAHAHA!"
"Bring it on! Let me see what this 'Strongest Spear' is made of!"
[1]
He suddenly struck a pose, an invisible aura soaring into the sky.
[0]
The moment the countdown hit zero, Garp's figure was swallowed by a strong light and vanished from the spot.
Land of Lightning.
Unrai Gorge.
BOOM!
A deafening roar resounded through the clouds, the resulting shockwave sending rubble flying from the mountain walls.
A giant beast the size of a mountain was on a crazy rampage. It had the tentacles of an octopus and the horns of an ox. Eight ferocious tails danced wildly behind it, each swing enough to level a mountaintop. It was the Eight-Tails, Gyūki!
"Quick! Scatter!"
"The Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall can't hold!"
"Water Release Ninjutsu is useless!"
Countless Kumogakure ninjas fled in disarray through the gorge, their faces filled with terror and despair. Their proud Ninjutsu was as fragile as paper in front of this rampaging Tailed Beast.
Just then, a tall, burly figure stood in front of everyone. He was dark-skinned, with gnarled muscles, and his whole body was wrapped in visible blue lightning, the blinding arcs crackling loudly. It was the Third Raikage, A.
"All of you, fall back."
His voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable authority that reached every ninja's ear clearly.
"Lord Raikage!"
A ninja wearing goggles, with bandages wrapped on his face, rushed to his side, his tone extremely anxious.
"The Eight-Tails is completely out of control! It's too dangerous for you alone!"
"Dodai."
The Third Raikage didn't look back, his gaze locked firmly on the roaring Eight-Tails in the distance.
"This is my responsibility as Raikage. For the village, for my comrades, I must stop it."
His tone was calm, yet contained a resolve as heavy as a mountain.
"But your body..." Dodai tried to persuade him further.
"Shut up!" the Third Raikage snapped.
"This is an order!"
"Before I take care of it, your mission is to evacuate all civilians. Not one less!"
As his voice fell, the lightning on his body suddenly surged! The blue-purple Chakra, like boiling magma, enveloped his entire body, forming an indestructible armor of lightning. The Strongest Shield: Lightning Release Armour!
The ground beneath his feet cracked, and his whole body turned into a blue bolt of lightning, preparing to charge the tyrannical Eight-Tails. But just as he was about to move, the Third Raikage's movement suddenly froze. He stopped.
His eyes, sharp as a hawk's, suddenly turned to another direction in the gorge.
Dodai was stunned. "Lord Raikage?"
The Third Raikage didn't answer him. He just stared intently in that direction, his muscles tensing to the extreme, the arcs on his Lightning Release Armour jumping even more wildly. An aura had appeared there. It was an aura he had never felt before: arrogant, tyrannical, and as vast as the sea! The intensity of this aura even made him temporarily ignore the rampaging Eight-Tails.
"Who..."
The Third Raikage's voice became extremely solemn.
"Get out here!"
His furious shout, mixed with thunder, echoed endlessly throughout the Unrai Gorge.
At the other end of the gorge, a figure fell from the sky, BAM, smashing into the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Ahem... this teleportation experience really sucks."
Garp patted the dust off himself, muttering in dissatisfaction.
He raised his head and looked around. Everywhere were towering, rugged cliffs, and the air was filled with a burnt smell and the faint scent of ozone.
"Oh?"
He saw the octopus-ox rampaging in the distance.
"BWAHAHAHA!"
"What a huge guy! This trip was worth it!"
Garp's face was instantly filled with an excited smile. He cracked his knuckles, kaba kaba, and was just about to rush up and give that big guy a "Fist of Love". Just then, a furious shout mixed with thunder reached his ears.
"Get out here!"
Garp's movements stopped. He turned his head, looking in the direction the voice came from. He saw him. At the end of the gorge, the dark-skinned brute wrapped in blue lightning was staring at him with an extremely oppressive gaze. That gaze was full of vigilance, hostility, and a trace of... excitement at meeting a worthy opponent?
Garp grinned, his smile becoming even wilder.
"BWAHAHAHA!"
"So the main event is over here!"
He ignored the still-roaring Eight-Tails and started walking, step by step, towards the Third Raikage. With every step, the ground trembled slightly. An invisible aura rose from his body, like an awakened ancient beast: furious, tyrannical, and utterly unreasonable!
"That damn brat didn't lie to me."
Garp cracked his wrists as he walked, making loud popping sounds.
"This opponent..."
"I like him a lot!"