On Sabaody Archipelago, Susanoo and Garp's battle raged on.
But things weren't looking good—every one of Garp's punches drove Susanoo back, forcing him on the defensive.
If not for the protection of his core, Susanoo would've been destroyed many times over.
BOOM!
After another heavy blow sent Susanoo flying, Garp's eyes narrowed with curiosity.
"Oi… what the hell are you supposed to be?!"
"A Logia? A Paramecia? Or some kind of special Zoan?"
This guy's power was unnatural.
In Garp's view, Susanoo wasn't that strong—but he was unbelievably hard to deal with.
Every punch landed solidly, yet it accomplished nothing!
Since the start of their fight, Garp had already injured him over thirty times—
at least twenty of those had broken ribs.
And each time, Susanoo stood up again without the slightest change in expression,
as if pain didn't exist to him.
Garp was beginning to wonder if the thing in front of him was even human.
Then—
A loud crash erupted behind him.
He turned to see Marine soldiers being flung into the air while a ten-meter-tall dog rampaged through their ranks!
"What now—another damn monster?!"
Garp grimaced.
Before he could turn back to assist, Susanoo charged at him again.
"Get out of my way!!"
With a roar, Garp threw a punch—this one far stronger than before.
The blow hit Susanoo square in the chest.
The horned warrior was launched like a cannonball, smashing into a nearby mangrove tree.
The colossal trunk caved inward, bark and roots splintering.
Susanoo's body was embedded deep in the wood, completely stuck.
Without his interference, Garp turned toward the giant beast.
He leapt high into the air—
BOOM!
His iron fist slammed down onto Xiaobi's head.
It exploded like a watermelon under a hammer.
The towering beast collapsed, motionless.
"Finally!"
The surrounding Marines exhaled in relief.
"We did it!"
"Yeah—what was that thing? A dog that ate a Logia Fruit?"
"Maybe! But a dog eating a Logia—seriously?!"
Among all Devil Fruits, Logias were the rarest and most powerful.
A Logia user was already terrifying… but a dog with one? That was absurd—and enviable.
As the Marines muttered among themselves—
Susanoo stepped out of the shadows once again.
The Marines tensed instantly.
Garp frowned.
"Oi, mutt's already dead. You still wanna block my way?"
He cracked his knuckles.
Susanoo glanced at the fallen beast, then said flatly:
"It's not dead."
And sure enough—
The ten-meter dog's body twitched.
Despite lacking a head, it slowly stood upright.
Flesh writhed at its neck, twisting and growing.
In seconds, a new head formed—eyes glowing, jaws snapping.
Xiaobi, fully restored.
Garp's eyes widened.
"You… what the hell are you things?!"
It wasn't a Logia—that he was sure of.
He had used Haki. He felt the blow connect. He shattered that head!
Yet here it was again, alive and snarling.
Before Garp could think further, a voice rang out from above.
"Vice Admiral Garp—
didn't expect we'd meet again so soon."
Everyone looked up.
Perched on a mangrove branch stood a young man in black—
Malverick.
He leapt down lightly, landing beside Susanoo and Xiaobi.
"Master," Susanoo said, bowing deeply.
Xiaobi shrank back into his puppy form, padding up to Malverick and rubbing affectionately against his leg—
a total contrast to the terrifying monster from seconds ago.
Garp's face darkened.
So these two monsters… were his subordinates.
And Garp had just fought them both head-on.
He knew exactly how dangerous they were.
Now, with Malverick himself here…
Could he really complete his mission?
The Navy's intel said Malverick possessed the Yami Yami no Mi—the Dark-Dark Fruit.
Garp was confident he could defeat the boy—
but capture him? Not so sure.
And now that he had two immortal monsters on his side—
the odds had plummeted even further.
What Garp didn't know was that Rayleigh was already on his way here.
If he had, he might've turned his ship around and left immediately.
After all, even Garp—the Marine hero—had to admit Rayleigh was a man who could trade blows with him.
Maybe slightly weaker, but not by much.
"Humph… brat," Garp said, his grin returning. "You really do surprise me."
"To be honest, I've hated that slave prison for years. But I never had the guts to destroy it myself."
That caught the Marines off guard—
but it was true.
As the Hero of the Marines, Garp had enough power to be an Admiral any time he wanted.
If he so much as told Commander Kong, "I'll take the position,"
it would be official within the hour.
But Garp refused.
Why? Because Admirals served directly under the Celestial Dragons.
If one of those pompous nobles so much as stubbed a toe, the Admirals were expected to protect them.
And Garp despised that.
He loathed the Celestial Dragons, and especially the slave system they sustained.
So when a young man like Malverick had the guts to destroy one of their slave prisons—
how could Garp not secretly admire him?
"If it weren't for orders," he sighed, "I wouldn't be here to arrest you."
He cracked his shoulders, expression hardening.
"But duty is duty. A command from the Fleet Admiral isn't something I can ignore."
"Now then, kid—"
He pointed forward.
"You coming quietly, or am I taking you in by force?"
Malverick chuckled.
"It seems you're very confident, Garp. But you're not the only one."
He turned to Susanoo—specifically, to the red ring-like gem embedded in his chest: the Magatama of Calamity—
the core that powered his existence.
All Malverick needed to do was inject a bit of his own life force into it.
For the next thirty minutes, Susanoo would undergo an evolution—
his power soaring to a level capable of standing toe-to-toe with Garp himself.
The price?
One year of Malverick's life.
But with his Dragon Essence, a source of eternal vitality—
that "price" meant nothing at all.
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