"Brat," Garp said with his trademark grin, rolling his shoulders as the ground cracked beneath his boots. "You might be Rayleigh's kid, but you're still too green! Give it a few years, and maybe I wouldn't be able to take you down—but right now? You'd better come quietly."
He paused, eyes narrowing. "Speaking of that old bastard Rayleigh—where is he hiding? After Ohara, we turned the whole damn West Blue upside down and couldn't find him."
The Buster Call at Ohara had been ruined because of Rayleigh's interference. The Navy had hunted him across seas and still found nothing.
Malverick smiled faintly. "Then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed, Garp. The old man's busy—you won't see him today."
"And besides…" His eyes flashed with confidence. "The three of us are more than enough to deal with you."
He raised his hand toward Susanoo's Magatama of Calamity, ready to channel his life force.
"To be honest, Garp, you've really pissed me off. Because of you, I lost my warm bed—and a very delicate massage."
He sighed dramatically. "You interrupted something beautiful, you know? That's unforgivable."
"So—get ready to pay the price!"
Golden light gathered in Malverick's palm, streaming into Susanoo's chest. But before the evolution could begin—
SWOOSH!
A sharp slash cut cleanly between Garp and Malverick, gouging a deep scar across the ground.
Malverick's brows furrowed. That level of swordsmanship… there weren't many on Sabaody who could manage it.
He turned toward the source—
and sure enough, Rayleigh was standing there, blade gleaming under the moonlight.
"Old man," Malverick muttered with a sigh, "why are you here?"
Originally, he'd planned to keep Garp busy while Rayleigh and the others escaped. But now the old man had come charging back.
"Rayleigh!" Garp barked, grinning wide. "Perfect timing!"
With that, he shot forward, fist cocked.
Rayleigh met him head-on, swinging his sword in a flash of silver—
CLANG!
Their clash sent shockwaves bursting in every direction. Even Malverick had to raise an arm to shield his face.
The two legends stood locked in place, pressure rippling outward like a storm.
"Hahaha! Rayleigh, after all these years—we meet again!"
Garp's laughter boomed across the archipelago.
Since Roger's death and the crew's disbandment, he hadn't crossed paths with any of his old rivals.
Now, seeing Rayleigh again made his blood boil with excitement.
Feeling that monstrous strength through his sword, Rayleigh could only smile wryly.
"Garp, I didn't exactly want to see you again."
"But today… I've got no choice."
He kicked off the ground, retreating several paces. Garp's next punch slammed into the earth, shaking the whole grove.
Rayleigh turned to Malverick. "Who are these two?" he asked, nodding toward Susanoo and the dog.
"They're mine," Malverick explained casually. "Picked them up after wrecking that slave prison. Only got them a couple days ago, so of course you didn't know."
"Oh?" Rayleigh's brows rose. "Then they were… Celestial Dragon slaves?"
Malverick didn't answer—but his silence was answer enough.
"Fine," Rayleigh said grimly. "Then we should leave now. Garp's not someone we want to get tangled with."
"You know," Malverick smirked, "you didn't have to come. The three of us could've handled him just fine."
Truthfully, he was relieved—
it meant he didn't have to use Purgatory Manifestation on Susanoo and waste his once-a-week ability.
"Then let's go!" Rayleigh urged. "Do you have a plan?"
"Oh, I've got one."
The mysterious smile returned to Malverick's face.
While Susanoo and Xiaobi had been fighting earlier, Malverick hadn't been idle.
He had quietly placed a massive dark vortex beneath the battlefield—
a trap waiting to be triggered.
He raised his right hand.
Immediately, dark mist began to seep out from the ground beneath the Marines' feet, twisting and writhing like living smoke.
"W-what's happening?!"
The soldiers felt an invisible pull locking their limbs in place.
Even those strong enough to use Haki could barely move, while the weaker ones were already pressed flat to the ground.
"Damn it! What is this?!" one officer shouted, straining to lift himself.
BOOM!
The earth split open, and the gravitational pull intensified—dragging all the Marines toward the center like an unseen whirlpool.
Garp's eyes widened in recognition.
That black hole—he'd seen it once before, on the Red Line, where an entire CP division had been crushed into paste.
"Stop it, Malverick!!"
He leapt into the air and hurled a colossal punch toward the young man.
But before it could land—
CLANG!
Rayleigh intercepted it, sword meeting fist with a deafening shockwave.
"Picking on kids now, Garp?" Rayleigh taunted, grinning despite the pressure. "That's beneath you, old friend."
"Get out of my way!!"
Muscles bulged under Garp's coat, veins popping as his power surged.
Rayleigh's arm trembled—
even he could barely hold off that monstrous force.
Meanwhile, the dark vortex below continued to twist tighter and tighter, compressing the trapped Marines into a single writhing mass.
At this rate, they'd all be crushed in seconds.
But before Malverick could tighten his grip further—
SWOOSH!
A razor-sharp slash tore through the air, forcing him to abandon his technique and dodge aside.
The blow was fast, clean, and powerful—comparable even to Rayleigh's strikes.
Malverick's eyes narrowed.
"Who's there?"
From the shadows, a man in a brown suit and fedora stepped forward, sword drawn.
His expression was cold and sharp as steel, every movement calculated.
The system's voice chimed in Malverick's head:
[Marine Bodyguard: Bogard. Strength: Stellar Peak. Defeating him will yield 2000 Supreme Points.]
"Bogard…?" Malverick murmured.
Of course—Garp's right-hand man.
Once the personal bodyguard of Fleet Admiral Kong, Bogard had later been recruited by Garp himself—
after his previous aide, Kuzan, became an Admiral candidate.
"Didn't expect him to be here," Rayleigh muttered, tightening his grip on his blade.
He remembered their last fight years ago—he'd won, but not without bleeding for it.
And after all these years…
who knew how strong Bogard had become now?
~~--------------------------
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