"Mr. Sesshomaru, you haven't forgotten that we're in a partnership, have you?"
Ren had been slacking off and enjoying the show. Watching Kaido and Byrnndi World get beaten down by three admirals—or even those beyond admiral level—was quite entertaining to him.
So much so that when King broke free from his enemies and came to his side, he almost didn't remember who "Sesshomaru" was.
By the time he recalled, he simply tossed out this line:
"Whatever. I'll make my move."
Then he charged straight toward Garp.
At this point, the alliance with Kaido was already irrelevant. The real reason he was making a move was that he wanted to see just how strong Garp really was.
A Marine hailed as a hero—and more importantly, the man who had once joined forces with Roger to defeat Rocks, and had driven the Pirate King to the brink of defeat multiple times.
Speaking of which, when Ren first read One Piece, he actually thought Smoker would become the next Garp. Who knew the guy would fall off so quickly.
The new generation's Marine hero turned out to be "Desertion King" Koby.
Though that guy didn't seem to have the strength to match the title of hero either.
"North Wind Swift Claw."
Ren's right hand slashed out a white claw strike. The flying slash shot forth like freezing sword energy, cutting toward Garp.
Garp hadn't expected anyone else to jump in, and hastily raised his arm to block the attack. Though he blocked the damage from the claw strike, a large patch of his arm was still frozen solid by the cold.
This didn't affect him much at all.
However, neither Garp nor anyone else had expected an unknown powerhouse to suddenly appear at a time like this, which immediately put them on guard.
Moreover, both Sengoku and Zephyr clearly felt that this person looked somewhat familiar.
'White hair, ice abilities... where have I seen him before?' Sengoku wondered in the back of his mind.
"Another pirate?" Garp was clearly displeased. He smashed the ice on his arm with brute force, glaring at Ren with hostile eyes.
He didn't recognize who Ren resembled—he just felt that John's treasure was truly enticing, drawing out even a powerhouse who had never been seen before.
On the other side, Molly and King went to back up Kaido. With two supporters, Kaido gained considerably more confidence facing Sengoku.
Only Byrnndi World was left struggling alone under Zephyr's assault.
It wasn't that Byrnndi World had no subordinates, but their strength was lacking, and they had to look after his frail brother. Moreover, the Marines had more than just these three.
There were also quite a few vice admirals who were formidable fighters in their own right.
Anyone with eyes could see that the key to this battle likely hinged on when Byrnndi World would be defeated—or when he would leave.
At a time like this, if he were determined to flee deeper into the cavern, Zephyr certainly wouldn't give chase. Instead, he would team up with either Sengoku or Garp to take down Kaido or Ren first.
"Bone Fist: Steel!"
Garp held nothing back. His fist was as hard as black iron, and Ren had no doubt that if Garp's arm were a blade, it would probably have become a Black Blade by now.
After all, a so-called Black Blade was essentially just Haki marinated all the way through.
Facing Garp's head-on, brute-force fighting style, Ren didn't draw his sword.
For one thing, his sword Kagotsurube Isshin had long been recorded by other factions. Using it would easily expose his identity.
For another, he refused to believe that his Mythical Zoan physique couldn't go toe-to-toe with Garp!
"Pale Heaven's Ice Claw!"
Ren's claw strikes always carried an intense frost. Upon impact, the freezing energy would recklessly surge into Garp's body, nearly freezing his blood solid.
However, the blood constantly coursing through Garp's body would quickly melt away the cold.
But Garp's expression was far from optimistic.
Normally, powerful Haki could weaken or even nullify a Devil Fruit user's abilities, but his Haki was finding it difficult to do so right now. This meant that the man before him had Haki no weaker than his own.
'If I keep fighting like this, I'll have rheumatic legs before I even hit forty...' Garp thought to himself.
But he wouldn't back down because of this either.
"Such incredible Haki, my hands are almost numb," Ren couldn't help but exclaim. Garp's Armament Haki was clearly stronger than his.
If not for his Conqueror's Haki infusion, he would likely have been overpowered by Garp.
Even so, his hands felt as though they'd been shocked—tingling and numb.
"Just where the hell did you come from..." Garp stared at him with a strange look.
The thing was, it was one thing for Ren to be strong, but he also looked incredibly young.
Someone so young and yet so powerful was a rare sight. After all, even overlords of the sea like Rocks and Whitebeard had mostly been in their middle years when their strength truly reached its peak.
That was the age when a person's physical abilities were at their strongest.
If someone told him they could reach the level of Shiki or Whitebeard at nineteen, Garp would absolutely slap them so hard they'd call him Grandpa. Then he'd tell them to stop bragging.
Luffy: ???
Clearly, though, Ren had no intention of chatting with Garp.
Sesshomaru was a fake identity to begin with—saying more would be pointless.
"Unserving Ice Fang!"
Ren opened his mouth and unleashed a powerful breath. The white blast carried the force of erosion and freezing as it roared toward Garp.
Many people thought ice-type abilities were nothing more than freezing.
In reality, the erosive power of ice was just as formidable.
Many rare and magnificent landforms had been carved by ice erosion. This was a power capable of reshaping the terrain. Even mountains could be erased!
Garp was instantly engulfed in the white tornado. The ice fragments, carrying tremendous force, were harder than rock.
They battered Garp's body relentlessly, like particles in a particle collider.
If it were anyone else, forget being pulverized into mush by the dense barrage of ice—they'd at least be riddled with holes.
But he was Garp!
He forcefully tanked the attack with his Haki, though the impact still pushed him back.
This was where non-Devil Fruit users were at a disadvantage. Even with comparable strength, facing the endless array of a Devil Fruit user's abilities was extremely troublesome.
Even in an era where Haki was king, when two people's Haki were on par, the Devil Fruit user clearly held the upper hand.
...
"That guy's a Devil Fruit user? Looks like a Mythical Zoan from here." Kaido caught a glimpse of Ren during a lull in his own battle, and immediately grew interested in his power.
As everyone knew, Teacher Kaido had a special fondness for Zoan abilities, and Ren, as a Mythical Zoan, clearly caught his fancy. At this moment, he very much hoped Ren would eventually join his pirate crew.
The problem was, he was now realizing that the guy seemed even stronger than him...
[
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