Dressrosa.
The royal capital had sunk, with seawater flooding in to form a massive lake.
Large ice crystals and burning building debris floated on the lake's surface.
Countless ravines carved by slashes marked the edges, leaving scars on this nation that would be difficult to heal.
For two full days, this land had endured unbearable suffering.
...
The clouds were shattered.
Doflamingo watched the distant dragon silhouette gradually disappearing into the distance, falling into silence.
Marine Headquarters monster Vice Admiral Kuzan, the next-generation Pirate King Red-Haired Shanks with a bounty of two billion, and the mysterious immortal Celestial Dragons powerhouse.
This battle against Kaido of the Beasts... no, it should be called a war.
Ultimately ended with Kaido's retreat, while the three were too exhausted to pursue.
...
From Doflamingo's perspective of observing the entire situation...
The fighting was ugly, hardly spectacular.
Kuzan's abilities were powerful, but his Ice Age couldn't withstand the Dragon Breath Sea of Flames.
Shanks' slashes were astonishing, yet their power couldn't match the Eight Precepts.
Saint Miya... indeed, some people seem stronger when they remain mysterious.
Her performance in this battle fell far short of Kuzan and Shanks, getting beaten to a pulp by Kaido over ten times.
The only commendable aspect was her using herself as a human shield to create several opportunities for Kuzan to strike Kaido.
Her strength is only slightly superior to mine, but that immortality ability...
It's exactly like Kari!!
The Lunarian Tribe and the Celestial Dragons might have deeper connections...
...
Doflamingo was absolutely certain that in one-on-one combat, none of the three could defeat Kaido.
But it was impossible for Kaido to completely crush all three of them either. He probably realized this too, finding it pointless before choosing to withdraw voluntarily.
No...
Doflamingo turned to look...
...
"Hey! Where's that brat Kaido!!"
A rough shout echoed from the distance. Seeing that mighty figure appear on the horizon, Doflamingo thought...
He might know the real reason Kaido chose to retreat.
If it's this man...
He instinctively retreated, hiding himself within the ruins, only daring to watch secretly as the figure rapidly approached.
...
Following behind him were Marines who had previously only dared to remain stationed along the coastline, their faces filled with excitement, gripping their swords tightly.
Their expressions looked...
As if they knew that following this man, they would never fail no matter what enemy they faced!
The Marine's trump card, the living legend...
The hero Garp had arrived!!
...
Shanks, who hadn't yet caught his breath, was startled and quickly called out to his crewmates while fleeing: "Run!! If we get caught, we're finished!!"
Actually, he didn't need to tell them - his crewmates were already running for their lives.
Not to mention Garp's fearsome reputation...
Just considering what happened in Windmill Village, if Garp caught them, he'd definitely smash their heads in.
Now his grandson kept clamoring about becoming a pirate every day, and even after being specifically kept in the village and beaten for half a month, he still hadn't been straightened out.
...
BOOM————!!
Garp directly leaped over from hundreds of meters away, landing with a thunderous impact.
After glancing at the devastated battlefield, he grinned widely.
"Quite the fierce fight, huh. Where's Kaido?"
...
Kuzan breathed lightly: "Mr. Garp, he left three minutes before you arrived."
"Hehe... this guy's Observation Haki is quite good."
Knowing Kaido's capabilities, Garp didn't mention pursuing him. Turning and seeing Saint Miya, his smiling face immediately turned stern.
His disgusted gaze was completely unconcealed.
"Tch, it's you. What are you doing here!"
Saint Miya's face darkened: "Garp! Don't make me remind you again, you should address me as Saint Miya!"
"Oh, what are you doing here, old woman?"
...
"I'll kill you!!" Saint Miya raised her spear to stab Garp, but Kuzan quickly held her back.
"Saint Miya, Mr. Garp is just like this, he means no harm!"
Kuzan looked helplessly at Garp and said with a bitter smile: "No matter what, it's not polite to address a lady like that, Mr. Garp."
Garp curled his lip disdainfully: "Kuzan, don't be fooled by appearances."
"This woman looked exactly like this decades ago. She's probably old enough to be your grandmother."
"Hey, did you eat some kind of ageless fruit or something?"
...
"Don't hold me back! I'm going to kill him!!"
"Alright then."
Kuzan obediently released his grip. Saint Miya was momentarily stunned before turning to look at Kuzan.
"You told me to let go," Kuzan shrugged helplessly.
...
...
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Miya put away her spear and said solemnly: "You came too slowly, Garp!"
The World Government's strategy regarding Pirate Emperors was to avoid combat whenever possible. Once engagement was determined, corresponding combat forces needed to be mobilized.
In such situations, Garp, who normally wouldn't take orders, would reluctantly follow the World Government's command as a key combat asset.
Miya had notified the Marines as soon as Kaido appeared. If she hadn't been waiting for reinforcements to capture Kaido, she wouldn't have endured being beaten so many times.
Even if she couldn't die, it still hurt!
She had made such great sacrifices, yet this operation yielded no results and even cost them a Celestial Dragon!
No matter how she looked at it, it was all Garp's fault for arriving too late!
...
Garp's face also darkened, his fierce glare making Miya nervous.
"The reason I was late - are you sure you don't know why?!"
"Give me an explanation about Zephyr's matter!"
...
Miya frowned deeply: "Zephyr... what do you mean? Why bring him up suddenly?"
"What happened to Teacher Zephyr? Is something wrong?" Kuzan asked urgently.
Having trained under Garp for many years, they were true master and disciple, but Zephyr's teachings had also greatly benefited him, and he genuinely respected this teacher.
After carefully observing Miya's expression and confirming she had nothing to do with the matter, Garp turned to Kuzan and sighed.
"While you were dealing with the situation here, the recruit ship led by Zephyr was attacked by pirates. Dozens of recruits were killed, and he himself is severely injured and unconscious."
"I went there first to send Zephyr and the others on a ship to headquarters before coming here..."
...
"How is that possible... what pirate could defeat Teacher Zephyr? Could it be Whitebeard? Or Charlotte Linlin!?"
Garp shook his head: "It wasn't them. This is also a leftover problem from the old era."
"Zephyr's situation is manageable - no life danger. The real trouble now is..."
"We've lost contact with Commodore Griffin who went pursuing the pirates."
...
Griffin...
Kuzan suddenly understood why Griffin had been in such a hurry to leave earlier. Had he received news about Teacher Zephyr being attacked?
"Has headquarters sent people to search?! That kid Griffin is too impulsive, how could he go chasing after such a terrifying enemy alone!!"
Kuzan forced his exhausted body upright, his voice low. "Which sea area? I'll head there immediately!"
...
"Unclear. We've searched all nearby areas where the incident occurred. We found a massive sea vortex formed from the battle, but Griffin is nowhere to be found..."
"The headquarters investigators said..."
Garp shook his head and sighed. "Judging by the intensity of the battle, Griffin might have perished together with the Pirate, buried in the Sea Kings..."
"Impossible!!"
Kuzan stated firmly. "He's definitely not a man who dies that easily!"
Garp was slightly taken aback, then smiled. "Rare to see you with such an attitude..."
"Then hurry up and come with me. Your ability is perfect for searching on the sea!"
...
"Wait! Kuzan's current mission..."
"To hell with the Celestial Dragons' mission!" Garp grabbed Kuzan and turned back, cursing angrily.
Saint Miya clenched her fists until they turned white, her silver teeth grinding.
...
After Garp had run far away, she snorted coldly. "Damn Garp! Damn D Clan!"
...
——
——
Unknown sea area.
High in the sky, a massive island floated.
The island was covered in dense green forests. Two figures darted and flashed through the woods at high speed, like two streaks of lightning crisscrossing.
Wherever they passed, towering giant trees snapped and crashed down, birds and beasts scattering in all directions.
Boom—
After a violent collision, the battlefield fell briefly quiet.
Clang—
Shiki stood with his feet embedded in a tree trunk, a deep, bone-exposing wound on his shoulder slowly bleeding. Disheveled bangs hung over his forehead, obscuring half of his sharp gaze.
Compared to Shiki, Griffin's condition was clearly worse.
His chest heaved violently, the not-yet-fully-healed scar on his chest completely split open, blood gushing out.
He also had numerous wounds of varying depths all over his body. Blood dripped down his arms, staining the weapons in both hands.
...
"Gehahahaha..."
With his signature laugh, Shiki looked down at Griffin on the ground.
"What a pity. If you weren't already injured, you probably could have lasted longer."
...
"If we're counting like that, I'd have died long ago without the Flame War Fan."
Griffin raised the fan and sword in his hands, smiling. "I won't make excuses for my failures. Besides..."
"You're acting like the victor before you've even won."
"You'll look pretty bad if you lose."
...
"Gehahahahahaha!!"
"The one with the expression of certain victory is you, isn't it?!"
"Lion's Roar Earth Bind!!"
The earth trembled. The entire forest was uprooted, transforming into countless massive lion-shaped stone mountains!
After rising several hundred meters, Shiki released his ability's control, letting the stone mountains fall.
"That thing of yours can't affect pure rock, right?!"
"Ice can't withstand the pressure of millions of tons. What will you do now, brat?!"
...
...
The mountains blotted out the sun. Griffin formed hand seals and gently exhaled a breath of scorching heat.
In the shadows, a spark of flame ignited.
"Fire Release—"