The gigantic iron sphere descended like a natural disaster.
Its shadow swallowed half the island, enveloping the entire Roger Pirates and the Oro Jackson beneath it. Even from a distance, Roger could feel the provocation blazing in Garp's eyes.
"You've got to be kidding me… Where the hell did they pull out something that big?"
"Garp's got a Paramecia user with the Storage-Storage Fruit on board—he can store massive amounts of equipment inside boxes. But even that shouldn't be this ridiculous… Has his fruit awakened or something?"
"Stop talking nonsense! Worry about how we're supposed to dodge that thing, you idiots!"
There was no dodging it.
Everyone in the Roger Pirates knew that.
Rayleigh's gaze sharpened. His straight-bladed saber slid from its sheath.
The Dark King stepped forward.
"Underworld Shatter!"
He slashed upward.
Crimson lightning crackled violently around him—Haoshoku Haki, released in full force. The dark red currents wrapped around his blade, and a slender blue slash shot skyward.
For a split second, the world fell silent.
Then—
A flash of blue light.
The colossal iron sphere split cleanly in two.
"As expected of Rayleigh-san!"
"That was incredible!"
"You're a god!"
They knew how strong he was.
They still cheered exaggeratedly anyway.
Young Rayleigh stood there, handsome and composed, maintaining his usual cool demeanor—
Until the cheers reached his ears.
His lips twitched.
He scratched the back of his head.
"Ah, come on… it wasn't that impressive, you idiots! Even if you praise me, I'm not happy about it!"
If word of this got out, the world would be shocked to see the legendary Dark King acting like this.
But the danger wasn't over.
Though the iron sphere had been cut in half, each half was still enormous.
"I'll handle it!"
Scopper Gaban gripped his twin axes.
Compared to swords, axes lacked finesse—but in sheer destructive force, they were superior.
"Severing Tremor!"
A peculiar vibration pulsed through his blades. The axes clashed together once—
Then he launched himself skyward.
His body flickered through the air in rapid bursts, steel clashing against steel in a storm of ringing impacts.
Explosions echoed across the sky.
The already-halved iron mass shattered further—
Reduced to harmless fragments.
An attack of that scale—
Wasn't enough to threaten a prepared Roger Pirates crew.
"Gwahahaha! That's my crew!"
Roger laughed heartily.
"If Garp's saying hello like that, then I'll return the favor!"
He stepped forward.
Sand burst beneath his foot.
Gripping Ace in both hands, his eyes glowed crimson.
"Kamusari!"
A scarlet shockwave—far larger than Rayleigh's slash—erupted from his blade, racing across the sea toward the Marine warship.
"That's the man with a 2.86 billion Berry bounty…?"
Roldy's eyes widened.
The crimson slash was unbelievably fast. More than that—
It carried a presence that made even him shudder.
For someone like Roldy—a warrior who barely understood fear—
There was only one explanation.
That attack triggered an instinctive, biological alarm.
A strike that all living beings would recognize as lethal.
"Wahahaha! Roger!!!"
Garp roared from the bow of the warship.
His aura surged to a level Roldy had never witnessed before.
Scarlet lightning danced around him—Haoshoku Haki made visible.
The very air around him twisted and distorted under the pressure.
Roldy stared in shock.
A human… could reach this level?
For the first time—
He thought Garp looked pretty cool.
At the very least…
He hadn't used Haoshoku Haki to beat me up.
"Rear Admiral Roldy! Hurry! Hold on to something like we are!"
A Marine's shout snapped Roldy out of his thoughts.
He turned—
Only to see the entire crew clutching whatever they could grab.
Some wrapped their arms around the thick mast.
Others latched onto the railings.
"What are you all doing—?"
He didn't get to finish.
"ROGER!!! I'M DRAGGING YOU BACK IN CHAINS THIS TIME!!!"
Garp roared.
Then—
He bent slightly at the waist.
His body lowered.
Leg muscles coiled tight.
His boots pressed into the deck, wood groaning beneath the pressure.
The Justice coat of a Marine Vice Admiral flapped wildly behind him.
In Roldy's eyes—
The usually carefree old man transformed into the most dangerous predator in the world.
"Old man, wait—"
Too late.
Garp grinned.
Then launched.
The deck exploded beneath his feet with a deafening boom.
Roldy's world flipped upside down.
A powerful sense of weightlessness seized him as Marines were flung into the air—only those gripping tightly avoided being launched outright.
Roldy was not so lucky.
Garp shot forward like a cannonball.
The sheer force of his leap tilted the massive warship itself.
Air shrieked violently.
A chain of sonic booms detonated behind him.
The clouds above split apart, blasted open by his ascent.
"He's coming."
Roger's Kenbunshoku Haki locked onto the incoming presence.
There was no need to guess who it was.
High above—
A figure descended, friction igniting flames around him.
Like a god falling from the heavens.
"Galaxy Impact!!!"
Roldy crashed back onto the deck in a heap.
When he lifted his head—
He saw Garp's descending figure.
His blood ran hot.
"Now this… this is exciting."
A wild exhilaration surged through him.
"Full speed ahead!"
"It's just Gol D. Roger—bring the ship in closer!!!"
At his roar, the warship surged forward at maximum power.
But Roldy's mind was still replaying Garp's leap.
His gaze shifted to the remaining cannonballs nearby.
He grinned.
Mimicking Garp's stance, he grabbed several shells at once, winding up like a professional pitcher.
"Moa Moa—Tenfold Scatter!"
The cannonballs swelled to ten times their original size mid-flight.
And unlike Garp—
Roldy's aim was excellent.
One massive shell struck the Oro Jackson directly.
An explosion thundered.
Black smoke billowed into the sky.
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