Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Garp’s Fighting Will
After the storm and raging winds, the sea fell into eerie silence.
So silent it was terrifying, anyone still conscious felt the heavy pressure.
When the burst of Haki tore the skies apart, light spread across the land, turning the battlefield into a one-man show.
Those who can determine the future of the world are always few.
There are many kings in the world, but only one can sit on the throne—the one and only.
Neither Roy nor Garp took a single step back.
Their clash of Haki sent waves rippling out in every direction.
Boom!"
With a thunderous roar, the Haki, compressed to its absolute limit, finally exploded between their fists. A visible shockwave blasted outwards.
Warships collapsed, the frozen sea shattered, and countless people were hurled into the sky, but only two figures remained standing in the chaos.
Garp and Roy had been pushed apart. They looked at each other.
"Young people these days..."Garp looked at his fist, then at the ground beneath him.
The distance between them wasn't due to him stepping back, but because he had been blown away by Roy's strike.
Seeing the footprints under his feet, Garp admitted to himself that he was old. He took Roy seriously now; he hadn't expected this man to be so powerful.
"Looks like I can afford to be even more slightly rampant."
Roy stared at his fists, finally gaining a clear sense of his own strength.
If even Garp couldn't take him down, who was left to fear?
He clenched his fists, Haki bursting forth completely.
This time, he had no intention of holding back; he would release everything in one go.
Buzz!!!
As the Haki surged from his body, the earth trembled, and the sky changed color once again.
This time, all Marine soldiers below Vice Admiral rank, as well as pirate captains and crew below division commander level on Whitebeard's side, fainted instantly.
Roy's Conqueror's Haki was like no other in the world. Even the three Marine Admirals, still in battle, felt their Devil Fruit powers suddenly suppressed; they could no longer use them temporarily.
"This Haki..."
It was Garp's first time witnessing such terrifying Haki. Roy had released it all at once. The earth around him seemed chewed away; a massive area around Roy had been completely destroyed.
"Roy!!"
Whitebeard was stunned. He never imagined Roy had such violent Haki, at the peak of Conqueror's Haki. In all his years, he'd never seen anything like it.
Even his own Tremor-Tremor Fruit power was suppressed. His Conqueror's Haki had been compressed around his body, unable to extend.
"Big Bro!!"
Marco and the others were in disbelief. Such terrifying Haki didn't distinguish between ally and enemy. Marines or pirates—it wiped out everyone's fighting power.
"Big Bro's Haki is too terrifying. I feel like I don't even have the strength to move," Jozu said, gasping.
The released Haki lasted only a moment before it rapidly retracted and condensed. Visibly, the waves of energy were drawn back, converging onto Roy's fists.
His fists were now wrapped in flowing Conqueror's Haki, so intense it made onlookers tremble.
"Garp, can you withstand this punch?"
"If I can't, I still have to try!" Garp took a step forward.
In his eyes, Roy had no real combat technique, clearly someone who hadn't experienced much battle.
Yet he had this kind of Haki. It made no sense to Garp.
There's only one way to build Haki.
Battle.
Only through constant fighting can Haki be accumulated, and breaking through your limits can be made.
Roy's Haki seemed more like a Devil Fruit ability, something bestowed upon him all at once.
His usage of it was crude, like a child swinging a weapon. But that weapon was deadly, so Garp had no choice but to be cautious.
He raised his aura, instantly condensing all his Haki onto his fist with his rich experience.
"Young man, let me show you what real combat looks like."
Roy charged in. Garp punched, seemingly spotting a flaw in Roy's stance.
But from others' eyes, that punch seemed... off.
"GARP!!!"
Aokiji cried out in alarm.
Garp realized something was wrong, but it was too late.
He had clearly aimed at Roy, but the punch missed completely.
By the time he regained his senses, Roy's fist was already smashing into his chest.
"This punch is called 'Rage', it carries my fury against the injustice of this world," Roy whispered into Garp's ear.
Garp, in pain, managed a grin.
"You're still too young."
Then, he grabbed Roy's hand and, with great force, lifted him and slammed him hard into the ground.
Roy hadn't expected Garp to still have fight in him—this guy's durability was off the charts.
But after the throw, Garp coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed on the spot, completely out cold.
"Vice Admiral Garp!"
Aokiji rushed over.
"Fire Fist!"
Ace blocked his path, but was instantly frozen.
An enraged Aokiji was going all-out. Ace broke free from the ice and saw Aokiji holding Garp.
He wanted to approach, to, no matter what, that was still his grandfather.
Garp lay still, a deep fist-shaped dent in his chest.
One punch had settled the outcome.
Roy stood up, blood dripping from his hair, quickly covering his face.
"It's been a long time since I bled. Last time was... maybe thirty years ago."
He touched the sticky blood with his fingers.
He had prepared, but Garp still managed to land a hit; he felt dizzy.
Lack of battle experience. He had assumed one clean hit would finish Garp, but Garp seized the chance to counterattack.
"Next time, I need to be more careful. One misstep, and I'll end up like him."
Garp had only been hit because Roy's Haki disrupted his Observation Haki, causing him to miss his punch.
If not for that, beating Garp wouldn't have been so easy.
His Haki might be overpowered, but true combat is about technique and willpower. Roy still had a long way to go.
"Shall we continue fighting?" Roy asked Aokiji.
He still had strength, at least enough to take down one more Admiral.
Aokiji looked at Garp, who now needed long-term recovery. If the fight continued, things wouldn't end well.
He had never agreed with launching a war against the Whitebeard Pirates in the New World. This war was a mistake.
The Marine had no absolute advantage; it would only lead to more innocent casualties.
But the decision wasn't his to make. The war's command lay with Vice Admiral Tsuru.
"Have you made contact? What's the word?" Vice Admiral Tsuru asked the CP0 agents behind her, looking at the fallen Garp with no visible emotion.
"The Five Elders ordered: Continue the battle."
"Do they want to bury the entire Marines here?" Tsuru said coldly.
"That is the order of the Five Elders."
"Give me the Den Den Mushi. I will speak with them directly," she said.
CP0 exchanged glances and handed her the transpoder snail.
"Garp has been defeated. We're surrounded. We've just received new intel: the Big Mom Pirates have mobilized. Soon, a second Emperor will arrive. If we keep fighting, we'll all die here," Tsuru said into the Den Den Mushi.
"GARP WAS DEFEATED?!"
...
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu