With a single strike, the entire Marine Base was reduced to ruins.
From beneath a heap of shattered debris, a hand suddenly pushed through.
Light forced aside the rubble and crawled out, his head bleeding and his body riddled with wounds.
“Cough, cough.” He spat out dark blood.
As a user of the Dark-Dark Fruit, Light possessed the power of a Logia, yet he could not elementalize.
In the face of Garp’s overwhelming Haki, even if he could, it would have made no difference.
Worse still, the fruit’s drawback doubled the pain he felt.
Every inch of his body throbbed as if crushed.
Yet the fruit also granted him something unique.
While he could not disperse his body like other Logia users, the darkness within him slowly absorbed damage.
Thin wisps of black smoke rose from his wounds, mending torn flesh bit by bit.
On top of that, his E-rank constitution gave him a recovery rate far beyond an ordinary person.
His recent training had strengthened his body significantly.
Though he looked battered, he would recover fully with time.
Less than two minutes after emerging, movement came from another pile of rubble twenty meters away.
Smoker climbed out, covered in dust, with only minor cuts across his body.
“That old man…” Smoker looked at the destroyed Marine Base, his expression tight with frustration.
Light exhaled slowly and said, “Vice Admiral Garp had the advantage in that exchange.
He already knew Teach wasn’t weak, so holding back wasn’t an option.
If the fight dragged on, the damage would have been far worse.”
At first, Light had cursed Garp when he was caught in that attack.
Now, he understood.
Garp had made his decision the moment he struck.
There was no hesitation.
At the center of the ruins, Vice Admiral Garp stood tall in his justice coat, his expression grim.
His gaze fixed on a section of collapsed ground.
Through Observation Haki, he had already located them.
A burst of flames erupted, and Portgas D.
Ace stepped out.
Ace looked far worse than the others.
His ribs were likely fractured.
Moments later, Marshall D.
Teach climbed out as well.
He looked disheveled, but his injuries were noticeably lighter than Ace’s.
Garp’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Light had not been exaggerating.
Teach was dangerous.
That punch earlier had not landed cleanly.
At the last moment, Teach had reinforced himself with Armament Haki, reducing the damage.
His reaction speed and Haki control had even surpassed Ace’s.
Yet such a man had remained completely unknown, with no bounty to his name.
Either he avoided attention deliberately, or he was hiding something far darker.
Garp clenched his fist, coating it once again in dense Armament Haki.
“I failed to raise you properly as a Marine,” he said, his voice low.
“I was too lenient with you, Ace.
Your pirate journey ends here.”
Ace steadied his breathing.
“I never wanted to be a Marine.
Stop forcing your beliefs on me.”
Garp’s gaze hardened.
“Then words are useless.”
The ground beneath his feet shattered as he launched forward.
Rocks and dust exploded outward as he charged like a human weapon.
Flames ignited across Ace’s body.
His Observation Haki stretched outward, trying to track Garp’s movement.
It wasn’t enough.
Garp wasn’t moving in a straight line.
His path shifted unpredictably, making it nearly impossible to follow.
In an instant, Garp appeared between Ace and Teach.
Ace raised his guard, preparing to take the blow.
Garp’s target wasn’t him.
Teach blinked in shock.
“Old man, you’re yelling at your grandson, so why are you coming for me?”
Despite his words, his reaction was immediate.
A clawed weapon snapped into place over his hand as Armament Haki surged over it.
Garp’s punch crashed into it.
A sharp impact rang out as Teach blocked the strike.
Ace stared in disbelief.
“He blocked it head-on?”
Teach grinned, about to speak, but Garp had already moved.
He had never underestimated Teach for a second.
As their clash ended, Garp’s fist shifted into a grip, locking tightly around Teach’s wrist.
“Got you.”
A monstrous force erupted from his arm.
Teach was yanked off his feet before he could react.
“Ocean Drop!”
Garp swung him violently and hurled him straight toward Ace.
Ace reacted instantly.
Flames burst outward as his body transformed and shot into the sky, avoiding the impact.
Teach wasn’t so fortunate.
He slammed headfirst into the ground.
The impact shattered the surface, splitting it open into a massive chasm as his body disappeared into the depths.
“Fire Fist: Flame Pillar!”
Ace counterattacked from above.
Flames surged from his arms, forming a towering column that crashed down toward Garp.
Then, darkness erupted.
“Black Oblivion: Torrent!”
A surge of black energy swallowed the flames whole.
Wherever it passed, fire vanished without resistance.
Ace’s eyes widened.
Before he could react further, a powerful gravitational force seized him.
His body was dragged downward, pulled straight toward the heart of the darkness.