In that single instant, Sengoku’s form radiated brilliant golden light.
His body expanded at high speed, transforming into an enormous golden Buddha.
Pop!
Garp leaped continuously through the air, sending circular shockwaves of white air bursting beneath his feet.
Pulling his right fist back, he rapidly gathered power, wrapping his hand in pitch-black Armament Haki.
“Interrupt him before he finishes!” Sengoku bellowed, thrusting the giant palm of the golden Buddha fiercely forward.
BOOM!
A ferocious shockwave roared through the air, pouring down from the sky.
Shit!
Ron cursed inwardly.
The Tailed Beast Ball was great in every aspect except that it required charge time; otherwise, it was hard to unleash its full power.
Right now, Sengoku’s shockwave was already upon him.
Unable to charge any longer, he gritted his teeth and launched the half-formed Tailed Beast Ball directly into the air.
THUD!
The moment the Tailed Beast Ball shot out, the sea beneath Ron’s feet burst apart.
Giant waves surged around him, pushing him backward across the water by several meters.
Immediately after, the two vastly different forces collided violently mid-air.
BOOOM—!
The deafening roar of the explosion shook the sky.
The shockwaves turned into visible rings of blasted air, sweeping in all directions as towering waves stacked upon one another across the ocean.
Before the fallout even cleared, another roar erupted from the sky.
“Found you!”
Garp’s figure burst through the fading glare of the blast.
His right fist was raised high, with black arcs of lightning crackling around the Haki-clad punch.
“Fist Bone Impact!”
Carrying destructive power, the fist slammed down violently toward Ron’s position.
BOOM—!
The surface of the sea was instantly crushed into a massive crater.
Waves shot skyward, rolling outward in all directions with deafening roars.
“Ron!!” Kaido’s gaze darkened.
He didn’t want to see his “Apprentice Alliance” fall apart only days after being formed.
Whitebeard’s expression turned grim.
He knew Garp’s strength all too well, and fighting over open water made Ron’s situation far more dangerous.
Once his method of ignoring the sea failed, Ron would have nowhere left to run.
“Hey, hey, Stussy, why are you slowing down?!” Ochoku urged anxiously.
“If those Marine bastards catch up to us, we’ll all end up buried here!”
“Ochoku, what the hell are you saying?!” Kaido snapped his head around, his eyes burning with anger.
“Ron did that to buy us time!
Otherwise, how could our speedboat ever outrun their warship?”
He gripped his spiked club tightly, itching to take a swing at Ochoku first.
Before his voice fully settled, a dark red figure burst out from the rising wall of water.
Thud, thud, thud.
The transformed Ron sprinted desperately across the sea on all fours, kicking up a trail of white spray behind him.
In the blink of an eye, Ron caught up to the speedboat.
Extending a massive beast claw, he snatched the bow and accelerated forward once again.
“This piece of junk doesn’t even run as fast as me.
Hold on tight, everyone—if you fall off, I’m not picking you up,” the transformed Ron warned.
“Ron, you’re being too reckless,” Whitebeard said in a heavy voice, standing firmly on the speedboat.
“If Garp’s punch had knocked you into the sea, I wouldn’t have had any way to save you.”
“I know what I’m doing,” Ron replied flatly.
“Hey, Ron,” Kaido suddenly pointed at Ochoku, venting his anger.
“Why did you bring this bastard along?
He wanted to leave you behind and run for it just now!”
“Hey, hey, you bastard Kaido, don’t throw around words that hurt team unity!” Ochoku shot back immediately, then turned to force a smile at Ron.
“Whether you trust me or him, decide for yourself.”
Ron paused slightly.
The next second, he reached out with his other free claw and scooped up Kaido, Stussy, and Whitebeard.
Suddenly, Ochoku was the only one left on the speedboat.
He gripped the edge of the hull tightly, his face turning pale.
“What…
what are you trying to do, Ron?” Ochoku asked, forcing himself to speak.
“I feel a bit bad making you wait,” Ron’s voice carried a hint of a smile.
“So I figured I’d let you go first.”
The moment the words left his mouth, he hurled the speedboat forward.
Like a thrown dart, the boat skimmed the sea surface, carving an arc as it shot rapidly ahead.
Faintly, Ron caught only a single curse from Ochoku drifting back:
“Damn you, Ron, I’ll kill you!”
“Nice work, Ron!” Kaido shouted excitedly.
“You really have a wicked side to you…” Stussy added, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
“Hey, there’s the outline of an island on the right!
Let’s head there.
Once we get ashore, the advantage will be ours.”
Ron looked up.
Sure enough, a faint patch of green emerged on the horizon.
“Yeah!” With an answer, Ron’s speed spiked again, leaving a clear white wake across the ocean.
A short while later, across the waters some distance from the coast, the World Government warship slowly came to a halt.
Sengoku and Garp stood at the bow, looking in the direction where Ron and the others had disappeared, their brows tightly knit.
At this point, they faced two choices: continue the pursuit, though an island offered far too many hiding spots compared to the open sea, making a search far more difficult.
Even if they found them, they might not gain much of an upper hand.
Or they could abandon the chase, return to their route, and act as if nothing had happened.
“That four-tailed guy…
what was his deal?” Garp glanced sideways at Sengoku.
“If that thing hadn’t suddenly popped out, things would have gone smoothly.”
“His name is Ron,” Sengoku said slowly, his gaze still fixed on the distance.
“A pirate who made a name for himself across the sea this past year, known as the ‘Cold-Blooded Butcher.’ I didn’t expect him to have joined the Rocks Pirates.”
“Ron?” Garp repeated the name in a low voice, a wide grin spreading across his face to reveal a set of white teeth.
“Good kid.
I’ll remember him.
I’m definitely going to make him taste my fists.”
Sengoku stayed silent for a moment before finally sighing: “Forget it, let’s leave.
The cargo is all with us.
If it gets lost, we won’t be able to answer to the World Government.”
“Alright,” Garp nodded.
Then, he leaped abruptly into the air, kicking off the empty atmosphere step after step as he rushed toward the coast.
“Hey, Garp!
What are you doing?!” Sengoku shouted.
“Don’t worry about me!” Garp’s voice drifted back from afar.
“Keep escorting the cargo back—I’m going over to find them myself!”
“You idiot, get back here!” Sengoku cursed in anger.
Just moments ago he had thought Garp had changed and learned to prioritize the bigger picture, only for him to turn around and do whatever he wanted!
Garp ignored him completely.
After landing on the shore, he dashed straight into the island without looking back, his figure quickly disappearing into the palm forest.
“Truly infuriating,” Sengoku muttered through gritted teeth.
Still, he didn’t give the order to set sail.
Unable to leave his reckless partner behind, he decided to wait on the spot.
A long while later.
Along the coast, a booming voice suddenly rang out.
“Hey, Sengoku, are you waiting for me?”
Sengoku, who had been sitting on the warship’s railing lost in thought, was startled.
He instinctively looked toward the shore.
On the beach, a burly man holding a naginata came into full view.
“Edward Newgate?”