In that instant, Sengoku’s figure shone with golden light as his body rapidly expanded, transforming into an enormous golden Buddha.
“Pfft!”
Meanwhile, Garp leaped repeatedly through the air, creating rings of white shockwaves with each movement.
He pulled his right fist back, gathering strength rapidly as Armament Haki coiled around it like black armor.
“Interrupt him before he completes it!” Sengoku roared, and the giant palm of the golden Buddha thrust forward violently.
“Boom!”
An extremely fierce shockwave, howling as it descended, poured down from mid-air.
“Damn it!!”
Ron cursed inwardly.
The Tailed Beast Bomb was excellent in every way except for one thing: it required charging time to unleash its full power.
But now, with Sengoku’s shockwave already bearing down on him, Ron had no time to continue charging.
Gritting his teeth, he fired the half-formed Tailed Beast Bomb directly.
“Thump!”
The moment the Tailed Beast Bomb shot out, the sea beneath Ron’s feet exploded violently.
Massive waves surged outward, pushing his entire body backward several meters.
Immediately after, the Tailed Beast Bomb and the shockwave—two completely different forces—collided violently in mid-air.
“Boom!!”
The deafening explosion sent visible ring-shaped shockwaves sweeping in all directions, churning the sea into overlapping layers of towering waves.
Before the aftershocks could dissipate, another furious shout erupted from the air.
“Found you.”
Garp’s figure emerged from the fading light of the explosion, his right fist raised high.
Black arcs of electricity crackled around the Haki-wrapped fist.
“Fist Bone Impact!”
The fist, carrying destructive force, slammed down toward Ron’s position.
“Boom!!”
The sea surface instantly caved into a massive depression.
Columns of spray shot skyward as roaring waves spread outward in all directions.
“Ron!!” Kaido’s eyes darkened.
He didn’t want to see his “intern alliance” disband just days after its formation.
Whitebeard’s expression turned grave.
He knew all too well how powerful Garp was, and fighting on the sea made Ron’s situation even more perilous.
If Ron’s method of defying seawater failed, he would have no chance of escape.
“Hey, hey, hey, Stussy, why are you slowing down?!” Wang Zhi urged anxiously.
“If those Navy bastards catch up, we’ll all die here!”
“Wang Zhi, what are you saying?!” Kaido snapped, turning with fire in his eyes.
“Ron is buying time for us!
Otherwise, how could our speedboat outrun their warships?”
He tightened his grip on his spiked club, itching to strike Wang Zhi first.
As soon as he finished speaking, a dark red figure shot out from the towering waves.
“Thump, thump, thump.”
Ron, in his Tailed Beast Transformation, desperately sprinted across the sea surface on all fours, kicking up sprays of water in his wake.
In just one encounter, Ron had already caught up to the speedboat.
One of his massive beast claws reached out, grabbing the bow, and he resumed his frantic dash.
“This piece of junk isn’t even as fast as I am.
Everyone hold on tight—if you fall, I’m not picking you up,” Ron reminded them in his Tailed Beast form.
“Ron, you’re being too reckless.” Whitebeard stood steadily on the speedboat, his voice low.
“If Garp’s punch had knocked you into the sea, I couldn’t think of any way to save you.”
“I knew what I was doing.” Ron replied indifferently.
“Hey, Ron,” Kaido suddenly pointed at Wang Zhi, his anger still simmering as he tattled, “Why did you bring this bastard along?
This guy was about to abandon you and run just now!”
“Hey, hey, hey, you bastard Kaido, don’t go around saying things that undermine our unity!” Wang Zhi immediately retorted, then turned to Ron with a forced smile.
“Whether you believe me or him, that’s up to you.”
Ron was slightly taken aback for a moment, then in the next second, he used his other free beast claw to grab Kaido, Stussy, and Whitebeard.
In an instant, only Wang Zhi remained on the speedboat, gripping the edge tightly, his face pale.
“You…
what are you trying to do, Ron?” Wang Zhi asked, steeling himself.
“I feel a bit guilty making you wait,” Ron’s voice carried a hint of amusement.
“So I thought I’d let you go first.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he violently flung the speedboat forward.
It shot across the sea like a thrown dart, tracing an arc as it sped ahead.
Faintly, Ron could only hear Wang Zhi’s cursing.
“Bastard Ron, I’ll kill you!”
“Well done, Ron!” Kaido shouted excitedly.
“You’re quite the schemer…” Stussy added, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
“Hey, there’s an island outline to the right!
Let’s head that way.
Once we’re on land, we’ll have the advantage.”
Ron looked up and indeed, at the edge of the horizon, a faint patch of green emerged.
“Mm!” After responding, Ron accelerated once again, leaving a white trail of water on the sea’s surface.
A short while later, on the sea at a certain distance from the coast, the World Government’s warship slowly came to a stop.
Sengoku and Garp stood at the bow, gazing in the direction where Ron and the others had disappeared, their brows furrowed.
At this moment, they faced two choices: either continue the pursuit, but on land, unlike at sea, there were too many places to hide, making the search much more difficult.
And even if they found them, they might not gain any advantage.
Or, abandon the chase, return to their course, and act as if nothing had happened.
“That guy with four tails…
what’s his deal?” Garp glanced at Sengoku.
“If it weren’t for that thing suddenly appearing, things would have gone smoothly.”
“That guy is called Ron,” Sengoku said slowly, his eyes still fixed on the distance.
“A pirate who emerged at sea this year, nicknamed ‘Cold-Blooded Butcher.’ I didn’t expect him to have joined the Rocks Pirates.”
“Ron?” Garp repeated the name softly, a slow grin spreading across his face, revealing a row of white teeth.
“Good kid, I’ll remember him.
I’ll definitely make him taste my fists.”
Sengoku fell silent for a moment, then finally sighed.
“Forget it, let’s go.
We have everything here.
If we lose it, we won’t be able to explain it to the World Government.”
“Alright.” Garp nodded.
Then, he suddenly leaped up, performing consecutive mid-air steps as he moved toward the coastline.
“Hey, Garp!
What are you doing?!” Sengoku shouted.
“Don’t worry about me!” Garp’s voice came from the distance.
“You continue escorting the goods back.
I’ll go find them myself!”
“You idiot, come back here!” Sengoku roared angrily.
Just moments ago, he thought Garp had changed, finally understanding the importance of the bigger picture, but now he was acting recklessly again!
Garp paid him no mind.
After landing on the shore, he sprinted inland without looking back, his figure quickly disappearing into the coconut grove.
“Truly infuriating,” Sengoku muttered through gritted teeth.
Yet he didn’t order the ship to depart.
He couldn’t bring himself to leave behind his partner who always acted so impulsively, deciding to wait a while longer.
A long time later.
A booming voice suddenly echoed along the coastline.
“Hey, Sengoku, are you waiting for me?”
Sengoku, who had been sitting dazed on the warship’s railing, jolted in surprise and instinctively looked toward the shore.
There on the coast, a burly man wielding a naginata came into view.
“Edward Newgate?”