Enma had left.
She returned to the Starfish Underworld, bringing along Matatabi that Imu was somewhat reluctant to part with.
As Imu sat on the sofa in the living room, sipping his tea and pondering...
[Polu-purupuru, Polu-purupuru]
At that moment, the golden Den-Den Mushi on the coffee table suddenly rang.
With a flick of Imu's thoughts, the receiver floated automatically to his mouth.
"Hello?"
"Reporting to Lord Imu—"
The caller was Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro.
"The date for the duel between Bullet and Garp has been set for September 18th. The location will be an uninhabited island in the first half of the Grand Line."
"As for Uchiha Madara, his opponent has also been confirmed. The match is scheduled for September 20th, to take place on another deserted island in the second half of the Grand Line. It will be broadcast live to the entire world under the World Government's jurisdiction."
Imu nodded—he had no objections to any of that.
"Who is Uchiha Madara's opponent?"
Imu asked curiously.
But the moment he heard the answer, his expression grew strange.
"It's him?"
But Imu quickly came to terms with it and muttered inwardly: 'Yeah… given the current situation, he's probably the only one who can step up.'
Still—what a shame.
Newgate had refused.
Sigh—Uchiha Madara still had a long way to go.
At the very least, he needed to reach a point where others would take him seriously.
And this challenge…
Was the perfect opportunity!
The call ended.
Suddenly, the Five-Ringed Cross marking on the back of Imu's right hand radiated with white light.
The next moment—
A glowing portal appeared out of thin air before him, connecting directly to his pocket dimension.
In no time, Imu stepped into the pristine white portal and vanished.
...
Umigakure.
Inside the Kaikage's office, Uzui Tengen beamed cheerfully as he looked at Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, who had been summoned to the room.
Both of them exchanged slightly helpless looks at the sight of this overly enthusiastic Kaikage.
"First of all, our esteemed Hokage-sama—the Command Headquarters has finalized the General you'll be challenging, along with the time and location. However—"
"However what?" Madara asked.
"However, they've decided that this battle will be live-streamed to all the worlds under the World Government."
Uzui Tengen glanced at Madara with a hint of concern.
"Hmph, so that's it—they want to use me to highlight how terrifying the Generals are, to intimidate the other worlds. But that suits me just fine. It's about time the name Uchiha Madara echoed throughout the multiverse!"
Madara lifted his chin, eyes brimming with arrogance and disdain for everything beneath him.
Senju Hashirama, standing beside him, just smiled wryly.
"Well then, I wish you great success in battle!" said Uzui Tengen. Then, turning his gaze to Hashirama, he smiled and added, "As for you, Mokukage-sama, I've invited you here to assess someone's strength—To determine whether they're worthy of becoming the third ninja to earn a Kage-level title."
Even Uchiha Madara reacted to that—
While Hashirama grew visibly intrigued.
Could there really be another shinobi in the world capable of standing on equal ground with the two of them?
"What's this person's name?"
"Hiruko!"
...
Sea Circle Calendar 1503.
September 18th, 10:43 a.m.
The first half of the Grand Line.
Near the South Blue, an uninhabited island with a land area of nearly 6,000 square kilometers.
Dark clouds loomed overhead, and gusts of cold wind swept the land.
Outside the island, waves roared and crashed relentlessly against the shores.
At the center of the island—
Douglas Bullet and Monkey D. Garp stood facing each other from over a hundred meters apart.
The former's gaze was resolute and brimming with fighting spirit. A powerful aura surged around him like a gale, making the black-as-ink Justice coat on his back billow wildly in the wind.
The latter bared his teeth in a wide grin, casually swinging his thick arms while the snow-white Justice coat rested gently on his back without a ripple.
If Bullet won this battle against Garp—
Then he would earn the right to challenge Imu.
But if, like the previous four times, he lost again—
He would no longer be allowed to challenge Garp so lightly, much less Imu. Furthermore, he would lose his status as one of the Ōka Shichibukai and be demoted to an ordinary Army General.
As for Garp, naturally, he wasn't taking on these fights for free.
Each time he accepted a challenge from Bullet, win or lose, he received a payment of 10 million Berries.
If he lost, there was no punishment. But if he won, he'd earn enough military merit points to exchange for a legendary-grade secret treasure.
So over the past four years, Garp had made quite a bit off of Bullet.
That said, Bullet wasn't exactly at a loss either.
A full-power fight with Garp once a year gave him comprehensive growth in all aspects.
At the same time—
Though this duel wasn't being broadcast publicly, all high-ranking officials within the World Government had access to a private channel streaming the fight in real time.
...
"Old man, this time, I feel like I can win—and that feeling is strong!"
Bullet tilted his chin up, laughing recklessly into the wind.
"Bwahahaha!"
Garp burst into hearty laughter the moment he heard Bullet's words.
"Don't get cocky, you little shark brat! If you think you can beat these fists of mine, you've got a long way to go!"
To be fair, Garp could also feel just how terrifying Bullet's growth rate had become.
That was the power of the World Government's resources backing him.
But Garp had no objections.
After all, he had spent far more time within the World Government than the man standing before him.
Of course, if one were to calculate from the moment the Dimensional Gate opened, then the two of them were technically equal.
[BOOM!!!]
"Then bring it on, old man Garp!"
Bullet's expression suddenly turned ice cold as he let out a thunderous roar toward Garp.
In the next instant, his fighting spirit and aura erupted without restraint, bursting forth like a violent explosion.
His visible blue-violet aura surged outward like a real tempest, crashing forward with unimaginable spiritual force, like a tidal wave threatening to drown the entire battlefield.
"Come on, brat! Let's see if you can handle these fists again!"
The energy radiating from Garp's body was like an erupting volcano.
The ground trembled violently under the weight of his immense power, earth and stone quivering in response.
In that moment—
Crackling dark red lightning burst forth, morphing into a ferocious aura as fierce as a raging sea, clashing head-on with Bullet's Conqueror's Haki.
[RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE————]
The skies above the island instantly lost their color.
The blue-violet aura and the black-red aura dominated opposite sides of the battlefield, crashing into one another in a deadlock.
The next second—
Bullet and Garp launched forward at nearly the same moment.
In the blink of an eye, both appeared precisely at the point where their Conqueror's Haki had collided.
Behind them—
Long trails of violet and crimson afterimages streaked through the air, accompanied by successive shockwave rings that were visible to the naked eye.
[BOOM!!!!!!!]
Two fists both wrapped in crackling lightning and coated with a layer of red-tinged black energy, collided with devastating force, barely one meter apart.
A thunderous crash, rivaling the roar of a storm, erupted through the battlefield.
Immediately after, wave after wave of translucent shockwaves surged outward like tides in every direction, spreading across the air and into the ground beneath their feet.
What followed now was a pure contest of the most ferocious internal force each man could summon.
The ground beneath them convulsed violently, cracking open with jagged fissures and fractures.
Layer after layer of soil was blasted outward by invisible pressure, carving out a massive ring-shaped crater that covered most of the island.
"You little brat—you've gotten stronger again! Bwahahahaha!"
Rather than being alarmed by the force he felt, Garp was thrilled.
Bullet said nothing in response—but inwardly, he was taken aback.
Garp's power was far greater than he had expected...
"Hmph, so what? This time—I will win!"
Bullet roared in his heart.
...
As expected.
Just as many spectators had predicted—
Once Garp and Bullet clashed, it became clear that this wouldn't be a fight that could be settled in a day or two.
Meanwhile—
While the fierce battle between Garp and Bullet raged on...
The World Government had already launched a full-scale propaganda campaign across all its affiliated worlds—
Promoting Uchiha Madara's challenge against the military's General-rank power.
Freshly printed newspapers scattered across the world.
Countless videos introducing Uchiha Madara appeared before the eyes of the masses.
Just like that, Uchiha Madara became famous!
Before the fight had even begun, his name, identity, and appearance had already become known across multiple worlds.
With his striking appearance, cold demeanor, and piercing gaze, he rapidly gained a massive following in these worlds.
Madara paid them no mind. He had zero interest in such things.
Right now, clad in crimson Sengoku armor, he was walking through the surging waves—step by step, splashing across the water toward the deserted island up ahead.
Above him—
Several airships bearing the emblem of the Five-Ring Cross floated high in the sky.
Each ship was equipped with massive stabilized Den-Den Mushi, broadcasting the footage live to Starfish and many other worlds.
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