Uchiha Madara was sent back to Wano Island by the ship.
Since the ship already had a standby professional medical team composed of bio-alchemists, medical-nin, and other elite doctors from the Medical Academy, they could treat Uchiha Madara's injuries directly onboard.
But in truth, his wounds weren't all that serious.
It was mainly the severe exhaustion of both his stamina and mental energy that caused his collapse and unconsciousness.
Meanwhile, Imu, the Five Elders, Kong, Sengoku, Zephyr, Dragon, and other top leaders had already turned their attention to the battle between Garp and Bullet.
By now, it was the fourth day of their battle.
Both Garp and Bullet bore plenty of injuries.
The most striking were the massive fist marks across their bare chests!
And that was only the damage visible on the surface.
Since both men had mastered the flowing form of Armament Haki, the internal damage they suffered was even greater.
"Bwahahahaha!"
"Damn, that feels good!"
Taking advantage of yet another clash and separation, Garp paid no mind to the fact that his suit jacket and his Justice coat had been blown clean off. Stepping on the air with Geppo, he threw his head back and roared with laughter.
This had to be the most satisfying fight of his life.
"Hehehehehe, yeah—this fight feels great!"
Across from him, Bullet made no move to attack right away, a broad smile spreading across his face.
He could clearly feel that Garp's breathing had grown heavy, and the sweat streaming from him was running like water.
"Reality is cruel, Garp. In the end, you've stalled at the peak and I've caught up to you. And in less than half a day, I'll completely surpass you—becoming the strongest General-class force in the entire military!"
Bullet declared it boldly, letting the high-altitude winds whip wildly around him.
"Bwahahahaha~~ Bwahahahaha~~~"
Bullet's words seemed to completely set Garp off. He burst out laughing so hard his mouth could barely close, tears streaming from the corners of his narrowed eyes in exaggerated arcs.
"What the hell are you laughing at?!" Bullet demanded in a cold, irritated tone.
Garp managed to rein in his laughter with some effort, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Of course I'm laughing at how ridiculously cocky you are, kid, not knowing your own limits."
"What did you say?!" Bullet's eyes flared with anger.
But Garp just waved it off, utterly unfazed.
"I really didn't expect that someone who's had a taste of a higher level could still be so smug just for reaching the level I was at before. Tch… so that's all the ambition you've got!"
Bullet didn't quite get it at first—and neither did Sengoku, Zephyr, and the others watching through the screen. They were all stunned.
"Brat… it's about time I taught you what it means to respect your elders!"
Out on the storm-lashed sea, Garp grinned, flashing a mouth full of white teeth.
Before Bullet could react, a faint, dim light suddenly flared from Garp's body.
It wasn't an aura of flames, but rather a layer of flowing light clinging tight to his skin.
It looked similar to the effect of using the flowing form of Armament Haki (internal destruction), except—
Its color wasn't the usual cherry-red, but a grey tinged with shimmering silver specks.
And then—
Garp's Geppo stopped.
Yet he was still standing in the sky, as if an invisible, perfectly flat, and solid ground lay beneath his feet.
...
"This is…"
On the Noah's Ark, Imu's eyes snapped wide open.
"Colorless Haki?!"
At the same time, Imu knew—the fight was already over.
So all this time, Garp had just been playing with Bullet?
Or had he simply been savoring what might be his last battle using the three standard forms of Haki?
...
What is Colorless Haki?
Colorless Haki is the ultimate fusion of Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and Conqueror's Haki, achieved when all three reach their absolute peak—forming a higher realm of Haki.
It is the sublimation of will and spirit. Even if the body is destroyed, the soul can, under the support of Colorless Haki, reject the call of the Underworld's will, remain in the human world to live normally, and even slip into other objects to control them.
It possesses all the abilities of Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and Conqueror's Haki—
—but every aspect of it is vastly enhanced, because this is not a quantitative change, but a qualitative leap.
In form—
Though it is called "colorless," it actually manifests with a unique hue drawn from the user's own heart.
At the same time—
Colorless Haki can condense lightning far more formidable than the spiritual lightning of Conqueror's Haki—Colorless Lightning.
Not only does it deliver the same intense shock to living beings' wills and spirits, but it also carries all the physical properties of natural lightning—like a lightning-type Devil Fruit user without the ability to turn into an element, yet also without any elemental weaknesses.
But the greatest advantage of Colorless Haki is that it can grow with virtually no upper limit.
That is why, even though Garp has already become a Colorless Haki user like Imu, the difference in their strength is still enormous.
However—
A user of the three-color Haki, without other powers to support them, absolutely—absolutely—absolutely cannot stand against a Colorless Haki user.
Because again—this is a qualitative leap, an ascension.
So even though Garp has just stepped into the realm of Colorless Haki, he is still far beyond what the current Bullet could contend with.
On this point—
Right now, facing Garp head-on in the air, Bullet felt it deeply.
His sharp sixth sense was like a siren going off, flooding his heart with a crushing sense of crisis and tension, warning him again and again just how dangerous the situation was.
The layer of silver-star-flecked gray light flowing over Garp's body might not have been dazzling in itself, yet in Bullet's eyes, it blazed like the sun.
"You—!"
"This… th-this is… Colorless Haki! You actually reached this realm?!"
Bullet's voice was a hoarse, hysterical roar—
—but within it, the desire was impossible to hide.
This was a power that only that man above all others was supposed to have!
"Now you understand, boy. Your so-called dream of surpassing me was nothing but delusion from the start. So—are you ready to admit defeat?"
Garp grinned as he asked Bullet.
Bullet was silent for a moment, then a cold smile crept onto his face. "Admit defeat? Don't underestimate me!"
With fighting spirit blazing, he met Garp's gaze, his voice a defiant roar. "Don't talk to me about you, Garp—even if he were standing here, I'd still dare to throw a punch!"
But Garp replied calmly, "The problem is—you can't lift your fists right now."
"What?"
Bullet's heart jolted. He tried to raise his arms—
—but in that instant, he felt a crushing force pressing in from every direction, locking his entire body in place.
Only his eyes could move, darting around to find the source—until he noticed strands of shimmering silver-gray light drifting in the air all around him.
The sight struck him like a flashback to when he had first stood in the Empty Hall before Imu.
The resemblance was uncanny—
—though the pressure now was nothing compared to that.
Still, either one was enough to render him immobile.
This was the suppression of Colorless Haki.
Step by step, Garp walked across the empty air toward Bullet, each footfall on an invisible stair bringing him to eye level with Bullet's bloodshot, furious gaze.
"I can't force you to your knees right now, and I can't hold you like this for long—but you know full well this much time is more than enough for me to kill you."
Garp smirked. "You've lost, kid."
"But! I! Still! Have! My! Will!"
Bullet forced the words out through gritted teeth, every syllable costing him all his strength.
"Stubborn as hell, bwahahaha! But I like that. I hope my grandson grows up to be like you!"
Garp laughed hard, then let the grin fade from his face.
Raising his fist, now wrapped in Colorless Haki, he spoke with grave finality: "In that case, feel for yourself the power of a higher realm!"
"Heh… Bring it!!!" Bullet's roar was half madness, half challenge.
In the next instant, Garp's right arm became a silver-gray bolt of lightning, slamming straight into Bullet's rock-hard, steel-defying abs.
[Bang!]
The sound wasn't loud, but the dull impact was sharp and clear.
[BOOOOM—!]
Suddenly, a visible pillar of air blasted from Bullet's back, tearing through sheets of rain and punching a hole in the dark clouds above.
"Your road ahead is still long, boy. Keep chasing—I'll always be in front."
Garp withdrew his lightning-wreathed fist, opening his hand to lightly pat Bullet on the shoulder.
By now, Bullet had already fallen unconscious.
Carrying Bullet's massive body, Garp sped toward a distant ship.
And so—
The final battle of the five-year pact between Bullet and Garp came to a close.
And it left the entire upper echelon of the World Government, as well as the mighty figures of the Starfish, with a clear understanding of Colorless Haki's overwhelming power.
Without question—Garp was now the strongest force under Imu.
He could no longer be described in terms of mere general-level combat strength—
—at least, not until the other generals all possessed power on par with his own.
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