Chapter 195: Fist Bone Impact, the Strength of the Heart
What would you do if you saw a massive, 100-meter-long warship come flying through the air?
Right now, Critical Point felt like the gale could steal the breath from his lungs. It was like an immense shockwave surrounding the ship, which, accompanied by a towering wave, tore through the sky.
It crossed over the large fleet in an instant. Even the Gold Emperor (Gild Tesoro) had to take off his sunglasses, clicking his tongue as he stared at the colossus.
This was the kind of terrifying spectacle one only sees when an individual's power completely surpasses all limits. In this world, every time this happened, it meant... a terrifying monster, one completely beyond conventional power levels, had appeared.
"Hahahaha..."
Amidst the wild laughter, everyone knew who had arrived. On the white sail of the warship, the word [Justice] snapped in the wind.
Boom! The warship fell from the sky into the sea. The ocean surface instantly caved in, followed by an even more terrifying, massive wave that rolled out in all directions.
"Run! It's really Garp!"
From that one appearance alone, nearly two-thirds of the ships in the fleet began to turn and scatter. In the underworld, no one wanted to be Garp's enemy. Everyone knew this willful, rampaging "Hero of the Marines" possessed far too terrifying strength.
Michelin and the others' pupils were trembling. Feeling the raw deterrence of Garp's arrival up close, that intense shock to their spirit, even her desire for Singularities lessened.
Critical Point, however, was abnormally calm. He controlled the speedboat, weaving through the waves.
"We'll follow Garp. It's fine. We have a high reputation in this world and haven't committed any major atrocities. Even Garp won't attack us without reason..."
The [Justice] coat on Garp's back was their best guarantee. Critical Point had already been planning to abandon the mission on Skuld Island, avoid the rest of the fighting, and end with 0 points. But Garp's arrival smelled like an opportunity.
The Gold Emperor also regained his composure. He was the world's richest man, controlling over 20% of the world's Berries, the king of the underworld. He wasn't a bounty head. He wasn't afraid of Garp.
"Follow him!"
Garp stood at the bow, arms crossed. He wore that dog-head hat, but his presence was completely different from Dalmatian's, who had worn a similar outfit.
The warship instantly broke through the black fog and entered the waters of Skuld Island. The wrecked Marine ships and the numerous floating corpses made Garp's expression darken.
The devastation here was far worse than the reports from HQ. It wasn't just the branch Marines; even the elites sent from HQ had likely suffered heavy losses.
Garp looked at the dark, bizarre island and frowned. "What an incredibly stifling, unpleasant feeling."
From the black fog, Garp could feel too many unpleasant auras. It wasn't the smell of blood, or the stench of burnt corpses. It was a gloom that seemed to be suppressing countless despairs.
"All of you... if you're really that desperate, just clench your fists and smash that despair to pieces..."
"If one punch isn't enough, throw two. If two aren't enough, throw a thousand. A million. A hundred million..."
Garp stood at the bow and took another step. Everyone in the surrounding sea felt an abnormal aura explode.
That feeling, which made one's skin crawl as if electrified... it was, without a doubt, Conqueror's Haki!
This Hero of the Marines, this legendary soldier, possessed that quality.
Crimson-black lightning radiated from Garp. He suddenly bent his knees and leaped.
Vmm! The warship and the sea beneath it violently caved in, like a giant spring. With a deafening bang, Garp shot into the sky.
On Skuld Island, Enel, on the periphery, was the first to sense it. The air was agitated. The ions in the atmosphere were instantly erased.
He turned his head and saw, in the sky that should have been his domain, a powerfully built Marine, his body arched back, his fist raised high, wreathed in violent, crimson-black lightning.
It was this power that his ions couldn't withstand. This power... a power that surpassed his own divinity...
Enel's heart seized. He felt a pressure even more terrifying than the punch from that other guy (Kaito) descending from the heavens. He instantly dissolved into lightning and fled.
On the island below, the seven or eight monsters that had been ganging up on Kaito Shirogane—no, that were being beaten and hunted by Kaito—all sensed the anomaly above.
The flaming red bird (Doflamingo) looked up first. It raised its talons, and countless transparent strings appeared, each one strong enough to slice a warship. They tangled together, forming a massive "birdcage."
The giant werewolf (Jabra) instinctively tried to flee, but was grabbed by the tail by the white-eyed, Satsui-driven Kaito and smashed into the ground.
Flame Fiend, in his half-dragon form, was in bad shape, but he was almost... relieved. This Mercenary Tao, whatever had happened to him, was terrifyingly strong, giving him even more pressure than the real Mercenary Tao (from Dragon Ball) had.
That left arm ignored Enel's lightning, his own Blazing Flame, and Moon Fiend's slashes. It was unbelievably powerful. And the dense Satsui no Hado confirmed that the idiot Rose Tiger had actually completed his trade.
The corrosive effect of the Satsui no Hado was so strong you'd get hurt just by being grazed. Good thing everyone here was tough and had strong regeneration.
But more importantly, Kaito's state was wrong.
His power level was fluctuating wildly.
When he was strong, he had instant-killed Black Death and crushed Moon Fiend while being ganged up on. But when he was weak, he'd be sent flying by the CP9-werewolf, as if he didn't know how to fight at all, just flailing instinctively.
This was the only reason they were still alive.
Flame Fiend guessed Kaito had been body-snatched by Roland, but the two were still fighting for control. This led to Kaito's bizarre state.
In other words, this was the perfect chance to kill both Special Reincarnators.
And not just them, but Moon Fiend too...
As he was thinking, that terrifying Conqueror's Haki erupted again. Flame Fiend thought it was Kaito, but he saw Kaito was still trading artless, weak blows with the werewolf, his form all wrong.
He looked up and saw a man falling from the sky, his fist wreathed in crimson Conqueror's Haki. The black fog was dispersed. In that instant, Flame Fiend felt the entire sky shatter.
That pure, unstoppable [Force] tore the sky and pierced the earth.
Flame Fiend wrapped his wings around himself, his barriers deploying. This was an attack from a true top-tier of this world. Even a Reincarnator like him didn't dare face it head-on.
"Ha~ Haha!"
Amidst the mad laughter, Flame Fiend saw Kaito kick the werewolf away—as if saving its life—and leap up, his left fist clenched, the [Crimson Lotus] exploding.
Garp fell, his punch carrying all the [Force] and [Haki] of the sky, smashing it all down. He wasn't aiming for a person; he was aiming for the entire island.
If [El Dorado] could only cause this much tragedy, it deserved to sink to the bottom of the sea.
But under that immense pressure that should have crushed everyone, one black-haired man madly fought his way up, his [Crimson Lotus] and black Conqueror's Haki surging to meet Garp's.
Garp's expression hardened. He didn't care who this was. He just put his all into finishing the punch.
[Fist Bone Impact]!
The two torrents of Conqueror's Haki collided. The sky was torn apart. The black fog around the island was finally blasted away.
Garp felt the surging power in that fist, and a mad killing intent he'd never felt before, eroding his body. That purple-black aura wanted to destroy everything.
But... this power... it wasn't resolute!
Kaito's blank-white eyes flickered. Garp's crimson Haki pierced his body, and the Yin-Spirit currently on the [Throne of the Heart] instantly disintegrated.
Boom! Space seemed to twist, and then the terrifying force exploded in mid-air.
Boom! The force slammed Kaito's body into the ground. The giant 'faces' on the ground cracked, shattered, and then the bedrock beneath them shattered. The island trembled, its terrain breaking apart. The town center split open, and seawater rushed in. The entire island was beginning to collapse...
In Kaito's blank sea of consciousness, Garp's crimson Haki blasted in, scattering the black "Spirit Tower."
Countless weak Yin-Spirits couldn't handle the aura and disintegrated, only to reform in the Underworld river.
Kaito, too, felt that straightforward, domineering will rampaging through his consciousness.
"Tsk. These weaklings can't even use my body's full potential..."
He scoffed, but his expression turned serious. He started to walk, then run, pulling up alongside Gojo Satoru.
"It's time for all of you to realize who the real master is..."
He moved faster, his form becoming more solid. He tore through the spirits, until only four remained before the Throne of the Heart.
Gojo Satoru, head tilted back, eyelids low.
Kaito Shirogane, leaning forward, his form so solid it was almost real.
Roland, glowing white, with tens of thousands of spirits praying behind him, and Coby, still trying to hold him back.
The Marine Coby was covered in the white light, but he wasn't accepting the 'Hope.' He pulled on Roland with all his strength, shouting to Kaito:
"Go! Fulfill that promise!"
Kaito Shirogane, Gojo Satoru, and Roland. All three reached out and touched the Throne of the Heart at the same time.
Almost instantly, their bodies began to press into each other. The true clash of wills had begun.
(End of Chapter)