"Planning to gang up on me? Bring it on, you little brats!"
Garp raised his fist behind him. Suddenly, the wind died down and the sea calmed.
But both combatants on the battlefield knew better… this was the calm before the storm.
The surrounding giant beasts shattered in the instant Garp exploded into an afterimage. Glittering ice crystals covered the ground, reflecting the dark sky above.
It also reflected the tall figure streaking past like unleashed lightning.
"This old man!"
Doflamingo gritted his teeth. Countless strings burst from his claws as his left arm swept out like a wild beast's. Five-colored threads, entwined with Armament Haki, slashed toward Garp.
[Five Color Strings!]
However...
"Useless!"
Dark patches spread across Garp's skin. He casually shattered Doflamingo's strings, then accelerated even faster toward Sakura.
Although he usually liked to play the fool, he never held back during a fight.
He had already heard Sakura and Doflamingo discussing tactics earlier and naturally wouldn't let them succeed now.
'No matter how flashy or fancy the ability, it all becomes useless once my Fist of Love knocks you on the head!'
"Galaxy..."
On Garp's right fist, his Haki surged like flowing electricity.
Just then, the girl beneath his fist curled the corner of her mouth. A red glint flashed in Garp's future-sight Observation Haki.
"A fake?"
In the moment Garp was slightly distracted, the Sakura before him vanished with a poof of white smoke.
Behind the smoke was Doflamingo, delivering a fierce kick with the tip of his foot.
The Haki-clad tip of his foot was attached with eight nearly transparent, thin strings. The linear kick, released with sharp strings, slashed toward Garp's waist.
"Fretsaw!"
Doflamingo almost succeeded. However, he never expected Garp to change his move mid-air.
Using Geppo to step on the air, Garp leveraged the force to flip over. The hand imbued with Armament Haki reached up from below and grabbed the foot kicking toward him.
"Too young, brat!"
"Huh?"
A bad premonition rose in Doflamingo's heart, but his body was already restrained by Garp's Haki.
'It's that move again! It's coming!'
In a panic, Doflamingo wrapped his arms around the back of his head.
"Blue.."
Whoosh!
A flash of light passed by. Garp only felt his hand go empty, and a layer of frost began to spread across it.
Looking up, he saw that Sakura had already dragged Doflamingo away to a hundred meters distant.
Simultaneously, one Sakura was pressing her hands against Doflamingo, green light emanating from where they made contact.
Another Sakura was also holding up a greatsword surrounded by a storm, warily guarding against him.
"Space, healing, frost, clones... your abilities are truly complex!"
Garp removed his cloak, tie, and suit jacket, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt underneath to reveal his solid arms.
The warm-up was over. Now it was time to get a little more serious.
"My abilities are almost all exposed. If this continues, he'll counter them all!"
Sakura took a deep breath, reminding Doflamingo beside her.
A pure Haki and physical combat expert like Garp had no flashy tricks… only plain, unadorned stats, stats, and damn stats.
The longer one fought such a powerhouse, the easier it was for the patterns of Ninjutsu to be discerned.
Once Garp figured out all of Sakura's various abilities, if she didn't want an extended stay in Impel Down, her only option would be to slink back to the Ninja World in disgrace.
"So what do you suggest we do?"
Doflamingo, whose injuries had been given emergency treatment, climbed to his feet, his arm coalescing with Haki, turning it black.
"I'll create an opportunity for you. You break through his Haki defense. Just a little bit is enough!"
Sakura hefted the Storm Sword. Doflamingo stepped onto his strings and flew into the sky.
In the distance, Garp's aura surged. The swirling bloodlight and pitch black around him grew even more intense, as if he were enveloped in crimson flames of blood.
His ferocious power ran rampant!
She then saw the Sakura before him suddenly split into two, the Storm Swords crossing each other, adopting a familiar stance.
"Spear of Elbaf?"
Garp first expressed surprise and admiration, then showed genuine delight.
Since the events of God Valley forty years ago, because the legendary Giant King wasn't present, he had been left with the regret of not being able to fight him.
'Perhaps today, I could make up for it a little.'
'Although, given the young girl's age, she hadn't yet reached her peak.'
'But I... couldn't wait any longer!'
"Brat, don't you die on me now!"
Amid maniacal laughter, a crimson meteor rose, the shockwaves it raised shattering the streets on either side.
A blood-red cross, dyed with Conqueror's and Armament Haki, bloomed in Garp's hand as he threw a punch at the air before him.
At the same time, Sakura's charging reached its limit. The Storm Swords were filled with a massive amount of Boil Release Chakra and freezing air.
The two greatswords, conflicting with each other, swung out a storm capable of piercing through everything, a deafening roar.
"Spear of Elbaf: Ikoku Sovereignty!"*2
"Galaxy Impact!"
Boom!!!
The collision of the two impacts made the earth tremble violently, and even the entire sea seemed to churn, layers of waves rising, terrifying power exploding within the ocean currents.
The crimson impact, wrapped in Haki, inch by inch devoured the azure impact. The scales of the clash gradually tipped in Garp's favor.
"Doflamingo!"
The impact cut bloody gashes on Sakura's body. Maintaining her sword-swinging posture, she roared loudly.
Within the impact, a blood-soaked Doflamingo charged through the storm.
Finally, while Garp was fully focused on observing Sakura, he broke through to his side.
"Garp, this one's for my family!!!"
Burning will gathered into a tiny point at the tip of his strings, a black thread both ethereal and delicate.
Yet, the moment it made contact with Garp's abdomen, it pierced through the Haki there, leaving a hole about the size of a pencil.
"Success!!"
Doflamingo shouted, only to be punched in the chest by Garp in the next instant.
"Well done!"
Just as he was about to be sent flying, the cherry blossom mark on his body flashed, and he instantly swapped places with Sakura.
Flying Thunder God: Mutual Instantaneous Spinning Technique!
"What?"
Garp was startled. His Observation Haki, due to the clash of their Conqueror's Hakis, found it difficult to see the future, thus creating an opening.
His right arm remained in its punching posture, too late to retract.
In a panic, Garp swung his left fist, but this left a large, undefended vacuum area exposed on his abdomen.
Bang!
Sakura's palm reached it before he could, pressing against the Haki vacuum Doflamingo had pierced. Chakra was injected without reservation.
"Ninja Art: Five Elements Seal!"
A powerful seal capable of restraining Tailed Beast's Chakra was injected into Garp's body along the Chakra Connection, sealing the power of this legendary Marine.
Garp's legs went weak, and he fell backward to the ground. However, the Haki still flowing through his body was already beginning to disperse the foreign energy invading him.
It looked like he could break the seal at any moment.
"Cough, cough... did you win?"
Doflamingo, flying back on his strings through the air, saw Garp lying on the ground. Unable to sense Chakra, he thought Sakura had won.
"Win my ass! I can only restrict his power briefly. Take your people and get out of here now before it's too late!"
As she spoke, Sakura didn't hesitate in the slightest. Using Heat Control, she released a massive amount of steam and shot into the sky.
Doflamingo took one last, fearful look at Garp lying on the ground, his eyes still fierce, and shuddered.
He immediately bound the three executives with his strings and swiftly fled using his aerial walk technique.
Let's get the hell out of here! Nigerundayo!