Two hours after the defeat of the Hundred Regiments Alliance, the Beasts Pirates—another group eyeing Fairy Tail—finally appeared on the horizon. For them, their tardiness might have been the only bit of luck they had.
From afar, the lookouts of the Beasts Pirates peered through their telescopes at the frozen chaos ahead. The scene left them paralyzed with horror. Analysis quickly revealed a terrifying truth: the Hundred Regiments Alliance had been utterly defeated.
Today, the hunters were the hunted.
The realization sent shivers down the spines of every pirate aboard. When they noticed that Sugisawa Yuuto, the Fifth Emperor, and the main forces of Fairy Tail were present, even seasoned pirates of the Beasts Pirates trembled. Some wanted nothing more than to turn their ship around and flee immediately—but the ship was not theirs to command.
For Jack the Drough, the Iron King and the first of the world's infamous Iron Babies, nothing could intimidate him. In the original plan, he had fearlessly launched surprise attacks against even the Marine Admirals and the former Fleet Admiral. Today was no different. Facing Sugisawa Yuuto and the main forces of Fairy Tail, Jack roared his trademark slogan—he would push his ship forward, no matter what.
On the Fairy Tail side:
"Are those people villains? They should consider themselves lucky they arrived late! And now they dare come here?" Nami muttered, her voice tinged with annoyance.
"That flag… it's unmistakably the Four Emperors Beasts Pirates," Robin said solemnly.
"Yes… and that person on the ship is…!" Erza's finger pointed at Morgans' compiled bounty list.
"Beasts Pirates, big billboard: Jack the Drough—bounty: one billion Baileys!"
"Ten… billion?!" Vivi and Perona's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Billions?!"
Nami's eyes sparkled. In East Blue, a pirate with a billion-berry bounty would have terrified her. But now, she only saw Jack as a walking gold mine waiting to be cracked.
"A bounty of one billion… no wonder he dares to come here," Mirajan said, nodding. Only Sugisawa Yuuto knew Jack was truly made of iron. Chuckling quietly, Yuuto reflected on how ironically predictable Jack's reliance on the ship's reputation had become.
"President, let me handle this!" Urrutia pleaded. She had contributed little to the fight so far—freezing the sea and repairing the guild—but hadn't yet faced the enemy.
Sugisawa Yuuto frowned and turned his gaze elsewhere. "It seems we don't need to act just yet."
Whoosh!
Boom—boom—boom! Sonic booms tore across the sky. A massive figure stomped and flew, leaving dazzling trails of explosion clouds in its wake. In an instant, the figure appeared above the Beasts' mammoth ship.
Black-and-red lightning arced across the sky, exuding an overwhelming aura. Then, a fist the size of a sandbag slammed down.
Boom!
The shockwave shattered the Beasts' mammoth battleship. Pirates screamed as chaos erupted.
"Marine…!" Blood seeped from Iron Maiden Runti's mask. Before she could finish, she collapsed into unconsciousness.
Jack the Drough's eyes widened, bloodshot with rage. His body swelled as he activated the Zoan Elephant Fruit—Ancient Mammoth Form—hoping the sheer scale of his ancient form could resist the Marine's legendary fist.
But even his massive body couldn't withstand it. He lasted mere seconds longer than Runti before collapsing, rolling helplessly across the deck.
Rumble! The frozen sea beneath Urrutia also shattered under the force of the Marine's strike. Fairy Tail's girls watched in stunned silence.
"So strong…" Erza whispered, her expression grim.
"One punch to kill billion-berry pirates… who is that?!" Nami muttered.
"That uniform… it's Marine!" Juvia gasped.
"Marine Legendary Vice Admiral—Hero Garp!" Robin added slowly, as though savoring the weight of the name.
The rest of the girls—Vivi, Nami, Marianne, Bonney, Perona—were completely stunned. They now understood the power implied by the title "Marine Hero." Even those unfamiliar with Garp's deeds could sense from that single strike that this Marine was not to be taken lightly.
The two massive Marine warships approached side by side. One, bearing the Shar Pei head emblem, belonged to Garp. The other, with a rabbit-head logo, belonged to Momousagi Gion, a candidate for Admiral of Headquarters. Gion had been tasked with persuading Garp to return, but she had failed—the maverick Vice Admiral did whatever he wanted.
Ordinary Vice Admirals would never intimidate Garp. Only juniors like Gion, or those with subtle influence, could sway him—and even then, barely. Yet today, both Garp and Gion had responded to intelligence about a massive pirate operation. Their real target wasn't Fairy Tail—it was the pirate fleet. Yet when they arrived, they found only devastation and silence.
"What… what happened here? The sea is frozen… Kuzan Admiral?"
"No! Kuzan is recovering in the hospital!"
The sailors' panic grew as they realized the pirate fleet had already been annihilated.
"It's possible… if it's that man!" Colonel Hina murmured, eyes locked on Sugisawa Yuuto.
"Of course. He lured them here using the HQ ship and Golden Clock Tower as bait… and annihilated them," Peacock nodded.
The soft-spoken Skylark added anxiously, "Vice Admiral Garp seems… to be coming. If President Yuuto misunderstands…"
Pfft ha ha ha! A booming laugh shattered the tension.
"Sugisawa Yuuto, the leader of Fairy Tail? Here? I'm Garp! Aokiji, who you hospitalized recently, is my top student. I've come to help him find his place! Repeat, I came to help!"
The Fairy Tail girls stared, dumbfounded. This legendary Marine spoke like a casual, overbearing older brother rather than a disciplined hero.
"President, what do we do?" Erza asked, frowning at Sugisawa Yuuto.
Yuuto grinned. "Since they've introduced themselves, we might as well play along." He was curious how strong this legendary hero really was.
Chi chi!
Gold light flashed. Sugisawa Yuuto approached Garp.
"I'm Sugisawa Yuuto. You fought your disciple, yes? How do you plan to help?"
Garp dropped the loudspeaker, rolling up his sleeves.
"Naturally… with a thousand punches!" he declared.
"Fine. I won't mind sending you to the hospital too," Yuuto grinned.
The sailors on the warship were left speechless. Without warning, the two titans collided.
Bang!
The forearms of Sugisawa Yuuto and Garp smashed together, creating a terrifying shockwave. Ice floes shattered, waves surged, and the battleship rocked violently. Each time they clashed, they moved tens of meters back, only to collide again.
"This… what a terrifying duel!"
"Garp… Vice Admiral Garp's fist…"
"That man… Five Emperor Sugisawa Yuuto… is taking Vice Admiral Garp's punch!"
"He's… matched with a Marine Legendary Hero!"
The astonished cries of the sailors echoed across the sea.
Garp laughed. "That was just a warm-up, Sugisawa Yuuto. Let's see your true strength!"
"Exactly what I was hoping for," Yuuto replied with a grin.
Click!
Lightning and thunder filled the sky.
Garp raised a fist the size of a sandbag—black-and-red coils of Haki radiated from him. Sugisawa Yuuto clenched his own fist, dark thunder surging like the Thunder Dragon King's Zhe Lei.
Bang! Fist meets fist!