Naval Headquarters—atop the raging battlefield.
The Hero of the Marines, Garp.
And before him stood one of the Four Emperors—Sugisawa Yuuto.
Fists collided like meteors, the air splitting apart under the force.
The fiery domain of the Yanlong King trembled.
The ultimate showdown between two of the world's strongest had only just begun.
Rumble!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The furious clash of fists between Yuuto and Garp reached its peak.
Waves of blinding flame spread outward from their collision point, expanding in rings that reached the very edge of the sky.
A thunderous roar followed, as if the heavens themselves were collapsing.
And then—both men were forced back.
Sugisawa Yuuto's feet stepped upon the very air itself.
Each step he took shattered the atmosphere beneath him, space trembling as if on the verge of collapse.
Across from him, Garp's body twisted in midair before crashing down.
Boom!
The impact shook the square of Marineford, stone cracking beneath the weight of his landing.
Crack—!
A web of fractures spread across the ground.
Boom!
Part of the Marine Headquarters building—one of their proudest symbols—crumbled into ruin.
"Tsk tsk… as expected of the Marine Hero," Yuuto said with a faint grin. "My arms are actually a little numb."
Hearing Yuuto's words, neither the gathered marines nor Garp himself felt any pride.
Because no matter how one looked at it, the truth was clear—
In that last exchange, Yuuto had the upper hand.
And yet, his words sounded more like mockery than praise.
"It's not over yet! Come again!"
Garp growled, slamming a foot into the ground.
The earth exploded beneath him as he launched himself back into the sky toward Yuuto.
"Then come!" Yuuto raised a hand and swept it downward.
Fwoom!
A cascade of dark red flames—King Yanlong's Inferno—fell like a molten waterfall, enveloping the entire battlefield around them.
This was the Domain of the Yanlong King.
A burning purgatory that only the strongest could endure.
Even approaching it caused one's body to dry out, the moisture within evaporating with every breath.
Anyone else who entered would become a mummified husk in moments, reduced to ash soon after.
It was a realm where only titans could fight.
Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The dull, thunderous rhythm of their fists sounded like the beating of war drums echoing through hell itself.
Sugisawa Yuuto and Garp were locked in a storm of fire and force.
"As expected of Emperor Yuuto…" muttered Jinbei, eyes wide with awe.
Even from this distance, he could feel the water in his body drying up. His shark skin had already begun to crack.
If he stood any closer, he would become nothing but a dried corpse.
"That bastard… what kind of monster is that?"
Crocodile clenched his teeth, unable to hide his bitterness.
He had once been defeated by Yuuto—but even then, he hadn't believed the gap was this vast.
Now, after witnessing it with his own eyes, he felt nothing but crushing despair.
The distance between them was like the space between earth and heaven—impossible to cross.
"What terrifying flames…" Marco murmured. "Even Ace's fire couldn't compare to this."
Joz and Bista exchanged uneasy glances.
"Hey, don't lump me in with him," Ace said with a wry smile. "There's no comparing our flames."
"Grandpa Garp—are you okay?"
Sabo's brow furrowed with concern.
Though they were enemies on this battlefield, Garp was still their family.
But then Sabo shook his head. "No… he'll be fine. It's Sugisawa Yuuto he's fighting, after all."
Knowing Yuuto's character, he wasn't truly worried.
Meanwhile—
"Ahhhh!"
"What's going on inside that fire?!"
"I can't see anything!"
"How's Vice Admiral Garp doing?"
"I don't know—but it's Garp! He'll be fine!"
"That's right!" shouted a Marine soldier. "Vice Admiral Garp is the pride of the Marines—the hero of legends!"
All across the battlefield, marines shouted in anxious unison.
The inferno blazed so intensely that even the top-ranking officers could barely perceive what was happening within.
And those who could sense it wore grim expressions.
"What kind of flame is this?" Admiral Kizaru muttered, his trademark smirk faltering. "It's terrifying~~."
Admiral Aokiji frowned, the cold mist around him already evaporating. "This fire… it's beyond anything I've seen. Can my ice even hold up against it?"
Even as he asked, he already knew the answer.
In this blazing hell, even his ice could not form—unless he awakened his full power.
But even as an Admiral, he couldn't maintain that state for long.
If he fought Yuuto one-on-one now, the result would be no different than at Enies Lobby—
He would be utterly crushed.
Admiral Akainu stood nearby, his expression dark.
"I'm magma. I can burn anything—even fire itself. But this…"
For the first time, his voice trembled.
He had always been confident, unshakable.
Yet in front of Sugisawa Yuuto's flames, his magma was completely overpowered.
He had once believed his earlier defeat was due to circumstance.
But seeing the Yanlong King's purgatory with his own eyes… he felt a powerlessness he had never known.
"Ku la la la la! Where are you looking, magma brat?"
A booming laugh shook the air—Whitebeard swung his massive naginata, the blade wrapped in quake energy.
The strike smashed into Akainu's guard, hurling him away like a ragdoll.
On the execution platform, Marshal Sengoku didn't even glance at the Admirals' battle.
His eyes remained locked on the fiery inferno in the distance, unblinking.
Compared to Akainu, Garp mattered far more.
"Don't you die on me, old man…" Sengoku growled, clenching his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white.
Before Garp had left to join the fight, Sengoku's only order had been—
Don't lose.
Now, he had lowered his expectations.
He didn't care about victory anymore.
He just wanted Garp to survive.
Time passed, each heartbeat echoing like a drum.
And then—
Fwoooom!
Rumble!
The blazing purgatory suddenly twisted, spiraling upward before bursting outward in a colossal explosion.
A storm of fire swept across Marineford, forcing everyone to shield their eyes from the blinding light and unbearable heat.
Boom!
It sounded like a meteor crashing to earth.
The entire Marine Headquarters shook violently.
When the soldiers dared to open their eyes again, a massive crater filled their vision.
At its center stood a single charred figure, smoke rising from his body.
The air was thick with the stench of burned flesh.
The figure was blackened, withered, barely standing—
But there was no mistaking him.
The Marine Hero—Vice Admiral Garp.