Boom!!!
A massive tremor rocked the Naval Headquarters—an earthquake of pure force.
In the enormous crater at the center of the plaza, the figure of the Marine hero, Garp, had vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already right behind Sugisawa Yuuto, moving with even greater speed than before.
That surge of power came from the black lightning coursing along his body—
the destructive current of the Thunder Dragon King's Black Thunder.
Garp had captured that energy, enveloping it with his supreme Armament Haki.
He suppressed its destructive nature and turned it inward, using it to stimulate every cell in his body, pushing them into a state of hyperactivation.
This was Marine Hero Garp's Thunder Mode.
"I see…"
Yuuto's eyes narrowed slightly as realization flashed across his face.
In the next instant, Garp's fierce fist was already hurtling toward him.
Yuuto crossed his arms in front of his chest without hesitation.
Boom!
The atmosphere itself exploded.
Shockwaves rippled through the air like expanding circles on water.
Boom!!!
A figure plummeted from the heavens like a meteor.
Another massive crater burst open in the plaza of Naval Headquarters.
The impact unleashed a devastating shockwave that sent sailors flying in all directions within hundreds of meters.
"Ooooooh!"
Across the battlefield, the Marines erupted into cheers—
because this time, the one lying in the crater wasn't Garp… but Sugisawa Yuuto.
"Ha! I knew it—Vice Admiral Garp would do it!"
"That's right! Garp is the pride of the Marines!"
"The hero's iron fist is unstoppable!"
The elite soldiers shouted with excitement.
Meanwhile, the pirate forces stared on in confusion.
"What's going on?"
"Why is Garp suddenly so ferocious?"
"That black lightning around him… it's not Conqueror's Haki, is it…?"
"But—Chairman Sugisawa Yuuto should be fine, right?"
Marco, Jozu, and Vista all spoke uneasily, exchanging uncertain glances.
"It's impressive," rumbled Whitebeard, narrowing his pale golden eyes.
"To wrap black lightning in Haki and use it to strengthen the body… that old man Garp's gone insane."
Even someone like him—one of the Four Emperors—felt a chill.
That kind of mastery…
only someone standing at the true peak of Haki could achieve it.
Even he might not have succeeded in doing so.
"Sengoku… is that what Garp's been training for?" asked Vice Admiral Tsuru from the execution platform.
Sengoku nodded, excitement lighting up his aging features.
"Yes. With this, perhaps… we might actually win!"
He remembered clearly—
That was a year ago.
Back then, Garp had sought out Sugisawa Yuuto, hoping to avenge a disciple who had been grievously injured.
But instead, he himself had been paralyzed by Yuuto's thunderous power.
When he finally recovered, Garp made a vow—
he would overcome the might of the Thunder Dragon King's lightning, no matter the cost.
To do so, he had gone alone to Thunder Island, one of the three primal islands of the New World, to undergo special training.
At first, neither Sengoku nor Tsuru had believed in his madness.
They'd tried to dissuade him repeatedly, telling him it was nothing but self-destructive folly.
But Garp—
Garp once again proved that he was a monster who defied all logic.
After being struck by lightning day after day, month after month,
his body developed a natural resistance to it.
And more than that—he discovered a method of his own creation:
to wrap lightning in Haki, and use it to electrify every cell in his body, driving his physical state to its absolute limit.
As a result, his speed, strength, and defense all ascended to an entirely new level.
This was his "Anti-Yuuto, Anti–Thunder Dragon King" Mode,
developed solely for the purpose of defeating Sugisawa Yuuto.
When facing a thunder-type opponent like Yuuto, the power of this form reached its peak.
However—
this immense power came with a terrible price.
It placed an unbearable strain on the body.
Each second spent in this mode was a gamble with death itself.
One wrong move… and it would all be over.
"So that's why you wanted me to fight you with lightning," Yuuto said, nodding in understanding.
"Battles are always like this," Garp replied with a grin. "Don't say I didn't warn you!"
Yuuto laughed softly, electricity crackling at his fingertips.
"No need to worry. If you can wield my lightning as your own, that's your strength—and it makes things far more interesting! I welcome it!"
Rather than anger or resentment, excitement lit Yuuto's expression.
This was the kind of battle he lived for—the one that made his blood burn!
"Then let's settle this, once and for all!"
Boom!
Garp's heel slammed into the ground, the atmosphere shattering underfoot.
Boom!
Thunder roared across the heavens.
Garp became a blur of black lightning, a living embodiment of destruction,
and charged at Yuuto with unstoppable force.
"Fist Bone—Thunder!!!"
Rumble!!!
Thunderclaps echoed over the entire Naval Headquarters.
High above the battlefield, two bolts of black lightning collided again and again.
Their movements were so fast they shattered the limits of human sight.
Even the most skilled masters of Observation Haki could barely trace their movements—
only faint ripples in the air revealed where they'd clashed.
Garp had forced the Thunder Dragon King's destructive lightning into his body, nearly killing himself in the process,
and yet now he wielded that power as his own.
He was like a figure from another world—like the Fourth Raikage of the Hidden Cloud, cloaked in Lightning Release Chakra Mode—
only far stronger.
Stimulated by the current running through every cell, and combined with his mastery of Soru,
Garp's speed now brushed against the limits of what humans could achieve.
He could even keep up with Sugisawa Yuuto in his Thunder Dragon King Mode.
As the battle raged, black lightning coiled thicker and wilder around him.
His Armament Haki merged seamlessly with that lightning, forming a suit of crackling armor.
Each thunder-infused strike tore through the air, detonating shockwaves in the sky itself.
Even Yuuto—wrapped in the form of the Thunder Dragon King—found himself being pushed back under the overwhelming assault.
Fist marks appeared across his upper body, and faint traces of blood stained the corners of his mouth.
Of course, using power that surpassed human limits came at a cost.
Even with his body's resistance to lightning, Garp was still flesh and blood.
He couldn't be immune to thunder like Luffy's rubber body.
Channeling lightning through his veins, organs, and cells placed unimaginable strain on him.
The pain of maintaining that "Lightning Mode" was constant, searing, merciless—
but Garp showed no sign of noticing it.
His face betrayed no pain, no hesitation.
All that existed for him now—was the battle.
"Subarashii!" Yuuto shouted, laughing heartily.
"You truly are the greatest opponent, Garp!"