"Very good, Garp! As my opponent—you're more than qualified!"
Sugisawa Yuuto grinned, lightning flashing wildly around him, his expression alive with battle lust.
"Come on then," he called out, his voice ringing clear through the storm. "Stay standing as long as you can… and let me enjoy this!"
If anyone else had said such words, they would have sounded unbearably arrogant.
After all, Garp was a hero of the Marines—a living legend whose name had spanned generations.
But when those words came from Sugisawa Yuuto, no one thought them boastful.
He was, after all, the strongest man of the new era.
He had earned the right to speak like that—
and now, he was proving it with his actions.
"This is my line, brat!" Garp bellowed, his voice booming like thunder. "Try and make the old man fall!"
Chi-chi… Rumble!
Pitch-black Haki merged with lightning, wrapping Garp's body in a storm of power.
It gave him overwhelming strength and unimaginable speed.
In a flash of blinding light—
the iron fist of the Marine hero descended like a meteor, crashing down from the heavens.
The force of his Haki-infused lightning surged across the entire battlefield, shaking the world itself.
"Thunder—Abyssal Collapse!!!"
Rumble!!!
A massive fissure split open in the plaza below.
The oppressive force pushed Yuuto downward, forcing his body toward the abyss, inch by inch.
But Yuuto didn't yield.
He met the legendary hero's fist head-on, his body alone resisting that world-crushing power.
Then—
Snap.
A crisp snap of his fingers echoed through the chaos.
Clatter…
Without warning, a vast, pitch-black sea of thunder spread between heaven and earth.
From its depths, a colossal dragon—woven from black and crimson lightning—burst forth.
It roared toward the sky, its cry splitting the clouds apart and shaking the world.
Thunder Dragon King's Secret Art—Crimson Lightning Emperor!
Boom!!!
The Thunder Dragon King soared upward with an ear-splitting roar.
Rumble!!!
Garp's unstoppable iron fist collided with the dragon head-on.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
It was as if the heavens themselves had become a war drum, beating in rhythm with their clash.
For a moment, the world froze—then erupted.
The shockwave born from their collision exploded outward, shaking every corner of the battlefield.
Lightning and raw force rained down, gouging enormous craters across the ground.
The turbulent energy in the air turned into a chaotic storm, whipping up dust and debris until the entire battlefield was shrouded in a blinding tempest of lightning.
And yet—it wasn't over.
As Garp's heroic might began to fade, the Thunder Dragon King's power only grew stronger.
The dragon reared back, its fanged jaws opening wide—
and under the horrified gazes of the Marines, it devoured Garp whole.
"Ah—!"
"Vice Admiral Garp!!!"
"Not good! He's been eaten!"
"What kind of monster IS that Sugisawa Yuuto?!"
"That's Vice Admiral Garp—our Marine's greatest hero!"
"Is the legend of our undefeated hero… finally coming to an end?!"
"Who can possibly stop that monster now?!"
"Were we wrong all along? Should we never have provoked Fairy Tail?!"
Despair spread like wildfire across the ranks of the Marines.
"GARP! HOLD ON!!!"
On the execution platform, Marshal Sengoku could no longer contain himself. He roared furiously, his voice cutting through the chaos.
He had been trying to remain calm—
but after Fire Fist Ace was taken away, there was no longer any reason for him to stay still.
He had wanted to fight alongside Garp from the beginning.
But Garp had refused.
He had insisted on a one-on-one duel with Sugisawa Yuuto.
Now, however—
things had gone too far.
Sengoku's patience finally shattered.
CLANG!!!
A sound like the tolling of a divine bell reverberated through the battlefield.
From atop the execution platform, Sengoku's body began to glow with brilliant golden light.
His frame expanded rapidly, the air trembling under the weight of his power.
The Mythical Zoan: Human-Human Fruit, Model—Great Buddha erupted to life.
BOOM!!!
The colossal Buddha crushed the execution platform beneath its feet.
Golden light exploded outward as the massive figure rose into the air, towering above the battlefield—
its shadow falling across the raging Thunder Dragon.
Chi-chi!
Golden light intertwined with black and red lightning around the Buddha's enormous palm.
"Haaah!!!"
The Great Buddha's roar split the sky.
A devastating shockwave—sacred and furious—erupted from his palm, slamming into the Thunder Dragon.
At the same moment—
the trapped hero, Garp, struck from within with his iron fist, shattering thunder from the inside out.
Under the combined might of the two Marine legends—
even the Thunder Dragon King could not endure.
Its enormous body trembled, then shattered, dissolving into a storm of fading light between heaven and earth.
"OHHHHHHHH!!!"
The battlefield erupted with deafening cheers.
"Marshal Sengoku! The Marshal's joined the fight too!"
"Two legends standing together—unrivaled in the world!"
"Look at that—what a divine presence!"
"It's like a living Buddha walking upon the earth!"
"With Garp and Sengoku side by side, victory is certain now!"
"Even the President of Fairy Tail can't win against them both!"
The Marines' morale surged like a tide.
High above the sky, Garp coughed violently—
dark blood, streaked with black lightning, spilling from his mouth.
"Didn't I tell you?" he said hoarsely. "This is my fight, Sengoku. Don't interfere. Once you step in… it changes everything."
His battle with Sugisawa Yuuto was one of mutual respect and pure combat.
Win or lose, neither would regret it.
But now—
Sengoku had turned it into something else.
"It doesn't matter anymore," Sengoku replied, a faint smile crossing his face. "After this war, I'm retiring anyway. And if you're not there with me, old man, it'll be far too boring."
He clenched his golden fists.
"So don't you dare die before me!"
"Ha… Sengoku, you bastard…" Garp couldn't help but laugh.
"Fine. I'll admit it—I can't handle this guy alone."
"If one man isn't enough… then two it is!"
Ever since Fairy Tail's arrival in the seas, Sengoku had restrained himself for the sake of order.
But in truth, his temper had never been mild.
Each concession he'd made had only fueled the fire burning in his chest.
Now that things had come this far—
there was no reason to hold back.
He would show Sugisawa Yuuto the true power of the Marines—
and release every ounce of rage that had built up inside him.
"Let's finish this together, partner!" Sengoku roared.
Garp didn't answer immediately.
Because deep down, his instincts whispered the truth—
Even together, their odds of victory were far from certain.
But below, the Marine soldiers cheered them on with unshakable faith.
"Go, Vice Admiral Garp!"
"Marshal Sengoku and the Hero—together, they're invincible!"
"No one can stand against them!"
"Fairy Tail, wake up—you're done for!"
Their shouts shook the heavens.
And then—
"Jeehahahahaha!"
A wild, mocking laugh rolled down from the skies, accompanied by a vast, looming shadow.
"How disgraceful, Marines…" the voice sneered. "So this is your 'justice'? Two against one? What a pitiful sight!"
...
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