In the darkness, Rocks let out a thunderous roar.
A terrifying surge of Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body, shaking the surrounding space.
Under Lloyd's guidance, the darkness surrounding him no longer hindered his movements. Instead, it supported his body, allowing him to move freely through the darkness as naturally as a fish swimming through water.
Accompanied by the surging darkness, Rocks shot toward Joy Boy like a sharp arrow released from a bow.
Facing the overwhelming pressure released by Rocks, Joy Boy snorted coldly.
"Shameful betrayer! You are not worthy of carrying the name D!"
Rocks instantly appeared before Joy Boy and threw out a powerful punch infused with Haki, laughing wildly.
"Betrayal?!
"I have never submitted to anyone in my life, so how can you speak of betrayal?!"
Joy Boy no longer wasted words.
He responded with a punch of his own.
The terrifying arm strength granted by the Nika Power erupted instantly, directly sending Rocks flying backward.
Seeing this, Lloyd calmly raised his hand.
The dangerous Dark Power surrounding them immediately transformed into a soft cushion of darkness, steadily catching Rocks and preventing him from being thrown too far away.
Rocks stabilized his body.
A serious expression appeared on his face.
Clearly, Joy Boy's strength had exceeded his expectations.
Joy Boy looked down coldly at Rocks, who was surrounded by darkness, and spoke.
"Jibeck D. Rocks, do you know what the D you carry truly represents?"
Hearing this, Rocks grinned.
"Stop talking in circles.
"I'm not interested in whether it means D or anything else.
"If I had to give it a meaning, I would rather understand it as Destruction!"
Joy Boy shook his head.
"Foolish.
"D is..."
"Fist Bone: Star Crusher!!!"
Before Joy Boy could finish speaking, a roar suddenly came from below.
A figure broke through the darkness and charged straight toward him.
The newcomer was Garp.
His fist struck directly against Joy Boy's abdomen, and terrifying Haki lightning crackled around his arm.
Joy Boy's eyes widened as he looked at Garp, who was standing so close to him.
"Mon... Monkey D. Garp, you..."
Garp's expression was stern.
He let out a powerful shout.
The muscles in his arm bulged as tremendous strength erupted.
With a single punch, he sent Joy Boy flying backward, just as Rocks had been sent flying moments earlier.
Seeing Garp appear, Rocks was stunned for a moment.
Then a playful smile appeared on his face.
"Garp, is it?
"An old acquaintance."
Garp turned his head and glanced at Rocks indifferently.
"I am a Marine.
"There is no relationship between me and a pirate like you."
Rocks did not care about Garp's attitude.
He simply laughed.
"That's right.
"The Marines and pirates can never stand on the same side.
"But now, it seems we may have to fight together."
Garp ignored Rocks and instead looked upward toward Lloyd.
A complicated expression appeared in his eyes.
Lloyd smiled slightly.
"It's been a long time, Vice Admiral Garp."
Garp took a deep breath.
Then he slowly replied,
"It's been a long time, Celestial Dragon Marshal."
Their gazes met.
For some reason, Garp subconsciously lowered his head.
At that moment, Lloyd's voice sounded.
"Vice Admiral Garp, your achievements in the East Blue have become an example for the entire Marine forces.
"The Navy is proud of you."
Hearing those words, Garp suddenly raised his head.
He looked at Lloyd with disbelief.
Lloyd slowly descended and stopped in front of him.
Looking directly into Garp's eyes, he continued,
"You have carried out your justice with your entire life.
"That kind of determination is worthy of respect.
"I acknowledge you, Vice Admiral Garp."
Those simple words, "I acknowledge you," caused the eyes of this old Marine soldier to become slightly moist.
Garp's tightly clenched fists slowly relaxed.
Then he raised his hand and gave Lloyd a formal Marine salute.
Lloyd immediately returned the salute.
Rocks, who did not understand the situation between the two, tilted his head slightly.
He had never been interested in gossip, but at this moment, he genuinely wanted to understand what had happened between Garp and Lloyd.
However, Joy Boy's angry voice interrupted the atmosphere.
"Monkey D. Garp!
"Even now, you still stubbornly remain lost!"
Garp suddenly turned around.
His cloak of justice fluttered behind him.
"You're only half right.
"I have pursued justice my entire life, but I also know exactly what my justice is.
"My justice is sending people like you, who attempt to disrupt the world, to hell!"
Joy Boy's expression became extremely ugly.
The deep mark left on his abdomen by Garp's punch had already completely recovered.
He raised his fist, stretching it back into his wrist, intending to erase Garp, the "hopeless" betrayer in his eyes.
However, the moment this thought appeared, Joy Boy's body suddenly trembled violently.
A powerful sense of resistance surged from within him.
The power gathered in his wrist instantly weakened by more than half.
At the same time, Garp and Rocks had already launched their attacks.
Although it was their first time fighting side by side, their coordination was surprisingly perfect.
Two iron fists simultaneously struck toward Joy Boy's face.
Joy Boy had no choice but to defend with his own fists.
However, that strange feeling of resistance had become even stronger after Garp joined the battle.
The strength behind his counterattack was far weaker than when he had fought Rocks alone.
As a result, he was continuously forced backward by the combined attacks of Rocks and Garp, becoming increasingly embarrassed.
Lloyd noticed the abnormality within Joy Boy's body.
After thinking for a moment, the corners of his mouth slightly lifted.
A playful smile appeared.
"So that's the reason.
"After all, the same bloodline as Garp still flows within that body..."
Just as Lloyd had guessed, although Joy Boy had completely taken control of Luffy's body, he had not completely erased Luffy's remaining subconscious.
The impact of forcing his own grandfather into death was simply too great for Luffy's heart.
Even after Joy Boy occupied his body, that guilt toward Garp remained deeply rooted and impossible to remove completely.
Joy Boy had also realized this.
While he was forced to defend against the attacks from Garp and Rocks, he was simultaneously suppressing the resistance coming from within his own body.
Garp and Rocks, however, did not care about the reason behind Joy Boy's weakness.
Their hatred toward him was absolute.
Their fists continued to fall like a violent storm, leaving Joy Boy no opportunity to breathe.
Under the relentless assault of the two legendary figures, Joy Boy was finally unable to defend perfectly.
Garp's Haki-infused iron fist struck his left cheek.
Rocks' fist struck his right cheek at almost the same time.
Joy Boy's entire face was squeezed inward, his white eyes bulging outward.
At this moment, Joy Boy finally became anxious.
He released a furious roar.
Both Haki and the Nika Power erupted from his body.
Unfortunately, even while enraged, the power he released was still unable to injure Garp and Rocks.
It could only force the two of them backward.
However, Joy Boy's crisis was far from over.
Because Lloyd had already arrived before him.
In his hand was the Demon Blade Muramasa.
Joy Boy's head had not even fully recovered yet.
Seeing Lloyd approaching, he could only turn around and flee once again.
At this moment, he only wanted to escape as far away as possible.
Not only did he need time to recover, but more importantly...
He needed to get away from Garp.