Garp lowered his head, his face hidden beneath a dark shadow.
Seeing this, Luffy spoke indifferently.
"Have you given up? If you still have even a shred of dignity as a member of the D Clan, I can allow you to return to the Revolutionary Army. After all, this body shares your blood."
Garp's ears twitched slightly.
He slowly lifted his head and stared at Luffy with icy eyes.
"So it really is true…"
"Luffy's mind has been corrupted by some filthy thing like you."
Luffy's expression darkened instantly.
"Filthy thing?"
His voice turned colder.
"Who exactly are you calling filthy?"
"Of course I'm talking about you, bastard!!"
Garp roared furiously.
The muscles across his body swelled as his Armament Haki surged toward his arms, violently forcing apart Luffy's giant hands.
Bang!
With one stomp through the air, Garp exploded forward.
The force behind the movement released a thunderous sound as he instantly appeared before Luffy.
Without hesitation, he threw a devastating punch directly at Luffy's face.
Boom!!
The clouds above scattered from the sheer force of the impact.
Luffy's head flew backward, his neck stretching absurdly long like rubber.
Garp clicked his tongue.
"What a ridiculous ability."
He immediately grabbed Luffy's stretched neck and yanked hard, dragging Luffy's head back toward him.
His fist pulled back, preparing for another strike.
But this time, Luffy reacted.
In an unbelievably bizarre movement, he suddenly opened his mouth and swallowed Garp's fist whole.
A giant fist-shaped bulge instantly protruded from the back of Luffy's head.
Garp frowned and tried to pull his arm free.
But his fist felt trapped inside a swamp, impossible to escape.
Before he could react further, Luffy bit down hard.
Crunch!
Then Luffy twisted his head violently.
His neck spun wildly like a tornado.
Caught in the movement, Garp's body rotated uncontrollably like a windmill.
The spinning continued for several moments.
By the end, Luffy's neck had twisted into something resembling a tightly braided rope.
Then suddenly, it snapped back.
Whoosh!!
His neck retracted at terrifying speed, launching the dizzy Garp downward faster than before.
Boom!!
Garp crashed violently into the ground, creating a massive crater as dust exploded everywhere.
Moments later, Garp leapt out of the pit.
His body was covered in dirt and dust.
Meanwhile, Luffy floated in the air, clutching his stomach as he laughed uncontrollably.
It was as though he had completely forgotten he was fighting his own grandfather.
Below, Garp hunched slightly, coughing heavily from the smoke and debris.
At this point, his deteriorating physical condition had become obvious.
Just then, Lindbergh approached while escorting the battered Bogard.
He raised his voice and shouted:
"Garp! Surrender already!"
"The Navy has already lost!!"
Garp took a deep breath.
Then he slowly raised his head and looked toward Lindbergh.
"Little cat."
His tone was deep and mocking.
"This old man doesn't represent the Navy."
"Stop fooling yourself."
Lindbergh's expression shifted.
"What?"
"What do you mean by fooling ourselves?!"
Garp spat blood onto the ground.
Then he let out a cold sneer.
"If I'm not mistaken, all of you here are the Revolutionary Army's main force, right?"
"You people abandoned your position in the New World just to come to a small place like East Blue."
He narrowed his eyes.
"So tell me…"
"What exactly are you afraid of?"
Lindbergh's face stiffened instantly.
Seeing his reaction, Garp burst into loud laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
"You fear the Navy so much that you even abandoned your headquarters!"
"And yet stray dogs like you dare claim the Navy has lost?"
"What a joke!"
As he spoke, Garp lifted his head and looked at Luffy in the sky.
"What do you think, Luffy?"
By now, Luffy had stopped laughing.
His expression had turned cold as he silently stared down at Garp.
Garp wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and continued:
"You even dare tell this old man to surrender?"
"Listen carefully."
"This old man has served in the Navy for nearly sixty years."
"I have never surrendered to an enemy."
His fists tightened.
"So come!"
"This old man will fight for the Navy until his very last breath!!"
Nearby, the restrained Bogard struggled to raise his blood-covered head.
"Vice Admiral Garp…"
Garp placed both fists at his waist.
Then he released a thunderous roar toward the sky.
Without hesitation, he charged directly into the Revolutionary Army.
Boom!
The moment he entered the battlefield, countless Revolutionary Army soldiers were sent flying.
Their screams echoed nonstop.
Lindbergh immediately threw Bogard toward Karasu nearby.
Electric sparks crackled around his body as he rushed forward to intercept Garp.
At the same time, countless bullets rained toward Garp.
By now, Garp's Armament Haki had been heavily depleted.
He no longer had enough strength to coat his entire body.
At most, he could only protect vital organs.
Without Armament Haki defending him, and without the enhancement of any Devil Fruit ability, what remained was simply a powerful human body made of flesh and blood.
Even monsters among humans had limits.
After the relentless hail of bullets, bloody holes appeared across Garp's exposed upper body.
Unless someone possessed durability like Linlin's Iron Balloon, human flesh could never truly withstand gunfire.
Still, Garp was no ordinary man.
Despite his injuries, he refused to fall.
Ignoring the pain, he continued fighting with everything he had.
His violent movements tore open his wounds repeatedly, blood spraying everywhere.
He looked less like a Marine hero and more like a man drenched entirely in crimson.
Boom!
One final punch cleared the enemies around him.
But immediately afterward, Garp staggered.
An overwhelming wave of exhaustion crashed over him.
His knees buckled.
Finally, he dropped to one knee.
Above the battlefield, Luffy had watched everything unfold in silence.
The moment he saw Garp covered in blood, something flickered deep within his eyes.
A trace of hesitation.
Then he saw Lindbergh stepping forward, clearly preparing to finish Garp off.
At last, Luffy moved.
Flash!
In an instant, he appeared directly in front of Garp.
Lindbergh's eyes widened in surprise.
He immediately slammed on the brakes.
Unable to stop completely, he crashed straight into Luffy's elastic back before tumbling to the ground.
Luffy turned his head.
Looking at Lindbergh's bruised and battered face, he spoke quietly:
"Uncle Lindbergh…"
"I'm sorry."
Lindbergh frowned deeply.
"Luffy, I understand how you feel."
"But take a good look around first."
"Look carefully at what your grandfather just did."
Luffy fell silent.
His gaze slowly swept across the battlefield.
As far as the eye could see, the ground was littered with Revolutionary Army casualties.
The surviving soldiers all stared at Garp with hatred burning in their eyes.
Originally, only a portion of the Revolutionary Army had landed on the island.
But as the battle escalated, reinforcements continued arriving from nearby ships.
With every passing moment, the number of casualties increased.
To the Revolutionary Army, Garp was responsible for everything.
And blood debts demanded blood repayment.
Luffy understood this.
Slowly, he turned back toward Garp.
Conflict appeared on his face.
His pupils flickered strangely between gold and black.
===
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