Garp was already clutching his chest, his eyes locked on Ryuuto. He had regained his mobility just a couple of seconds after Ryuuto had. Worthy of the strongest Armament Haki, to think he could withstand the Divine Thunder of Ruin with his body alone.
Cough! Cough!
Suddenly, Garp clutched his chest and coughed twice, a trickle of blood spilling from his lips. It was clear his injuries were far more severe than they appeared on the surface.
Boom! RUMBLE!
The light at the center of the swirling thunderclouds flared violently. Countless bolts of purple lightning, thick and thin, surged frantically through the clouds, weaving together and merging. They were no longer chaotic, but seemed to be converging into some profound trajectory, sketching out an immense and destructive sigil in the sky.
"It's coming again!" Ryuuto's heart skipped a beat as he used the lightning power within him to sense the Divine Thunder of Ruin gathering overhead. His Lightning Arts were the very source of his confidence. Not only could he summon the storm, but he could also use his arts to predict the time and location of each strike.
"Ryuuto, stop this at once!" Garp looked up at the thunderclouds, panic beginning to set in. A single strike had been enough to injure him. More importantly, if this continued, a few more bolts would endanger all of Alubarna! The power of that lightning was terrifying; the soldiers and civilians here wouldn't stand a chance.
But Garp was overthinking it. Once the Divine Thunder of Ruin appeared, it could not be so easily stopped.
"Garp, I'd love to stop it, but it's clearly out of my hands now," Ryuuto said coolly.
"Are you trying to destroy this place?" Garp's eyes widened as he glared at Ryuuto.
"Not necessarily!" Ryuuto looked back at the old marine. He understood his concern, but for now, this uncontrollable power was his greatest advantage.
"You bastard!" Garp roared, the blood at the corner of his mouth turning a brighter shade of red.
BOOM!
In an instant, another bolt of purple lightning fell from the sky, leaving a massive violet scar across the heavens. This strike was aimed directly at Smoker's position.
With a deafening crash, the lightning slammed into the ground. It first shattered the surrounding buildings before striking the earth, unleashing a powerful shockwave that blasted outward from the point of impact. A plume of dust and debris shot into the sky before being scattered in all directions by the force of the blast. The glass in the windows of nearby houses instantly shattered into countless fragments. A few less sturdy city walls cracked and collapsed.
At the epicenter, the already wounded Smoker had instinctively tried to turn into smoke to evade the attack. But to his horror, under the overwhelming pressure of the divine power, his Logia transformation failed. Smoker could only desperately try to protect himself with Armament Haki. But his Haki was still far too undeveloped.
A single pained cry was heard, and then silence. When the dust settled, Smoker lay on the ground, covered in blood and unconscious from his grave injuries.
Fortunately, there were no others in the immediate vicinity of the blast, so no soldiers or Alabastan civilians suffered a direct hit. Only a few people further away were injured by the shockwave.
"Ryuuto, I'm going to kill you!" Garp bellowed, enraged at the sight of Smoker's condition. He dug his feet into the ground and charged at Ryuuto again, his fist cocked back.
"Such a stubborn old man!"
"Thousand Thunder Flash!"
With a sharp cry, Ryuuto's body surged with electricity that coursed along specific pathways, and his eyes began to glow with a dazzling silver light. A piercing screech tore through the air as he vanished from his spot, transforming into a blurred streak of lightning.
Having consumed a yellow talisman, Ryuuto's body was fully restored. His speed with the Thousand Thunder Flash was undiminished. Garp, on the other hand, was suffering from significant internal injuries. His speed had slowed by a fraction, and by the time he reached Ryuuto's original position, he was met only by Ryuuto's Thunder Phantom.
This corporeal figure, formed entirely of lightning, slammed its fists into the ground, unleashing a torrent of electricity that radiated outward, creating a crackling domain of lightning. It was Chidori Nagashi!
The Thunder Phantom that Ryuuto had created was not only indistinguishable from a real person, but it could also use techniques on its own. The only drawback was that the power of its Chidori Nagashi was less than half of what Ryuuto himself could produce. But it was more than enough to serve its purpose: to stall Garp.
Ryuuto's true body had already used the arcing lightning to leap far away. With a gesture, he guided the thunderclouds in the sky. Another bolt of purple Divine Thunder of Ruin descended, aimed at the location of Garp and the Thunder Phantom.
This time, however, Garp was prepared. Sensing the disturbance above, he performed an acrobatic backflip, planting his fists on the ground to launch himself up. He kicked off the Thunder Phantom and used the recoil to leap clear of the blast zone.
The Divine Thunder of Ruin struck the earth.
BOOM!
It slammed directly into the Royal Palace, splitting the already damaged structure right down the middle and cleaving it in two. The destructive purple lightning tore through countless brick walls before the massive shockwave slammed into the two separated halves of the building.
CRASH! RUMBLE!
With two tremendous roars, the entire Royal Palace collapsed.
"Ah! Help!"
"Someone save me!"
"No!"
Cries of agony rose from all around as people were crushed beneath the rubble. Among them were civilians and many of the soldiers who had been surrounding the palace.
Seeing this, Ryuuto felt a pang of remorse.
"Quickly, get these people out of there!" Ryuuto yelled to the unharmed Alabastan citizens nearby. Then he turned to the distant Garp. "Take your soldiers and get out of here!"
"Or else I can't guarantee who gets hurt next," Ryuuto said, his voice calm but filled with an undeniable authority.
"Fine! We're leaving!" Garp replied grimly. He knew he couldn't defeat Ryuuto as things stood, and if the battle continued, the casualties would only grow worse. With that, Garp gave orders to his men, and the marines joined the rescue effort, focusing on pulling their own comrades from the debris.
Watching them, Ryuuto still held some faith in Garp's character.
He stomped his foot, launching himself into the air. A powerful surge of lightning erupted from his body, pulling and guiding the storm clouds above.
BOOM!
Another bolt of lightning crashed down, but this time it struck the desolate desert wasteland on the outskirts of Alubarna. Ryuuto continued moving away from the city, leading the thunderclouds with him and directing the bolts of Divine Thunder of Ruin to strike the empty sands.
BOOM! BOOM