Chapter 232An oppressive force slammed down heavily onto his arms.An indescribable, immense force surged through; Luffy felt the bones in his arms groaning under the unbearable strain, his chest felt as if it were being crushed, and he was sent flying backward into the ground like a blurred afterimage.Rumble!The ground was smashed open, creating a massive crater dozens of meters in diameter, with cracks spreading like a spiderweb to the edge of his vision.Under the residual shockwaves of this terrifying impact, the surrounding building ruins collapsed and crumbled like sandcastles, while the kicked-up dust billowed into the sky like a tsunami, obscuring nearly half the horizon.Garp slowly emerged from the gradually dissipating pillar of lightning and fire. Several wounds had burst open on his bare upper body and resolute face, blood flowing freely, but he seemed not to notice. He merely looked at the massive crater and let out a boisterous laugh: "Pwahahahaha! If you want this old man to retire, this level is far from enough, brat! Your level of Conquerors Haki Infusion is still far from sufficient!"He could feel that the Conquerors Haki Infusioncontained in that last punch had truly impressive cohesion and destructive power.It made him feel, for the first time in a long while, the power of an old acquaintance.No wonder those remnants of the old era were being defeated one after another.His grandson was truly better than his predecessor; he was now planning to wash this 'former wave' onto the beach.Crash.At that moment, the churning dust was suddenly blown away by an invisible force.At the bottom of the crater, Luffy's figure slowly stood up.The ground beneath his feet rose and fell with elasticity, like Rubber.His body was covered in fine wounds, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth; clearly, he had suffered significant internal injuries from that 'Galaxy Divide' earlier.His strongest 'Lightning Fire Penetrating Kill' had only managed to make Garp bleed and suffer minor injuries.Luffy felt a chill in his heart.He had long been mentally prepared; Garp's physical constitution was at a monster level—thinking of winning in a single blow was nothing but wishful thinking.This battle was destined to be a war of attrition, a test of stamina, willpower, and recovery.And in this regard, Luffy, possessing the RubberFruit and the powerful vitality of the Nika Form, had absolute confidence!But right now, the most important thing wasn't defeating his grandfather, but stalling for time and waiting for the signal to evacuate his crew."You're still far from defeating this old man."Garp grinned, flicking the blood droplets from his arm, "You Straw Hat lot have no way to escape the Marine encirclement. Just honestly serve your sentence, Luffy. While this old man still has some prestige in the Marine, at least I can keep you alive."There was a hint of imperceptible exhaustion in his words."Wouldn't that make me just like you?"Luffy raised his head and said.Garp was stunned and gritted his teeth, "What's wrong with becoming like me!""Losing my freedom just like you—how is that any different from being dead!" Luffy roared.Garp opened his mouth.In the end, all his preaching and anger turned into a complex sigh, followed immediately by gritted teeth: "You really are a good grandson of mine!"To think he would use words like that to refute him at such a time.Just then, on the other side, Rayleigh, who had been maneuvering around Kizaru, was calculating the time.Luffy could prepare to evacuate now.He swung his sword to repel a light-speed kick from Kizaru and shouted loudly toward Luffy, "Luffy, it's about time!"Luffy turned his head sharply to look at Rayleigh.Rayleigh wore a composed smile, his silver hair dancing in the wind, "Don't forget you have more important things to do—that is also a wish I want to see fulfilled!"His gaze swept pointedly in the direction of Impel Down.Luffy understood what Rayleigh meant.Rescue Ace!"Trying to run away in front of this old man? Then let's see you try, brat!"Garp slammed his feet into the ground, bracing himself in a solid stance, his Haki rising again, like an insurmountable wall of sighs, "I won't let you slip away this time!"Luffy growled, "I still have things I must do."The white steam around him suddenly retracted, his skin color returned to normal, and his hair fell down.He actively switched from the high-consumption Gear 5 form to the more balanced Gear Second Plus state, which prioritized speed and efficiency.Crimson patterns and Haki emerged from his body again, but the color was even deeper.His legs bent slightly, his body leaning forward like a cheetah ready to spring."Gomu Gomu no Bajrang Gun PLUS!"Luffy roared, his legs exploding with terrifying power, the ground shattered with a boom, and he shot into the sky like a reverse-firing meteor!High in the air, his right arm did not enlarge as it usually did; instead, it began to compress rapidly inward!The elasticity of Rubber and the power of his muscles were pushed to the limit; the air around his arm emitted a distorted sound due to the high concentration of energy.What is that?Hegemony?Garp's eyes narrowed; he was too familiar with this move.Elbaf's giant warriors, and even Big Mom and Kaido, had used moves with similar principles.But Luffy's Hegemony seemed a bit different.Others' Hegemony expanded while gathering power, but his was compressing to the limit?"Since you want to block me," Luffy grinned at Garp, "then lie down!"The fist in his hand compressed continuously, and the space around it began to fluctuate unstably. Streaks of black-red lightning, denser than before, burst out uncontrollably, emitting crackling sounds!Danger! An extreme sense of danger instantly gripped Garp!The power of this strike was entirely compressed into a single point; its penetrating power and destructive force were likely far beyond any previous attack.It was in this split second of distraction.The seven-times compressed Gomu Gomu no Bajrang Gun PLUS was complete!Boom!The power compressed to the limit was instantly released!Luffy's figure and fist almost merged into one, transforming into a slender yet incredibly concentrated beam of black-red light. Moving at a speed that defied visual capture, it descended from the sky, striking Garp with pinpoint precision.Garp only had time to cross his arms, pushing his lifelong cultivation of Armament Haki and Conquerors Haki Infusion to the limit, constructing a nearly absolute defensive barrier in front of him!"Iron Fist: Ultimate Barrier!"Thud.The compressed Hegemony energy slammed hard into Garp's defensive barrier.Black-red lightning exploded wildly.The ground beneath Garp's feet collapsed silently, forming a perfect circular crater, and he himself was driven deep into the ground by this force, which was concentrated to the extreme.Pfft! A mouthful of blood finally sprayed from Garp's mouth.Tiny cracks appeared on the defensive barrier he had constructed; although it wasn't completely broken, the terrifying impact had already penetrated his body, causing real internal injuries.His entire body was carried by this force, sinking deeper and deeper, until finally, with a loud boom, he disappeared completely from the surface, falling into the bottom of a hole of unknown depth.One could vaguely hear the sound of groundwater being forced out by the impact."Rayleigh, I will definitely do it!"Luffy steadied himself in mid-air, not even bothering to check on Garp's condition, and shouted at the top of his lungs toward Rayleigh.Before the words had even faded, he used the elasticity of the Rubber ground at the moment of landing, combined with the explosive power of his own muscles, to launch himself like a projectile fired at full force toward the agreed-upon rendezvous point with his crew, his speed so fast that he left only a trail of red steam in the air."You brat."At the bottom of the crater, Garp struggled to stand, but felt a tumultuous, agonizing pain in his internal organs, leaving him momentarily drained of strength.Watching the meteor disappear above, he spat out a mouthful of blood, helpless yet filled with a hint of pride, "You've really grown up."However, just as Luffy shot off like a red meteor and was about to escape this core battlefield.A cold aura shrouded the area without warning.The moisture in the air instantly condensed into ice crystals, and the temperature plummeted."Ice Age."Chapter 320: Who Are You Treating Like One of the Four Emperors?A cold, calm voice rang out.Crack! Crack!In front of Luffy's trajectory, the earth, the air, and even the drifting dust were completely frozen in an instant!A crystal-clear iceberg rose from thin air, blocking all his paths forward.Bang.Luffy couldn't stop in time, or rather, he couldn't change direction at such high speed, and he slammed into the indestructible iceberg like a cannonball, emitting a loud, dull thud.Amidst the flying ice shards, he was bounced back, stumbled to the ground, and looked up in astonishment."Is there another one?"Rayleigh's pupils contracted sharply, his expression becoming incredibly grave.At the end of his gaze, a lazy man wearing a white suit vest and a dark blue shirt, with an eye mask on his forehead, riding a strangely shaped bicycle, and sporting black curly hair, was slowly coming to a stop.The biting cold aura emanating from him covered everything around in thick frost.Admiral of the Navy Headquarters, Aokiji Kuzan!He had finally arrived at this most critical moment."I'm not late, am I? I ran all the way here after receiving the order."Aokiji had his hands in his pockets and looked at Luffy beneath the iceberg with a troubled expression, "How long has it been, and you've already fought Garp like this? Truly terrifying, Straw Hat.""Pwahaha, he is this old man's grandson, after all."Garp leaped out from the deep crater, blood streaming down his head, staining half his face crimson."Hey, hey, hey, don't you need some treatment, Garp?" Aokiji rarely saw Garp in such a disheveled state, so he couldn't help but be a bit surprised.Garp grinned, "This old man isn't that fragile. But you need to use your full power, Aokiji."He reminded him with a pointed tone.Was Aokiji late, or did he simply not make a move upon arriving?There aren't many in the Marine who are sentimental, and Aokiji is one of them.He clearly wanted to let Garp handle his own family business. If he had attacked alongside Garp, facing an Admiral and a Navy Hero at the same time, Luffy would never have been able to fight Garp to this extent.In a battle between top-tier powerhouses, one plus one is not as simple as equaling two.Aokiji scratched his head, "Since Garp says so."The two, who had a teacher-student relationship, looked at Luffy with immense pressure.This is really going too far.Are all the top combatants attacking together?Anyone who didn't know would think they were dealing with one of the Four Emperors."You've both come, huh." Luffy grinned.
