The smoke in the air gradually dissipated as Vice Admiral Garp returned to the warship, laughing heartily. His eyes rested on Caesar with an easygoing expression, as if the previous clash had been nothing more than a warm-up.
Caesar exhaled slowly, his mind weighed down by what had just transpired.
His counterattack had been neutralized effortlessly.
As expected of the man who once chased Roger across the seas!
No Devil Fruit powers, no Conqueror's Haki, no flashy techniques—just sheer mastery of Armament Haki, honed to an absurd level!
And that last strike? Just a casual test of his strength.
Garp's Armament Haki might truly be the strongest in the world.
Caesar clicked his tongue in frustration.
"Well, well… seems like it's not enough to sink your warship at this level," he remarked casually in response to Garp's earlier words.
Then, his lips curled into a smirk.
"But that's fine, Garp. I have another gift for you!"
With that, Caesar raised his right hand, gripping the Ba Dao firmly. A faint lavender glow flickered along its blade.
Rather than attacking the warship directly, he swung his blade skyward. A purple crescent of energy shot into the heavens, carrying an ominous force.
The moment Caesar unsheathed his sword, Garp and the marines tensed, bracing for an attack. But as they observed the direction of his strike, confusion settled over them.
Why had he aimed at the sky instead of their ship?
Garp furrowed his brow.
Something about this didn't sit right with him. His battle-honed instincts screamed danger.
Caesar wasn't one to make meaningless moves.
Just as Garp maintained his vigilance, a strange sound filled the air—a deep, whistling noise, as if the very atmosphere was vibrating.
His gaze followed the source of the disturbance.
A black dot appeared in the sky.
It expanded rapidly, trailing an immense tail of fire—hundreds of kilometers long, roaring and blazing as it plummeted toward them.
The marines' expressions shifted from confusion to sheer terror.
They finally understood what Caesar's "gift" truly was.
"A… a meteorite?!"
"Turn the ship! Get us out of here, now!"
"This is what he meant by a gift?!"
"How the hell is he doing this? Can he actually summon meteorites?!"
Panic spread through the ranks, but despite their urgency, it was too late. The meteorite was descending at a terrifying speed.
For the first time, even Garp looked momentarily stunned.
But only for a moment.
His mind worked quickly, analyzing the situation.
A Devil Fruit. That had to be it.
Caesar must have eaten a fruit that allowed him to manipulate celestial objects.
The heat from the incoming meteorite was already palpable, even from the warship. Waves of scorching air washed over the marines, and the sea itself churned under the sheer force of its descent.
Yet, despite the overwhelming sight before him, Garp remained unfazed.
He exhaled sharply.
Then, bending his knees slightly, he launched himself into the air.
The sheer force of his leap sent shockwaves rippling across the water, nearly sinking the ship as the prow dipped dangerously.
"Vice Admiral Garp is moving!"
The marines, who had been paralyzed by fear, erupted into cheers.
"If it's Vice Admiral Garp, there's no problem he can't solve!"
Garp soared toward the incoming meteorite, defying gravity itself with Geppo (Moonwalk). The momentum from his initial jump began to wane, but he continued to ascend, stepping on air to maintain his speed.
Then, with a roar, he drew back his fist, his Armament Haki surging.
"Fist Bone… Broken Star!"
His jet-black knuckles collided with the flaming mass.
The impact was cataclysmic.
For a split second, the meteorite seemed to freeze midair.
Then—
BOOM!
It shattered.
A devastating explosion rocked the sky as the meteorite disintegrated into countless fragments, scattering like a fiery rain across the sea.
The marines gawked, dumbfounded.
"As expected of Vice Admiral Garp! He shattered a meteorite with a single punch!"
"Thank goodness he's here… We'd be dead without him!"
"Hahaha! So cool! I wanna be like him one day!"
Caesar, watching from a distance, smirked.
A single meteorite wouldn't trouble Garp. He had expected as much.
But what if there were more?
The grin on Caesar's face widened.
Raising his blade once more, he swung it repeatedly, his strokes precise and measured.
Each slash carried a flicker of purple energy, streaking toward the heavens.
Within mere moments, a dozen meteors materialized, hurtling toward the battlefield.
Garp's expression darkened.
"Twelve?!"
"All hands, abandon ship! Get as far away as possible!"
But it was too late.
The sky burned. The sheer gravitational force of the incoming projectiles whipped the sea into chaos, churning the waters into a violent maelstrom. A tsunami was already forming.
Garp clenched his jaw.
Even if he could destroy all twelve meteors, the sheer force of their impact would devastate everything around them.
No time to think.
Once again, he launched himself into the air.
One by one, he shattered the meteorites with bone-crushing blows.
Debris rained across the sea, spreading for hundreds of miles. The night sky was alight with burning fragments, an apocalyptic display of destruction.
But Caesar, watching from above, merely chuckled.
Even now, Garp had countered him.
If only he could summon more at once…
Unfortunately, his ability had limitations. The number of meteors he could summon depended on what was within range.
Garp, of course, had no knowledge of this.
He only knew one thing.
He couldn't let Caesar keep dropping meteors.
"Caesar!"
Roaring his name, Garp accelerated, using Geppo to close the distance.
His iron fist, wrapped in the most formidable Armament Haki, hurtled toward Caesar with terrifying force.
Caesar reacted instantly, his Ba Dao shifting to intercept the attack.
Blade and fist collided, creating a shockwave that tore through the battlefield.
The moment they clashed, Caesar's expression hardened.
Garp's raw strength was beyond belief.
Even with his blade coated in Haki, he could feel the sheer weight of that punch reverberate through his arms.
No wonder this man was called the Hero of the Marines.
But Caesar wasn't done yet.
Tapping into the force of his Force Field Fruit, he concentrated an immense gravitational pull on Garp.
Instantly, the vice admiral's body grew heavy, the pressure slamming him into the ground below.
A deep crater formed where he landed.
Yet, within seconds, Garp stood up, rolling his shoulders as if shaking off the weight of the world.
"So that's your new trick, huh?" he muttered.
Caesar smirked.
"Like it?"
Garp simply grinned in response.
Then, without hesitation, he launched himself at Caesar once more.
Their battle raged on, fists clashing against blade, shockwaves splitting the sea and sky apart.
Far below, the marines could only watch in awe.
This was a fight far beyond their reach.
Their only option was to escape and report the battle to Marine Headquarters.
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