Chapter 26: Chapter 26
As Kaido's colossal dragon form crashed into the earth, the impact created a seismic shockwave that reverberated through the island, leaving a massive crater in its wake. Garp approached the fallen beast, his expression a mix of disdain and disappointment.
"Is this all you can muster, Kaido?" Garp's voice boomed, echoing across the desolate landscape. "You've barely grown since the days at God Valley, despite consuming that mythical Zoan fruit of yours."
Kaido struggled to rise from the debris, his once majestic form now marred by wounds inflicted by Garp's relentless assault. Blood trickled from his scales, staining the ground beneath him, but the indomitable spirit of the Beast Pirate refused to yield.
"You talk too much, Garp," Kaido growled, his voice dripping with defiance. "I am the strongest creature in the world! No one, not even you, can defeat me!"
With a defiant roar, Kaido unleashed a torrent of azure flames from his jaws, aiming to engulf Garp in a searing inferno. But the Marine legend stood unfazed, his body enveloped in a cloak of Busoshoku Haki that repelled the flames with ease.
Without another word, Kaido lunged forward, his massive maw poised to strike. But Garp was ready; his reflexes had been honed through decades of battle. With lightning speed, he sidestepped the blow, delivering a punishing punch to Kaido's midsection.
The impact reverberated through the air, sending shockwaves rippling across the battlefield. Kaido was shot backward, momentarily stunned by the force of Garp's attack.
"You call yourself the strongest? Pathetic!" Garp's voice was a thunderous roar as he unleashed a barrage of punches, each one landing with the force of a sledgehammer. Kaido struggled to defend himself, his arms straining under the relentless assault.
But Garp showed no mercy, pressing his advantage with unmatched ferocity. He unleashed a flurry of devastating blows, each one driving Kaido further and further back.
Sudden
As Kaido reverted to his fearsome hybrid form, his towering figure loomed over Garp with primal fury. With a thunderous roar, he launched himself at the Marine hero, his fists wreathed in crackling energy.
But Garp was ready, his fists meeting Kaido's with bone-shattering force. Each blow reverberated through the air, creating shockwaves that sent debris flying in all directions. The clash echoed across the island, a symphony of destruction that bore witness to their ferocious battle.
Despite Kaido's relentless effort, Garp punished him blow after blow, his blows landing with precision and devastating impact. With each strike, he pushed Kaido back, completely dominating the strongest creature in the world, giving Kaido no chance to retaliate.
The battle on the island between Garp and Kaido had been raging for six grueling hours. Despite Kaido's monstrous physique, enhanced by his mythical Zoan fruit, he found himself unable to mount any significant retaliation against Garp's relentless assault. The Marine legend, fueled by years of pent-up frustration, unleashed his full fury upon the self-proclaimed strongest creature in the world.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, my own confrontation with King had reached a decisive conclusion hours prior. With Kitetsu poised to deliver the final blow, Bogard intervened, subduing the lunarian with sea stone shackles. Queen, likewise, had been defeated by Bogard, but he managed to slip away amidst the chaos, escaping with a handful of his crewmates who had regained consciousness.
As the dust settled on our respective battles, I turned my attention to Garp and Kaido's ongoing clash. Despite Kaido's resilience, I could see the toll that Garp's relentless assault had taken on him. With each passing moment, it became increasingly evident that Garp would emerge victorious.
The island itself bore witness to the ferocity of their struggle. Cracks formed in the earth, trees splintered under the force of their blows, and the very air crackled with electricity as their Haki clashed.
Suddenly, Kaido's eyes flashed with fury as he summoned the full power of his Devil Fruit. Flames erupted from his body, enveloping him in a fiery aura as he unleashed his strongest form: a fiery dragon. He launched his most fearsome attack.
But Garp was undaunted, despite the scorching temperature that would have melted any normal human to the bone. With a roar of his own, he countered with his legendary technique: "Blue Hole." His fist crackled with electricity as he delivered a devastating blow, shattering Kaido's flames and sending him reeling.
"You think you can defeat me with such pathetic strength? Think again, Kaido!" Garp's voice boomed across the battlefield, his eyes burning with determination.
Enraged, Kaido rose into the air with his fearsome flaming dragon form, his massive figure casting a shadow over the battlefield. With a deafening roar, he unleashed another barrage of flames, intent on incinerating his opponent and the entire island beneath him.
But Garp was ready. With a swift motion, he unleashed his own signature attack: "Galaxy Impact." His fist glowed with a brilliant light as he charged forward, his attack cutting through Kaido's flames like a hot knife through butter.
The two titans clashed in a spectacular display of power and skill, their attacks colliding in a dazzling explosion of energy. With each blow, the ground trembled beneath their feet, and the air crackled with electricity and fire.
And then, with a final, bone-shattering impact, Garp delivered the decisive blow. His fist, coated with both Armament and Conqueror's Haki, connected with Kaido's flaming Dragon form, sending shockwaves rippling through the air as the future Emperor of the Sea was sent crashing to the ground, defeated at last by the indomitable Marine Hero.
As Kaido's massive dragon form crashed onto the center of the island one last time, I could detect the subtle seismic shift due to Garp's final attack, and I quickly turned towards Bogard.
"Bogard-san, we should evacuate the island. The whole island is sinking. We only have a few minutes before it vanishes," I said, surprised that the island had held out for so long. I had expected it to sink much earlier, but it had endured until the end of the battle. Bogard swiftly ordered the Marines to evacuate, while all the pirates had already been secured on the ship.
Within minutes, the entire Marine force was back on the ship, eagerly awaiting Garp's return. We had captured two of the Beast Pirates' ships. We only had to wait a couple of minutes when I saw Garp using Geppo to traverse through the air. Our Marine ship was already a few hundred meters away from the sinking island, and Garp was now carrying the battered and broken unconscious Kaido like a dead dog.
"Thud!"
Garp unceremoniously threw the massive Kaido onto the warship's deck and landed next to us.
As Garp stood beside the unconscious form of Kaido, his expression was unreadable, his eyes were clouded with a mixture of weariness and determination. I stepped forward, the weight of the situation heavy on my shoulders.
"What should we do with him, Garp-san?" I asked, my voice tinged with urgency. "He's too dangerous to keep alive. We should end this now before he escapes again."
Garp's gaze flickered towards me, his brow furrowing slightly. "Shackle him in Sea Stone cuffs and use additional Sea Stone restraints," he commanded, his voice firm. "Bogard, get in touch with HQ and share the information."
Bogard nodded, reaching for a transponder snail to relay the message. As he conversed with headquarters, I couldn't shake the feeling of unease gnawing at me. This was my chance to rid the world of Kaido's tyranny once and for all. Or rather, I should say I wanted to try my luck if I could get the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu, once the fruit returns to the sea after Kaido's death.
"Garp-san, we should consider..." I began, my voice trailing off as I gathered my courage. "We should consider ending him now. You're one of the few who could execute him."
Garp's gaze snapped to mine, his eyes flashing with a mixture of surprise and disbelief. "No," he stated firmly, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade. "He'll be sent to Impel Down."
Disappointment washed over me like a wave crashing against the shore. "But Garp-san," I insisted, desperation creeping into my tone. "Sparing him will only lead to more bloodshed. How many more Marines will have to die before you realize that killing him is the only solution?"
Garp's jaw clenched, his resolve unwavering. "Killing isn't always the answer," he replied, his voice heavy with emotion.
"But what about the future?" I pressed, frustration bubbling within me. "He's escaped capture countless times before. Even among Marines, only you have strong enough Haki mastery to end him. We should do it now, before it's too late."
Anger flared in Garp's eyes, his voice rising with intensity. "I said no!" he shouted, his words echoing across the deck. "Killing him won't solve anything. We'll send him to Impel Down, where he belongs."
I recoiled at the force of his response, feeling a pang of regret for challenging him. But as Garp turned away, his gaze fixed on the horizon, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was making a grave mistake.
And so, I didn't bother to push the matter any further. I knew I didn't possess the strength to kill even the fallen Kaido currently. After consuming the mythical Zoan fruit of the dragon, his already formidable body had been upgraded to a near-immortal level. Only someone with the highest level of Haki could possibly deal a fatal blow, even to his base form.
With my Voice of All Things, I could detect the monstrous rate at which his body was recovering. The combination of the mythical Zoan fruit and Kaido's natural physique was truly phenomenal. Even my own recovery abilities paled in comparison to what I was currently witnessing in Kaido's body. At the current rate, he should be able to completely regain his fighting strength in two to three days.
With Garp's command, Kaido, the future emperor, was bound in seastone shackles, and his body was wrapped with seastone chains as an extra precaution. Dawn was already breaking when the fight ended, and in the next few minutes, the entire island had sunk, leaving no trace of its presence.
"Garp-san, HQ has asked us to wait. They are sending a marine fleet to escort Kaido to Impel Down. We have been ordered to move in the direction of G9 base," Bogard relayed the information he received from Fleet Admiral Kong himself. I pondered over how much importance the World Nobles gave to a user of the mythical Dragon fruit. I guessed it was not their top priority if such a fruit was offered as a trophy during the Native Hunting Competition.
Garp simply nodded, still somewhat occupied due to my earlier words. Bogard quickly passed down orders to return to G9 Marine Base to hand over the prisoner.
It was late in the evening when we encountered the large marine fleet, consisting of 10 ships. Among them was a great battleship serving as its flagship, accompanied by three large warships and the remaining ships being standard-sized Marine battleships. Despite Garp's status as a Vice Admiral, equivalent to that of an Admiral, he chose a large-sized warship that suited his needs over a super large-sized great battleship.
Using my Observation Haki, I discerned the strength of the incoming fleet, detecting several strong presences. By my estimation, there were about three Vice Admiral-level figures among them.
As the flagship came to a halt near our ship, a few figures jumped up to Garp's ship. Garp, standing leisurely on the deck, awaited the arrival of the other party. He also detected some unsavory presences among the Marines' fleet, including several CP agents garbed in crisp black suits alongside the standard Marines.
"Garp-san, here are the papers for prisoner transfer. We will take it over from here," one of the Marine Vice Admirals, whom I was not very familiar with, passed a document to Garp. Bogard, despite the Vice Admiral's disapproving look, picked it up and went through it. Garp still held a questioning look, as he had an inkling of what this was about.
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