Flowing Armament Haki

"Phew!"

Chaos's chest rose and fell as he breathed heavily.

The gap. The vast difference in strength.

After only two brief exchanges, Chaos could already feel the gap between them.

His opponent hadn't even been serious.

Chaos's black-and-gold right hand reached toward the sky. The Goddess of the Heavens, who had stood motionless, began to change. From her feet to her head, she transformed into a colossal Golden Sword that pierced the heavens and earth, rising above Chaos's palm and piercing the clouds.

Chaos took a step forward and brought his right hand crashing down toward Garp.

The sky screamed. A vast shadow blotted out the clouds, as if splitting heaven and earth apart.

Boom!

Rumble!

Nearly half of Sabaody Archipelago began to shake. A vast chasm tore through the area. When the dust settled, the sight that emerged left the pirates watching through telescopes from far away swallowing hard in horror.

Chaos's eyes darkened.

At the tip of the colossal sword, Garp stood with one hand braced against the Golden Sword, holding it above his head without letting it sink an inch.

"Gate of Babylon!"

Chaos skimmed low across the ground, charging toward Garp. At the same time, the Golden Sword flashed and rang like clashing blades, sending a barrage of swords, spears, and other weapons flying toward him.

The whole area erupted in explosions, rolling clouds of dust blotting out the sky!

Faced with such a dense barrage, Garp threw back his head and laughed. A layer of dark green substance began to flow over his body, like a thick liquid.

It was Armament Haki—flowing Haki.

In Wano Country, it was known as "Ryuo," a hallmark of the highest level of Armament Haki.

The countless weapons could be seen bouncing away before they even touched Garp.

As Chaos charged toward him, Garp grinned and threw a punch through the air. In the next instant, the air was sucked away, forming a shock wave that tore a chasm through the ruined ground and surged straight toward Chaos.

Forced to stop, Chaos faced the shock wave like a man confronting a burst Yellow River levee. Everything in its path was pulverized.

"Boom! Boom!"

Chaos's pupils contracted. He slammed his right hand onto the ground, and the countless flying weapons formed a series of enormous Golden Gates, creating five layers of defense in front of him.

Crack!

Just as expected, the first three Golden Gates were smashed to pieces with overwhelming force. The fourth held for barely half a minute before exploding, too.

"Damn it!"

Chaos braced both hands against the last Golden Gate, his feet sinking into the ground as he was driven backward. Cracks spread across its surface, plain to see. It wouldn't be long before it shattered.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Chaos refused to sit still and wait for defeat. The swords, spears, and other weapons circling around him continued to shoot toward Garp as he reinforced the Golden Gate.

That Armament Haki shock wave was simply too powerful.

Compared to Chaos, red-faced and straining, Garp looked completely at ease.

He didn't bother with the golden weapons flying at him. They were knocked aside by his flowing Armament Haki before they could even get close. He clenched his right fist and punched through the air again.

The fissure from before suddenly widened, slamming into the Golden Gate in front of Chaos.

Pfft—

Blood sprayed from Chaos's mouth and nose. The last Golden Gate shattered, sending golden fragments flying in every direction like meteors. Chaos felt as though a meteor had struck him. His chest cracked, and he hurtled away in a golden streak, smashing through everything in his path in a chain of explosions.

Goldenization, Armament Haki, Iron Body—the strongest defenses were like tofu at that moment.

Dust filled the far end of the ruins. Chaos knelt on one knee, coughing up blood.

The difference in strength was even greater than he'd imagined.

His attacks couldn't even get close, and his defenses were easily shattered. Chaos's previously restless heart went cold.

It was still too soon for him to fight opponents like these.

Now that he knew how wide the gap was, there was no reason to stay.

All the golden weapons floated above his head. One group came together to form Chains of Heaven, which pierced through the dust and shot toward Garp.

Garp swung a fist at the incoming attacks, and the unbreakable Chains of Heaven shattered link by link.

One chain after another flew out, accompanied by all kinds of swords, spears, and other weapons!

But even that couldn't stop Garp!

However—

"My body..."

"Vice Admiral Garp, look out!"

"Damn it! I can't control myself!"

The Marines who had gotten golden dust on them earlier all flew uncontrollably toward Garp. They swung their weapons at him as if they were free, or clung to him with all their might.

Anything to buy time.

Chaos didn't hesitate. He turned all the gold he had left into a cone, stepped onto it, and shot into the sky, fleeing at top speed. He didn't even leave behind a threat.

The Chains of Heaven and weapons he left behind were gifts for Garp, along with the Marines he couldn't control.

To keep Garp from chasing him, the weapons also attacked the Marines, who willingly threw themselves into their path.

Even after Chaos fled, the Chains of Heaven, weapons, and Marines continued attacking Garp.

As long as they remained within Chaos's Observation Haki range, he could still control them.

This kind of remote control was practically tailor-made for retreating.

Once all the gold and Marines had lost the ability to move, Garp watched the horizon as the Armament Haki covering his body faded.

His expression was grim. Quite a few bodies lay on the ground.

His opponent had prepared to escape from the start.

It was despicable.

But effective!

Chaos wasn't stupid. Marineford was so close to Sabaody Archipelago that without a backup plan, he might die without even knowing what had killed him.

At the same time, a large group of Marines came running from a distance. They were Garp's direct subordinates.

Kuzan was with them, too.

"Vice Admiral Garp."

Ox was wrapped in bandages from head to toe, his face pale and his body still weak.

Supported by several Marines, he saluted Garp.

The group then returned to the Marine base.

News that Garp had appeared on Sabaody Archipelago soon spread across the island.

Many pirate crews hurriedly fled or kept their heads down. In any case, things became much more peaceful.

Ten minutes later.

In Ox's office, Garp rested his feet on the desk and kept tossing doughnuts into his mouth, his gaze fixed on the newspaper in front of him.

Aokiji, Ox, and the other Vice Admirals and aides below him each had a copy, too.

It was a newspaper from several months earlier, featuring Chaos's wanted poster.

"How much longer until the warship's coating is finished?"

Garp tossed the newspaper onto the desk and looked at his aide as he chewed his doughnut.

He'd come to Sabaody Archipelago to capture Roger, but he hadn't expected that man to flee ahead of him—to Fish-Man Island, no less. This time, he was determined to catch him.

Chaos had only been a minor interruption.

Garp might forget about him by tomorrow.

As for the Marines who had been injured or killed, Garp was used to it by now.

You could even say he'd grown numb.

That was just how fucked up the world was. Human lives were worth less than grass.

"At least five hours."

"That long?"

Garp wasn't pleased.

At the same time, at Marine Headquarters in Marineford—

"Damn Garp."

Sengoku sat in his chair, cursing before frowning at the intelligence report in his hands.

Tsuru was deep in thought below him.

They had the report from Sabaody Archipelago. The most important details concerned Dragon Horn Jax and Golden Emperor Gaia Chaos.

"Looks like Golden Lion has his eye on the Roger Pirates."

Sengoku rubbed his forehead. He wouldn't have given a second thought to Dragon Horn Jax alone. The real concern was the man connected to Jax.

The Flying Pirates were expanding rapidly, and the Marines couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

The Roger Pirates were also growing stronger. If Golden Lion really managed to absorb them, the Flying Pirates would become even more formidable. They would be much harder to deal with in the future.

"What do you think of this Golden Emperor?"

Tsuru kept her head down, studying the report with a thoughtful look.

"He killed Dragon Horn Jax and defeated Ox. He's certainly strong."

"But now the Flying Pirates may hunt him down. With Golden Lion's domineering personality, he'll either recruit him or kill him."

Sengoku didn't think too highly of him, either. If nothing unexpected happened, the Golden Emperor was doomed to die unless he found a powerful protector.

"Golden Lion won't kill him."

Tsuru's expression was very serious...