Composite Form

Long before Garp and Lindsey began fighting, they had already sent everyone nearby back over a hundred meters.

Even so, the Marines watching from the sidelines were still caught in the shockwaves.

BOOM!

"Waaah!"

"Th-this is terrifying..."

"Vice Admiral Garp!"

"..."

The Armament Haki spreading in every direction mingled with the earth and stones flying through the air, making it difficult for the Marines nearby to even stay on their feet.

As they chattered among themselves, they soon realized that things were about to get out of hand.

Neither Garp nor Aiven Lindsey was the sort of opponent that a mere hundred meters could contain.

If they kept fighting, let alone protecting the Sabaody Archipelago, they might end up destroying the entire island!

"Vice Admiral Garp!"

The Marines called out to warn him.

But Garp had already anticipated this.

What kind of joke was that? He wasn't some reckless fool. If this turned into a world-class disaster, Tsuru would be the first to give him hell.

But the crux of the problem was...

Garp clenched his hand, carefully recalling how that punch had felt.

He hadn't felt any Armament Haki from Aiven Lindsey.

Even so, the punch had carried an astonishing sense of power!

If that "power" began rampaging across the Sabaody Archipelago, then—

"I can't guarantee I'll be able to minimize the damage..."

Garp was a little troubled.

But remembering Tsuru's instructions, along with the civilians and Marines around him, Garp made up his mind.

"Can't be helped. I'll try to move the battlefield to the coast."

Garp could forcibly drag Aiven Lindsey to the coast and keep fighting there!

Just then, as the billowing dust settled, Aiven Lindsey made his declaration:

"I've still got one more move!"

Garp grew even more troubled, but he could only steel himself and face what was coming.

He rolled his shoulders and let out a hearty laugh, lifting the spirits of the Marines around him.

"Hahaha, bring it on!"

No matter how difficult it was, as the Navy Hero, he still had to step up. Otherwise, the trouble would only get worse.

Garp watched Lindsey's movements.

Then he saw Lindsey turn around and sprint away, running until he disappeared from sight.

Garp: "..."

He scratched his head.

Garp: "..."

He fell silent again.

Strictly speaking, deploying Garp in response to this Celestial Dragon attack wasn't in line with regulations.

There was no question about Garp's combat strength, but in the end, he was still a "Vice Admiral."

As a Vice Admiral, Garp wasn't required to answer directly to the Celestial Dragons like a Marine Admiral.

At the same time, as the "hero" of God Valley, Garp didn't really need to care about the Celestial Dragons' opinions, given his astonishing achievements and reputation.

So he wasn't particularly interested in "capturing criminals."

Now that Aiven Lindsey had simply run away, Garp couldn't bring himself to pursue him in earnest.

"..."

After thinking it over, Garp scratched his head and gave his orders. "Ignore them. Focus on getting the civilians to safety. I reckon this mess is nearly over."

"Yes, sir!"

The Marines followed his orders.

They'd had enough of the Celestial Dragons' bombardment. None of them wanted to stand by and watch their base get shelled.

Garp's arrival was like a shot in the arm for the Marines, giving them the confidence to do what they needed to without worrying too much about the Celestial Dragons.

"All right, that's settled!"

Garp was satisfied with the outcome.

He wasn't fond of so-called "slave trading" anyway, and he'd confirmed that neither Lindsey nor Fisher Tiger was the sort to stir up chaos for its own sake. He might as well let them do as they pleased.

But just as Garp was about to sit down and rest while organizing his thoughts for the report, the Den Den Mushi in his coat suddenly rang.

Bulu bulu bulu...

Bulu bulu bulu...

Click!

As soon as the call connected, Sengoku launched into a furious tirade.

"Hey, Garp, don't you dare shirk your duties!"

"Even if you're just putting on a show, you still have to make an effort! Otherwise, the Celestial Dragons will definitely make trouble for the Navy!"

Sengoku knew Garp all too well.

With Garp there, nothing truly catastrophic would happen, but smaller problems were inevitable.

So Sengoku had already anticipated Garp's attitude at that very moment.

Listening to the angry words coming through the Den Den Mushi, Garp wearily dug a finger into his ear and frowned. "All right, all right, I get it. I'll do my best!"

Click!

He hung up the Den Den Mushi.

With a weary sigh, Garp stood up and rolled his arms, calling to the Marines nearby.

"Ah, you lot, keep rescuing people. I'm heading over to the harbor."

His fists crackled as he clenched them.

"Make sure you take everyone far away. I'm going to go beat someone up!"

At the harbor.

Crocodile had been waiting for quite some time. Aiven Lindsey had finally arrived, just as promised.

The Primitive Man came sprinting over, with a muscular Fish-Man following behind him, looking utterly confused.

"Heh..."

Crocodile raised an eyebrow, then untied the ship's mooring ropes and prepared to set sail. He was just about to make another sarcastic remark at Lindsey's expense.

As for the Fish-Man, he probably didn't need to worry about him. Fish-Men were far more mobile in the sea than humans, and Devil Fruit Users couldn't even begin to compare.

But just as Lindsey was about to reach the harbor, another figure suddenly came rushing closer.

This time, however, the sight of "him" made Crocodile's face change dramatically. He sped up his preparations to set sail several times over.

Who was it?

It was Garp, who had set out earlier!

"How did that Primitive Man bring him here?!"

Crocodile felt his scalp go numb. He watched Lindsey sprint closer, unable to stop him at all.

In just a few breaths, Lindsey and Fisher Tiger had reached the harbor.

Tiger jumped straight into the sea to evade capture.

Lindsey leaped onto the deck of Crocodile's ship and laughed. "Aha, that was fun!"

What the hell was fun about that?!

Crocodile beckoned Lindsey over to help, then looked back toward the harbor and saw that Garp had already closed to within a few hundred meters.

The Navy Hero casually grabbed an unexploded cannonball beside him, took aim at Lindsey, and hurled it.

Fist Meteorite!

Whoosh!

It flew so fast and hit so hard that it surpassed even the heavy cannons mounted on a warship!

Crocodile didn't want to attack the Marines, so he quickly retreated to the sidelines.

Lindsey simply thrust out a hand and smashed the cannonball Garp had thrown.

"Wait, wait, wait. Let me think about what to do..."

Lindsey muttered to himself.

The Kun Trigram in his right pupil began to spin rapidly, and seemed to shift into another pattern.

It took the shape of a ladder, with three horizontal lines: the top two were unbroken, while the bottom one was split in two.

It was called "Xun"!

The Xun Trigram appeared in Lindsey's eye, aligning with the Kun Trigram in his left eye and bringing about a further change in his body.

His reddish-brown skin gradually turned purple, and a few emerald-green scales, resembling jade, sprouted across his back.

[Earth Fiend Howling Wind—Composite Form]!

He dug all four limbs firmly into the ship's deck to brace himself, then took a deep breath and aimed at Garp on the shore.

Howling Wind was a Wind Demon, with the power to unleash fierce gales with his breath.

Now Lindsey combined Earth Fiend's brute strength with the gale, creating a new move in his composite form.

Namely, with all his might—

A ROAR!

ROAR!

A torrent of air that warped space hurtled toward Garp on the shore!