The Navy Is Shaken

After some more time passed, Lin Feng's opponent, Onigumo, was the first to give out, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

His internal organs had already been severely damaged. Lasting this long had been a testament to his powerful will.

Lin Feng was genuinely impressed by the freakish constitutions of people in the Pirate World.

They could actually fight for this long? This had turned into a bladder match. If they kept going, he would not be able to hold it much longer.

He had no idea how those godlike people who fought for days and nights managed to endure it.

It was one thing if they did not need food or water, but did they not need to relieve themselves either? Everyone was still mortal and needed to eat, drink, piss, and shit. It was not like Richard and Xia Mi, who had already surpassed the bounds of ordinary life.

Or did they call a halftime break in the middle of a fight, take care of business, and then continue?

That image was too beautiful. Just thinking about it had a stench to it, and he did not dare dwell on it.

He never wanted to fight these constitution freaks again.

Seeing that only he and Vice Admiral Momonga were still holding on, Garp grew anxious as well.

Haki erupted without restraint, and an intense pressure swept out, making heaven and earth change color.

Sure enough, this guy had Conqueror's Haki. Otherwise, how could he have contended with Roger, Rocks, and the like? He had not even eaten a Devil Fruit.

Mastery of Armament Haki alone was not enough.

After all, they were all among the sea's strongest. No matter how weak the others' Armament Haki was, how much weaker could it really be?

Unfortunately, not a single person present was weak. This Conqueror's Haki had no effect on them whatsoever.

Xia Mi even remarked that this was Conqueror's Haki. It looked pretty cool, and she wanted it.

Releasing Conqueror's Haki was ultimately only useful for clearing fodder. To deal with strong opponents, Advanced Conqueror's Haki was still necessary.

Combining Advanced Conqueror's Haki with Armament Hardening, Garp threw a punch at Richard. If that punch landed, the entire island would tremble three times over.

Yet even such a powerful punch merely distorted the stream of water before Richard, which returned to normal the next moment.

Richard remained completely unfazed and even had the leisure to comment. That strength should be at Peak Saint Domain, right?

Garp's expression truly changed this time.

He realized that he had underestimated his opponent. This guy did not possess the slightest aura of a powerhouse, but he was absolutely no weaker than Garp—perhaps even stronger.

With his mindset changed, Garp summoned the fighting spirit he had possessed during his great battle with Roger.

He threw punch after punch without stopping.

Richard said nothing and simply kept blocking.

Before long, Momonga was defeated. Kuina severed his blade and, in the process, cut off one of his arms.

After many battles, Kuina had finally found that fleeting opportunity and advanced to become a Great Swordsman, greatly increasing her strength.

This was not some fantasy or cultivation story where the protagonist attained enlightenment overnight and their cultivation soared.

Kuina had merely broken through in her realm of swordsmanship, greatly improving her sword skills and allowing her to display greater strength.

No matter what, it was a good thing. Her wish of many years had been fulfilled, and she was only one step away from challenging the world's greatest swordsman.

Momonga had been defeated, but Garp ignored everything and continued his frenzied assault.

Yet there was nothing he could do to Richard.

"Big news, absolutely huge news! Hahaha, I'm going to strike it rich! Dead Hand, hurry up and take pictures!" From atop a distant tree, that reporter from before had risked his life to follow them.

It had to be said that this guy had truly gotten his hands on huge news.

Celestial Dragons had been buried alive, the Navy had been defeated, Akainu's whereabouts were unknown, and Navy Hero Garp was raging helplessly.

Every one of those was headline news capable of shaking the seas, and he had captured them all.

At that moment, he had long since cast aside any concern for his own safety. He only wanted to take more pictures, then even more. Tomorrow, he would surely shock the entire sea.

Meanwhile, the surviving Navy soldiers struggled ashore, bringing back the officers wounded by Erii as well.

Then they reported the news that the warships had been completely wiped out to Headquarters. They no longer had the strength to fight and needed Headquarters to send reinforcements.

At Marineford, Sengoku's face turned ashen after receiving the intelligence.

The loss of several warships was manageable, and fortunately, not too many soldiers had died.

Most had saved themselves after falling into the sea and swum back to shore. Otherwise, Navy Headquarters would have lacked military strength.

He immediately convened a meeting of Headquarters' vice admirals. All vice admirals attended to discuss how they should respond next.

The main issue was that the Ghost Pirate Crew's combat power had exceeded all expectations.

Two admiral-level fighters and two vice admirals had been sent against them, yet they had still been able to spare people to deal with the Navy's warships?

That showed that their strength was far greater than expected. The Navy had to face them with the same seriousness they would use against the Four Emperors, or perhaps someone even stronger.

Could the four people they had sent earlier—Garp, Sakazuki, Momonga, and Onigumo—handle them? Had they already fallen into a bitter battle and been pinned down? Did Headquarters need to send support?

He needed to convene a meeting to discuss personnel deployment. At the very least, they had to send someone to assess the situation.

"Kuzan cannot move. He needs to guard the New World," Tsuru was the first to speak.

"Mm." Sengoku nodded in agreement.

"Gion needs to handle matters on the World Government's side. Tsuru can participate in this operation.

This time, I will personally lead the team over to take a look," Tsuru said again.

She was originally the Navy Headquarters' chief staff officer, the Navy's intellectual pillar.

She also wanted to see for herself this extraordinary group of young people.

"Fine. Add Doberman and Burning Mountain as well. The four of you will go. If Garp's group is in trouble, bring them back if possible while preserving yourselves. The Navy cannot afford the losses," Sengoku declared.

Doberman and Burning Mountain, the two vice admirals named, answered in acknowledgment.

Before long, the four set off.

When they arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago, they saw battered remnants of soldiers along the shoreline and Garp, who appeared utterly unhinged.

Richard, effortlessly blocking Garp's attacks, and the others, leisurely resting nearby.

The scene was even worse than the worst situation they had imagined.

Only Garp still retained his combat strength. Sakazuki was nowhere to be seen, and his situation was most likely grim.

"Oh? More people have arrived?" Xia Mi tilted her head and looked at Vice Admiral Tsuru and the others.

Gion, Doberman, and Burning Mountain stood behind Tsuru.

Kuina stared brightly at Gion and Doberman.

Those two carried swords, so they should be quite capable swordsmen as well.

She felt that she could still fight another battle.

However, Tsuru did not seem to intend to fight right away.

After seeing Tsuru, Garp gradually stopped and retreated to her side.

Richard did not stop him. In any case, none of them would be allowed to leave.

"Are you the leader of the Ghost Pirate Crew, sir? What is your purpose? Why did you attack the Celestial Dragons?" Tsuru attempted to speak with Richard.

"Can we discuss changing our name? That name is way too unpleasant. Who came up with it?" Rather than answering, Richard fixated on that awful name and the damn "Water Ghost" nickname.

The people of this world truly had no culture. Their nicknames were things like "Whitebeard," "Blackbeard," and "Red-Haired." What was the difference between that and calling someone "Four-Eyes" or "Curly Hair"? Anyone who did not know better would think it was the nickname of some random nobody.

"That is not impossible. What name do you want?" Tsuru said with a smile.

"We'll be called the Travel Group. As for my title, you can call me the Water God. Do not call me Water Ghost—that sounds awful," Richard said. He did indeed have a Water Element Divine Clone, so he could live up to that title.

"And me, me too. I don't want to be called the War Ghost. I want to be called the Dragon King," Fenrir hurriedly added.

"Of course. Once I return, I will have them change it for you," Tsuru said, still smiling.

"Then forget it. You probably will not be going back," Richard said.

Tsuru's smile stiffened. Why was this guy not following the script?

She made a subtle gesture, and Garp and the others beside her prepared for battle.