"Garp... Tsuru... Is this the hidden trump card the Marines have been holding back?"
On the main deck of the Rocks Pirates' flagship, Rocks lifted his eyes.
There was no surprise in his gaze, only the understanding and contempt of a chess player who had seen through his opponent's hand.
From the very beginning of the battle, his supreme Observation Haki had blanketed the entire sea.
As for those two powerful presences, deliberately restrained yet still as conspicuous as lighthouses in the dead of night—
How could they possibly escape his senses?
"Heh... Just as I expected.
"But you think this lineup alone is enough to wipe out the Rocks Pirates?"
Rocks slowly raised his right hand and gripped the hilt of the long sword at his waist.
It was an ancient sword, pitch-black from tip to hilt, with a guard shaped like a demon's fangs.
His fingers closed around the hilt, and his knuckles cracked sharply.
"That's... underestimating me."
The instant the words left his mouth—
The air exploded!
Rocks vanished from the deck in a flash.
A ring of pure-white vapor remained where he had stood.
The next instant—
He had crossed hundreds of meters of sea like a demon god descending!
There was no afterimage, no trace of his path. He simply appeared out of nowhere at the center of the battlefield, where Garp and Shiki faced off!
His long sword was already drawn, trailing black lightning.
Its blade pointed straight at Garp's head!
"Look out—!!"
"Rocks himself has entered the fight!!"
"He's targeting Vice Admiral Garp!!!"
The Marines fell into unprecedented panic.
By contrast, the Rocks Pirates erupted in a roar that shook the heavens and the sea.
Every pirate's eyes burned with near-mad adoration and fervor—the frenzy of believers witnessing their god descend:
"The captain's moving—!!"
"Wahahaha... The Marines are finished! They're dead!"
"Charge with the captain! Knock those bastards into the sea and feed them to the fish!"
"Rocks! Rocks! Rocks!!"
Their cries swept across the battlefield like a tidal wave, drowning out even the roar of cannon fire and the screams of combatants.
The pirates counterattacked with renewed frenzy, as if possessed. The unease that Garp's arrival had stirred in them vanished in an instant.
"Garp! Look out—!!"
Across the battlefield, Sengoku, Zephyr, and Tsuru shouted almost simultaneously.
Garp stamped down with his right foot, and seven sonic booms burst through the air as he used Geppo.
He shot upward like an arrow loosed from a bow, drew his right fist back to his waist, coiled his body, and unleashed it!
This punch was called—
"Iron Fist: Fist Bone!!!"
Clang—!!!
The instant the sword's force collided with Garp's fist, the world lost its sound.
In its place came the explosion of black lightning!
Black bolts spread through the air like a web as the shock wave expanded into a sphere.
Within a tenth of a second, the sea below caved in, forming a hemispherical crater more than two hundred meters across.
Under the extreme pressure, the seawater instantly vaporized, becoming a towering pillar of white mist.
Garp's body jolted violently in midair.
A needle-sharp pain shot through his fist. His expression turned grave.
"Not bad."
Rocks stood in midair with his sword in hand, his long hair whipping around like a demon's in the raging gale.
There was no anger in his eyes. Instead, a glimmer of appreciation for a worthy opponent appeared in them:
"Monkey D. Garp... As expected of a man who bears the name 'D.'"
Rocks suddenly returned his sword to its sheath. As the blade slid home, the black lightning raging around them receded like a tide. His voice grew solemn:
"Join me."
Those three words instantly changed the atmosphere across the battlefield.
"The position of vice captain in the Rocks Pirates will always be open to you."
Rocks' voice carried clearly to everyone:
"You and I both belong to the D. Clan. You should understand... this world needs to be purged completely.
"The rotten World Government, the hypocritical Celestial Dragons, the people blinded by lies—"
Rocks slowly raised his right hand, palm up, as if he meant to hold up the entire sky:
"All of it must be shattered and remade."
"Garp, your strength shouldn't be wasted maintaining this filthy order."
"Come to my side. Join me and—"
"Create a new era."
The entire battlefield fell silent.
Everyone who understood what he had said—
Marine officers and pirate commanders alike—stared in utter shock, their minds blank.
A recruitment pitch?
Rocks... was trying to recruit Iron Fist Garp, a Marine Vice Admiral?!
"Wahahaha... The captain's trying to recruit that mad Marine dog?!"
Golden Lion Shiki was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter so raucous it seemed ready to tear his throat apart:
"Now that's interesting! This is more fun than stealing the Heavenly Tribute!"
The Rocks Pirates came out of their shock and erupted in a thunderous chorus of excited howls:
"That's our captain! He's even trying to poach a Marine Vice Admiral!"
"If Garp really joins us, who on these seas could stop us?! The World Government can go to hell!"
"Vice captain! Vice captain! Vice captain!!"
Sengoku snorted. "If that bastard were going to betray us, he'd have gone with Roger long ago."
He knew Garp all too well—carefree, insubordinate time and time again, always driving Fleet Admiral Kong up the wall, and even willing to defy Headquarters' orders to pursue Roger...
But the "lazy justice" deep in his bones was more stubborn than anyone else's convictions in Marine Headquarters.
Garp's justice wasn't a rule written in the regulations, nor a will imposed by the Celestial Dragons. It was instinct, woven into his blood and etched into his bones.
That instinct meant he would never side with someone like Rocks.
"Gurararara... Sengoku, you don't seem worried at all."
Whitebeard laughed as he swung Murakumogiri, translucent spheres of Tremor Power gathering along its blade. His tone was full of amusement:
"Not worried Garp might really go with Rocks? That's the vice captain's seat he's offering!"
"Hmph."
Sengoku smashed aside an incoming Shockwave with his giant palm, golden light blazing around him like the sun:
"Don't lump that bastard in with the likes of you."
His gaze turned to Garp, his voice unwavering:
"No matter how stupid, how damnable, or how much of a headache he is..."
"He's still a Marine."
"And he always will be."
"Well, Garp?"
Rocks' voice was as calm as an ancient well, yet it held a power that could shake a person's heart:
"Will you choose the rotten Marines and keep playing watchdog for the Celestial Dragons..."
"Or—"
He raised his sword and pointed it at the sky:
"Will you choose the dawn that will change the world?"
The sea breeze fell still.
Everyone's eyes—Marine and pirate alike—focused on the figure wearing the dog-head hat.
Garp raised his head.
The carelessness, the laziness, the devil-may-care attitude vanished completely from his eyes.
In their place was a steely resolve.
"Rocks."
He slowly clenched both fists, and his Armament Haki surged once more.
This time, the black coating did not remain confined to his skin. It became solid black lightning, leaping, coiling, and shrieking around his fists!
"Me, I..."
Garp grinned, baring his white teeth. There was no warmth in his smile:
"What I hate most—"
He drew his right fist back to his waist and lowered his body slightly, like a bow pulled taut.
"Is bastards like you, who think you know best and treat the world like a toy!!!"
His roar thundered across the battlefield!
The air exploded beneath Garp's feet as the combination of Soru and Geppo burst forth beyond its limits.
His body became a blur, barely visible to the naked eye, as he charged straight at Rocks!
His right fist shot forward!
"Iron Fist Justice!!!"
A cold glint flashed in Rocks' eyes.
He swung his long sword up to meet the attack!
Blade clashed against fist once more!
This time—
Black lightning blanketed the entire sky in an instant, blotting out the sun and plunging the world into eerie darkness.
The clash of titans had begun in earnest!
Before you continue