Garp's Fury! Pursuit!

Seeing Sengoku make his decision, Whitebeard stopped his advance.

He hoisted Murakumogiri onto his shoulder, turned around, and strode toward the main ship of the Rocks Pirates.

His strength was on par with Sengoku's; while he held a slight advantage, deciding a winner would be no easy task.

Continuing the fight would only result in mutual destruction, which did not serve the interests of the Rocks Pirates.

At the same time, Rocks unleashed another slash, forcing Garp back before his figure drifted backward like a ghost.

It was not Geppo, nor was it Soru, but some more bizarre method of movement, as if the space beneath his feet had shrunk.

Garp stepped on the air using Geppo, pursuing him madly, his roar exploding like thunder:

"Rocks!! Stand still, you bastard!!"

"Give the Heavenly Tribute back!!!"

But Rocks only glanced back at him, a mocking curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Then he raised his hand toward Garp—

And pressed down into the void.

Hum—

Top-tier Conqueror's Haki descended like a ten-thousand-ton mountain!

Garp's charging figure suddenly stalled, as if he had slammed into a patch of solidified gel.

He roared, erupting with Haki in an attempt to break free, but in that brief moment of hesitation, Rocks had already returned to the deck of the main ship.

"Set sail."

He commanded indifferently.

A dozen pirate ships hoisted their sails in unison, turned, and accelerated, speeding toward the direction where the sun was setting like arrows released from a bow.

Garp finally broke free from the restraint, but the ships of Rocks had already sailed far away.

He stepped on the air with Geppo, intending to continue the pursuit, but heard Sengoku's roar coming from behind:

"Garp! Come back!!"

"That is an order!!"

Sengoku bellowed, but Garp's figure had already shot into the distance like a released arrow, turning a deaf ear to the roar behind him.

Sengoku was equally furious, but at this point, pursuing the Rocks Pirates was meaningless.

Even if they caught up, it was unknown whether they could win.

The high-end combat power of the Navy had been heavily depleted in the battle just now.

Zephyr was not lightly injured, Tsuru was severely wounded and unconscious, his own stamina was less than thirty percent after the fierce battle with Whitebeard, and the soldiers had suffered heavy casualties.

In contrast, on the side of Rocks: although Whitebeard had fought Sengoku to a standstill, he still appeared to have energy to spare.

Golden Lion Shiki, despite taking a Fist from Garp, still possessed combat capability.

The strength of Rocks himself was even more unfathomable. And then there was that Luo Tian...

At the thought of that young man, a flash of gloom crossed Sengoku's eyes.

He had originally thought that with Tsuru assisting Zephyr, no matter how strong Luo Tian was, he would be unable to escape their joint siege.

Tsuru's Wash-Wash Fruit ability was a natural counter to most Paramecia, and Zephyr's martial arts and Haki were the pinnacle of the Navy.

With the two of them joining forces, even a powerhouse like Golden Lion would have to avoid their edge.

However, Luo Tian's strength far exceeded expectations.

Not only did he use his bizarre fruit ability and exquisite swordsmanship to force Zephyr into a bitter struggle, but he also found a flaw while Tsuru was coordinating, dealing her a heavy blow in one fell swoop.

The Navy's high-end combat power was thwarted because of this, which gave Golden Lion Shiki the opportunity to seize the Heavenly Tribute without interference.

Every variable stemmed from that young man named Luo Tian.

"All Navy forces—follow Garp!"

Sengoku looked at that back figure pursuing without hesitation, and finally gritted his teeth to give the order, though his tone could not hide his deep helplessness.

That bastard was impulsive, reckless, and repeatedly disobeyed orders, but...

At the same time, Garp's figure was like a rocket, the air beneath his feet rippling with white waves.

Those were sonic boom clouds created by the ultimate combination of Soru and Geppo.

He had eyes only for the fleet drifting further and further away, the boiling rage in his chest churning like magma.

The image of Tsuru severely wounded and unconscious flashed repeatedly in his mind.

"Rocks... Luo Tian..."

Garp gritted his teeth, the veins on his forehead bulging:

"I... will never let you go!"

In the distance, the Rocks Pirates were currently making their return voyage.

"Gurararara... that guy Garp, he actually chased after us?!"

Whitebeard looked toward the figure shooting through the air like a cannonball and laughed heartily.

"Jiehahaha... once his stamina runs dry, he'll naturally retreat!"

At this moment, Shiki had also returned to the ship.

As for the transport ship carrying the Heavenly Tribute, it was being pulled by the power of his Float-Float Fruit, suspended a thousand meters in the air and flying rapidly toward Beehive Island.

In Shiki's view, Garp's pursuit was nothing more than the futile rage of the incompetent.

No matter how strong a single person might be, it was impossible to challenge the entire Rocks Pirates all by himself.

Once Garp's Haki and stamina were exhausted, he would naturally know when to give up.

Captain Rocks stood on the stern deck, arms crossed, his pitch-black cloak not moving a single inch.

He glanced at Garp, who was in hot pursuit behind them, but said nothing.

He also knew that Garp was merely acting out of momentary indignation; once his energy was spent, he would leave on his own.

"Hm? It seems someone is missing..."

Whitebeard looked around, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Where did that kid Luo Tian go?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the deck fell silent.

Indeed, since the retreat began, no one had seen a trace of Luo Tian.

"That's right! I felt something was off earlier too, I haven't seen Luo Tian at all! Could it be... that the kid was captured by the Navy?!"

Hearing this, Whitebeard snapped irritably:

"Shiki, shut your crow's mouth!"

Just as Whitebeard and Shiki were arguing, Rocks, standing to the side, looked up at the sky, his expression as calm as an ancient well.

Rocks knew exactly where Luo Tian was.

From the heat of the battle to the retreat, his immense Observation Haki had remained draped over the entire sea area.

After Luo Tian repelled Zephyr, he did not return to the ship immediately, but instead hovered in the air for several seconds, as if waiting for something.

Then, the kid flew off in a certain direction—not the direction back to the ship, but rather...

The flank of Garp's pursuit route.

A nearly imperceptible arc curled at the corner of Rocks' mouth.

He had always valued this newcomer, not just for Luo Tian's strength and potential, but for a calmness that defied his age.

From the moment Luo Tian volunteered to intercept Zephyr to create an opening for Shiki to seize the Heavenly Tribute, Rocks had realized—

This kid was not just a simple battle maniac.

"Look!"

Suddenly, a pirate on the ship shouted in alarm.

They saw that the clouds a hundred meters above Garp, who had been in relentless pursuit, suddenly shattered.

A slash, black as ink, descended from the sky, hacking down with lightning speed!

"No way! That kid Luo Tian... he actually wants to intercept Garp?!"

Shiki was stunned, his face full of shock.

The punch Garp had landed on him was still fresh in his memory.

"Gurararara... that kid Luo Tian, he always manages to surprise people!"

Even Newgate was stunned for a moment, then burst into loud laughter.

At the same time, Garp, who was in the middle of his pursuit, felt his Observation Haki suddenly sound a warning of danger.

He immediately combined Geppo with Soru, his figure shifting thirty meters to the right like a lingering shadow.

The very instant he moved away—

Sshhh—!!!

The space where he had been standing was violently torn open by a ferocious slash.