A pitch-black fissure a hundred meters long appeared along the slash's path, fine cracks spreading across the space at its edges like fractures in a shattered mirror.
The sea below split open into a bottomless chasm.
The waters on either side rose like walls, then poured back in and filled the gap a second later.
In a single instant, the sea had been split in two!
Garp's pupils contracted.
The power of that slash... had already surpassed the realm of an ordinary master swordsman.
No—even Shiki's slashes weren't as dangerous.
Because this one contained more than sword energy. It also held a force that could tear space apart.
But it wasn't over yet. Before Garp had fully steadied himself, his Observation Haki alarm blared again.
Not one slash, but five!
Five black slashes came at him simultaneously from above, below, both sides, and behind, cutting off every avenue of escape.
More bizarrely, their paths weren't straight. They curved through the air, changed speed, and even crossed one another, forming a three-dimensional web of death.
Faced with Luo Tian's relentless attacks, Garp's fury erupted like a volcano!
"Brat—!!!"
He roared, and his fists were instantly coated in Armament Haki as black as ink.
Garp chose the most direct, most brutal approach—the one that suited him best:
He would meet them head-on!
His fists shot out like cannonballs!
Whoosh—BOOM!!
Iron fists clashed violently with the slashes, each impact unleashing a ring of shockwaves.
Black sword energy and dark red Haki tore at each other, devoured each other, and exploded in midair.
In mere seconds, all five slashes shattered, dissolving into a rain of black sparks.
But Garp hadn't come away unscathed.
A needle-sharp pain throbbed through his knuckles.
The slashes' spatial tearing power had seeped through his Armament Haki and wounded him.
The injury wasn't serious, but it made Garp's heart tighten.
There was something strange about this kid's slashes...
"Brat! Since you've come all this way—"
Garp's voice boomed like thunder as he glared at the figure slowly descending from the clouds.
"Then come back to Impel Down with me and spend the rest of your life there!"
His eyes blazed with fury, though a trace of undisguised surprise flickered in them as well.
He had expected Rocks to send Whitebeard or Golden Lion to stop him. Those two were close to his own strength and the most suitable candidates for the job.
He hadn't expected Luo Tian to be the one who stepped in.
A newcomer who wasn't even twenty and hadn't been with the Rocks Pirates for long.
And that was precisely what pushed Garp's anger over the edge.
Luo Tian's actions so far—especially the grievous injury he'd inflicted on Tsuru—had already crossed the limit of Garp's patience.
And now he dared to intercept him personally. It was nothing short of a blatant provocation.
"Is that so? Then let's see you try."
Luo Tian's expression didn't change as he stood on empty air.
Just moments ago, he'd been about to return to the pirate ship when the system suddenly issued a mission.
Ding! Temporary mission: Intercept Garp! Mission reward: Advanced Observation Haki, Ryuo Haki techniques!
"Hmph!"
Garp said no more. He stomped his left foot in midair, Geppo breaking the sound barrier as he shot toward Luo Tian like a cannonball, holding nothing back.
He drew his right fist back to his waist. Armament Haki wrapped around it, compressed, then compressed again. The air around his knuckles began to warp and collapse unnaturally.
"Fist Bone: Star Crushing!"
Facing Garp as he charged like a ferocious beast, Luo Tian lowered his stance slightly.
Spatial power and Haki shrouded the Black Dragon Blade. He brought it down, meeting the iron fist head-on.
Szz! Szz—!
The instant fist met blade, there was no explosion, no roar—only a piercing grinding sound and sparks of black and red lightning.
Their eyes met in midair, sharp as blades.
Luo Tian's gaze held an iron-hard focus.
Garp's blazed with fury enough to burn the heavens and boil the seas.
Neither showed any sign of yielding.
The deadlock lasted only a few seconds.
Then—
BOOM!!!
In an instant, a blinding white light erupted where the fist and blade met, leaving everyone temporarily sightless!
The two figures vanished completely inside a beam of light that pierced heaven and earth.
A colossal explosion swept across the sea. Its shock wave spread outward in a white ring.
The clouds split cleanly apart in its wake, and the sea was pressed down into a hemispherical hollow two hundred meters across!
"N-no way! That man... actually fought Vice Admiral Garp to a standstill?!"
"Is that kid really under twenty?! A clash with that kind of power is almost at Admiral level!"
"Damn... at his age, I'd only just graduated from the Marine Academy and made lieutenant..."
"Damn it! Why did a monster like that have to end up with the pirates?!"
The Marines stared in disbelief at the pillar of light from the explosion high in the distance, crying out in shock.
"That kid... he's a monster."
Zephyr watched the battle with his arms crossed and muttered under his breath.
He didn't want to admit it, but he knew the truth: Luo Tian had indeed overpowered him in their earlier fight.
It wasn't a difference in Haki. It was the combination of that bizarre Devil Fruit ability and his exquisite swordsmanship that had kept Zephyr on the back foot.
Beside him, Sengoku clenched both fists. He was every bit as furious with Luo Tian as Garp was.
The carefully planned operation to wipe out the Rocks Pirates had committed most of the Navy's top fighters.
And what had come of it?
That young man had thrown everything into chaos.
If Luo Tian hadn't kept Zephyr and Tsuru occupied, Shiki could never have seized the Heavenly Tribute so easily.
If Luo Tian hadn't grievously injured Tsuru, the Navy wouldn't have suffered a gap in its top fighting strength.
Meanwhile, aboard the Rocks Pirates' ship—
Shiki and Whitebeard stared at the incredible spectacle in the sky, their faces filled with shock.
They'd known Luo Tian was strong, but for him to fight Garp to this extent...
"That kid's gotten even stronger," Shiki said, narrowing his eyes.
As the man who'd sparred with Luo Tian the most, Shiki knew better than anyone how quickly the kid was improving.
When Luo Tian had first come aboard a month ago, his swordsmanship had still been a little rough, and he'd been fairly clumsy in using his Devil Fruit ability.
Now he could face Shiki head-on without falling behind—and in some respects, he'd even surpassed him.
That rate of growth couldn't be described simply as "talent."
It was monstrous.
Amid the smoke and dust from the explosion, a figure burst through the haze.
Garp stood on Geppo, his expression dark as he glared toward the opposite side.
At the instant their fist and blade collided, Garp had felt something beyond sword energy and Haki coming from the blade: a strange, tearing force.
If his Armament Haki hadn't reached the level of "internal hardening," that strike would have left his entire arm useless.
"Damn it... What kind of Devil Fruit is that?"
Garp's instincts screamed a warning.
On the other side, Luo Tian spun three times in midair to disperse the impact, then steadied himself in the air.
Garp's iron fists certainly lived up to their reputation.
But it wasn't over yet.
Luo Tian raised his right hand, spread his fingers, and aimed at Garp, a hundred meters away.
"Spatial Imprisonment—"
"Almighty Push!"
An irresistible force of attraction swept toward Garp like an invisible giant hand.
On the distant warship, Zephyr saw Luo Tian raise his hand. His expression changed, and he shouted hoarsely at Garp:
"Garp! Get out of the way!!"
The instant Zephyr's warning rang out, Garp felt a powerful force of attraction engulf him. His body was dragged toward Luo Tian against his will.
No matter how hard Garp struggled with every ounce of his strength, it was useless.
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