The Sneak Attack

In that instant, Sengoku's body gleamed with golden light. He rapidly expanded, transforming into an incomparably gigantic golden Buddha.

"Pfft!"

Garp kept leaping through the air, each step blasting rings of white airwaves through the sky. He drew back his right fist and rapidly gathered strength, Armament Haki wrapping around it like black armor.

"Interrupt him before he finishes!" Sengoku shouted as the giant palm of the golden Buddha thrust forward.

"Boom!"

An incomparably violent shockwave came crashing down from midair with a piercing roar.

"Damn it!!!"

Ron cursed inwardly. The Tailed Beast Bomb was good in every way, except it needed time to charge. Otherwise, it was difficult to unleash its full power.

But Sengoku's shockwave was already right in front of him. He could not afford to keep charging, so he gritted his teeth and fired the incomplete Tailed Beast Bomb.

"Thud!"

The instant the Tailed Beast Bomb shot out, the sea beneath Ron exploded. Enormous waves surged outward, shoving him several meters back across the water.

Then, the Tailed Beast Bomb and the shockwave—two entirely different powers—collided violently in midair.

"BOOM!!!"

The deafening explosion shook the heavens. Its aftermath formed visible rings of air that swept in every direction, while towering waves rose layer upon layer across the sea.

Before the aftermath had even dissipated, another roar exploded through the air.

"Found you."

Garp burst through the lingering light of the explosion, his right fist raised high. Black arcs of lightning even crackled around his Haki-coated fist.

"Fist Bone Impact!"

The fist, carrying devastating power, smashed down toward Ron's position.

"BOOM!!!"

A massive depression was instantly hammered into the sea. Water shot into the sky as rolling waves howled outward in every direction.

"Ron!!" Kaido's gaze darkened. He did not want to see his Intern Alliance fall apart just days after its formation.

Whitebeard's expression was grave. He knew Garp's strength all too well. And fighting on the sea only made Ron's situation more perilous.

Once Ron's method of resisting seawater failed, there would be no escape for him.

"Hey, hey, hey, Stussy, why are you slowing down?" Ochoku urged anxiously. "If those Marine bastards catch up to us, we'll all die here!"

"Ochoku, what are you talking about?!" Kaido whipped his head around, fury blazing in his eyes. "Ron is buying us time too! How else could our speedboat outrun their warships?"

He tightened his grip on his spiked club, itching to give Ochoku a good smack first.

As soon as he finished speaking, a dark crimson figure suddenly shot out from the rising waves.

"Thump, thump, thump."

Ron, in Tailed Beast Transformation, ran desperately across the sea on all fours, splashing water behind him.

In the time it took to exchange a single blow, Ron had already caught up to the speedboat. He extended one enormous beast claw, grabbed the bow, and began sprinting again with renewed force.

"This piece of junk isn't even as fast as I am. Hold on tight. If you fall in, I'm not picking you back up," Ron reminded them in his Tailed Beast Transformation.

"Ron, that was too reckless." Whitebeard stood steadily atop the speedboat and said in a deep voice, "If Garp's punch had knocked you into the sea, I can't think of any way to save you."

"I know what I'm doing," Ron replied flatly.

"Hey, Ron." Kaido suddenly pointed at Ochoku, still furious as he complained, "Why bring this bastard along? He wanted to abandon you and run just now!"

"Hey, hey, hey, you bastard Kaido, don't go saying things that hurt unity!" Ochoku immediately retorted. Then he turned to Ron and forced out a smile. "Believe him or believe me, that's for you to decide."

Ron froze slightly. The next second, he used his other free beast claw to grab Kaido, Stussy, and Whitebeard.

In an instant, Ochoku was the only one left on the speedboat. He clutched the edge of the boat tightly, his face turning pale.

"Y-you... what are you trying to do, Ron?" Ochoku asked stiffly.

"Making you wait makes me feel a little guilty." Ron's voice carried a faint hint of amusement. "So I thought I'd let you go first."

As soon as he finished speaking, he violently flung the speedboat forward. Like a thrown dart, it traced an arc across the sea and shot ahead at tremendous speed.

Faintly, Ron heard Ochoku curse.

"Ron, you bastard! I'll kill you!"

"Well done, Ron!" Kaido shouted excitedly.

"You're quite cruel yourself..." Stussy added, torn between laughter and tears.

"Hey, there's an island outline on the right! Let's head there. Once we're on the island, it'll be to our advantage."

Ron looked up. Sure enough, a hazy patch of green appeared at the end of the horizon.

"Yeah!" With that response, Ron's speed surged once more, leaving a white trail across the sea.

A short while later, the World Government warship slowly came to a stop in waters some distance from the shore.

Sengoku and Garp stood at the bow, staring in the direction Ron and the others had vanished, their brows tightly furrowed.

They now faced two choices. They could continue the pursuit, but an island was unlike the open sea. There were too many places to hide, making the search far more difficult.

And even if they found them, they might not gain any advantage.

Or they could abandon the pursuit, return to their route, and pretend nothing had happened.

"That guy with four tails... what's his deal?" Garp turned to glance at Sengoku. "If that thing hadn't suddenly jumped out, this would have gone smoothly."

"That man is called Ron." Sengoku spoke slowly, his eyes still fixed on the distance. "He's a pirate who emerged this past year, known as the Cold-Blooded Butcher. I didn't expect him to join the Rocks Pirates too."

"Ron?" Garp repeated the name quietly. The corners of his mouth slowly pulled apart, revealing a row of white teeth. "Good kid. I'll remember him. I'll make sure he gets a taste of my fist."

Sengoku fell silent for a moment before finally sighing. "Forget it. Let's go. We have the cargo. If we lose it, we won't be able to answer to the World Government."

"Alright." Garp nodded.

Then he suddenly leaped into the air, kicking repeatedly through the air as he headed toward the shore.

"Hey, Garp! What are you doing?!" Sengoku shouted.

"Don't worry about me!" Garp's voice came from afar. "You keep escorting the cargo back. I'll go find them myself!"

"You idiot, get back here!" Sengoku cursed furiously. Just moments ago, he had thought Garp had changed and learned to put the bigger picture first. Yet he immediately went and acted recklessly again!

Garp ignored him entirely. After landing on the shore, he ran toward the island's interior without looking back, his figure quickly disappearing into the coconut grove.

"How infuriating." Sengoku gritted his teeth and muttered, but he did not order the ship to depart. He could not rest easy about his partner, who always liked to act recklessly, so he decided to wait where they were.

A long time later.

A booming voice suddenly rang out from the shore.

"Hey, Sengoku, are you waiting for me?"

Sengoku, who was still sitting on the warship's railing in a daze, jolted and instinctively looked toward the shore.

There stood a burly man holding a naginata.

"Edward Newgate?"