A Second Round?

Whitebeard's voice had just faded when, with a swish!, the golden giant Buddha landed beside Garp.

He stared at the twisted and deformed wreckage of the warship before him, the expression on his face slightly stiff.

A moment later, his brow slowly smoothed out; no matter what, the remaining Heavenly Tribute had finally been saved, though the way it was saved was somewhat humiliating.

"Sengoku." Garp turned around, facing the still-churning sea. "I'll swap with you. You take Newgate, and I'll go deal with that bastard named Ron."

Sengoku's gaze fell on Ron, and then his expression changed abruptly.

Garp acutely sensed Sengoku's abnormality and subconsciously followed Sengoku's gaze toward the sea surface.

At that moment, the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon opened its mouth, and a massive dark-red energy sphere condensed and expanded within it, emitting a low buzzing sound.

And on the multiple chakra arms extending from both sides of its body, a molten lava fireball condensed in the palm of each one.

"Damn it." Sengoku gritted his teeth, carrying a suppressed fury that had reached its absolute limit. "Before we even knew it... we walked right into a trap. This bastard Ron has taken hold of our weak spot."

To be precise, he had taken hold of Sengoku's weak spot.

Only he regarded the mission of escorting the Heavenly Tribute as far too important.

If this batch of Heavenly Tribute were lost in his hands, the accountability from the World Government, the shaking of his position, and the failure of his future prospects—these consequences were things Sengoku could foresee, yet he was unwilling to endure.

And Garp?

If it was lost, it was lost; let them assign blame however they liked. Even if his rank were dropped to an ordinary marine, not the slightest ripple would stir in his heart.

So the problem lay right here.

If Sengoku evaded, the remaining Heavenly Tribute would undoubtedly be reduced to powder.

If he did not evade, he would have to take all of Ron's attacks head-on.

This was an open conspiracy.

A dignified, upright open conspiracy without any plots or schemes.

He, Sengoku, had to make a choice.

"This bastard." Sengoku gritted his teeth, forcing these words out from between his teeth.

"Sengoku..." Garp glanced at Sengoku's stiff profile, hesitating as if he wanted to say something, but a moment later, he suddenly smiled with relief. "You guy, you always say I love acting recklessly, aren't you the exact same?"

"It's coming!" Sengoku suddenly shouted.

"Boom~~!"

In the fraction of a second, the long-condensed Tailed Beast Bomb and molten lava fireballs simultaneously shot outward.

Instantly, the sea surface was torn apart.

An incomparably massive chasm extended from the feet of the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon all the way to the beach, the seawater forced to churn toward both sides, exposing the sand, stone, and reefs underneath.

White walls of waves rose high, like two giant doors being split open.

"Hah!!!"

Sengoku thrust his palms forward fiercely, and a sharp, piercing shriek burst from the impact wave within the golden giant Buddha's palms.

Following that, it collided with the Tailed Beast Bomb and molten lava fireballs at extreme speed.

"BOOM!"

A deafening explosion resounded all around.

The terrifying aftermath spread out in all directions like a tsunami.

At the center of the explosion, firelight and smoke intertwined into a massive sphere that swallowed all light.

"Garp!" Sengoku's voice punched through the roar of the explosion.

That palm strike of impact waves had not completely neutralized Ron's attack; it had only slowed the speed of the Tailed Beast Bomb and destroyed a portion of the accompanying molten lava fireballs.

That dark-red energy sphere was still slowly pushing forward, emitting a heart-palpitating sense of oppression.

"Leave it to me!"

Garp responded instantly, his figure leaping into midair amidst the lingering light of the explosion, Haki instantly covering both fists before he unleashed them.

"Fist Bone Meteor!"

"Swish, swish, swish!!!"

In midair, Garp's fists punched so fast that only afterimages remained.

Every punch thrown struck out a terrifying impact wave, pouring toward the Tailed Beast Bomb like a meteor shower.

The instant the impact wave collided with the Tailed Beast Bomb, blinding white light and a deafening roar burst forth.

"BOOM~~~~!"

"BOOM~~~~!"

A succession of impacts blasted out, the aftermath spreading in ripples all around.

All of the molten lava fireballs were destroyed.

Yet the Tailed Beast Bomb kept moving forward.

Sengoku did not sit and wait for death; the golden giant Buddha expanded once more, its form growing taller as it pushed its palms forward, directly blocking the front of the Tailed Beast Bomb.

"CRACK!!"

The giant Buddha's palms pressed against that dark-red energy sphere.

His body moved backward step by step under the impact of the Tailed Beast Bomb, plowing out two deep trenches.

"AH!!!!"

Sengoku's loud roar echoed all around, his ten fingers sinking deeply into that mass of energy, Haki blanketing this energy sphere at an extremely rapid pace.

Then, he exerted brute force, twisting the trajectory of the Tailed Beast Bomb off to one side.

"WHOOSH~~~!"

The Tailed Beast Bomb, its trajectory deflected, could no longer hold its momentum, whistling toward the mountain range on the other side of the island.

A moment later.

"BOOM!!!"

The sound of the explosion abruptly rang out, and the entire island violently shook.

In the distance, a massive mushroom cloud soared into the sky, the shockwave sweeping across in all directions carrying shattered rock and dust, covering the entire island in a thick layer of dirt and sand.

Sengoku panted, no expression visible on his face.

Garp, imitating Sengoku's usual tone, reprimanded, "Hey, you're being way too reckless, Sengoku. If that thing had exploded right beside you, you definitely wouldn't have been able to take it."

"You idiot... the battle isn't over yet!" Sengoku desperately wanted to retort, but now was clearly not the time.

Right in this gap, a breezy voice drifted over from the sea surface.

"What are you two whispering about? My second round is already prepared. How about you?"

Sengoku waved his sleeve, whipping up a fierce gale that abruptly blew away the smoke and dust lingering all around.

On the sea surface, the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon opened its mouth, and a Tailed Beast Bomb even larger than the previous one was in the process of forming.

The good news was that this time, no molten lava fireballs were condensed on its chakra arms.

The bad news was that on every single one of those palms, Tailed Beast Bombs were what had condensed.