Pirates: Blood Feud-Slaughter the Celestial Dragons! Chapter 19

A neat head of short black hair!

A conspicuous scar stretched from beneath his left eye all the way above it!

His broad frame nearly burst through his Marine uniform!

And behind him, his Marine cloak billowed in the wind!

It was none other than—

The current Headquarters Vice Admiral, and one of the three candidates for Marine Admiral—

[Iron Fist] Garp!

Though he was called an Admiral candidate, Garp unquestionably already possessed Admiral-level strength!

The moment an Admiral position became vacant, Garp would immediately ascend to the throne!

"Has he come? The Celestial Dragons' savior!"

"So soon? The Marines really sent an Admiral!"

"It's [Iron Fist] Garp! He's the Marine making the biggest waves right now!"

When the pirate underlings present saw Garp, they instinctively fled in all directions.

Forget a Headquarters Vice Admiral like Garp—even if these pirate underlings saw a Branch Vice Admiral, they could only flee in disgrace.

"Garp!"

Whitebeard and Rono were both startled when they saw Garp!

A tough opponent had arrived!

He had no Devil Fruit ability. Relying on nothing but a pair of iron fists, he had made countless pirates tremble at his name!

Though he had an ordinary mortal body, he could fight the strongest pirates head-on without falling behind. Garp's might was plain to see!

"Damn it, am I too late?"

Garp began surveying the scene as well.

At a glance, he spotted the two people below him!

Rono, and the captain of the first division under Rocks—the Whitebeard Edward Newgate!

So Admiral Kong had been telling the truth. Rocks really had sent Whitebeard to recruit Rono!

Then he looked at the surrounding area.

The entire street had been razed to the ground!

On his way here, he had also sensed that a clash of Conqueror's Haki had just taken place.

Without a doubt, the two people at the scene who possessed Conqueror's Haki could only be Whitebeard and Rono!

Those two must have just clashed with their Conqueror's Haki.

What frightened Garp even more was the scene itself, coupled with the fact that Whitebeard and Rono were both completely unharmed.

Their Conqueror's Haki had been evenly matched!

Rono's Conqueror's Haki had matched Whitebeard's?

Garp broke into a cold sweat at the thought!

This kid's strength was clearly far beyond the advanced Conqueror's Haki mentioned in the intelligence. He possessed top-tier Conqueror's Haki!

What a kid. He had cultivated his Conqueror's Haki to the top tier before even turning twenty!

Then Garp glanced at the Celestial Dragon hanging from the highest Bell Tower like a mutilated pig. His eyes were filled with disgust!

If those useless Celestial Dragons hadn't acted with impunity, they would never have created a monster like Rono!

"I never expected this, Garp. The Marines actually sent you here. What a surprise!"

Rono noticed the disgust in Garp's eyes as he looked at the Celestial Dragon in the sky.

Now this was interesting.

The Marine higher-ups certainly knew that Garp had always been at odds with the Celestial Dragons.

Why would the Marines send someone who hated the Celestial Dragons to hunt him down?

Weren't they afraid he would go easy on him?

"Rono, I've read your file and learned about your history with the Celestial Dragons, so I volunteered for the mission to capture you."

Garp answered Rono's question.

"Oh? Then who do you think represents the evil of this world—me or the Celestial Dragons?" Rono asked mockingly.

"I won't answer a question like that."

"But I can tell you this: I don't hate you for the crimes you committed!"

"But if you join the Rocks Pirates, that will be a different matter!"

As he spoke, the Haki around Garp gradually grew denser.

The warning was obvious.

"The Rocks Pirates don't just hunt Celestial Dragons. Many innocent civilians are also among their targets!"

"If you join a band of criminals like them, you'll become one of the evil ones!"

"In the name of justice, I'll bring you to justice!"

Garp spoke each word deliberately.

He had to stop Rono from joining the Rocks Pirates!

Just then, Whitebeard suddenly attacked!

He swung Murakumogiri, and a fierce Flying Slash erupted from the ground!

Combined with the power of the Paramecia Tremor-Tremor Fruit, the slash split cracks through the air!

"Soru!"

Garp reacted quickly as well. He vanished from his original position and appeared on the ground, dodging the Flying Slash!

The slash shot into the sky, shaking the clouds apart!

"Enough nonsense, Garp. Rono is already one of the Rocks Pirates!"

"If you're capable, then try to see whether you can take Rono away."

Whitebeard looked at Garp and spoke in a deep voice.

That was Whitebeard's magnanimity!

Once he acknowledged someone as a partner or friend, he would immediately stand up for them!

"Damn it!"

Upon hearing this, Garp felt his heart sink into an abyss!

They had actually reached an agreement!

Rono had really joined the Rocks Pirates!

This was bad!

The Marines were already struggling desperately to suppress the Rocks Pirates with their current strength!

Now that another genius had joined them, the Marines might well be suppressed in turn from now on!

More importantly, Garp knew that he couldn't deal with Whitebeard and Rono at the same time!

Once Rono and Whitebeard escaped, the situation across the entire sea would be reversed!

The Marines might never be able to suppress the Rocks Pirates again!

"Whitebeard, don't rush."

Just then, Rono suddenly raised a hand and held it out in front of Whitebeard.

"Garp, don't you want to capture me?"

"I'll give you a chance!"

"You and I, one-on-one. Let's have a duel between real men. What do you say?"

Rono looked at Garp, a fiery gleam flashing through his eyes!

Chapter 25: The Stronger He Fights, the Stronger He Becomes—Garp and Whitebeard Are Amazed

"Garp, how about a duel between real men?"

A fiery gleam flashed through Rono's eyes.

After finally waiting for an Admiral to arrive, he naturally couldn't let the opportunity slip away.

After all, this was [Iron Fist] Garp, the man most skilled in Conqueror's Haki, and the future [Navy Hero]!

Whitebeard and Garp were both stunned upon hearing this.

What was this guy planning now?

One-on-one?

Was he really that confident?

"Rono, are you sure?"

"Your opponent is a Marine. By now, the news has surely reached Marine Headquarters, and the Marines must be sending reinforcements."

Whitebeard spoke from his many years of experience fighting the Marines.

The most troublesome thing about fighting the Marines was that their reinforcements always arrived unexpectedly.

Fast! Precise! Ruthless!

At first, there might only be one Admiral pursuing you.

But as the battle continued, another Admiral might suddenly appear!

If you kept fighting, a third Admiral might show up as well!

If you still didn't retreat, even more powerful fighters might continue to pour in.

That was why pirates instinctively retreated whenever they saw the Marines.

Sometimes it wasn't that they couldn't defeat the Marines in front of them. They simply didn't know when reinforcements would suddenly appear behind them!

"It's fine. I'm confident. Trust me."

Rono spoke with absolute confidence.

Even if the Marines sent more Admirals as reinforcements, Rono was completely confident he could escape.

He had a trump card that would make the Marines absolutely afraid to act recklessly!

Rono didn't want to miss this rare opportunity to grow stronger, either!

His opponent was [Iron Fist] Garp!

"All right. Since you insist, I'll listen to you this once."

Seeing how confident Rono was, Whitebeard stopped trying to persuade him.

For some reason, he simply trusted this kid inexplicably.

They hadn't known each other for long, so why did he trust him so much?

Perhaps it was because everything Rono did always left people astonished.

Just like this time, when he had suddenly decided to challenge Garp alone.

"Well, Garp? Whitebeard won't interfere. How about a man-to-man duel between you and me?"

Rono looked at Garp with a smile.

As one of the finest Haki users among the pirates, Garp was an opponent Rono absolutely could not pass up.

"Fine. If I win, you'll leave the Rocks Pirates, and you won't be allowed to join them again!"