Garp and Teach vanished from where they stood at the same instant.
Powerful Haki coated their fists, their fierce wills turning the formless force as hard as stone.
Boom!
An earthshaking collision rang across the battlefield.
The ice cracked beneath them, countless fractures spreading outward like a spiderweb.
A terrifying blast of air swept in every direction.
To true monsters, even solid ice was fragile.
Fist met fist.
Teach grinned excitedly at Garp.
Garp's heart sank.
He had already expected Teach to be formidable.
But the power Teach displayed was more terrifying than he had imagined. It exceeded every expectation.
What's going on?
Garp was stunned by Teach's strength, shaken beyond words.
How little time had passed? Yet Teach's strength had grown so much.
Had he eaten a Zoan Devil Fruit?
Garp knew that under normal circumstances, no one could gain so much strength in just a few years.
Especially after their period of rapid physical growth had ended.
Training the body took years of hard work.
The stronger someone became, the harder further improvement was.
Yet here he was, unable to overpower Teach through strength alone.
His own body had been tempered for decades.
He had never stopped training his raw strength.
And Teach? He was so young, yet he had already surpassed Garp.
What kind of freak is he?
To Garp, Teach's rate of improvement made no sense. It left him bewildered.
Thoughts raced through his mind.
"You're daydreaming while fighting me?"
A cold smile crossed Teach's face.
A Dark Jade appeared unseen and became a stream of dark matter that coiled around Garp's arm like a snake.
Darkness spread, bringing its pull with it.
Crushing gravity descended in an instant.
Garp suddenly felt as though a mountain had been dropped onto his shoulders.
His feet felt weighted