Although Garp was at a slight disadvantage against Hades in aerial combat, the gap was not that large.
Garp had clashed with Hades several times.
Fist met fist.
Terrifying shock waves surged outward from the two of them, whipping up enormous waves.
From the moment he struck, Garp unleashed a relentless, stormlike barrage.
He knew how powerful Hades was, especially his combat skills, honed to their absolute peak, and his almost superhuman reaction speed.
"Hmph!"
Facing Garp, Hades snorted coldly. As he evaded Garp's attack, he threw a fist wreathed in deathly energy at Garp's chin from a bizarre angle.
Garp blocked with one arm, his formidable Haki holding back Hades's deathly energy. But under its erosive effects, his Haki inevitably drained at a rapid pace.
Although Hades rarely used his ability, his mastery of the Death-Death Fruit had become increasingly terrifying.
Garp could feel the drain on his Haki firsthand. In a real all-out battle against Hades, his Haki would run dry in less than three hours. That was a truly frightening rate.
And Hades was an absolutely terrifying enemy.
Both men had mastered the Haki technique of Internal Destruction.
There was no defending against it.
But Hades had the greater advantage. The Death-Death Fruit's power could nullify any force, weakening a large portion of Garp's Haki the instant it struck.
What remained was nothing before Hades's terrifying physique and vitality.
Hades fought with everything he had. He, too, wanted to see which of them was stronger.
The future's youngest Sea Emperor, "Red Hair" Shanks, had been only thirty-three when he became a Sea Emperor.
Clearly, Hades was stronger than Shanks had been at the same age. Could his current self really be weaker than a thirty-three-year-old Shanks?
That was impossible.
Hades could only be stronger, not weaker!
In