The battle ends, Garp gets a scolding

The enormous serpent head opened its gaping maw, wide enough to swallow everything, and charged at him with an aura of destruction.

Facing that colossal creature, Rayleigh did not retreat. Instead, he kicked off the ground, his figure becoming a streak of light as he charged straight at it.

He poured all his strength and Haki into that single sword strike, aimed at the thickest scale between the serpent's brows, and slashed down without hesitation.

"Hah-!"

Boom-!

The instant the blade struck the serpent's scale, a thunderous crash erupted.

The shock wave spread in every direction, tearing up the already precarious ground completely.

That enormous serpent head was forcibly knocked to one side by the strike. Its massive body toppled sideways with its momentum and crashed into the sea, throwing up waves dozens of meters high.

Rayleigh himself was also struck by the terrifying recoil, which split the webbing of his sword hand. He flew backward like a cannonball, slammed into the distant ground, and smashed through several ruined walls before finally coming to a stop amid the rubble.

Dust billowed, obscuring his figure.

As Jörmungandr's rampage stopped, seawater began pouring into the cracks in the ground from every direction.

The entire island resembled a dying behemoth, slowly sinking beneath the sea.

Saint Dio stood atop the highest point of the ruins, watching the dust-filled rubble and confirming that the troublesome old man probably would not be getting up anytime soon.

He exhaled a stale breath and was about to withdraw Jörmungandr into the sword.

"Where's the bastard who attacked a Celestial Dragon?!"

A thunderous roar suddenly rang across the sky!

Saint Dio abruptly looked up and saw that a burly figure had somehow appeared atop Jörmungandr's body, which stretched across the ruins.

It was a white-haired old man, tall and powerfully built, wearing a Marine coat bearing the word "Justice."

When he saw Saint Dio standing at the highest point of the ruins, a sharp gleam flashed through his fierce eyes.

The next instant, he stomped down on the serpent beneath his feet.

The force was so great that it actually drove Jörmungandr's enormous body downward.

Using that reactive force, he launched himself high into the air like a cannonball and lunged toward Saint Dio.

Saint Dio watched the figure hurtling down like a meteor, one eyebrow rising slightly.

The Marines? Judging by the time, they were indeed due to arrive.

He had originally thought Zephyr or Sengoku would come.

But now it seemed the World Government had sent someone even more troublesome.

The Marine hero, Iron Fist Garp.

And judging by his aggressive approach, he had clearly mistaken Saint Dio for the thug who had "attacked a Celestial Dragon."

After all, traces of the giant serpent's rampage covered the battlefield, and he, a white-haired boy, happened to be standing in the middle of the ruins. No matter how one looked at it, he looked like the culprit.

Garp's figure rapidly grew larger in his vision. His clenched fist, coated in pitch-black Armament Haki, came crashing straight down with enough force to shatter mountains.

Saint Dio had no desire to experience the power of that so-called "Iron Fist" firsthand.

At his mental command, Jörmungandr's enormous body abruptly rose from the ground like a living city wall, blocking the space between him and Garp.

Thud-!

Garp's fist landed squarely on Jörmungandr's scales with an immensely heavy boom.

The giant serpent, on which even Rayleigh's full-powered sword strike could only leave a white mark, actually shuddered violently from Garp's punch.

A shallow dent appeared in its scales. Although the punch still failed to penetrate them, its impact traveled through the scales into the serpent's body, making Jörmungandr release a low hiss.

"Oh? Pretty tough."

Garp landed on the serpent's body and flexed his wrist, an excited grin spreading across his face.

He looked down at the enormous serpent beneath his feet, his eyes showing no wariness at all. Instead, he looked as though he had discovered an interesting new toy.

"Looks like a decent punching bag!"

Before his words had faded, he swung his fist again.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Another three punches in succession! Each struck like cannon fire, slamming into the same patch of scales on Jörmungandr.

Fine cracks began appearing in those scales under the repeated blows. Unable to withstand the impact, Jörmungandr's body sank downward, while the surrounding rubble bounced from the tremors.

The corner of Saint Dio's eye twitched slightly.

This crazy old man... was actually pounding his Jörmungandr like a punching bag.

So he silently withdrew Jörmungandr's body.

That enormous figure receded like the tide, shrinking back into the longsword embedded in the ground, leaving only devastated ruins and lingering echoes.

Garp's next punch hit empty air. With the support beneath his feet gone, he landed steadily on the ground.

He turned, fixed his gaze on Saint Dio a short distance away, and grinned again, clenching his fist as he prepared to charge.

"I'm the Celestial Dragon you're looking for."

Saint Dio spoke calmly.

Garp's fist stopped dead mere inches from Saint Dio's face.

The wind from his punch stirred the white hair across Saint Dio's forehead, but he did not even blink.

Garp held his punching pose as the expression on his face gradually shifted from an excited battle maniac's to confusion, then embarrassment, before finally settling into a somewhat stiff smile.

He slowly withdrew his fist, scratched his white hair, and chuckled.

"Ah... well... so you're the Celestial Dragon, sir... My mistake, my mistake. Ha ha, hahaha..."

Saint Dio looked at him expressionlessly.

"I'll give Fleet Admiral Kong an accurate account of what happened today."

Leaving those calm words behind, he turned and walked toward the harbor.

Garp's smile instantly froze.

"Huh?! Don't, please don't! Young fellow! We can talk this out! It was just a misunderstanding! Look, I rushed here in such a hurry to protect the Celestial Dragons, didn't I? Well... there's no need to report this, is there?"

Saint Dio continued walking without looking back.

"Hey, hey, hey! Young people shouldn't hold such grudges! How about I treat you to some rice crackers? From my private stash! They're incredibly tasty!"

The white-haired Marine hero now resembled a child who had done something wrong and wanted to win over his parents, trotting behind Saint Dio and chattering incessantly in an attempt to salvage the situation.

Chapter 13: The battle ends, Garp gets a scolding

Meanwhile, at the other end of the battlefield, as Saint Dio and Rayleigh's sword flashes crossed and the giant serpent writhed, the captain of the Kuja Pirates seized the opening while everyone's attention was drawn to those two monsters. Clutching her injured chest, she quietly slipped away along the edge of the ruins.

She had only one goal: to rescue the three children who had been taken away.

She tracked Stussy's retreat route, skirting collapsed buildings and passing through chaotic crowds, until she finally spotted that white-clad figure in an alley leading to the harbor.

Stussy held a chain, dragging three stumbling little girls as she strode toward the harbor.

"Stop-!"

The Kuja captain roared and stomped off the ground with the last of her strength, her massive body hurtling forward like a cannonball.

The python naginata in her hands traced a sharp arc through the air, slashing viciously down at Stussy's back.

But just as the blade was about to touch that white-clad figure, Stussy's body suddenly dispersed without warning.

In an instant, her body split into dozens of palm-sized bats, a dark swarm that fluttered off in every direction.

The Kuja captain's naginata struck empty air, its blade hitting the ground and throwing up a shower of sparks.

The bats circled once in the air, then lunged at the Kuja captain together like sharks scenting blood.

One landed first on her bare shoulder, its sharp fangs sinking into her neck without hesitation.

The Kuja captain felt a sharp pain in her neck, followed immediately by an overwhelming wave of dizziness and weakness.

She could distinctly feel the blood being rapidly drained from her body, flowing endlessly away through the bat's fangs.

The other bats gathered together, reforming into Stussy in midair.

She stepped gracefully out of the swarm, and the bat biting the Kuja captain also turned into a wisp of black smoke and merged into her body.

She flicked out her tongue and licked the trace of blood lingering at the corner of her mouth, a sated smile appearing on her delicate, doll-like face.

"Don't think... I'm easy to push around."

She spoke with a soft laugh, then raised her long leg and delivered a clean, sharp kick squarely to the Kuja captain's chest.

Bam!

The Kuja captain's massive body flew backward like a kite with its string cut. She rolled several times across the ground and smashed through a pile of wooden crates before finally coming to a stop.

She struggled to get up, but blood loss and her injuries made her limbs feel as heavy as lead.

Just then, the ground began shaking violently.

Stussy steadied herself and turned toward the source of the tremors.

When she saw the enormous green serpent burst from underground and blot out the sky, a flicker of astonishment she could not conceal crossed her lake-blue eyes.

"...They actually made Master summon Jörmungandr."

She murmured to herself. Stussy knew very well the true power of that sword, and knew even better that Saint Dio would only unseal Jörmungandr when facing an opponent truly worthy of being taken seriously.

What kind of enemy could have driven Master this far?

The shaking grew increasingly violent. Cracks spread across the ground like a spiderweb, soon reaching the alley where she stood.

Loose stones tumbled down, and the walls began collapsing.

The Kuja captain gritted her teeth and braced her naginata against the ground, shakily rising to her feet again.

Defiance burned in her eyes as she stared fixedly at Stussy and the three girls behind her.

But Stussy did not turn back to give her a second glance.

She merely raised her long, shapely leg, clad in a white stocking held by a garter, pointed her toes, and chopped downward.

Rankyaku!

A sharp flying slash shot from her toes, tore through the air, and struck the Kuja captain directly in the chest.

Slash-!

Blood sprayed.

The Kuja captain's massive body abruptly stiffened. She lowered her head to look at the wound across her chest, so deep that bone was visible. Her lips moved a few times, but no sound came out.

Her knees buckled, and her massive body slowly pitched forward.

At the very moment she fell, a crack in the ground reached her feet.

The patch of ground supporting her suddenly fractured and collapsed, sending her tumbling with the shattered masonry into the dark abyss below.

"Captain-!"

Hancock's scream was heart-wrenching.

She watched helplessly as that powerful figure vanished into the dark fissure.

Tears spilled from her eyes, and her small body shook violently with overwhelming grief and anger.

Sandersonia and Marigold collapsed directly onto the ground, clutching each other and wailing.

Expressionless, Stussy tugged the chain in her hand, its iron links clinking crisply together.

"Stop crying. Let's go."

She turned away without another glance at the fissure and led the three crying little girls onward toward the harbor.

Even though Saint Dio had already withdrawn Jörmungandr, the island's fate was beyond saving.

The structural damage caused by the giant serpent's movements underground had completely destroyed Area 26's foundations.

The ground continued cracking and collapsing. Wreckage from the buildings kept falling into the dark seawater below, while seawater poured in through cracks on every side with a muffled roar.