Conqueror's Haki coating

Lott looked over the situation on the warship and nodded inwardly. Training in isolation was ultimately a poor option. Fighting was the best way to grow stronger.

Garp naturally noticed the fighting on the warship too, but he was not worried at all. Instead, he laughed. "Lott, you little brat, looks like your companions aren't bad either."

Lott turned to stare at Garp. "Of course!"

With that, he wrapped electromagnetic force around his fist again, appeared before Garp with an Electromagnetic Instantaneous Movement, and punched at his face.

Garp laughed and met him head-on.

Boom!

Their fists collided.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

For a time, their figures flashed repeatedly through the air.

Huff... huff... huff...

Lott flexed his mangled, bloody fist and grinned. "As expected of the Marine Hero. That body is downright monstrous!"

He remembered Oda saying in an SBS that Garp's strength would not decline with age, but Lott knew that was only in comparison to Whitebeard.

Garp's strength should also gradually decline over time, though the decline was not particularly noticeable.

Looking back at the warship, where battle still raged, Lott formed several electromagnetic waves invisible to the naked eye in his hand and transmitted them into the ears of Kuro and the other three.

Kuro received Lott's message mid-battle, knocked his opponent back with a powerful blow, and teleported beside Zoro. "Let's go. Back to the Skybreaker. Time to make our getaway."

Then, regardless of whether Zoro agreed, he took Zoro with him and vanished from the warship.

Ling'er looked at the spot where the two had vanished and pouted, silently thinking they had no gentlemanly manners. She turned into a mass of flames and returned to the ship.

Meanwhile, Nami's figure grew transparent, gradually disappearing from the Marines' sight.

Back on the Skybreaker, Nami raised her hand and snapped her fingers with a crack. A dark cloud immediately appeared above the opposing warship.

Crack!

Bolts of lightning as thick as arms rained down on the warship, filling it with cries of agony!

Garp checked the warship's current situation with his Observation Haki, then stopped paying attention to it. He knew his men were strong enough to handle those attacks.

Standing in the air, he watched Lott with interest. "Lott, you brat, still want to keep going?"

Unlike Lott, Garp had almost no visible injuries apart from being slightly out of breath and having a few small wounds on his fists.

Even Garp had to admit that Lott's talent was rather astonishing. As the battle progressed, he could clearly feel Lott's fist techniques and Haki growing stronger and stronger. His current strength already rivaled an Admiral's.

Lott came back to himself and looked at Garp. "Of course we're continuing. Why wouldn't we?"

He gathered electromagnetic force and Armament Haki around his fist, while also trying to coat it with Conqueror's Haki. Gradually, pitch-black lightning began to cling to his fist as well.

Garp's eyes widened at the sight. "Conqueror's Haki coating! How can you do it too?"

Lott raised his eyes to Garp. "During our fight just now, I figured it out. Conqueror's Haki can be used as a coating too, right?"

Garp finally began to take Lott seriously. "You've really got something, brat. Let me see just how strong your Conqueror's Haki is."

As he spoke, Garp charged at Lott with his fist wreathed in red-and-black lightning.

Boom!

Their fists did not touch. There was actually a fist's width between them. Black lightning and red lightning intertwined.

A powerful aura spread outward from the two of them. It surged into the heavens, tearing a massive rift through the dark clouds overhead.

A Rear Admiral aboard the warship stared at the sky in shock. "Look, the clouds split... no! The sky split open!!!!!!"

The weaker soldiers aboard the warship could not withstand the aura and collapsed onto the deck, foaming at the mouth.

Kuro and the other three were also rendered speechless by the force of that aura.

After a brief stalemate, Lott ultimately proved no match for Garp and was smashed into the sea.

"Hahaha! I'm getting old, but you're still a little too green to take me on." Garp flexed his sore, aching fist and laughed.

"What do we do? The captain fell into the sea!" Ling'er paced in frantic circles.

As the only person aboard who had not eaten a Devil Fruit, Zoro made to jump into the sea. Just then, the Skybreaker slowly rose into the air and flew skyward.

"What's going on? Why is our ship flying again?"

Kuro said, "This is Lott's ability. It means he's fine. Let's not move around."

They simply failed to notice that a cloud was actually supporting the Skybreaker.

Garp stared in astonishment at Lott on the surface of the sea before him. "What's going on? Aren't you a Devil Fruit User? How are you fine after falling into the sea?"

Lott had indeed been smashed into the sea. If his fruit had not been free of side effects, he really would have been done for.

The moment he surfaced, he controlled the Skybreaker to lift it off the sea. Then a white cloud formed beneath its hull, carrying the Skybreaker into the distance.

The sight stunned the soldiers aboard the warship. Their mouths gaped wide enough to fit an egg.

"Hey, hey, hey! Why is the pirate ship flying? Attack! Attack now!"

The warship immediately bustled with activity as cannonballs were loaded into the barrels.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

In an instant, a dense barrage of cannonballs flew toward the Skybreaker. But none could get close to it. Some were intercepted by flames and exploded prematurely, while others were slashed into fragments by flashes of blades.

The soldiers could only watch as the Skybreaker rose into the air and rapidly flew away.

Cough, cough, cough...

Lott could no longer hold back the sweetness rising in his throat, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. Looking at the old man on the sea, who was only breathing slightly harder, he said, "As expected of the Marine Hero. You really are unbelievably strong."

"Hahahaha! My strength is nowhere near what it used to be, but I can still handle a brat like you." Garp clenched his fists, making his knuckles crack.

Then he continued, "Brat, my earlier promise still stands. Come report to Marine Headquarters with me now, and I guarantee you'll get a Rear Admiral's rank."

Lott shook his head. "Old man Garp, I told you I don't want to be the Celestial Dragons' lackey. Stop trying to persuade me."

"I have to say, it was pretty satisfying that you killed a Celestial Dragon. I hate the Celestial Dragons too." Garp could not help giving Lott a thumbs-up.

"Vice Admiral Garp!"

"Vice Admiral Garp?"

Hearing the various voices from the warship, Garp hurriedly changed his tune. "Haha, did I say something just now? Then pretend I never said it. I take it back! I take it back!"

"Brat, since you won't come back with me, I'll just have to drag you back by force."

Lott shook his head. "Goodbye, old man Garp!"

With that, he used Electromagnetic Ejection and flew off into the distance.

Watching Lott's retreating figure, Garp looked utterly caught off guard. ...What's going on? He was raring to fight just a moment ago. Why did he leave just like that?

Coming back to himself, he burst into laughter. "Hahahaha, he really got away. What an interesting brat."