The entire ice field fell silent for a moment when the fist collided with the sphere.
boom!!!
The ice surface at the impact center exploded directly, and ice fragments, water vapor, flames, and lightning intertwined to form a hemispherical shock wave with a diameter of several hundred meters.
Garp was pushed backward, his feet carving two deep furrows in the ice, sending shards of ice flying everywhere.
Veins bulged on his fists as he desperately unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, but the sphere's energy was too strong; he simply couldn't withstand it.
Zephyr charged in from the side, his Black Arm slamming into the sphere in an attempt to deflect it.
But the sphere only wobbled slightly and continued moving forward.
The two combined could not withstand the combined attack of the three.
The ball continued its forward momentum, heading straight for the Three Admirals behind Garp.
"Scatter!" Garp's roar came from the center of the shockwave.
It was too late for Akainu.
He was standing right at the forefront of the shockwave the moment the sphere exploded.
The violent energy blasted him away, his magma-like body disintegrating and reforming in mid-air.
It crashed to the ground, creating a large crater, and its mouth was full of blood.
Aokiji wasn't much better off.
The ice wall he erected was as fragile as paper in front of the sphere; it shattered at the slightest touch.
The shockwave sent him flying, and he rolled dozens of times on the ice before coming to a stop, the frost on half of his body dissipating.
Kizaru reacted the fastest, transforming into a beam of light the instant the sphere exploded, narrowly avoiding the core of the shockwave.
But the aftershock still grazed him; the golden beam of light flew crookedly through the air for a while before landing on the ground and transforming into a human shape, his face as white as paper.
Garp and Zephyr were sent flying backwards from the smoke.
The two men's naval uniforms were tattered and burned in several places, and blood was flowing from their mouths and foreheads.
Zephyr's right arm was trembling slightly; the punch he had just received had caused considerable impact on his joints.
Garp's fist was covered in blood, whether from the recoil of the sphere or from the backlash of his own Haki, it was hard to tell.
The two looked quite miserable.
But they were all still standing.
The Golden Lion witnessed the entire process on the floating Sky Island, and the expression on his face changed from indifference to seriousness.
This level of attack, this level of combat—how long has it been since we've seen anything like it?
After the Battle of God Valley, he never experienced such a full-force battle again.
Over the years, he's been floating in the sky, experiencing a lot of fighting and killing, but most of those were crushing victories, nothing interesting.
Today's game is different.
"Hahahaha!" The Golden Lion suddenly burst into laughter.
He jumped off the floating Sky Island and landed on the ice, holding Oto and Kogarashi in his hands, his two swords crossed in front of him.
"I haven't been serious in years!"
He controlled the remaining floating Sky Island, blocking all of Akainu's Meteor Volcano attacks.
The island was pelted with lava, sending rocks flying everywhere, but not a single one landed on the pirates.
Then, the Golden Lion unleashed a flurry of attacks with his twin swords.
Oto and Kogarashi took turns unleashing golden slashing waves, one after another, densely packed, flying towards the Navy.
Just as Aokiji was about to unleash another ice spike attack, he saw the overwhelming barrage of slashes coming his way and had no choice but to lower his hands and stand up to block.
Zephyr also stopped, his Black Arm repeatedly punching and shattering the incoming slashes.
Just as Kizaru was preparing to try to break through again, Golden Lion's slash flew towards him.
He was forced to dodge several times, but he could not find an opportunity to escape the battlefield.
"Old Lion, you're quite enthusiastic today." Roy flicked the ice crystals off Shusui.
"I just can't stand the navy!" Golden Lion grinned.
Garp and Zephyr exchanged a glance and simultaneously took a few steps back.
Both of them were bruised and battered, and their breathing was rapid, but their eyes were sharper than before.
Garp shook his hand. "What a hassle, what a hassle."
Zephyr nodded. "Especially Roy, with his spatial abilities and Observation Haki, he's been observing the entire battlefield."
Kizaru walked up from behind, wiping the sweat from his brow, and unusually, he didn't make any witty remarks.
"Every time I try to leave, his strike arrives. Without exception."
Akainu's face was gloomy.
"Then let's run them over head-on. Five of us will charge in, let's see how long they can hold out."
Garp did not answer immediately.
His fist slowly loosened, then slowly clenched again.
The people from Hachinosu could arrive at any time.
Time is running out.
"Promote overall progress."
Garp said,
"No more surprise attacks. Five-man formation, push the front line towards Onigashima step by step."
Zephyr's eyes lit up; this was the best solution at the moment.
The five of them advanced as a whole, using their numerical advantage to overwhelm the enemy. Although the advance was slow, it was steady.
"Advance to within Pluton' firing range, Akainu, you're in charge of firing."
Akainu nodded.
The formation has been readjusted.
The five no longer separated, but instead formed a tight battle formation with Garp at the forefront, Zephyr on the right, Akainu on the left, and Aokiji and Kizaru at the rear.
The formation began to move slowly but steadily toward Onigashima.
Each step was slow, but each step was forward.
Roy watched this scene, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Finally, they realized they were in a hurry."
Kaido stood beside him, several wounds on his dragon-man form bleeding, but he was grinning broadly.
"Let them come! I haven't had enough fun yet!"
The Golden Lion floated in mid-air, controlling the last few floating Sky Island to hover in front of the formation.
Linlin rides Zeus, Prometheus burns above her head, and Napoleon is held in her hand.
The four emperors stood side by side, although they were at least several tens of meters apart.
Although they were sabotaging each other just a moment ago, they are now facing the same enemy.
A day's journey from Onigashima, a golden light was flashing through the clouds as it flew towards them.
The Ark Maxim, Part 1.
Bullet stood at the bow, looking at the faint smoke and firelight visible on the distant horizon, a ferocious grin spreading across his face.
"Faster, Tesoro."
"It's already at its fastest speed!" Lightning surged around Tesoro, and the speed of Ark Maxim increased even further.
The five naval personnel advanced as a whole, and the battle entered a phase of attrition.
The tactics used at this stage are completely different from before.
The Navy had initially planned to resolve the issue through a surprise attack, but Kizaru attempted to break through several times.
Although Roy stopped them each time, it at least shows that the Navy was trying to finish the battle quickly.
Things are different now.
The five maintained their formation and pushed forward step by step.
Garp and Zephyr took turns as the spearhead, while Akainu and Aokiji provided alternating suppressive fire. Kizaru, however, refrained from launching surprise attacks.
But every now and then they would fire a few beams, specifically targeting gaps in the pirates' positions.
This approach, though slow, is stable.
Moreover, it consumes a lot of resources.
Although the four pirates were all individually quite strong
Each of them was slightly stronger than any of the Three Admirals, but there were five of them.
Garp and Zephyr took turns attacking; you'd barely finished dealing with Garp's Iron Fist when Zephyr's Black Arm arrived.
Before they could even catch their breath after that round, Akainu's Magma Fist came crashing down from the side again.