Even after his Sword Gang was shattered, Vic didn't stop. He slashed out with his twin blades again, and the two Sword Gang that flew out from the blades merged into one, becoming even larger and longer.
The silver Sword Gang Armament Haki, instantly flew in front of Garp.
Whether Garp didn't want to dodge or couldn't dodge, he chose to confront Garp attack head-on, simply crossing his fists, which were wrapped in Haki, in front of his chest as a defense.
Vic's Sword Gang struck the intersection point precisely. This time, the Sword Gang wouldn't be so easily shattered, and Garp knew this well, so he didn't directly swing his Iron Fist.
Vic's Sword Gang was enhanced in every aspect this time. Garp was pushed back quickly by the Sword Gang. The wrecked ships and scraps under his feet were pushed to both sides by Garp's body, and a ditch was plowed into the ground below.
It wasn't until he was more than twenty Garp that Garp roared, instantly stopping his retreat. After a brief standoff with the Sword Gang aura, he launched Sword Gang away, Sword Gang flying vertically into the sky before disappearing from everyone's sight.
Only then did everyone realize why the old man hadn't dodged. Vic was using a calculated move: if you dodge the Sword Gang, I'll cut this place in two, and this land might sink into the sea, which is something Garp definitely wouldn't want to see.
Vic knew that Garp wouldn't stand idly by and let this happen, so he had no choice but to take the hit head-on. This can be considered a form of combat wisdom: analyzing the opponent's psychological state rather than brute force.
This approach works against weaker opponents because of overwhelming strength, but against stronger opponents, it's suicidal.
Vic could have used Garp to block the Sword Gang attack, but he didn't. He didn't want the old man to fail to catch the attack and have a piece of the island shaved off. Water 7 was already sinking every year, and this would only make matters worse.
Why did that young navy officer want to fight Vice Admiral Garp?
"Are young people these days really that good? Even Vice Admiral Garp was defeated!"
"It's probably just a friendly sparring match! That young man is likely Vice Admiral Garp's disciple, and he's probably instructing his students right now!"
"Does anyone recognize that young navy officer? He seems to be a high-ranking officer!"
"It looks familiar; I think I've seen it in the newspaper before, but I can't quite place it!"
" Vice Admiral Garp probably didn't use his full strength, right?"
The treasure hunters didn't leave either, intending to return and search again after Tom and his group left. However, this decision led them to witness a spectacular battle.
Moreover, one of them was the Marine Garp the Hero. The most outrageous thing was that Garp was actually at a disadvantage. That young naval officer was really imposing. They didn't dare to breathe loudly on the sidelines.
The most surprised were the people from Tom's Workers. Although they knew that Vic was definitely capable, they never expected to be able to fight against the legendary Hero of the Marines.
They had heard Vic say that he was very strong and would soon become Marine Admiral. At the time, they thought Vic was just making things up so that his warships could be docked in the shipyard of the workshop. They never expected that Vic really had that ability. Although they had changed their opinion of Vic before, they were really shocked this time. This young man could really do what he said!
Vic and the old man paid no attention to what others were saying. Vic had already moved when the old man threw the Sword Gang into the air.
He instantly appeared in front of the old man. Since ranged attacks were ineffective, he decided to engage in close combat. After all, he had a knife in his hand and wasn't worried about his Haki being insufficient.
His twin swords, like the two large pincers of a lobster, slashed wildly at the old man. The speed was so fast that it looked like twenty swords were slashing at the Hero of the Marines.
It was as if the old man had grown eight arms, his Haki fists pounding against Vic's equally Haki blade.
Perhaps due to the wide, sweeping movements, the old man was slightly slower than Vic, which meant that he could only block eight or nine out of ten of Vic's knife strikes. The one or two missed strikes would then pass over his fist and land on him.
However, the old man's Observation Haki had long since reached the point where he could Future Sight, and he had already covered his body with Armament Haki before Vic attacked him with his sword and axe.
Vic isn't using his Mind Power to block the old man's Observation Haki right now; this will be very useful later when dealing with the old man's Conqueror's Coating.
Therefore, he didn't care about being anticipated, which was to be expected. It was impossible to gain an advantage at the beginning. He wanted to comprehend a new level of swordsmanship in the battle.
Vic unleashed a flurry of attacks with his twin blades, switching between different moves. Although the old man's Iron Fist were equally fast, he still missed a move or two, and those were the opportunities for him to make his move.
Vic used close-combat sword techniques to attack every part of the old man's body with both hands, while Observation Haki was fully activated, sensing the old man's every move.
Vic slashed sideways at the old man's side, and in the instant the old man punched away the Blood Wither, Vic used the rebound momentum to stab the old man between the eyebrows.
The old man was no pushover either. With his superior Observation Haki, he Armament Haki Hardening between his eyebrows before the blade arrived.
A metallic clang rang out, and the air around the old man seemed to be sliced by a sharp blade, while the wrecked ships on the ground shattered into pieces.
Blood Wither charge was ineffective, as Vic had anticipated. If he could have actually stabbed the old man in the head, he wouldn't have done it. Although blocked, the stab sent the old man flying, disappearing into the distance amidst the wreckage of the ship.
This time, Vic chose to pursue, and his offensive speed was definitely faster than the old man's passive retreat. The old man did not take advantage of the situation to retreat; he did not need to create distance between himself and Vic.
In an instant, Vic appeared before him, his two swords thrusting side by side at the old man, one aimed at his throat and the other at his heart—both deadly moves.
However, the old man only punched the knife that Vic was thrusting at his throat, ignoring the other stab. After a metallic tremor and a sonic boom, a ring of mist appeared out of thin air, enveloping the two of them.
When Vic's first strike was blocked, he didn't continue with his next stab. Instead, the instant his fist struck the tip of the blade, he did a 360-degree turn, and the two swords, side by side, slashed directly at the old man's neck.
Although the attack was blocked by the old man's Armament Haki, the Sword Qi did not disappear into thin air; it poured into the surrounding space and the ground.
The space was still very stable; it only rippled briefly before disappearing. The land, however, separated into blocks like tofu.
This time, the old man was knocked to the ground by the immense force, crashing into the paved earth, like a dragon rapidly traversing the soil.