Garp was about to retract his mouth, to silence that sonic roar.
But a red dot rose from the roar, reaching Garp in an instant.
Lava poured into its mouth, directly silencing its roar.
Sakazuki's figure coalesced in front of Garp, his right hand thrust into its maw.
Garp, originally tall and mighty with sharp teeth, appeared ferocious. But before the indifferent Sakazuki, he seemed like a weak and helpless pirate.
Sakazuki gripped its lower jaw with his right hand and reached for its upper jaw with his left.
Before the pain of the lava filling his mouth had subsided, Garp understood Sakazuki's intent. His head, cloaked in Armament Haki, tried to bite off Sakazuki's hands like a wild beast.
But under Sakazuki's immense strength and Armament Haki, it remained motionless.
A sky full of attacks rained down, targeting Sakazuki's arms.
Sakazuki stomped his foot, retreating explosively with Garp, his back coated in Armament Haki.
From afar.
Lucky Roo spun and rolled, transforming into a giant meatball of Armament Haki, rushing towards Sakazuki. Before he could even collide,
He was kicked flying by Sakazuki's projected Armament Haki from a distance.
Clang!
Red Hair appeared from nowhere. His Griffin struck Sakazuki's nape, sparks flying.
The immense impact forced Sakazuki to turn his head slightly, staring intently at Red Hair Shanks, his arm muscles bulging.
Riiip—
Garp's Armament Haki proved useless. His entire body was torn apart from his lower jaw, splitting into two halves.
His internal organs and bones were clearly visible...
He wasn't dead yet, and one could still see his breathing organs within the torn chest cavity...
Sakazuki casually threw the man he had torn in half towards Red Hair Shanks:
"Another one bites the dust."
"So fragile..."
His indifferent words, as if crushing an ant, were enough to drive one insane...
"Just like the residents of Alegria."
"Tens of thousands of lives, slaughtered in mere moments..."
"All so fragile..."
Red Hair caught Garp's body, watching him die right before his eyes, his face darkening as he looked at Sakazuki:
"What are you trying to say..."
Nothing mattered anymore. The mortal enmity with Sakazuki could never be resolved; it was simply a matter of one dying and the other living...
"And you're in no position to say that."
"There were quite a few civilians on that island just now who died by your hand, Admiral of the Navy..."
Shanks' words were icy. The more furious he became, the calmer he grew, staring intently at Sakazuki.
Sakazuki showed slight surprise, chuckling:
"You're quite good."
"Much better than that idiot Kaido."
After a casual compliment, he looked at Red Hair and said slowly:
"You speak well."
"But I've given them more than one chance."
"Unfortunately, they didn't cherish it..."
His words carried a hint of regret, yet were spoken so casually, chilling Red Hair to the bone. How could such a person be the embodiment of justice?
"Truly terrifying..."
"That someone like you became the Fleet Admiral of the Navy..."
"A nightmare for the entire world..."
Sakazuki's justice cloak fluttered behind him. He looked at Red Hair and chuckled:
"A nightmare?"
"No."
"I have the right to represent justice."
"And you have no right to represent this world."
"Why do you pirates, who make the people of the world lose sleep and wish to devour your flesh and blood,"
"Believe you can define my justice?"
"Is it because of your lawlessness, your defiance of rules?"
"Or is it because of Pirate Roger's foolish lie, which ushered in this era of great pirates that the world's populace despises?"
"Those who can feel that I am a nightmare,"
"Are only you foolish pirates..."
Red Hair Shanks' expression was impassive, unmoved by Sakazuki's words. He threw Garp's corpse towards the approaching group:
"Everyone, retreat."
Staring intently at Sakazuki.
Sakazuki did not stop them, saying indifferently:
"No need to be so tense."
"My original intention was merely to teach you a lesson."
"The deaths of those two."
"Were merely incidental."
"Like... "
"Crushing two ants..."
The Red Hair Pirates wanted to attack, but Red Hair Shanks stopped them, ordering them to take Garp's body and evacuate quickly...
Sakazuki looked at the still calm Red Hair Shanks, nodding slightly.
This guy's disposition is indeed stronger than Kaido's...
He indifferently watched the Red Hair Pirates retreat, leaving only Red Hair alone in the sky, confronting him.
Sakazuki looked at Shanks and said:
"Everyone's gone, you can rest easy now."
"What I'm curious about is."
"Where did you get the Navy's defense map?"
Although he already knew the answer, he asked as a formality, as it was also his objective to reveal his purpose for this action.
However, to Sakazuki's surprise, Red Hair Shanks answered directly:
"Heh..."
"Think about who your enemies are within the World Government."
Sakazuki's expression showed surprise:
"Oh?"
"The World Government?"
Red Hair Shanks said cryptically:
"Yes."
"As for who it is..."
"You guess..."
Whoosh—
A flash of sword light streaked across.
Sakazuki raised his arm, blocking the incoming slash:
"Such a low-level deception."
Red Hair Shanks appeared to Sakazuki's side, his blade slashing horizontally towards Sakazuki's neck.
Clang!
Sparks flew.
Red Hair Shanks looked at the lava blocking his blade and said slowly:
"Do you think I would lie?"
Sakazuki said indifferently:
"That truly is a heartbreaking piece of news."
"A betrayal from a teammate."
"But unfortunately..."
"These things will not shake me."
He looked at Red Hair Shanks, his tone laced with a hint of curiosity:
"As for you..."
"Having lost family and comrades, yet remaining so calm."
"That's far superior to that idiot Kaido."
"I beat that guy so badly recently that he completely broke down..."
Red Hair Shanks' eyes narrowed slightly:
"Is that so..."
Everyone had been wondering about Kaido's recent strangeness, but they never imagined the truth was that Sakazuki had beaten him into a breakdown?
Sakazuki sighed slightly:
"Yes."
"But this seems to have no effect on you. I don't see any wavering from you."
"So what do you care about..."
Hiss—
Where they grappled, Conqueror's Haki lightning clashed, the aura raging.
Red Hair Shanks' expression was impassive:
"You guess..."
Sakazuki smiled enigmatically:
"Oh?"
"Are you sure?"
Red Hair Shanks remained silent, but the continuously increasing output of his strength showed his attitude.
Sakazuki sighed and said slowly:
"In a faraway village in the East Blue called Windmill Village, there was a boy wearing a straw hat..."
"His dream is to become the King of the Pirates..."
Boom—！！！！