Garp really wasn’t in the mood to fight Kaido. Although he had turned down the promotion to Admiral, his position within the Marines was far higher than that of an average Admiral. In terms of both strength and reputation, he was no less than an Admiral. Not to mention, he had the glory of being a “Hero.”
As a result, he was well aware of some of the World Government’s policies. Sengoku often vented his grievances to him. There were only a few people Sengoku could confide in, and those were Garp, Tsuru, and that goat of his.
Zephyr used to be among them, but after the near-total annihilation of his training ship and losing an arm, he had become a bit… strange. Sengoku found it harder to talk to him about certain sensitive information.
So, Garp knew about the World Government’s business dealings with the Beasts Pirates and the balance policy concerning the Emperors of the Sea.
And whether it was Kaido, Whitebeard, Big Mom, or Shanks, if they truly wanted to escape, it would be hard to stop them with just one person.
If he could avoid it, Garp didn’t want to fight Kaido at all. He just wanted to stop that rampaging dragon. But after that initial strike, Kaido never gave him the chance.
“Do we need a reason to fight? Is there anything more fun than this?”
“…..”
“A person’s worth can only be proven in battle. Come, Garp, let me experience the true value of the Marine Hero. Show me what the man who defeated Rocks is really like!”
Kaido’s body swelled to twice its size as he entered his Human-Dragon form. This was the G-1 Base, with Mariejois just behind them and Marine Headquarters not far away. In just a few hours, reinforcements from HQ would arrive.
His time was limited. He didn’t have the luxury to play games with Garp.
Earlier, he hadn’t even transformed, yet Garp failed to gain any significant advantage, making it clear to Kaido that Garp’s mind wasn’t really focused on the fight.
Garp’s whereabouts are uncertain, and it wasn’t easy to encounter him. Kaido wanted to enjoy this as much as possible.
The air was torn apart with a sharp whoosh sound as Kaido’s fist arrived before Garp.
The fist covered in dragon scales was massively disproportionate to Garp’s figure, yet Garp’s seemingly small fist contained an unbelievably terrifying power.
Boom!
The two fists didn’t make physical contact but clashed in mid-air. Despite being a collision of mere flesh, the sound it produced surpassed that of any technological creation.
As their fists met, a massive shockwave swept through in all directions. The intense flames created by Hydrachton were instantly extinguished by the wind pressure, and the broken buildings collapsed. Some of the weaker individuals were even blown away by the force of the shockwaves.
As the wind blew, the coat on Garp’s body flew off, but he remained standing like an impregnable fortress, blocking in front of the G-1 Base.
“It’s Vice Admiral Garp! Vice Admiral Garp blocked Kaido’s attack!”
At the window of the makeshift medical station, a few burly Marine soldiers held metal plates and similar things to block the window, preventing the outside air from rushing in. After sensing the force subside, they looked outside to assess the situation.
Thanks to the influence of the higher-ups, everyone had heard of Garp’s heroic deeds. Now, seeing him still standing tall at the front, the Marines felt a sense of calm.
“Vice Admiral Momonga and Rear Admiral Bogard are holding off that monstrous dragon too! Reinforcements from HQ are on the way. Victory will be ours!”
In the broadcasting room, the announcer reported the latest news, rallying the Marines whose morale had dropped due to the casualties.
“Hey! Did you hear that? Hold on a bit longer! Reinforcements are almost here, so don’t you dare die in this place!!”
A medic was pressing down on a soldier’s wound, while others nearby were also helping to rescue others.
They couldn’t help in the battle outside, nor could they man the turrets, but as medics, this was their battlefield. Every wounded soldier they saved was another victory.
……
“You ba*tard, that’s the reason you brought that monster to attack this place?”
“Monster? That body born for battle is so beautiful. It’s something you Marines can only envy. Even if you wanted such an amazing mount, I doubt you’d find one! Worororo!”
Everything has two sides. To Garp, Hydrachton was nothing but a destructive monster, but to Kaido, it was a “beautiful white stallion.” Kaido didn’t hide his joy at having such a powerful creature.
“Crazy ba*tard… You pirates really are lawless scum.”
“Oh? So you know I’m a pirate, huh? Do pirates need a reason to attack the Marines? It’s still just a child and needs a grand stage. So, this is the place I’ve chosen for its debut!”
“Enough with the useless talk, old man. You should get serious already!”
To Garp, Kaido’s actions were utterly insane. He couldn’t understand it. It seemed like Kaido attacked the Marine base just to show off his dragon, which was even more absurd than when Kaido willingly got captured by a prison ship just to get a meal.
But he also realized that if he didn’t deal with Kaido, he wouldn’t be able to intervene in the situation on the other side.
Momonga and Bogard could hold off Hydrachton to an extent, but they couldn’t stop all of its attacks. Buildings were still getting destroyed from time to time, and while Marine casualties had lessened, they hadn’t stopped completely.
If Garp wanted to put an end to all this, he’d have to deal with Kaido first. Kaido wasn’t going to let him deal with the dragon otherwise.
The muscles on his arm bulged as the entire arm was enveloped by an immensely powerful layer of Armament Haki. With a powerful push from his legs and waist, Garp pushed Kaido back and simultaneously leaped into the air, swinging his fist towards Kaido’s face.
Through Observation Haki, he sensed something strange about Kaido’s behavior. He wasn’t making any effort to dodge, and sure enough, Garp’s fist landed squarely on Kaido’s face.
Kaido’s massive body was sent flying, crashing into the wall of the G-1 Base, leaving a huge, human-shaped imprint.
Normally, this would have been a perfect opportunity, but Garp didn’t pause. He immediately repositioned himself and charged towards where Kaido had landed. Even though his punch had hit its mark, the sensation on his fist told him that the punch didn’t yield much result.
From the ruins, Kaido shook his head and stood up.
“Worororo, so that’s what your punches feel like, huh?”
He had once sailed on the same ship as Whitebeard, so he knew a bit about Garp. Although Garp had been a nemesis of the Rocks Pirates, Kaido hadn’t been strong enough to fight him back then. He was just an apprentice at the time.
He had wanted to gauge Garp’s strength for himself, so he chose to take the punch with his body.
Even with Haki’s defense, the force of Garp’s punch had sent him flying.
“How exciting!”
Seeing that Garp had given up trying to interfere with Hydrachton’s battle and was now fully committed to fighting him, Kaido’s fighting intent was completely ignited. He grabbed his Hassaikai and charged to meet the approaching Garp…
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