Chapter 55: Divine Departure!
Chapter 55: Divine Departure!
The distant battle grew more and more intense. The shockwaves and chaotic air currents from the clashes swept over, dispersing the wisps of clouds and mist on the Island Cloud.
Shanks and his crew quietly watched Uta, as if trying to engrave her image into their hearts.
"Go, Uta!"
"Together with Louis and Yelena, leave your footprints and memories on this world."
"We will be waiting for you in the last sea of the world. At that time, we will meet again!"
With his words finished, Shanks slowly turned around. He slowly drew his famous sword, Gryphon, from his waist and walked across the Island Cloud toward the battlefield.
At the edge of the cloud, Shanks untied the blood-stained bandage on his head, letting the cold wind whip his short red hair and the black cape behind him. Under everyone's gaze, Shanks's profound eyes fell on the distant battle. He raised his famous sword, his entire body radiating a soaring fighting spirit.
"Everyone, let's go!"
"Hold back that old relic from the past era, and send Uta and her partners on their way!!"
Behind him, the spirited responses of his crewmates echoed. "YEAH!!"
The next moment, a grin spread across Shanks's lips. He leaped from the high altitude, plunging straight toward the battlefield. Immediately after, the others followed without showing any weakness, also jumping from the sky, following Shanks as they flew across the sea toward Garp and Louis.
At the edge of the Island Cloud, Uta watched the crew jump down one after another. She pressed her lips together, silent for a long time. Beside her, Yelena slowly walked over, reached out, and stroked her head, a gentle smile on her face.
"Don't be too sad about today's parting."
"Your thoughts of each other will become the compass that guides you to meet again."
"Therefore, look forward to the day you are reunited!"
Lightning flashed, and flames coiled.
Louis, his wings wreathed in fire, streaked across the sky holding a spear that crackled with electricity and the Seven Star Sword, which was shrouded in a golden light.
In front of him, Garp, burly as a brown bear and surrounded by black and red arcs of electricity, was also using Geppo to launch a high-speed assault. He raised his iron fist, which was coated in Conqueror's Haki. A black and red light blossomed, as if he were holding a dazzling, black and red cross-star in his fist.
The chaotic hurricane formed by his high-speed assault swept through, splitting the sea and carving a deep trench on its surface.
BOOM—
The next moment, the two figures collided.
A violent clash occurred, creating a strange light above the sea that made all other colors seem dim. Under the massive impact, as if a meteorite had fallen into the ocean, an immeasurable amount of seawater was thrown into the air, exposing the seabed and coral, which had been covered by water for thousands of years, to the air.
From within the strange light, a streak of lightning tore out, sweeping across the sea and leaving a searing white scar that stretched for several thousand meters. Almost at the same time, a sound like the sky falling rang out again. The force of a punch, surrounded by black and red arcs of electricity, carried the twin-winged figure and pierced through the dry seabed, creating a massive, bottomless abyss hundreds of meters wide.
The strange light dissipated, and the burly figure in mid-air was once again revealed. Garp reached up and touched the charred scratch on his face. The numbing sensation that came with his touch made him a little depressed.
"I'm the first one to get hurt?"
"..."
The next moment, the golden figure, accompanied by searing flames, instantly rose from the abyss and stopped opposite Garp. The completely unharmed Louis stood in mid-air, shaking his head without avoiding Garp's exceptionally ugly glare.
Soon, the dizziness in Louis's head faded.
Seeing this, Garp felt even more frustrated. A full-power punch, coated in Conqueror's Haki—even Kaido, known as the World's Strongest Creature, would have to cough up a few pounds of blood if he took it head-on. But when it hit Louis's head, it only made him dizzy. On the other hand, he himself had been grazed in the face by his opponent's lightning-infused spear, causing half his face to go numb.
This made Garp wonder if he was getting old, if his fists had become weak.
Louis took in the constantly changing expression on Garp's face and roughly guessed his thoughts. But he didn't pay it much mind, raising a hand to summon the spear that had been knocked into the distance.
Garp also temporarily put aside his complicated thoughts, took a deep breath, and prepared for the next round. He was ready to prove with his actions that he was not old yet. If one punch to Louis's head could only make him dizzy, then he would throw a hundred punches, a thousand punches! Garp didn't believe that this boy, who held such extreme malice towards the Marines, could withstand a thousand of his punches.
Just then, the seawater that had been displaced by their clash returned, filling the dry seabed, the roar of the colliding water echoing back and forth. At the same time, Garp once again clenched his iron fist, wreathed in Conqueror's Haki, and used Geppo to launch a rapid assault.
In an instant, Garp's figure became a streak of black and red light, flashing past in the blink of an eye. In just a moment, he had crossed several hundred meters, his iron fist aimed straight for Louis's head.
In contrast, Louis relaxed his fighting stance. He slowly lowered his spear and sheathed the Seven Star Sword, as if completely ignoring the iron fist that was about to land on his head.
He had already sensed Shanks's arrival. Since he couldn't kill Garp, there was no reason for him to continue fighting. Although Louis seemed to be in a fierce battle with Garp, he had been calm the entire time, never forgetting his purpose this time: to buy time for Shanks and Uta to say goodbye, not to fight to the death with the Marine Hero in this sea.
A figure in a black cape, holding a saber, appeared in an instant, blocking Garp's path in front of Louis.
The next moment, Shanks's third wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted. The sky seemed to dim, and a black and red light rose from his famous sword, Gryphon.
Shanks turned his head and glanced at Louis. When he saw the Seven Star Sword at Louis's waist, he was taken aback for a moment, then a faint smile appeared. As if deliberately letting Louis see clearly, he slowly raised his saber. Black and red arcs of electricity coiled and intertwined, rapidly taking shape.
Louis narrowed his eyes, and his Observation Haki spread out, taking in every detail of Shanks's movements.
Black and red wings spun and extended, four giant claws were held in a grasping motion, and a massive eagle's head, like that of a sea beast, let out a piercing cry.
"Divine Departure!"
The fierce bird from mythology—the Gryphon—materialized above the sea and charged toward the burly figure with the clenched fist.
In the chaotic airflow blowing towards him, Shanks's gaze was deep. He gave the ashen-faced Garp a smile that was very familiar to him.
"You can't be allowed to destroy the new era, Garp!"
In an instant, the gryphon formed from Conqueror's Haki collided with Garp's iron fist.
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