"Damn it..."

  At that moment, Garp, his face swollen and blood dripping from the er of his mouth, crawled out of the rubble in the forest, shaking his head. His disheveled figure sprinted bato the battlefield.

  “Garp!” Tsuru sighed in relief upon seeing that he was retively unharmed.

  “Sorry, I got a bit careless just now..." Sengoku, still in his hybrid form, asked, “Garp, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Garp replied, spitting out some blood and shaking his head. He ched his Haki-coated fists, gring at the beast-like Oars Jr. with sharp eyes. “That guy... his strength is no joke!”

  “It's Rear Admiral Sengoku!”

  “The Famed Fist of Love, Garp, is here too!”

  “And the renowned beauty of the Marines, Rear Admiral Tsuru, is also present!”

  “Great, it’s the famous Maririo!”

  “Everyone, move! Don't let those criminals escape!”

  At that moment, several hundred Marines, who had been statio the rear to block off other escape routes from the first isnd, rushed forward, joined by a few CP agents in suits. Seeing Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru fag off against the criminals who had attacked the Celestial Dragons, they felt a surge of morale.

  “Rear Admiral Sengoku, have you found any trace of Saint Hanic?”

  A squad leader from CP7 hurried up to Sengoku, eager for news. The higher-ups had given strict orders to rescue the kidnapped Celestial Dragons at all costs.

  “When we arrived, these criminals had already killed the Mariationed here... Go check the au house immediately!” Sengoku anded, pointing towards the au house.

  “Quick, search for the World Nobles!” the CP7 officer ordered, leading his men toward the building.

  “Heh heh...” Linlin and her crew watched this with smug, mog expressions but made no move to stop them.

  “Tsuru, you take charge of the Marines and hahose guys…” Sengoku said, feeling a deep sense of foreboding. Without hesitation, he charged toward Linlin. “Garp, let’s go!”

  Before his words were fully spoken, Sengoku stomped the ground, turning into a golden blur. In his hybrid form, he was much faster than before.

  “Buddha’s Impact Wave!”

  A golden palm radiated a blinding light, carrying a terrifying shockwave as it crashed down toward Linlin.

  “Ma-ma-ma-ma, you're a lot faster now..." Linlin grinned, her demon-like form menag, wings outstretched. Her sword, ed in Haki, swung out fiercely. “But it’s still not enough!”

  “Mighty Nation!”

  In an instant, a powerful wave of sword energy tore through the atmosphere, g head-on with Sengoku's shockwave.

  'Boom... Boom...'

  'g... g...'

  tinuous explosions and g echoed as the hybrid-form Linlin and Sengoku battled. Linlin's gleaming greatsword met Sengoku’s golden fists and palms, sparks flying with each strike.

  Although Sengoku was mile in his hybrid form, his golden body's defense and increased strength still couldn’t match his full Buddha form. Faced with Linlin, who had mastered advanced swordsmanship under El’s training, and whose Mythical Zoan Vampire form enhanced her strength, speed, and reflexes, Sengoku struggled to keep up.

  Though not in immediate danger, Sengoku was clearly at a disadvantage against the overwhelming power and speed of the young natural-born monster.

  Despite being a rising star of the Marines, Sengoku couldn’t help but feel frustrated, beiedly pressured by someone so much younger. He was shaken by Linlin’s immerength but not overly worried. After all, if they could stall Linlin’s group long enough, once a Marine Admiral arrived with reinforts, these pirates would be trapped with no way out.

  “Hey, you really gave me a beating just now!”

  Garp charged toward Oars Jr., his fists coated in Armament Haki, gleaming as they struck out. “Fist Meteorite!”

  “Beast Fist Art!”

  Oars Jr., undaunted, faced Garp head-on. His massive green fists, also covered in Haki, met Garp’s blows in a fierce exge.

  Although Oars Jr. wasn’t the sharpest, through years of interaining under El’s guidance, he had finally mastered the Six Powers teiques. With El’s help, he developed a fighting style that suited his giant frame—Beast Fist Art. bining the finger pistol and fist teiques from the Six Powers, Oars Jr. no longer relied on firikes but instead delivered punches with the force of onballs.

  Though CP9 agents and even stronger CPO operatives could use the Six Powers, the sheer power Oars Jr. could unleash, enhanced by his size and the Mini-Mini Fruit, was on airely different level—like the differeween a bullet and a rocket.

  'Bang... Bang...'

  In the blink of an eye, fists cshed repeatedly, creating shockwaves in the air. The rapid exges of punches were so fast they were hard to follow, with every hit nding solidly.

  'Rumble...'

  The earth cracked and colpsed beh their feet from the iy of the battle. Though Garp’s Haki was stronger, Oars Jr.’s overwhelming strength allowed him to hold his ground against Garp’s barrage of punches.

  After all, Garp had yet to reach the peak of his strength. In time, he would grow far more powerful, but at this moment, Oars Jr., with his a giant bloodline and Mini-Mini Fruit powers, hadn’t been fully surpassed. Although Garp gradually gaihe upper hand, he couldn’t pletely dominate Oars Jr.

  “This guy…” Tsuru watched in shock, amazed that Oars Jr. could hold his own against Garp’s infamous fists. She knew well ho trained, pushing himself to insane limits. Yet, his legendary fists had met their mat this a giant.

  However, what she didn’t know was that Oars Jr., thanks to his robust physique and Mini-Mini Fruit abilities, had strength parable to a "steel balloon." For years, under El’s grueling training regimen, Oars Jr. had been smashing mountains as part of his daily workout. His simple-mindedness made him a perfect student, following El’s ands without question, no matter how tough things got.

  Seeing El’s dedication and even more brutal training sessions inspired Oars Jr. to push through his own limits. Determio help El achieve his great dream, Oars Jr. had endured everything without pint. His training iy, surpassed only by El himself, had resulted in rapid growth over the past eight years. His raas now on par with Garp's at this stage.

  “You’ve got no time to worry about others!” Nef sneered as she charged at Tsuru, flig her hand and sending a green energy ring flying toward her.

  'Swish!' Tsuru, reag swiftly, dodged the attack. But Nef pressed on, ung mreen rings toward her, which Tsuru skillfully avoided. However, the Marines behind Tsuru weren’t so lucky, as the rings tched onto their necks, arms, and legs, trapping them.

  “Damn it…”

  “What are these things?”

  “They won’t e off!”

  “Shoot! Don’t let them escape!”

  'Bang... Bang...'

  The Marines and CP agents opened fire on Nef, Rock, and Jien, while others charged forward with swords drawn.

  “Heh... We’re not that easy to deal with!”

  Rod Jien rushed forward to meet the Marines in battle.

  "Rankyaku!"

  "Fish-men Karate: Scattershot!"

  'Boom... Boom...'