Garling stepped onto the air with Geppo, each step launching him a hundred meters high. In an instant, he closed in on the leading member of the D. clan. Slashing his longsword downward, a narrow red-and-black blade of energy cleaved toward the heavens, as if intending to split the sky in two.
The D. clan warrior had the face of a middle-aged man, lean and wiry. His name was Darm D. Fury—a comrade of Joy Boy from eight hundred years ago who once stood against the World Government. His strength was formidable.
Facing the incoming slash, Fury's eyes glinted. With a twist of his wrist, black haki surged around his fist.
He struck out through the air with a punch, clashing head-on with the flying slash.
Garling narrowed his eyes slightly, beginning to truly take his opponent seriously.
Fury, as Joy Boy's former companion, wasn't someone who needed to have his will suppressed. He too studied Garling, sensing something familiar in his face.
Lifting his chin, he spoke.
"Cassilius? You're still alive?"
Before Garling could respond, Joy Boy's voice rang out from above.
"Fury, Cassilius is already dead. This man is his descendant."
Fury nodded at the words and muttered to himself.
"Makes sense... anyone taking wounds like that and still surviving would be a miracle…"
Then he looked up at Garling and smiled.
"In that case, let me see just how strong Cassilius' descendant is."
Boom!
A sudden explosion erupted beneath Fury's feet. He shot toward Garling like a cannonball. But Garling had already foreseen the move through Observation Haki and flickered aside. He countered with a swift slash across Fury's back, carving a deep wound that reached the bone.
"Oi, oi!"
Fury flew past Garling, clutching his back with a grimace of pain. Thick white steam poured from the wound as it visibly began to heal.
Turning back, he muttered,
"Been a long time since I used my powers… getting a little rusty."
Garling soared back with Geppo, thoughts racing about that sudden explosion. It didn't seem like pure martial skill—it was more like a Devil Fruit ability.
...
At that moment, Nusjuro and his team arrived. Upon seeing Fury, Nusjuro shouted,
"It's Darm D. Fury! Lord Garling, he's the Explode-Explode Fruit user!"
The moment he finished speaking, the four were surrounded by other members of the D. clan. Fortunately, the God's Knights quickly joined the fray, clashing with the intruders.
Fury glanced briefly at the battling Nusjuro, trying to recall who he was—but drew a blank. Eight hundred years ago, Nusjuro had still been a brat, hardly worth noticing back then.
Fury was always flighty—if he couldn't remember, he didn't bother trying. He reached back to touch his now-healed wound, while waving his other hand through the air.
A chain of explosions erupted, racing toward Garling. Garling launched upward again, but the detonations followed close behind.
Seeing no way to evade, Garling turned and charged directly at Fury.
Fury grinned. His body suddenly swelled, and the moment Garling reached him—
Boom!
A massive explosion engulfed the area, forming a towering mushroom cloud.
The Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise watched in horror, struck dumb by the sight. Only the members of the Figarland family remained calm. They knew all too well the terrifying power of their former patriarch.
Sure enough, when the smoke cleared, Garling stood unharmed.
The dark haki coating his body slowly faded like retreating tide. Not far ahead, Fury's shriveled form was visible.
Fury took a deep breath and returned to normal, muttering,
"As expected of Cassilius' bloodline. That haki of yours is solid as hell."
Garling brushed his blade with one hand and said coolly,
"You have no right to speak my ancestor's name. There's no place left in this world for your kind."
Fury suddenly grew agitated and roared,
"That's not for you to decide! The D. clan walking the earth again proves it—the world is on the verge of true liberation! Freedom will come!!"
Without warning, Fury activated his power again. Using the explosion's shockwave to launch himself forward, he struck with both fists. Garling blocked with his blade, but was forced backward by the impact.
Regaining his footing, Garling took a stance. Haki surged into his blade, and a domineering aura erupted from his body.
"King's Sword: Sovereign Authority."
In a single instant, thousands of red-and-black lightning-laced slashes burst forth from the tip of his sword. Fury's pupils contracted—he remembered this move all too well, and knew its devastating power.
He didn't dare hold back. Combining Devil Fruit ability with haki, he countered with full force.
"Armament Detonation!"
Two overwhelming energy waves collided, and the thunderous roar shook the heavens. A violent storm of shockwaves burst forth. Fury unleashed consecutive explosions midair to resist the fallout.
And then—
A deep crimson flash shot out from the blast's center, faster than lightning, and pierced straight through Fury's torso.
Everything below Fury's neck vanished. His eyes widened in disbelief as he turned to look back.
Garling stood on a floating dandelion seed, back turned, sword humming with residual electricity.
With the last of his consciousness, Fury forced out a few words.
"You… you can use that move too…"
His voice faded. Fury never finished the sentence. His head dissolved into white light and disappeared into the air.
...
Garling didn't look back. He simply raised his eyes toward Joy Boy above, and in them flickered a faint gleam of anticipation.
The technique he had just used was the Figarland family's ultimate secret sword style. Though it didn't appear especially grand, it was a true killing blow, strong enough to instantly annihilate even someone as loyal to Joy Boy as Fury.
Yet despite its power, the technique consumed an enormous amount of haki. Even Garling's breath was ragged afterward, his face pale.
"Fury!!!"
Seeing Fury fall, Joy Boy finally snapped. He dove down from above, riding atop Zunesha.
...
Carl had been watching Joy Boy closely the whole time. The moment Joy Boy made a move, he followed, transforming into a streak of black lightning and intercepting him midair.
Zunesha let out a startled trumpet and skidded to a halt in the sky, rearing up. Carl lashed out, grabbing Zunesha's trunk. Darkness surged from his hand, and with a twist, he warped the trunk like a pretzel.
A moment later, with a shrill cry from the elephant, Carl's hand grasped something new—
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+150 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg