Zephyr might be his teacher, but he wasn't someone who could truly stop him.
Garp, however, was different.
That old man had raised Creed, and Creed had called him "Grandpa" for years.
For a moment, even Creed felt a headache coming on.
But if Garp really came here, and Zephyr was already present, that could only mean one thing: the Marines' top priority upon entering the New World was most likely—him.
And facing the persuasion combo of Garp and Zephyr together, Creed faintly felt it would be hard to resist.
Redfield noticed the change in his expression and understood the dilemma churning in his captain's heart. He muttered under his breath, "Captain, why don't we pull back first? With the Creed's speed, nobody can catch us…"
"We'll just have to do that."
Creed really didn't want to meet Garp under these circumstances. Even when the old man had called him before, he'd mostly brushed him off.
"Teacher Zephyr, I'll give your Warlord back to you. See you."
Creed tossed Kuma back toward Zephyr's battleship. Redfield immediately turned the rudder, ready to push the Creed to full speed and get out of here.
But just then—
A sharp whistling tore through the sky from above.
Creed and Redfield looked up sharply to see a round black shadow hurtling toward them from several li away. Its speed was terrifying—by the time they truly caught sight of it, it was already only twenty or thirty meters ahead!
"Whoa!"
The projectile came in so fast that before it even struck the Creed, a surging wall of wind pressure smashed over them. Robin and the others felt their faces sting.
"A cannonball?!"
Only when that black shape was nearly upon them did Creed and Redfield finally see what it was.
Just from the wind pressure alone, they could tell: if the Creed took a direct hit, even with its hull built from Treasure Tree Adam, there was a real chance the ship could be blown to pieces and sunk!
"ROOM!"
Creed thrust out his hand, expanding his ROOM and shifting the cannonball over a thousand meters away, sending it plunging two hundred meters down into the sea.
"Boom!"
The explosion blasted up a spray tens of meters high, making the whole sea heave violently.
"Hahahaha! Brat, your wings have gotten pretty stiff, huh? You won't even accept your loving grandpa's cannonball anymore!"
A hearty laugh carried over from the distance as another Marine battleship steamed into view.
This one had a dog head biting a huge bone mounted on its bow. At the very top of that bow stood a tall, powerfully built Marine vice admiral with graying hair and a burly frame.
It was the Marine Hero himself—Tekken Garp (Iron Fist Garp)!
"Full speed ahead!"
Creed gave a quiet order, but outwardly he shouted loudly, "Grandpa, I'm busy right now! I'll come visit you at Marine Headquarters when I have time!"
Seeing the Creed turn its rudder and suddenly accelerate, how could Garp not realize the brat was trying to run? His moustache twitched furiously.
"You little punk! Running the moment you see me—are you a mouse and I'm the cat now? I've gotta give you a proper lesson today!"
Kenkotsu: Ryuuseigun (Fist Bone: Meteor Swarm)!
In an instant, he hurled out dozens of cannonballs, pelting them toward the Creed like a meteor shower.
"ROOM!"
Creed had no choice but to expand his ROOM again, barely managing to shield the Creed.
Those cannonballs carried Garp's power, and under that power their pressure multiplied several dozen times over. Even for Creed, warding them off took quite a bit of effort.
But breaking through his defense?
That was very difficult.
By now, Creed was already someone who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Garp!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Wave after wave of cannonballs rained down. In a flash, Garp had thrown out hundreds of them, and when he saw they still couldn't do anything to Creed, he burst into loud laughter.
"Worthy of being the Fifth Emperor! Take one more from me!"
Clank, clank, clank!
A massive iron chain as thick as a man's torso rattled in his hands. With a fierce yank, Garp hauled up an enormous iron ball, almost the size of an ordinary battleship, onto the bow.
A super-giant iron ball!
Then, with a swing of that chain, the super-giant iron ball hurtled toward the Creed like a colossal cannonball.
No one knew how he'd even brought something weighing at least a million jins aboard the ship. And yet when he threw it, it was like he was just flicking out a pebble—he didn't seem to be straining at all.
"Boom!"
The super-giant iron ball descended from the sky like a miniature planet, blotting out the heavens. Even while it was still over a hundred meters up, the wind pressure it generated had already crushed down on Creed's ROOM, making the barrier tremble violently.
So that was it—
The underside of the iron ball was coated in Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki)!
For this strike, Garp had used at least eighty to ninety percent of his strength!
Garp's overall strength was SSSS-level. Even eighty to ninety percent of that was the very peak of pure physical power within SSSS- tier.
This blow surpassed even Kuma's fivefold Bear Paw Impact from before!
Under such terrifying pressure, Robin and the others went pale with fright. Even Redfield's expression tightened.
The Marine Hero Garp was famed across the seas for his raw strength and Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki). Seeing it in person today, it was truly unmatched!
Back when they had parted at Marine Headquarters, Creed had only been at SSS-level. Who could have imagined that in just a few short years he'd carve out the title of Fifth Emperor and even defeat Big Mom? So Garp was extremely curious about Creed's current strength.
Now that he had the chance, he fully intended to test it—without holding back in the slightest.
"Brat, let me see how much you really weigh now!"
Garp narrowed his eyes, wanting to see how Creed would take this attack.
The massive iron chain tethering the iron ball was still in his hands. Even if Creed dodged this strike, Garp could launch another one right after, chaining his attacks together.
However—
Facing the incoming super-giant iron ball, Creed drew his sword again.
Rinne Kendou: Kyoureizan (Reincarnation Sword Style: Thunderclap Slash) + Sanjuu Oku Boruto (Three Billion Volts)!
The Supreme Grade blade Rinne was wreathed in terrifying lightning as it slashed upward, the blazing slash as bright as the sun. With a harsh crack, it cleaved the massive iron ball in midair cleanly in two!
The superheated electric plasma of Three Billion Volts then melted the two halves of the sundered iron ball as well!
Molten iron and glowing fragments rained down like a meteor shower. To those standing on the Creed below, the sight was dreamlike—but everyone knew just how dangerous it had been.
If not for Creed's ROOM shield protecting them, they would never have come out of this unscathed.
"Ssshhhhh!"
The molten iron hit the sea and boiled the water with ease, sending up rolling clouds of steam that completely shrouded the Creed from view.
Clank, clank, clank!
The Creed pushed its engines to the limit, surging forward at full speed and rapidly leaving Garp and the others behind.
The Creed was far faster than the battleships of Garp and Zephyr. At maximum speed, it would only take the better part of half an hour to put them completely out of sight.
With the dense steam as cover besides, their escape this time seemed almost effortless.
"Damn brat! If you make it out alive, come back to the East Blue and visit me when you have time!"
From afar, Garp's reluctant shout carried over the waves.
"Got it, Grandpa!"
Creed shouted back at the top of his lungs.
But Garp's next sentence almost made him choke.
(End of Chapter)
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