BOOM—
The instant the two blows collided, a terrifying shockwave burst out in all directions without restraint.
The villagers standing at the dock and the Marines aboard the warship immediately felt as if a towering mountain had dropped onto their heads.
Some of them couldn't bear the sudden pressure at all.
Their legs gave out, and one after another, they collapsed to the ground.
Even Kairo hadn't expected Garp and Da Hong to clash at full force like that.
The moment one of the villagers beside him fell, he snapped back to himself and stepped forward.
As his foot came down—
An even more terrifying wave of force spread out from beneath him, instantly intercepting the shockwave rushing toward the shore.
In the next moment, the villagers standing behind him suddenly felt the pressure disappear.
Relief washed over them, and they all slumped to the ground in exhaustion.
At the same time—
As Garp, fully coated in Armament Haki, clashed head-on with Da Hong, he sensed the sudden eruption of another overwhelming force.
His pupils shrank violently.
Then he turned his head toward Kairo in disbelief.
"Conqueror's Haki!"
What Kairo had released was indeed Conqueror's Haki.
But it was different from the version Garp was familiar with.
Kairo's was purer.
Tyrannical.
Perfectly controlled.
What shocked Garp the most was that Kairo hadn't used it to intimidate or attack—
He had used it to block the shockwave from Garp and Da Hong's collision.
That meant Kairo's Conqueror's Haki had already reached a level of perfect control, equally capable of offense and defense.
And the strength of Conqueror's Haki was directly tied to the strength of the person who wielded it.
The stronger the Haki—
The stronger the man.
Just as Garp was still reeling in shock, another terrifying force suddenly surged straight at him.
In the next instant, he was blasted away yet again.
Like a meteor, he smashed into another hill outside Foosha Village.
BOOM!
With another earth-shaking crash, Garp had his second "intimate encounter" with a mountain.
Before he could even catch his breath, Da Hong's figure enlarged in his vision again.
"Wait, wait, wait—!"
Staring at Da Hong charging at him, Garp—still shaken by Kairo's Conqueror's Haki and momentarily careless because of it—forced down the blood surging in his chest and raised a hand.
"This old man has something to sa—"
Before he could finish, Da Hong's massive fist was already swinging toward his face.
Seeing that, Garp didn't dare clash head-on again.
At the last possible instant, he twisted aside awkwardly.
The moment he moved, the rabbit's punch slammed in.
BOOM—
A violent, earth-shaking explosion followed.
Smoke billowed up instantly.
And in the next moment, the mountain exploded apart.
Although Garp had avoided the direct hit, he was still caught in the resulting shockwave.
The blast shattered his "no damage in smoke" luck on the spot.
He spat out another mouthful of blood and was sent tumbling down toward the foot of the mountain.
Fortunately, his foundations were deep enough.
Just before hitting the ground, he took a breath, flipped once in midair, and landed steadily.
Afraid that Da Hong would appear again like a shadow on his heels, Garp looked up the instant his feet touched down, ignoring the blood still churning in his chest.
And when he did—
Even the Hero of the Marines, a man who had sailed the seas for decades, couldn't help sucking in a breath.
The mountain struck by Da Hong had been blasted down by at least an entire floor's worth of height from a single punch.
Of course, Garp himself could blow apart a mountain if he wanted to.
But the one who had done it was a rabbit.
And most importantly—
Garp could clearly tell Da Hong still hadn't used his full strength.
If he really cut loose, it wouldn't just be this mountain.
Even Foosha Village might get dragged into it.
At that thought, Garp no longer dared continue the fight.
If this battle kept escalating, and Da Hong grew even more uncontrollable, then a shaved-down mountain would be the least of their problems.
Besides, there was no meaning in continuing this fight.
If a completely unnecessary bloodbath broke out just because he accidentally stepped on a sneaker, then as a Marine Vice Admiral, he would be impossible to excuse.
Knowing that Da Hong was no longer in a state where reason would work, Garp made his decision instantly.
He turned and ran.
After a few rapid bounds, he rushed back to the dock of Foosha Village in a thoroughly miserable state, ignoring the villagers' strange looks as he shouted anxiously toward the Marines aboard the warship:
"Adjutant! Start the ship! We're leaving!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Garp leapt up and landed steadily on the warship's deck.
After landing, he cast a wary glance toward the back mountain of Foosha Village, then shifted his gaze toward Kairo on the dock.
"Kid, about those cannon shots earlier…"
"This old man apologizes."
"And also—I have an unreasonable request."
"Can you talk to that rabbit for me?"
"I really didn't mean to step on that sneaker!"
"Tell him that the next time we meet, this old man will definitely buy him a brand-new pair of red canvas sneakers!"
Then Garp suddenly turned to the adjutant at his side.
"What are you all still standing there for?! Move! Leave this place immediately! That rabbit is about to catch up!"
Watching Garp's reaction, Kairo almost burst out laughing.
He knew that once Da Hong entered berserk mode, not even Garp at his peak could do anything to him.
Still, he hadn't expected Garp to end up looking this miserable.
Then again, it made sense.
There was no denying Garp's strength—
But trying to compare power levels with a berserk comedy character like Da Hong was basically asking to be beaten up.
As everyone knew:
Trying to compare combat power with gag characters was like searching for logic in a world built on exaggeration and absurdity.
Compared to Droopy using a lasso to pull the island carrying Foosha Village over to him, Da Hong beating Garp half to death was practically reasonable.
While the warship hurriedly turned around and fled from the dock, Da Hong came charging after it with clenched fists.
The instant Garp saw him, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"Faster! Faster!"
"Don't let Da Hong get onto the ship! If he boards us, this warship is finished! Hurry! Hurry!"
Urged on by Garp's frantic shouting, even the warship itself seemed to feel the pressure coming from Da Hong. Its whistle shrieked as it accelerated desperately toward open sea.
At the same time—
Watching Da Hong storm toward the dock, Kairo held back his laughter and said with complete seriousness:
"Da Hong!"
"That old man says he knows he was wrong!"
"The next time you meet, he'll compensate you with a brand-new pair of canvas sneakers. Red ones."
Da Hong froze.
Then he slowly turned his head toward Kairo.
From between gritted teeth, he squeezed out two words.
"Da Hong?"
Kairo smiled.
"Yeah. I just gave you that name."
"Do you like it?"
Da Hong didn't answer.
But the flames of fury surrounding his body rapidly faded away.
Before long, he had returned to normal. Stars practically shone in his eyes.
"Canvas shoes… red ones… next time we meet?"
Kairo nodded.
"If he goes back on his word, I'll go with you to Marine Headquarters to settle the score."
"And while we're at it, we can tear down their headquarters building."
Just then, the green rabbit came running over in a hurry and handed over the red sneaker that had fallen inside the ship's cabin.
The instant Da Hong saw the shoe, he forgot everything else and snatched it into his arms.
On the warship, already fleeing far from Foosha Village's waters—
Garp kept peering toward the village through a telescope.
Only after confirming that Da Hong wasn't chasing them anymore did he finally let out a long breath.
Then he collapsed onto the deck and muttered with lingering fear:
"That thing is absurdly strong…"
"Good thing this old man was smart for once."