"Shiki!"
The residents of Loguetown had all evacuated. Freed from psychological restraints, Garp unleashed his full combat power.
Every punch carried such force that Reddy was left in awe.
Just the shockwaves from his fists cracked the earth, sending massive chunks of soil flying into the air before being torn apart by the raging winds.
Meanwhile, Shiki's intelligence seemed to plummet again, losing the brilliance he had shown earlier. Over and over, he was pounded into the ground by Garp's relentless attacks.
"Where's the gap?"
Reddy had no distractions now, frowning as he pondered the actual combat difference between the clones and Garp.
Logically speaking, clones with a gene rating of LV13 should be on par with an admiral. At the very least, they should be able to hold their own against one for days before being defeated.
But reality was far from expectations.
Seeing Garp's current performance, Reddy felt that his clones might genuinely be taken out one by one with a single punch from this old monster.
On the other hand, the clones' performance against Borsalino earlier also didn't match his expectations.
After witnessing the combat power of admiral-level fighters twice now, Reddy had no choice but to lower his expectations, downgrading the LV13 clones' strength by half.
This wasn't scientific!
Reddy looked up at the distant battle, ignoring the shockwaves sweeping toward him, flipping through his memories.
"Armament Haki intensity?"
"No, the clones' Armament Haki is already maxed out. In theory, it should be at its limit."
"Advanced Conqueror's Haki?"
"Forget it, I still don't know how to develop the Conqueror's Haki module."
Reddy took a sharp breath. The issue must be that the clones lack the advanced Armament Haki technique... Ryuo.
He truly had no solution for this.
In the original story, Luffy was given a direct power-up by Oda, mastering Ryuo out of nowhere. What could he do about that?
As for the principle behind Ryuo, Reddy did know.
It was simply about concentrating the Armament Haki that should be spread across the body into a single point, thereby increasing its intensity.
But he hadn't found a way to master Armament Haki yet. Even knowing Ryuo's principle didn't help the clones learn it.
Still, there was one possible method.
Release the control chip's restrictions.
The clones were emotionally suppressed by the control chips, strictly following his orders without independent thought.
Lifting the restrictions would, in theory, allow the clones to train on their own and master Ryuo.
However, the drawbacks of lifting restrictions were too severe.
Without the control chips, the clones would be no different from ordinary people, possessing their own thoughts.
Thoughts were unpredictable.
Reddy wasn't Vegapunk. He had no intention of letting his clones develop independent will.
They were essential forces for realizing his ambitions.
At this thought, Reddy decisively gave up. "Forget it, I'll find another way."
At that moment, a figure shot up from a crater into the sky.
Shiki was in a sorry state, panting heavily, his eyes burning with endless fury like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
He refused to accept this!
Back then, it took both Garp and Sengoku to defeat him. Yet now, Garp alone was so overwhelmingly powerful that it felt suffocating.
Why?!
"You're not the Golden Lion of the past anymore, Shiki."
Garp bent down, picked up a cannonball from a nearby crate, weighed it in his hand, and then hurled it at Shiki in the air.
The cannonball tore through the air with a piercing shriek, crossing hundreds of meters in an instant to reach Shiki.
"I am Golden Lion Shiki!"
Shiki naturally took this cannonball as an insult from Garp, flying into a rage and losing all rationality.
With a swing of his right leg, a massive slash shot out, splitting the cannonball in two.
Explosions erupted on both sides of him.
His left leg followed up with another enormous slash, aimed straight at Garp.
Garp stood tall, raising his right arm coated in Armament Haki to block the slash head-on.
After a brief stalemate, the slash was deflected, slicing a nearby mountain peak clean in half.
"Is this all you've got now... Shiki?"
Garp rolled his shoulders, his tone carrying an indescribable complexity.
He and Shiki were old men from the same era.
Zephyr's incident, plus this battle with Shiki... Garp felt a sense of loneliness.
This was no longer his era.
The legends of the previous era were fading away one by one.
Roger, Zephyr, and now Shiki... Garp's mind flashed with images of past rivals and comrades, but he quickly steeled himself again.
If the rising rookies think they can replace our era, let's prove them wrong with facts!
With his mind clear, Garp's body crackled with black-red lightning once more. The ground beneath him split apart, and large chunks of earth floated into the air without wind.
The sheer pressure made Reddy, who had been spectating, pale.
"Compared to this old man, Shiki is too weak."
A blazing heat flashed in Reddy's eyes, his breathing growing rapid.
Too strong!
At this moment, all he could think about was how to obtain Garp's genetic sample.
"Garp!"
Shiki's eyes were bloodshot as he roared, "Don't look down on me! I am Golden Lion Shiki!"
"Come!"
Garp stepped back with his left foot, bending his knees and lowering his stance. His right fist crackled with black-red lightning as his fighting spirit peaked.
An old rival from the same era... It's only right that I end this myself!
At this moment, both of them saw only each other, staking everything on the next strike.
"Interesting."
Garp's aura kept rising, but he noticed Shiki's aura was also gradually approaching the level of the Golden Lion who once stormed Marineford alone. He couldn't help but grin.
That's more like it!
Shiki was also smiling now.
Earlier, Garp's overwhelming pressure had driven him into a rage, but that very rage seemed to break some kind of shackles, restoring his intelligence.
Yet even with his intelligence back, Shiki had no intention of avoiding this fight. His eyes gleamed with arrogance... and sorrow.
I'm the Golden Lion, not some clown!
Shiki's peripheral vision caught Reddy watching from afar, his eyes flashing with disdain before refocusing on his old rival, Garp.
You think you can defeat me?
Dream on!
There's no way I'd lose to some brat!
At this moment, Shiki's mind was free of distractions, his eyes locked solely on Garp.
"Garp!"
With a furious roar, Shiki abandoned his usual killing techniques, reverting to the most primal method. He brought his legs together and dove down like a meteor.
The swords Kogarashi and Shigure were coated in Armament Haki, piercing through the air as they thrust downward.
"Goodbye, Shiki."
With the townsfolk evacuated, Garp no longer worried about the island falling once Shiki's Float-Float Fruit powers were lost. He threw everything into his final punch.
The next instant!
Garp's right fist collided with Kogarashi and Shigure.
A devastating shockwave erupted.
The earth shattered inch by inch, massive chunks of soil sent flying before being torn apart.
Reddy's expression shifted slightly. He snapped his fingers.
A portal opened in the air behind him.
Reddy stepped back into the portal, watching the nuclear-like devastation from another dimension.
What now?
He really wanted to fight Garp!