The Adamantine Sealing Chains, though reinforced with Haki, crumbled like brittle metal beneath Garp's monstrous strength.
Naruto grimaced, unsurprised but still annoyed. The technique had been crafted specifically for restraining chakra and tailed beasts. Against Nine-Tails, these chains could bind a force of nature itself. But against pure, unrelenting physical power like Garp's? They were no different from ordinary steel.
"Hey, Naruto, what's this old man's background?" Kurama's voice echoed through Naruto's consciousness, tinged with genuine bewilderment. The ancient tailed beast had felt the crushing weight of those chains before. To see them snapped so effortlessly was... disturbing. "How can this geezer be as monstrously strong as you are?"
For once, Kurama had dropped his usual dismissive tone, calling Naruto by name rather than "kid" or "brat." The shock was that profound.
But Naruto had no time to answer. The old man was already pressing his advantage.
"What an unreasonable, stubborn fool," Naruto muttered, bracing himself.
"Hahaha! Just surrender already, you brat!" Garp's laughter boomed across the fractured island as he unleashed a devastating barrage. His fists moved like pistons, each strike sending bone-rattling shockwaves through the air. The impacts rained down relentlessly, each one carrying enough force to level a mountain.
The already precarious Cake Island groaned under the assault. Massive fissures spider-webbed across its surface, and the ornate cake castle collapsed into sugary rubble with a thunderous crash that echoed like cannon fire.
"Flowing Mochi!"
While Naruto weathered the storm with his inhuman durability, the Charlotte family faced a different crisis entirely. The battle's aftershocks sent weaker members sprawling, their faces pale with terror as debris rained from above.
Katakuri moved without hesitation. His awakened powers transformed everything within reach into soft, pliable mochi. With swift, practiced motions, he erected a protective dome over his siblings' heads. Each time the structure cracked under the relentless bombardment, he rebuilt it, buying precious seconds for evacuation.
Brûlée's mirror portals worked overtime as family members squeezed through into the safety of the Mirror World, their panicked voices creating a cacophony that mixed with the sounds of destruction.
"Hey! Empress, want to cooperate?" Katakuri called out to Hancock, his voice strained from maintaining the protective barrier.
Hancock didn't even glance in his direction. She stood with regal composure on her section of the fractured island, her long black hair flowing in the chaotic winds. When chunks of masonry plummeted toward them, her guards responded with mechanical precision, their Haki-imbued arrows shattering the debris mid-air like clay pigeons.
Thanks to Hancock's brutal training regimen over the years, her Kuja Pirates had evolved into a force that rivaled elite Navy units. Each warrior moved with lethal grace, their arrows finding their marks with unerring accuracy.
The island's destruction had naturally divided the battlefield into distinct zones. On Hancock's platform stood the complete Kuja contingent, the evacuating Charlotte family, Vice Admiral Tsuru, Momousagi, and several scattered Navy forces.
Vice Admiral Tsuru's voice cut through the chaos like a blade. "Resume battle formations! Target selection in progress!"
Although their primary mission involved capturing Naruto Uzumaki, the Big Mom Pirates had clearly chosen their side. They were now legitimate enemy combatants. Similarly, Boa Hancock's public abandonment of her Seven Warlord status marked her as a hostile target.
Momousagi struck first. Her sword, Konpira, sang as it left its sheath, the steel gleaming with deadly intent as she launched herself toward the Empress.
Hancock's guards barely had time to raise their bows before their queen broke free from their formation. Her Observation Haki had detected the true danger in that seemingly casual slash. It would have carved through her subordinates like wheat before a scythe.
The collision between Konpira and Hancock's Haki-wrapped leg created a shower of sparks. Despite the tremendous force behind the Empress's Great Perfume Femur, Momousagi's sword held firm without yielding an inch.
This was expected. Momousagi Gion ranked among the Navy's Admiral candidates for good reason. While not yet at Admiral level, her combat prowess far exceeded standard Vice Admirals.
Of course, Garp remained the obvious exception to any ranking system.
"If this is all you have..." Hancock's voice carried a note of mild surprise. She had expected more resistance. Applying additional pressure, she sent Momousagi skidding backward across the fractured ground.
"Then quietly watch from the sidelines!"
The Empress formed a heart with her hands, then extended her fingers like a marksman taking aim. Pink arrows materialized from thin air, raining down across the entire battlefield in a devastating area attack.
"Slave Arrow!"
The technique showed no discrimination between friend and foe. Several Big Mom Pirates caught in the barrage found themselves transformed into stone statues, their faces frozen in expressions of shock and terror.
Vice Admiral Tsuru moved with the fluid grace of someone half her age. Her Wash-Wash Fruit powers activated, and the deadly arrows softened like freshly laundered fabric, fluttering harmlessly to the ground.
"Juice Giant!"
Charlotte Smoothie stepped forward, her body expanding as she absorbed moisture from scattered tea and juice remnants across the battlefield. Now towering at nearly twice her normal height, she swung her oversized sword in a massive arc.
The blade carved through most of the remaining arrows, though a few still found their marks among the combatants.
"Hey! Empress, what are you trying to do?!" Smoothie's voice boomed with anger. Her irritation with Hancock had been simmering since their first encounter. The indiscriminate attack had pushed her over the edge.
"Hmm?" Hancock's response was barely more than a questioning hum, as if genuinely puzzled by the outrage. Her expression remained serenely unconcerned, radiating the absolute confidence of someone who had never doubted their own righteousness.
The Empress embodied every ounce of dominance and willfulness that defined the sea's greatest warriors, amplified by her unshakeable belief in her own perfection.
"Damn it!" Smoothie's hand moved to her sword hilt, but Katakuri's firm grip stopped her.
"Focus on the Navy. Internal fighting serves no purpose here."
His logic was sound. Starting a civil war before dealing with their actual enemies would be beyond foolish.
High above, Garp's relentless bombardment continued. Suddenly, Naruto's figure shot upward like a golden comet, moving so fast he was barely visible to the naked eye.
"Old man! Stop being so unreasonable!"
His knee strike connected with Garp's midsection, a blow that would have folded most men in half. The impact sent the legendary Marine flying backward, his body cutting a trail through the smoke-filled air.
Garp clutched his stomach, taking several seconds to process the pain before regaining his fighting stance. When he looked back at Naruto, that familiar wild grin had returned to his weathered face.
"Hiss... that really hurt, you damn brat!" He launched himself forward again, his fist meeting Naruto's in a collision that sent shockwaves rippling outward.
For these two physical monsters, mere shockwaves barely qualified as annoyances. Only direct, flesh-and-bone contact could inflict meaningful damage.
However, unlike Garp, Naruto possessed the unfair advantage of accelerated healing. The chakra flowing through his system mended bruises and cuts within seconds, while Garp had to rely on his natural durability and decades of conditioning.
This also explained why the black eyes from Hancock's earlier kick had been deliberately maintained. Most likely a calculated sympathy play.
Tsk, dirty tactics.
Just then, the distinctive silhouettes of massive warships appeared on the horizon, their dark forms cutting through the morning mist.
Vice Admiral Tsuru spotted them and allowed herself a small, satisfied smile.
Good. The backup plan was arriving right on schedule.