If he lost to Garp, he'd have to call Klein—who was a year younger—"big bro"!
If he really said it…
He'd never be able to lift his head in front of Klein again for the rest of his life.
'Absolutely can't lose!' Sengoku kept repeating to himself.
From a distance, Klein grinned and shouted, "Sengoku, get ready to call me big bro!"
"Big bro's gonna look out for you from now on!"
"..." Sengoku's face darkened. Hearing Klein's cocky tone made a fire swell in his gut.
He redirected that fire toward the man before him. "Garp—come at me!"
Whoosh—
Garp moved first, pouncing like a tiger as he blitzed the dozen meters between them in a blink.
His fist roared down toward Sengoku.
That hard, ferocious punch whipped up a gale that howled across the yard!
Huff—
Already set in stance, Sengoku crossed his forearms and blocked.
"Tekkai!"
Thud!
The collision boomed dully.
The heavy force drove Sengoku skidding back several meters.
His eyes flashed; numbness tingled up his forearms. 'Such power—this guy's punches got this much stronger in just one month!?'
Seizing momentum with the opening blow, Garp bared his teeth. "Hahaha—Sengoku, let's see how many of these you can block."
He lunged in with a long stride, thick arms swelling with corded muscle.
Sengoku's burly frame seemed to thin to a cicada's wing as he twisted at an eerie angle—
Skimming past Garp's arm to slip the punch by a hair.
Boom—
Crash—
An explosive crack burst by Sengoku's ear as Garp's fist blasted straight through the derelict ship's gangway behind him, punching a gaping hole.
Half his forearm sank into the planks.
Wood chips flew!
'Chance!'
Sengoku rotated from the hips; his solid, powerful legs unleashed a vicious burst of power—
A whip-kick snapped toward Garp's head.
The air popped as it split!
That kick hit like a strongman hurling a lance—unyielding and fierce.
Garp raised his arm. "Tekkai!"
Wham—
The heavy kick landed like it struck a steel plate.
Two, three exchanges—everything happened in a flash, making Zephyr's eyes glitter as he watched, fists unconsciously clenching with tension.
Crack—
Klein propped his cheek with one hand, sitting cross-legged. With the other he dug into a snack bag for senbei, crunch-crunch. "Meh—not exciting enough. You haven't even fully mastered Rokushiki yet!"
Half an hour crawled by. His eyelids were practically fighting each other.
"Iron Fist!"
Garp's roar rang like a bell, jolting Klein awake; Klein's eyes lit up.
The sandbag-sized fist ripped a sonic pop from the air.
Bang—
Fists smashed; Sengoku shot backward and slammed into the ship wreckage.
A pit cratered in the gangway; the planking split with a web of cracks.
Having partially mastered his Iron Fist, Garp's punching power was freakish.
The lumps on his head weren't for nothing.
"Hahaha—Sengoku, give up. You're no match for me!" Garp grinned like he already had it in the bag.
Practically popping champagne at halftime.
Blood traced from the corner of Sengoku's mouth. His palm—his whole arm—went numb. "Koff, koff—"
"Garp, we're not done. I won't lose. I can't lose!"
"Don't think you can beat me like this!"
Biting back blood, the world around him fell quiet. Only his heart thundered faster and faster, like an engine revving—thump-thump-thump-thump.
If he lost, he'd not only be calling Klein "big bro"—he'd also lose completely to his brother-in-arms, Garp.
Unacceptable!
Thump—thump—
His heartbeat hammered harder. Sengoku raised his head; a sharp light burst in his eyes. His legs exploded with force and he shot out like an arrow from the string.
His fist dragged a gusting shockwave.
"Still not giving up?" Garp's brow creased. "Then I'll beat you with the Iron Fist of Love!"
Fist out!
Like a ramming battering ram, it answered Sengoku's charge head-on.
Boom—
Their fists collided, kicking up visible ripples in the air. Dust and grit around them rippled away in waves.
Suddenly—
Sengoku staggered back several steps again. Garp split a wide grin. "Pointless. Klein's Fistbone packs terrifying power!"
"This style was born for me. What are you beating me with?"
Numbness crept up Sengoku's arm again. The skin over his knuckles split, bleeding freely. "No—I can't lose!"
"I am not calling a kid younger than me 'big bro'!"
"Damn—"
Seeing that, Klein dropped his snack bag and bellowed at Garp, "Idiot! Ever heard the saying 'villains die of talking too much'!?"
"What are you chatting for, Garp—finish him!!"
He could tell something was off—Sengoku's aura was sharpening, condensing.
Don't tell me…
He's about to trigger the flashback power-up?!
"Garp—" Sengoku's eyes went wide. "I've always treated you as my rival. I won't be left in your dust!"
"Come!"
Garp frowned, gaze flicking to Sengoku's bleeding knuckles. "Hey, Sengoku, keep this up and your fists—your arm—won't hold."
Off to the side, Zephyr's face pinched with worry. He couldn't hold back a shout: "You two—stop already!"
"Just concede! We're all friends. There's no need… no need to risk your lives over a spar!"
He really couldn't bear to watch his old comrades beat each other bloody.
This…
This was supposed to be a friendly match.
"Heh—" Sengoku's lip curled. "A real man doesn't need pity!"
He swallowed the pain and numbness in his arms and hurled his fist.
"Tekkai!"
To Garp's surprise, his "strongest illusion," Tekkai, got blown back several steps by Sengoku's punch.
"Pff—"
Garp spat a mouthful of blood, disbelief flashing across his face.
That punch had been shockingly strong.
Even Tekkai couldn't blunt it.
Klein panicked, springing to his feet. "Who told you to use Tekkai!?"
"Attack! Attack!!"
Now he was truly anxious. If arrogance and carelessness cost him this bet…
He'd never forgive that bastard Garp!
'Listen to me—big bro's been around the block.'
The so-called "strongest illusion," Tekkai—you just can't trust it!
Right now he was basically a raging sideline coach, desperate to sub himself in—
To take Sengoku down!!
Injured, Garp snapped back to focus—and laughed instead of getting mad. "Hahaha—Sengoku, that punch had bite!"
"But compared to Fistbone, it's still way off!!"
"Fistbone: Impact!"
A weakened version!
At present, Garp hadn't awakened Conqueror's Haki, and he hadn't even mastered Armament Haki.
So this "Fistbone: Impact" was worlds away from the complete version.
Even so—
His massive fist tore the air with a crackling boom.
The momentum was terrifying!
"Tekkai!!"
This time, Sengoku was the one to pop the "strongest illusion." He didn't trust a straight counter at all.