198 With the Justice System

"Joint Technique—Heavenly Buddha Meteor—!!!"

A furious roar thundered across the heavens!

High above the sky, Sengoku, transformed into a golden Buddha, gathered a terrifying amount of energy between his palms.

Standing atop the Buddha's head, Garp's fists surged with an endless tide of jet-black Haki.

"Boom—!"

Garp threw a punch. Sengoku pushed his palm forward.

"Zzzla—!"

The golden Buddha's palm and the dark, raging force of Garp's punch intertwined violently in midair.

Finally...

Above the sky's dome, an enormous dark-golden palm appeared, vast enough to blot out the sun!

It carried the majesty of divine judgment as it came crashing down toward the tiny, pure-white battleship below!

"Hmm...?"

On the deck of the pure-white battleship, Zephyr slung the unconscious Figarland Shamrock over one shoulder.

He looked up at the descending Buddha palm—so immense it could flatten an island—and grinned.

"Those two old fools..."

"Are having way too much fun!"

With a low murmur, Zephyr's figure vanished from where he stood.

"Dammit!!!"

On the other side of the deck, Rimoshifu Killingham and Shepherd Sommers were horrified to the core.

They could feel it clearly, that giant palm was the fusion of two supreme Conqueror's Haki auras!

With such Haki... their so-called immortal bodies didn't stand a chance!

"Shepherd!"

Rimoshifu Killingham roared toward the sky, his body erupting in blinding lightning.

"Raaaagh—!!!"

In an instant, he transformed into a mythical beast—a horned creature with black scales and thunder coursing over its body, its power overwhelming!

"Got it!"

A vicious glint flashed through Shepherd's eyes.

He plunged both hands into the deck, and countless thick thorny vines burst through the wood, coiling tightly around Rimoshifu Killingham.

"Thorn Armament!"

"Shhhhk—!"

The feral vines instantly spread over Rimoshifu Killingham's body, forming a massive, grotesque armor of living thorns!

"Raaagh—!"

"Break... it... apart!!!"

With a thunderous roar, Rimoshifu Killingham turned into a streak of black lightning, soaring upward to meet the descending Buddha palm head-on!

"Boom—Rumble—!!!"

The black lightning clashed with the golden palm in midair!

"!!!"

The proud mythical beast didn't even last a heartbeat, the instant it touched the golden palm, it and its thorny armor were utterly annihilated.

The golden palm's speed didn't falter in the slightest as it continued downward, slamming into the pure-white battleship.

"Crack—"

The ship let out a pitiful groan before being crushed completely into dust.

Then, the palm pressed deep into the sea.

"Whumm—"

The ocean around it sank violently!

A massive handprint appeared on the surface of the sea, unfathomably deep!

Seconds later...

"Splaaashhh—!!!"

The displaced seawater surged back like a broken dam!

"Whooosh—"

After a long while, the sea finally calmed.

The ship that represented the World Government, along with everyone aboard, had vanished without a trace.

Only a few scattered planks floated weakly upon the water.

"Thud—"

"Thud—"

Sengoku and Garp descended from the sky, landing steadily on the harbor.

"Whoosh—"

Zephyr appeared beside them, still carrying the unconscious Figarland Shamrock.

"Whew—"

Garp cracked his neck, the sound crisp and satisfying.

"Puahahahaha—!"

"That was refreshing!"

"Hmph—"

Sengoku contentedly pulled out a bag of rice crackers.

"Indeed... refreshing."

"It's been ages since I've beaten someone up this thoroughly!"

He looked at Zephyr.

"Zephyr, how're you feeling?"

"Good!"

Zephyr clenched his fists, feeling the energy surging within him.

"Better than ever!"

He paused, then frowned slightly, tossing Figarland Shamrock onto the ground.

"But... the Knights of God have immortal bodies?"

Even unconscious, he could sense the man's life force stubbornly knitting his injuries back together.

"Immortal?"

Sengoku scoffed.

"There's no such thing as true immortality in this world!"

"Conqueror's Haki—especially when refined to its peak—can be imbued into attacks as a binding will. That form of advanced Haki completely suppresses those relying on special abilities for 'immortality.'"

"The stronger the Conqueror's Haki, the greater the suppression."

"Those two Knights of God might've been strong, but their willpower wasn't nearly enough."

"Under the combined might of my and Garp's Conqueror's Haki, their bodies and wills were obliterated together!"

"I see..."

Zephyr nodded, the pieces falling into place.

No wonder he hadn't managed to deal any real damage to Figarland Shamrock—it was all because of Conqueror's Haki...

"Hmm?"

Just then, Garp, who had been picking his nose nearby, suddenly made a noise of surprise.

His gaze landed on the unconscious Figarland Shamrock lying on the ground.

That handsome face... that red hair...

"This guy..."

Garp scratched his head with a puzzled look.

"Isn't he that Shanks brat?"

"..."

Sengoku and Zephyr both turned toward Figarland Shamrock' face.

Now that Garp mentioned it, they saw it too, the resemblance to Red-Haired Shanks was uncanny, at least seventy to eighty percent alike.

"No, not him."

Sengoku shook his head.

He dug into the depths of his memory and spoke slowly.

"I once heard... that the Figarland family, one of the Celestial Dragon noble houses in Mary Geoise, had twin children."

"And the current head of the Figarland family is none other than the Supreme Commander of the Knights of God—Saint Figarland Garling!"

"When Shanks was very young, he disappeared during the God Valley Incident, and Roger picked him up afterward."

"So, this one here should be his twin brother."

"Oh?"

Garp's eyes widened.

"So you're saying... the Figarland family head's sons—"

"One got sliced up by that Hawke kid, and the other just got wrecked by us!"

"That old bastard Garling... guess he's out of heirs, huh?!"

"Hahaha!"

Sengoku let out a deep laugh.

"Garp, when you put it that way, you're absolutely right!"

"..."

Standing beside them, Zephyr couldn't help but smile at his two old comrades' banter.

Just then—

"Ugh..."

Figarland Shamrock let out a pained groan, his eyelids trembling—he was about to regain consciousness.

"Don't rush."

Zephyr raised a hand, stopping Garp just as he was about to smash the man with a fist.

The next second, Zephyr struck.

His punch pierced straight through Figarland Shamrock' chest again.

"..."

Figarland Shamrock' barely-awakened eyes widened in shock before the light faded from them once more.

"Whumm—"

Zephyr slowly withdrew his fist and spread his fingers, palm up.

The newly absorbed life energy gathered rapidly in his palm, condensing into two blood-red droplets, glimmering like crimson diamonds.

"Whoosh—"

With a wave of his arm, the droplets shot out as twin streaks of light, one each to Garp and Sengoku.

"..."

The two exchanged glances, then caught them without hesitation.

The instant the droplets touched their skin, they were absorbed.

A warm current surged through their bodies, the fatigue from their massive joint attack vanished completely!

"Haha!"

Zephyr let out a hearty laugh.

"My Mythical Zoan still has plenty of potential to develop!"

"But this kid's too weak—didn't get much out of him."

"Guess I'll need a stronger blood bag next time!"

"..."

In Zephyr's mind, five lofty silhouettes appeared, the rulers of the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.

"I think... the highest powers of the World Government—"

"—would make excellent choices!"