Chapter 784 - 783: The Pinnacle of Pirates and the Marines

The absolute pinnacle of Observation Haki involves pushing one’s predictive and analytical capabilities to the absolute limit, reaching a point where one can briefly peer into the future.

The absolute pinnacle of Armament Haki, however, was something Sengoku had only ever witnessed from a single person: Garp.

By assimilating Armament Haki directly with the body, the signature black coating on the skin surface completely fades away, looking as though an invisible suit of armor has been draped over the user. Its sheer hardness goes without saying, and it can even actively mend and repair the user’s physical form.

Sengoku didn’t know what it looked like when other people pushed their Haki to the absolute peak, but this was what it meant for Garp.

Yet, just as Whitebeard’s reliance on the Tremor-Tremor Fruit in his twilight years severely overextended his remaining life force, Garp’s utilization of this peak Armament Haki was no different, he was actively burning through his own lifespan.

So strong...

At this moment, the exact same thought surfaced simultaneously in the hearts of everyone watching the broadcast. Whether it was directed at Alucard or at Garp, those two words were the only fitting assessment.

Clang—!

A bone-chilling screech of metal striking metal echoed out. Looking through the dust, Impaler Alucard could be seen wielding his specialized armament, the Impaling Castle, clashing head-on with Garp’s iron fist. The massive eruption of sparks from the collision instantly ignited the shattered, broken trees scattered around them.

Yet, because the raw kinetic shockwaves rippling from the two combatants were so violent, the newly kindled flames were instantly snuffed out by the ensuing gale in the very next fraction of a second.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Fists and spear clashed at a velocity so extreme that their movements blurred past human perception. All the audience could see were two flashes of shadowy light, one gold, one white, repeatedly colliding, tearing apart, smashing back together, and separating once more in midair.

Right then, Alucard’s assault abruptly ground to a halt. Garp had clamped his bare hand firmly around the tip of the Impaling Castle spearhead.

"This is the end for you!"

Garp’s other hand erupted with cataclysmic force, unleashing an absolute power capable of easily shattering mountains as he aimed a heavy punch directly at Alucard’s forehead. From his current angle, landing a clean hit on the heart was too difficult.

Garp was well aware that no matter how powerful his techniques or how devastating his strength, failing to strike the heart meant he could never inflict true damage upon Alucard.

But the underlying purpose of this battle had never been to defeat Alucard. Every single Marine knew that Garp could not win.

The sole reason he was fighting this suicidal battle was to display his personal justice, the Navy’s justice, to the entire world, and to awaken the dormant sense of righteousness within the hearts of ordinary civilians who had quietly endured the tyranny of pirates.

Boom—!!!

Carrying a momentum grand enough to swallow mountains and rivers, Garp’s fist smashed brutally into Alucard’s skull. The concurrent shockwave detonated an entire mountain peak of Mount Corvo.

In a single instant, the towering, jagged ridge was ground down into a perfectly flat plain, leaving countless spectators gaping in utter disbelief.

The Hero of the Navy... was terrifyingly strong.

Turning their eyes back to Alucard, many assumed his skull and body would have been obliterated just like the mountain behind him. However, what actually happened left everyone stunned.

Alucard’s forehead had indeed taken a direct hit from Garp’s fist. A thin trail of fresh blood slowly leaked down, staining the back of Garp’s hand.

"Heh... hehehehe... Truly spectacular, Garp."

Alucard’s bangs draped over his face. To the utter horror of the global audience, the pool of blood on the ground began to surge upward like a massive tidal wave.

Roar—!!!

The crimson tide climbed to a height of over a dozen meters before crashing down. As if by a twist of dark magic, thousands of knights clad in silver armor and mounted on black warhorses materialized out of thin air across the battlefield.

Yet, every single one of them was shrouded in a bloody mist, their eyes glowing a sinister, piercing red. These were clearly not living men, they were Alucard’s puppets.

The Impaler’s Crusade!

Alucard suddenly leaped backward, landing atop a stone platform over ten meters high. Looking down at Garp from his elevated vantage point, a look of pure, unbridled fanaticism broke across his face for the very first time beneath his usual, frigid Impaler demeanor. "Now then, the battle has only just begun! HURRY! HURRY! HURRY! HURRY! HURRY!"

He’s a monster...

Seeing the fracture wounds Garp had inflicted on Alucard’s skull heal completely the very instant he landed on the stone platform, absolute despair gripped the audience, especially the Marines.

If even Vice Admiral Garp’s best efforts yielded this result, what on earth were they supposed to do?

Confronted by this harrowing sight, Garp himself showed no trace of distress. He simply reached into his coat, fumbling around for a long while before pulling out a horribly squished, battered donut. Popping it into his mouth, he mumbled, "Good thing there was still one left."

Alucard didn’t launch an immediate attack either, calmly waiting for Garp to swallow the donut down.

Garp patted his stomach. "Alright! My energy’s fully recharged."

The moment the words left his mouth, Garp leaped straight into the midst of the Impaler’s Crusade. His twin iron fists swung wildly in all directions. In an instant, the battle cries of the knights and the shrill neighing of the warhorses intertwined, composing a brand-new symphony of chaotic warfare.

The second Garp cleared out a massive cluster of enemies, countless more knights rushed forward on horseback, thrusting their long spears straight at him.

"Galaxy Impact!"

Garp flexed his arms, ignoring the spearheads piercing into his body. In the next split second, a shockwave rippled out from his entire frame, violently bending and twisting the lances into useless scraps of metal.

Neigh—!

The warhorses brayed and the knights bellowed. They possessed no fear, refusing to back down even slightly in the face of Garp’s overwhelming power. Their only directive was to kill, to keep slaughtering relentlessly.

Meanwhile, in the waters roughly fifty nautical miles away from Foosha Village, the Straw Hat Pirates’ Thousand Sunny was rapidly drawing near.

Luffy and the others had taken Zoro’s advice to split their forces into two paths. One team would infiltrate the Big Mom Pirates to rescue the abducted Sanji, while the other would race back to the East Blue to save Garp.

They had all pooled their strength together for this. Though they honestly didn’t know if their current strength would be enough to serve as meaningful reinforcements...

Among the group heading back to the East Blue were Luffy, Franky, Brook, and Usopp.

The remaining crew members were led by Zoro, tasked with infiltrating the Big Mom Pirates. After all, they couldn’t afford to place both of their primary elite combatants on the exact same mission. Ultimately, they had decided to place Zoro on the team entering Big Mom’s territory.

"Franky! How much longer until we get there?!" Luffy shouted impatiently, sitting atop the Sunny’s figurehead.

"We’re pushing the engines to their absolute limits right now! Half an hour is more than enough to reach Foosha Village!" Franky shouted back.

"Alright! Faster, faster!"