At the first gate of Enies Lobby, the primary defense line of the island, there should have been a large number of ordinary Marine soldiers stationed here. However, today, not a single figure could be seen.
It wasn't because the forces stationed at Enies Lobby had completely abandoned this defense line, but rather because the intensity of the battle raging here was simply too overwhelming for ordinary people to approach.
In the open area, a large man in a white suit with fists gleaming with a metallic black sheen and a young man with black hair wielding two long swords were engaged in an intense, high-speed battle.
Their speed was so incredible that ordinary eyes could only catch fleeting glimpses of their afterimages.
The first gate of Enies Lobby, originally a towering steel door standing dozens of meters high, now lay collapsed on the ground, covered in fist imprints and slash marks.
Without a doubt, this destruction was the work of both Wood and Garp.
Moreover, it wasn't just the first gate that had suffered; the surrounding buildings had also been reduced to ruins, and the once smooth ground was now littered with craters and deep trenches.
Wood, using his extraordinary Observation Haki, narrowly dodged one of Garp's "Fists of Love."
Even though the blackened fist covered in Armament Haki missed its target, it still created a terrifying sonic boom right next to Wood's face.
Although the punch didn't land, the sheer force of it ripped through a few strands of Wood's black hair and generated a powerful shockwave that flattened the ground behind him.
The pressure from the punch formed a vacuum wave that skimmed along the ground before finally crashing into the Sea Train "Rocket Man" that was heading toward the island.
Though there was no direct contact, Garp's punch had somehow managed to completely dent the Rocket Man's train head!
The Sea Train, crafted from special metals by the legendary shipwright Tom to withstand high speeds and potential Sea King attacks, wasn't as tough as Seastone, but it was far stronger than ordinary steel. Yet now, its hardest part—the train's head—was left with a massive fist-shaped dent after Garp's punch.
If Tom had witnessed this scene, he would likely have been stunned. His greatest masterpiece, the pride of his shipbuilding career, had been wrecked by a single punch from Garp!
"Hyakki Yagyō Sword Style: Ittōryū—Kamaitachi!"
Wood, having just dodged Garp's punch, had no time to mourn Tom's masterpiece. He immediately counterattacked, swinging his sword in a deadly arc toward Garp's chest during the brief moment when Garp was retracting his fist.
The blade, wrapped in a fierce gale, shot forward with blinding speed. This attack was among Wood's most powerful, second only to those fueled by the life-force-draining power of the "Heart of God."
Yet, even in the face of such a swift and razor-sharp strike, Garp merely stepped aside using the "Soru" technique, easily dodging the attack.
The wind blade, now missing its target, tore a trench several dozen meters long into the ground before crashing into the gate's outer wall, slicing through a chunk of granite weighing several dozen tons with a cut so smooth it gleamed.
Seeing his slash miss, Garp, as the elder, had initially intended to offer some words of critique. However, his Observation Haki suddenly warned him of imminent danger.
Without any warning, Wood appeared in front of Garp once again, mirroring the exact same movement and footwork that Garp had just used to dodge the previous attack.
Before Garp could even register his surprise, Wood's ghost-like figure had already closed in, the blade in his hand trailing a dazzling streak of light.
"Hyakki Yagyō Sword Style: Encore—Double Kamaitachi!"
Watching this from a distance, Tsuru, who had been observing the battle, stood up in astonishment.
Wood was now employing a complex sword technique that even master swordsmen found difficult to execute—a seamless transition between strikes!
In swordsmanship, even the finest swordsmen experience a moment of rigidity after executing a strike, a vulnerability that can determine the outcome of a battle against a formidable opponent.
Therefore, the best swordsmen aim to minimize this rigidity, closing any potential gaps in their defense.
However, there are some exceptionally gifted swordsmen who adopt a technique-switching method to eliminate the rigidity of their moves entirely.
While similar techniques exist in the world of pirates, in Wood's original world, a well-known sword technique that exemplifies this is the "Swallow Return."
The sword strikes as swiftly as a flying swallow, and even if the first strike doesn't hit, the swordsman can seamlessly deliver a second cut while still in a rigid state.
This was the signature move of the legendary swordsman Sasaki Kojirō—the "Swallow Return"!
At this moment, Wood was using a sword technique of similar difficulty and complexity.
What shocked Tsuru was the sheer difficulty of this technique, one that even many famed swordmasters struggled to master.
Though Wood was using a dual-sword style, which made the technique easier compared to single-sword techniques, it was still beyond the reach of ordinary swordsmen.
The second fierce wind blade shot out with even more power, and with Wood now attacking from Garp's blind spot, there was no chance for him to dodge, even if he could react in time.
The vertical slash, carried by a gale, rapidly expanded as it raced forward, carving a deep trench into the ground and shooting straight toward Garp.
For the first time, Garp's expression shifted as he faced the oncoming attack. His hands, now fully coated in Armament Haki, turned as black as forged iron.
"Bang!"
With no way to avoid the attack, Garp chose to face it head-on. But his method of doing so caught both Wood and Tsuru completely off guard, nearly causing their jaws to drop in shock.
As the massive crescent-shaped green slash bore down on him, Garp clasped his hands together and caught the blade with his bare hands, stopping the sword energy dead in its tracks!
The violent winds screeched and sparks flew as Garp's Haki-coated hands clashed with the wind blade.
The impact was so great that Garp's feet sank deep into the ground beneath him.
"Not bad, kid. You said earlier that you were just going to cooperate with the act, but this slash had enough power to actually take me down," Garp said, his words carrying a mix of jest and admiration.
However, his expression betrayed the fact that he was still holding back.
Wood, who had expected his slash to at least injure Garp, watched in disbelief as Garp, with a casual expression, crushed the attack into countless fragments with his bare hands.
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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 300+ at pat_reon.com/Betek.