Chapter 198: Impermanence of All Things
Although Garp was slightly at a disadvantage against Hades in aerial combat, he wasn't much weaker.
Garp and Hades collided several times.
Their fists collided.
Terrifying impacts centered around the two of them, stirring up Giant Waves in all directions.
From the moment he attacked, Garp unleashed a fierce, storm-like offensive.
He knew Hades's strength, especially his combat skills that had reached their peak, and his nearly supernatural reflexes.
"Hmph!"
Facing Garp, Hades let out a cold snort.
A punch coated in Death Energy, while dodging Garp's attack, struck towards Garp's chin at a strange angle.
Garp blocked with a single arm.
His powerful Haki resisted Hades's Death Energy, but in the face of the Death Energy's consumption effect, his Haki was inevitably rapidly depleted.
Although Hades didn't frequently use his ability, his development of the Death-Death Fruit was becoming increasingly terrifying.
Especially the Haki consumption; Garp could feel it firsthand.
If he were to truly engage in a great battle with Hades, his Haki would be exhausted in less than three hours.
This was absolutely a terrifying speed.
And Hades was definitely a terrifying enemy.
Both of them had mastered the Haki Internal Destruction Technique.
This point was undefendable.
However, Hades had a greater advantage.
The Death-Death Fruit's ability could nullify any strength.
Garp's Haki was significantly weakened in the first instant.
What remained was nothing compared to Hades's terrifying physique and vitality.
Hades went all out.
He also wanted to see who was stronger between himself and Garp.
The youngest Sea Emperor of the Future, "Red-Hair" Shanks, became a Sea Emperor when he was only thirty-three years old.
Clearly, Hades at the same age was even stronger.
Was he weaker than a thirty-three-year-old Shanks now?
That was impossible.
Hades was only stronger, not weaker!
In fact, in the great battle against Rocks two years ago, Hades was the absolute main combatant.
In the current Rocks Pirates, Hades was confident that he was either second or third in strength.
From Impel Down came "Violence King" Kosa, who was even more terrifying after his transformation.
He didn't know who was stronger between himself and Kosa, as they hadn't truly tested it.
"Secret Technique: Impermanence of All Things!"
Hades's gaze turned cold as he entered his true combat stance.
A Conqueror's Domain formed by Conqueror's Haki, and a Death Domain formed by Death Energy.
Within this Domain, Garp not only suffered the dual oppression of body and spirit from the Conqueror's Haki, but also the consumption of his Haki by the boundless Death Energy.
His body's reflexes reached their peak, combined with the Haki interference, allowing him to evade Garp by a step every time and launch a counterattack in an instant.
The intangible and formless influence made Garp feel constrained in everything he did, as if he were in another space, where everything was repelling him.
In a deity-like posture, Hades's attacks continuously struck, leaving Garp only able to passively resist.
Even the most basic defense was interfered with, allowing Hades to directly hit his body.
Impermanence of All Things!
It was Hades's Body Technique Secret Technique.
It was also Hades's culmination of his combat system.
A perfect combination of Three-Color Haki, Body Technique, and Devil Fruit ability.
In this stance, in a sense, Hades was invincible, completely invincible in all aspects.
No one was Hades's opponent.
The only one who could break this situation was Rocks D.
Xebec, by breaking Hades's system with absolute strength.
However, with Hades's further growth, could Rocks still break it?
The only drawback was that the Haki consumption speed would accelerate.
With Hades's powerful physique, he could completely sustain the consumption of his combat.
Moreover, if it really came down to consumption, under the Death-Death Fruit's ability, the opponent's Haki consumption speed would only be faster.
This was Hades's absolute confidence: invincible in one-on-one combat!
Garp undoubtedly met his match.
With his powerful attainment in body technique, he was even clearer on how terrifying Hades's stance was.
Turning combat completely into instinct, whether dodging or attacking, there was not the slightest hesitation, with perfect transitions, making the best decisions.
If he relaxed even slightly, he would face a continuous, rain-like barrage of strikes.
The rhythm of the battle became faster and faster, and Garp's pressure grew greater, being completely under suppression.
He wanted to break this situation with his powerful strength, but Hades gave him no opportunity.
Because he didn't know when Hades would suddenly hit him with an "elbow strike," or even continuous strikes on several body parts, which he couldn't evade even if he wanted to.
In most cases, he could only rely on Haki for defense, and the Haki consumption speed was constantly accelerating.
Despite this situation, Garp still didn't show weakness.
Under such pressure, his blood was boiling.
His unyielding, tenacious will only made him grow stronger with each setback.
But this couldn't change his current dangerous situation; aerial combat completely restricted him.
Now, he could barely move in the air.
The instant he used Moonwalk, it was enough for Hades to hit him several times with punches.
Less than an hour into the battle, Garp was already covered in injuries.
His black suit was soaked with blood, having been torn and lost somewhere during the combat.
During this process, Garp had certainly hit Hades, but the price paid was completely disproportionate to the gain.
The further the battle progressed, the more Hades handled it with ease.
As for Garp, relying on his strong will, he was still persisting, but under the continuous barrage of strikes, his whole body's injuries and intense pain caused his movements to become somewhat distorted.
A Quetzalcoatlus streaked across the sky, and a figure stood on its back.
"Great Buddha Shockwave!"
The Golden Body Great Buddha descending from the sky, its golden giant palm erupted with terrifying impact, twisting the air with terrifying fluctuations.
It struck the Great Sea, causing the Sea Surface within a thousand meters around it to explode.
This palm strike was naturally aimed at Hades, but Garp was also within its range, which was unavoidable.
Hades evaded immediately, knowing he couldn't completely defeat Garp and having no intention of enduring Sengoku's nearly full-power strike.
As for Garp, after escaping Hades's tormenting domain, he actually breathed a sigh of relief.
Immediately after, he faced Sengoku's powerful impact.
This move could injure him, but it couldn't threaten his life.
After being struck into the Great Sea, Garp quickly swam to the Sea Surface.
Using Moonwalk, he jumped onto the Army General "The Storm Dragon" who was coming with the momentum.
"Garp."
Looking at Garp's miserable appearance, Sengoku saw Garp like this for the first time.
Then looking at the cold-faced "Pluto" Hades, who seemed completely unharmed, the two formed a stark contrast.
God knows what kind of battle he had just experienced, which also indirectly reflected Hades's terrifying nature.
Sengoku was well aware of Garp's strength.
"Stop talking, hurry and leave."
"The Storm Dragon" urged, spreading its wings and quickly escaping.
It was too dangerous.
From Hades, he felt a fatal threat.
Compared to many years ago, Hades was even more terrifying.
If they were targeted by "Golden Lion" Shiki again, they wouldn't be able to escape even if they wanted to.
(end of chapter)