149 The forces retreat. (1/2)

Garp stared silently at the figure before him, his teeth gritting and his coat swaying in the wind. He had failed.

He could not possibly expect Whitebeard to take this affront lying down, maybe, if he was not seen here then it might have been a different scenario all together, but as things stood, a war with the strongest man in the world seemed almost inevitable.

With a small growl he raced forward towards the man before him his hands colouring a menacing black as it dove forward.

He fought with the simplest of movements, where others would use agility and tactics he punched, where others used weapons, he punched. Suffice to say, that though he did not know much more than the simplest of punches the strength behind them still terrified combatants all over the world.

A sudden pressure erupted around his shoulders as he neared the pirate, so stifling that it gave him a truly endless illusion of strength. His foe stood still two daggers at the ready as the winds began to pick up.

Instantly the various other fighters stared surprised, their collisions stalling for a moment as the felt the truly momentous presence.

A wave of it flowed outwards, everyone within its range instantly felt a primal fear crawl through their spine. The water rippled as a mad howl rose from the copse of trees that bounded the battle.

Instantly the ship balked, its rails yowling in a phantom of pain as everyone below the rank of commodore instantly fell unconscious. Garp stared agape in surprise as he felt the aura.

At the distance that existed between the naval vessel and the sandy beach only a handful of New World pirates would be able to have that kind of an effect!

Garp instantly advanced, his speed almost doubling as he pushed his fist downward, the draft of displaced wind shrieking alongside the yowling copse.

A minute twitch ran through the pirate's body as he leaned backwards twisting around with a fatal level of flexibility to ram his heel into the advancing Vice Admiral's temple. He had gotten faster!

***

I stared silently as my body worked. Around me everything had faded save for the sole marine that I fought against.

The colour from the world had already receded alongside the unnecessary senses of taste and hearing. I had streamlined what my body would process and by passed the neural network that ran through the length of my lanky body.

Now my limbs moved at the direction of the Observation fed interface within my mind, and while my body worked up a storm of steam with muscles gaining micro tears with the undulating heat I grew stronger.

This was just like the eight inner gates, and as I was, I could sense the threshold. I would be unable to use that move too many times anytime soon, but it would be enough.

As his fists began to rain towards me, I dodged. With a small displacement, I began to dance, a phantom of swerves and flash steps I circled the man, a phantom calm settling into my stomach.

The momentum in my movement began to build as time around me slowed to a snail's crawl. With a purposed twitch, my daggers arose beside me already coated and ready for some bloodletting.

As I shot forward all the momentum that I had gathered moved with me, and while the wind that had accompanied the marine Vice admiral had only shrieked, the ones that followed me roared.

A thin layer of smoke began to rise from the blade's metallic surface.

Garp gazed aghast as he was blindsided, the figure that he had been pummelling into the ground had suddenly arisen from beside him!