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The worldwide broadcast was still live, the intensity of the clash simply beyond belief.
This, the world's greatest war, had already raged for ten straight days and ten nights.
During that time, countless people had left, overcome by exhaustion and hunger, only to be replaced by countless more who, having heard the news, rushed to join the spectacle, to witness with their own eyes a grand event they might never see again in their lifetime.
These were the powers that stood at the absolute pinnacle of the sea. Whether it was the pirates—Whitebeard, Arthur, and Redfield—or the Marines—Kong, Sengoku, and Garp—not one of the six was a mere mortal.
Even if there were gaps in strength between them, they weren't so vast as to be insurmountable. Without a truly crushing advantage, a battle that could be decided in an instant was simply impossible.
Victory could only be decided by who ran out of stamina first, or who could no longer withstand the ferocious onslaught of blows.
This was the world's peak. There was no breaking through to a higher level. It was, one had to admit, a rather tragic state of affairs.
This was why Arthur, at such a crucial moment when his Thunder God Pirates were conquering their new territory, had chosen to leave his base of operations instead of holding down the fort. It was all to pursue a "hypothesis" that he didn't even know would succeed.
If he succeeded, he would continue to grow stronger indefinitely. If he failed... with his personality, he might do something so insane that even he couldn't imagine it.
Everything depended on the fruit that was yet to be born. But before he could obtain it, there was still one crucial step to complete, a journey to a certain country in the first half of the Grand Line.
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Floating in the air, Arthur gasped for breath. His stamina was severely depleted. Maintaining his Thunder Emperor form for ten consecutive days had pushed him beyond his limits.
After all, the use of a Devil Fruit ability was fueled by stamina. To maintain the Thunder Emperor form for so long was far more draining than the simple use of Armament Haki that Garp and the others employed.
"Old man Garp... do you remember our fight three years ago?" Arthur panted, but his eyes never left his opponent.
"That time, I thought I was just one step behind you. I never imagined... that I was still underestimating the sea."
The ocean itself was the true, boundless power. It held everything—justice and sin, the strong and the weak. In every corner of the world, at every moment, miracles were taking place.
This was the sea. You could never underestimate the men who roamed upon it.
"BOOM!!"
As the two spoke, the collision in the distance grew more intense than at any other point in the last ten days.
Under the blanket of Arthur's Observation Haki, the duel between Redfield and Kong was reaching its conclusion. The two evenly matched combatants, due to their different levels of endurance, were finally about to have a victor. Kong had clearly suffered a terrifying blow, but Redfield was also deathly pale, his entire body on the verge of collapse.
And Sengoku and Whitebeard—it seemed their fight could end at any moment. The golden light on Sengoku's body flickered in and out, already dim and without luster.
"We can't drag this out any longer! Fleet Admiral Kong and Sengoku aren't getting any support! The Marines are going to be utterly defeated here! If we can't defend our authority, how can we defend justice?! The sea will be lost!"
Garp's anger and anxiety had almost reached their breaking point. But anger and anxiety, aside from making one lose their reason, were completely useless. No matter how he tried to break away from Arthur, it was impossible.
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"From this day forward, I am a Marine! A Marine whose duty it is to maintain the stability of the sea, to execute justice, and to eliminate pirates!"
Garp remembered the events of his youth, the solemn oath he had taken with Sengoku, Tsuru, and Zephyr before the seagull flag upon joining the Marines.
Even after several decades, it was as clear as day, an obsession etched into his very soul, one he could not forget even in death.
The ocean had never been calm, since ancient times. For the common people, a peaceful life was a pipe dream. Setting aside the various natural disasters, the greatest danger was man-made.
The profession of a pirate was the most destabilizing factor on the seas. There was no other. Slaughter. Plunder.
A litany of burning, killing, and theft—a saga of pure evil.
From the time he could remember, he had heard all sorts of reports about pirates. Not once was the news positive. It was always about a place being wiped out, a place being looted clean. Those who truly set out to sea in pursuit of a dream were always in the minority.
And even if they did pursue a dream, they still committed crimes, still made themselves enemies of the World Government. Therefore, pirates would always represent evil. They could never be justice.
Logically, Garp's personality was more suited to being a pirate. After all, he was also a man who pursued freedom. But he had still joined the ranks of the Marines without hesitation. Even later, when he learned the faintest clues about the "D. Clan," he had never regretted becoming a Marine.
Many people joined the Marines, and talented geniuses were constantly emerging. However, only those who could truly stand out were the strong. Garp was one of them.
In his generation, there were also Sengoku, Zephyr, and Tsuru—all of whom would later become the highest echelons of the Marines.
He had constantly fought on the seas, eliminating pirates, struggling on the brink of life and death countless times. For his comrades, for the countless civilians of the sea, he had never once retreated. He had completed almost every mission.
Except for his lifelong rival and friend, the man who was dazzlingly brilliant even among the most powerful pirates—Roger.
In the war-torn years, he had seen too much life and death, seen ordinary people struggling under the sharp blades of pirates, seen Marines slaughtering pirates to gain military merit, seen the ugly side of the World Government, until... he was almost numb.
To experience too much, to see too much, can make a person's emotional perspective grow thin.
Sometimes, he would even wonder if what he was doing was right or wrong. After thinking about it, he would just dismiss it with a laugh and continue on his path.
To have experienced so many major events, yet still be able to maintain a pure heart, to face everything with laughter, calm and composed.
Because there was one sentence, from the time he joined the Marines, that he had never forgotten. He had never forgotten the original intention that he would spend his entire life, even until death, to carry out.
"Though the light may only be a brief moment, and the darkness is eternal... it is because of that single moment of light that the sea has hope! I will spend my life chasing that light, that justice, never bowing my head! JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL!!"
This was the conviction Garp would execute with his entire life. To protect the stability of the sea, justice will prevail. He had used his actions to perfectly interpret this sentence.
The sea will never be at peace? Then in the limited time of his own life, he would make it so.
'Even if I haven't made the world a better place, everything I've done has kept it from becoming worse. That's enough.'
"I am Garp, a Marine!"
His conviction was absolute, his eyes burning with the pure, unwavering spirit of when he first joined the Marines. "THE SEA MUST NOT FALL INTO CHAOS! JUSTICE... WILL PREVAIL!!!"
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