Whitebeard froze for an instant. Start what...?
And then—
From the distance, a thunderous rumble split the air. Massive walls burst from the ground, rising like fortress ramparts, hemming in his sons upon the frozen sea.
From these walls, rows of cannon muzzles slid out, spitting fire as they unleashed a storm of shells.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM...
The cannonade shook the heavens.
Pirates screamed as explosions ripped through their ranks, hurling bodies into the sky. Those who tried to break the encirclement were mercilessly cut down by concentrated fire.
In mere minutes, a thousand pirates had fallen upon the ice.
Whitebeard's eyes flared with fury. He roared at Sengoku:
"Sengoku, you bastard!!!"
Enraged beyond reason, he clenched both fists and smashed them into the air itself.
CRACK—KRAK!
The world groaned. The shockwaves blasted Sengoku and Akainu away, sending them tumbling.
Neither paid it any mind—both stared aghast at the devastation.
Marineford itself... had been shattered.
The land broke in jagged pieces, some rising like mountains, others sinking deep. Tidal waves towered thousands of meters, others collapsed into chasms.
Marines too slow to escape were swallowed whole, their screams drowned in the thunder of a world breaking apart.
"H-how... how could this be!?"
Cold sweat dripped down Sengoku's brow.
He had prepared for this execution meticulously, planning for every counter from Whitebeard's crew.
Even the possibility of outside interference: the Spade Pirates with Rayleigh, the Revolutionary Army with Dragon, even the Red-Haired Pirates...
He had prepared for them all.
But he had not prepared for this—for Whitebeard, somehow restored, if not to youth, then to terrifying vigor.
The world's strongest man... wielder of the Gura Gura no Mi, a devil fruit that could destroy the world itself.
The only reason the New World was left to its chaos was because Whitebeard's presence there deterred all.
"Oars!!!"
Whitebeard's roar shook the ice.
And from beneath, the frozen sea cracked and groaned.
With a resounding boom, a giant shadow rose—blotting out the sun.
The Marines' panic reached a fever pitch.
"Little Oars Jr.!"
"That monster is here too!"
"He's taller than even our giant vice admirals..."
The massive demon strode across the ice, each step quaking the sea.
Only a few more paces, and Marineford's encirclement would be torn apart.
Sengoku's face darkened. He snapped his head toward Garp.
"Garp! You're not going to move yet!?"
There sat Garp, slouched against a wall, eyes closed as if still dazed from Whitebeard's earlier blow.
At Sengoku's voice, his hand twitched. But still, he did not rise.
"Damn it..." Sengoku cursed through gritted teeth. His eyes flicked across the battlefield—
Akainu, beaten and bloodied, pummeled by Whitebeard.
Aokiji and Kizaru, tangled with the pirate captains.
The Seven Warlords... mostly sitting idle.
Fury surged in Sengoku's chest. In his plans, even without Garp, the Marines would annihilate Whitebeard's crew.
But now, that certainty was crumbling.
"World Government..."
He called for a Marine soldier.
Moments later—
On the execution platform, Luffy blinked in shock, his wrists suddenly free of seastone shackles.
"What the—!?"
He didn't know how, but joy exploded in his chest. He bolted, sprinting full-speed away.
"Garp!!" Sengoku's voice thundered, his face black with rage.
"I've released the boy. He'll be taken to the port—there's a warship waiting to get him out. Now will you move!?"
At that, Garp's eyes snapped open. In a blur, he appeared at Sengoku's side, laughing heartily.
"Sengoku, what are you babbling about? I was knocked out cold just now, wasn't I?"
Sengoku's veins bulged with the urge to curse him. Grinding his teeth, he spat:
"Enough nonsense. Letting that boy go already betrayed my justice. But you—stop Whitebeard! If he continues, Marineford itself will be reduced to rubble!"
"I know."
Garp's face turned grim.
Letting Luffy escape had torn at him, violating his own justice. He would make amends... here.
"Whitebeard... Edward Newgate!!"
His roar split the air. Fist clenched, his arm hardened pitch-black with Busoshoku Haki. With a stomp, his body launched forward like a cannon.
"Garp!?"
Whitebeard's eyes narrowed.
He could pummel Sengoku, but Garp was another matter entirely.
The Hero of the Marines... his might was unmatched, a true titan even among titans.
Whitebeard clenched his fist.
"Gura Gura: Kūshin!!! (Quake: Shockwave!!!)"
Garp met him, fist surging down.
"Gangbone Meteor!!!"
Their fists collided—
DOOOOM!!!
The sky split. The sea raged. Light consumed the battlefield as if the sun itself had exploded.
Hurricane winds hurled Marines like rag dolls. The earth splintered with endless cracks.
And in that clash... they were equals.
The field erupted with cheers.
"Hero Garp!!!"
"As expected of Garp-san!!!"
"Garp, the man who captured the Pirate King Roger! Whitebeard is nothing compared to him!!!"
(End of Chapter)
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