"Let who go?"
Tsuru blinked slowly. In her mind, countless strands of intelligence flashed past like streaks of light.
She raised a finger and pointed toward the massive fleet in the distance, a force radiating chaos and brutality.
"The Beasts Pirates. Led by Kaido. Roughly twenty thousand strong, with a large number of Devil Fruit users. An undisputed war monstrosity."
Her finger shifted, indicating the Red Force.
"The Red-Haired Pirates. Small in number, but every member is elite. Their officers are evenly matched in strength. They are known as the most balanced, ironclad Emperor crew."
She paused, her tone subtly changing.
"But Garp…"
"The Whitebeard Pirates came out in full force. Fifty thousand elite fighters. Enough to let every soldier at Headquarters experience what real war looks like."
"But what about the Navy's top-tier combat power?"
"Whitebeard is old. He's sick."
"Among his commanders, aside from the Phoenix, no one can truly carry the weight."
She looked at Garp, her voice calm but mercilessly precise.
"Do you really think a single Whitebeard Pirates crew is enough to even warm up Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, and that little monster Hawk?"
Tsuru's voice was light, yet it cut straight to the heart of the battlefield.
"They definitely aren't done playing yet."
"..."
Garp's breathing hitched for a moment.
An aging Whitebeard alone was not enough to show the world the Navy's resolve to crush everything in its path.
Then add one more.
Add a crew in its prime, at the peak of its power, the most balanced iron wall among the Four Emperors.
Before the eyes of the entire world, bury two Emperors of the sea, along with their fleets, at Marineford.
Use the heads of one old Emperor and one young Emperor to crown the Navy's new era with the grandest coronation imaginable.
"So that's it…"
Garp grinned, a trace of mischief flashing across his face.
His gaze crossed the rolling waves and settled on the bow of the Red Force.
That man, Shanks, was watching from afar with a grave expression. His aura was still slightly unstable from the recent clash.
If he kept Red-Hair pinned here, the kid might not die.
But if he let him reach Marineford, death was guaranteed.
No suspense. No miracle. Only death.
Sooner or later, he would die anyway, but…
Garp's peripheral vision flicked backward.
There, Luffy was clutching the straw hat on his head. The crisp Navy uniform he wore made him feel unbearably uncomfortable, almost painful to look at.
Luffy kept his head lowered, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. His conflicted expression was twisted to the extreme.
He did not dare look at the man who had given him that hat and ignited his dream.
Garp snorted coldly.
Go on, Red-Hair brat. Go to Headquarters and die.
Consider it the price you pay for leading my grandson down the path of piracy.
He nodded heavily toward Tsuru.
Tsuru read the resolve in his eyes and slowly raised her arm.
"All fleets, change course!"
Her voice carried clearly to every warship.
"Target: the Beasts Pirates!"
Led by the dog-headed warship, the steel fleet began to turn.
They ignored the Red Force entirely, as if it were nothing more than an insignificant reef.
The iron wall formed by ten massive warships passed straight by the Red-Haired Pirates and charged toward the enormous fleet made up of countless savage pirate ships.
On the Red Force, every member of the Red-Haired Pirates froze.
Benn Beckman had already placed his finger on the trigger. Yasopp had his sniper rifle ready.
They had prepared themselves for a desperate battle against the Hero of the Navy.
But now…
The Navy was ignoring them?
"This…"
Shock replaced the gravity on Shanks' face.
He watched the dog-headed warship sail past him.
Suddenly, his gaze locked in place.
Behind Garp, he saw a familiar figure.
That familiar straw hat.
"Luffy…?"
Shanks' pupils shrank violently.
Why was Luffy on Garp's ship?
Why was he wearing a Navy uniform?
Countless questions surged through his mind.
But now was not the time to think about them.
The war at Marineford was what mattered.
He had to get there and stop it.
"Full speed ahead!"
Shanks roared. "Destination: Marineford!"
The sails of the Red Force filled with wind once more.
The ship turned and surged toward Marine Headquarters at full speed.
"..."
"What the hell is the Navy doing?!"
Kaido stared at the approaching fleet. "They're letting the Red-Haired Pirates go?!"
Irritation rose in his chest.
If he wanted to leave, even Garp could not stop him.
He glanced back at his vast fleet. If he left alone, the Beasts Pirates would be finished.
Regret crept in.
Regret for listening to Linlin's nonsense, for letting her provoke his battle lust with just a few words, for actually mobilizing his entire force to make a scene at Marine Headquarters.
By now, that old man Whitebeard must have already started fighting.
And Linlin was surely seizing the chance to grab Whitebeard's territory like a madwoman.
Whether he took his fleet to fight her for territory, or simply flew to Headquarters alone to turn the place upside down and leave at his leisure, either option was better than being blocked here by the Navy's hero.
Kaido's thoughts drifted back thirty-eight years.
To the place that had changed his life.
He took a deep breath, sulfur-scented air spilling from his lungs.
The Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Azure Dragon form.
A favor of that magnitude had to be repaid.
As the thought settled, the irritation in Kaido's eyes faded, replaced by pure, unrestrained battle lust.
He looked at Garp and grinned.
"Wororororo!"
"Garp, huh? Now this is interesting!"
"Men! Prepare for battle!"
Before the words had fully fallen, Kaido's body began to swell and stretch. Azure dragon scales burst forth from beneath his skin, and massive horns pierced the sky.
The winds howled. Thunder and lightning raged.
Just as Kaido was about to fully transform and turn the sea into a battlefield
"Pwahahahahaha!"
A louder, wilder laugh erupted from the dog-headed warship.
A black speck shot out from the ship, tracing a long arc through the air before crashing straight into the center of the Beasts Pirates' fleet.
"Luffy! Didn't you say you wanted to become stronger?!"
"One of the fiercest pirate crews on the sea is right in front of you!"
"Survive, and you'll become stronger!"
Boom!
The black speck slammed onto the deck of the Mammoth, the flagship of one of the Three Calamities, Jack the Drought, smashing a deep crater into the thick planks.
Luffy struggled to climb out of the hole, shaking his dizzy head.
When he looked up, he saw a mountain.
A mountain made of muscle, tusks, and overwhelming murderous intent.
Jack the Drought looked down at the uninvited guest who had fallen from the sky.
"You…"
"How did you get here?"