After that, the ranking video continued playing—
Plot fast-forward.
Luffy's growth process in the middle was compressed and revealed in a mere two seconds.
And during that stretch, Garp's screen time actually wasn't much.
In the blink of an eye…
Luffy grew up!
And then he set sail, searching for companions, forming his own pirate crew—the Straw Hat Pirates!
And…
In order to rescue Robin,
more than a year ago,
he even triggered a world-shocking incident that challenged the World Government—
the Enies Lobby upheaval!
That's right.
In that turmoil,
the Straw Hat crew was outrageously bold, openly declaring war on the Navy and the World Government, and wreaking havoc at Enies Lobby!
And as his own grandfather—
and also one of the Navy's higher-ups—
when he learned the news back then,
Garp was even specially called into the office by Sengoku and scolded, once again accused of not educating his grandson properly!
Only…
Garp's personality was something everyone knew.
Naturally, he didn't take that lecture to heart. In fact, right in front of the camera,
he even teased Sengoku instead—"But this time, I don't think my grandson was just showing off, you know?"
And…
the Monkey family.
Three generations in one line, all tough guys!
What they do are the kind of things that shake the whole world!!!
Because of that,
in the real world, netizens couldn't refute it.
Everyone unanimously agreed with Garp's words—the behavior of those three grandfather-and-grandson generations really did look insane to outsiders!!!
"Hahahaha…"
"See? I knew it—those three, grandpa and grandsons, have always been all talk!"
"He's never once stopped me from going on adventures!!!"
Sabaody Archipelago port.
On the deck of the Thousand Sunny, now anchored at the shore,
Luffy grinned wide, smiling as he spoke with a satisfied laugh.
Compared to his father—
because he had basically never had any contact since he was young,
you could say there were no feelings at all; he only thought the man was mysterious.
But…
Garp was different!
In Luffy's heart, Garp was family—one of the closest people to him in the world! Next after that was Ace!
So.
Right now,
with the ranking video exposing everything,
showing, from a third-party perspective, Garp's first genuine reaction as an outsider when he learned about that incident—
Luffy felt very satisfied.
And it also made him even more determined: in the future he wanted to keep adventuring, keep sailing the seas, and protect his companions!!!
And around him,
the other Straw Hat crewmates—Sanji, Zoro, Robin, and Chopper, among others—each one watched with relish!
All of them were completely immersed
in this segment of Garp's past memories.
And every one of them was anticipating what came next, as the story advanced—
when it reached the Paramount War battlefield,
what kind of stance would Garp take?
How would he step forward, help Luffy on the battlefield, and answer the grudges and debts of that fourth chapter?
———
Very soon,
under everyone's focused gaze,
in the footage, a new segment of the story began—
After the Enies Lobby arc ended,
the plot jumped in one go, directly to the Paramount War.
In an instant,
audiences all over the world—
countless powerhouses—
all widened their eyes, their eyes filled with intense excitement and anticipation!
The Paramount War.
The battle between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Navy!
This was a battle like no other—
a top-tier war of unprecedented scale!
And the outcome of it
would very likely
change the structure of the seas, causing massive impact and upheaval.
That was exactly why netizens had been eagerly looking forward to it!!!
Of course,
it wasn't just the viewers in the pirate world.
Over in the Bleach world, it was the same—powerhouses looked forward to it as well!
After all,
ever since the worlds switched,
and the "king-level meteor" ranking for the pirate world officially began airing,
the strong in the Bleach world
had never truly seen
a top-level battle where powerful figures were everywhere.
It couldn't be denied—
some of the figures shown earlier—Dragon, "Tyrant" Kuma, and Garp, among others…
they were all very strong!
Their identities and statuses were each eye-catching, clearly not ordinary nobodies.
And their performances on screen had even earned the acknowledgment of the Bleach world's strong!
But…
it still wasn't enough.
Because the Bleach world's story had featured consecutive brutal showdowns—such as the Karakura Town decisive battle, and the Thousand-Year Blood War—fierce, bloody, and cruel life-and-death battles!
Therefore,
with the plot fast-forwarding to this point—
a confrontation between an Emperor and the Navy!
Only then could it finally satisfy the strong of the Bleach world!!!
And now.
Within the frame, in the new scene—
as the Navy's hero, one of the Navy's strongest over the past thirty years—
Garp,
together with Sengoku,
personally sat in command at the execution platform, watching the execution up close.
However.
When he witnessed it with his own eyes—
Luffy and the other escaped prisoners, riding a warship, surrounding the Navy forces as they descended from the sky—
the brows beneath his white hair twisted into a tight knot.
Garp was stunned on the spot, completely caught off guard.
Ace had already been taken down!
He was about to be publicly executed!
But why…
was his own grandson Luffy here too?
"Tsk, tsk, tsk…"
"Captain Aizen… tell me, will Garp go easy on him?"
"As the Navy's hero, in front of so many Marines and so many powerhouses, he's about to face his own grandson!"
"Just imagining that scene makes you feel excited!!!"
Inside Las Noches.
Gin Ichimaru narrowed his eyes with a light smile.
He lifted his head toward the throne and deliberately asked Aizen.
"Gin…"
"Why ask when you already know the answer…"
On the throne,
Aizen replied expressionlessly: "As the fourth background figure, and with close blood ties involved!"
"Even the strongest Marine—even a so-called hero—still has to face his own grandson!"
A simple sentence.
Already foretold what Garp was likely to do next.
There was no doubt about it:
he would definitely go easy!
And he would let Luffy pass, letting him get close to his brother Ace!
This was something Aizen could be certain of!!!
"Tch…"
"If that's the case, doesn't that just slap his own side in the face?"
"And indirectly, it'll make other Marines dissatisfied, and lower his prestige…"
Grimmjow had both hands in his pockets.
After a cold laugh, he spoke with a touch of schadenfreude.
As a faction's leader,
yet when facing a pirate, deliberately holding back—
even if the other person
was his own grandson, that part was true!
But…
this was a battlefield!
It involved countless lives!
To Grimmjow—a Sixth Espada who lacked empathy and looked down on comrades—
Garp's behavior
wasn't the style of a true powerhouse.
In the end, it was cheap, and he didn't think much of it!!!
At the side,
Yammy nodded,
also grinning savagely in agreement: "Humans are just humans… they're controlled by emotions. They can't possibly be that strong!"
"Looks like the pirate world's so-called ceiling of strength is nothing special…"
Disgust.
Contempt.
Yammy's gaze was filled with disdain.
And with arrogant certainty, he concluded:
even the strongest at the top of the pirate world
ultimately still had an obvious weakness!!!
(End of Chapter)
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