Sure enough—
The viewers weren't disappointed.
Just as Luffy, with everyone's help, after countless hardships, finally climbed up onto the execution platform—
Garp, who had been sitting there the entire time with his arms folded across his chest, finally moved from his spot!
"BOOM!!!"
A terrifying aura erupted.
Garp's body surged upward.
Even though he was already an old man pushing eighty—white hair everywhere, wrinkles covering his face—
Still.
His body trembled violently, as if it contained endless power waiting to explode. With nothing more than a casual push off the ground from both legs—
In the camera's dynamic tracking—
His whole body rose into midair like a cannonball, then crashed down with pinpoint precision right in front of Luffy!
"This is… Grandpa?"
Luffy froze for a beat.
But once he clearly saw Garp's face—
He hesitated for only a single second, then frowned and shouted sharply, "Move! I'm saving Ace!!!"
His expression was deadly serious.
That stern tone was unmistakably driving Garp away—treating him as a blocking enemy!
And the moment this scene was revealed—
As the ranking video played and transmitted it into the real world—
Because this was the rarest of sights, a grandpa-and-grandson showdown—
It immediately set off a wave of discussion among the audience:
"Gurarararara…"
"Garp, you bastard—did you think you could hide behind that 'backing' forever? Now you've got to face a cruel scene too!"
[One Piece World]
New World.
Whitebeard's territory.
Aboard the massive white whale ship, the Moby Dick.
Whitebeard rose from the captain's seat, baring his teeth in a grin as he let out his signature laugh.
After all—
Going back decades, back when the Rocks Pirates hadn't been wiped out yet—
He and Garp had already been sworn enemies.
Over all those years, they'd fought countless times—back and forth—so many clashes you could say they'd been fighting their whole lives!
Now—
Watching an old comrade from the past—
About to be forced into a brutal choice between duty and family—
Whitebeard, too, very much wanted to watch the drama unfold!
He looked forward to what kind of response Garp would give Luffy—right in front of viewers all over the world!
And as for Luffy—
Whitebeard admired him from the bottom of his heart!
He acknowledged this "little brother" Ace had mentioned before—someone Whitebeard had never met, yet who wasn't connected by blood at all!!!
"Heh… alright, alright—go on! Go on!"
Marco smiled, then asked, "I'm guessing in a moment, that brave Straw Hat kid will definitely get past Garp, yeah?"
Letting him through.
No… not just "letting him through."
That'd be "letting the whole sea through."
Marco simply didn't believe Garp had it in him to go all-out on his own grandson!
And then, considering—
Luffy's Devil Fruit ability—on the surface it was the Gum-Gum Fruit, but in truth it was the not-yet-awakened Nika power—
Taking that into account,
Marco instinctively judged that—
With the flexible, springy elasticity rubber provided—
In a moment,
If nothing unexpected happened,
Luffy would seize an opening and leap!
He'd vault right over Garp and jump straight onto the execution platform!
And the odds of that happening were extremely high!!!
"Yeah…" Diamond Jozu nodded in agreement. "After all, the video's captions already previewed it in advance!"
"Next we can just relax and enjoy the 'Marine Hero' humiliating himself in front of everyone!!!"
As Jozu's voice fell—
Inside the video, a low, pressing voiceover also sounded in perfect sync:
"Hmph. Move?"
"You're dreaming! Luffy!!!"
No compromises.
Garp's words carried a clear, non-negotiable finality. He straightened his chest, proud and loud as he declared:
"This old man is the Marine Hero!"
"I'm the one the world calls the Marine Hero!"
"Long before you were even born, I'd already been fighting pirates for decades!"
"So how could I possibly back down so easily—how could I yield in front of a pirate!!!"
By the time he reached the end—
Garp's aura burst out again.
His voice sank low, loaded with anger, like he truly was facing an enemy.
There wasn't the slightest hint he intended to hold back!
And this reveal—
Really did make the viewers' jaws drop. Everyone was stunned.
They'd assumed Garp would soften—
But in the end, his attitude was that unyielding!
Completely unexpected!!!
—
"Hm?"
"Raise a hand against your grandson?"
"That really is exactly what Garp would do, from what I remember! But… what's with those ranking captions?"
"Didn't they basically spell it out?"
"That he's supposed to be Straw Hat's fourth 'backer' figure!"
[One Piece World]
Wano Country, Onigashima.
On the Beasts Pirates' turf—
Kaido's eyes widened, confusion showing in his gaze.
Even though—
He didn't care about Luffy at all.
With a Yonko's strength, he didn't even bother to look at some so-called Supernova.
But—
That monster powerhouse who'd once made him feel overwhelming pressure—
Especially back on God Valley—
Even now, Kaido feared him from the bottom of his heart!
Even if Garp was old now—
And even if Kaido was already in his prime as the "strongest creature" in the pirate world—
Kaido still felt that—
Garp's strength couldn't be underestimated, and he wouldn't step aside so easily!
And there was no way he'd deliberately "hold back" in public and spare any pirate!
Still—
When it came to the ranking captions, Kaido couldn't explain it at all!
Below him—
King, Queen, and Jack, who were also watching the video—
All frowned as well, sharing the exact same doubt as Kaido.
"W-what's going on?" Queen muttered suspiciously. "With the force of Garp's iron fist, he could flatten Straw Hat in one punch!"
"So… is the ranking video just doing some kind of setup, a preview?"
Because of the ranking video's appearance—
To them, it was a brand-new, mysterious phenomenon.
And their understanding of it was full of unknowns.
So—
Even if it made some kind of blunder, it wasn't impossible.
Queen and the others could accept that!
So right now—
They could only assume that was the case.
That the camera was guiding them to believe Garp really would throw a punch next—
Rather than… deliberately letting Luffy pass!
Letting him clear the "gate," vault over him, and jump up onto the execution platform!!!
—
Meanwhile—
Over at Marine Headquarters—
Garp himself said nothing, looking heavy with thoughts.
Yes.
As a grandfather—
Of course he loved his grandson dearly.
Garp asked himself: normally, if he ran into Luffy out at sea—
A scolding was unavoidable!
But to truly go for the kill?
That was something he couldn't do.
So—
Just like the other viewers—
After watching that earlier clip, Garp's heart was also filled with intense doubt and uncertainty!
"Could it be…"
"In the future… would I really be that ruthless, and knock Luffy flat in front of everyone?"
He murmured under his breath.
Garp's mood tightened, nerves rising—his heart quietly refusing to accept it.
He didn't want that situation to become real—
He didn't want it to actually happen.
(End of Chapter)
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