And then—
Under the watchful eyes of the Shinigami captains, each with different opinions and different points of focus, the outcome of that clash between Garp and Luffy—the result of their fists colliding—was revealed with no delay, almost immediately.
"BOOM!!!"
A blast of pressure swept out.
The ground in that area trembled from the sheer force pouring off Garp's body, shaking the camera as well.
And yet—
Just as the audience held their breath, eyes locked on the screen—
In the end, it was Luffy who threw the decisive punch.
"…Sigh."
A helpless sigh slipped out.
In the middle of his swing, it wasn't that Garp was holding Luffy down out of softness.
His fist stalled halfway through, visibly pausing.
And the aura that had been surging around his body…
Because of that interruption, it also halted with the motion's inertia, turning sluggish and slow.
Just like that—
In less than three seconds—
Garp's all-out blow, which had been brimming with threat—enough to make the viewers in the pirate world wary—
Suddenly became something else entirely.
Even through a screen…
Even viewers who weren't particularly strong, the kind who normally would have been terrified—
Now felt no threat at all.
They weren't afraid anymore.
They couldn't sense any danger coming from the image.
And if even the spectators felt that way—
Then there was no need to even mention Luffy, the one being attacked.
At that moment, in front of the camera, he froze for a split second.
Then, when he realized Garp had no intention of dodging—
He didn't hesitate.
He poured more power into his punch.
So there it was, before countless eyes, before the entire world watching—
A rubber fist—
Landing with perfect accuracy.
It slammed straight into Garp's forehead.
A clean hit.
One punch, right to the head.
And then…
"BAM!!!"
As if the footage had rewound for a second—
Garp's body was launched away like a cannonball.
He tumbled end over end, stumbling back in a chaotic skid—
Then shot straight backward—
And vanished from the frame.
The moment the video's live, unbroken playback exposed that entire sequence—clearly, unmistakably—to every viewer…
An uproar erupted.
The whole world exploded in shock.
Disbelief.
"HUH?!"
"W-What the hell?!"
"No way—so that's the result?!"
"Garp—the Marine Hero—got dropped with one punch?! My god… that's insane!"
"Who the hell could've seen that coming?!"
Shock.
Impact.
Countless viewers felt their eyeballs about to pop out.
Others had their jaws drop so hard they thought they were hallucinating.
Yes.
Exactly.
Everyone had already expected Garp might hold back.
But…
Can you even call this "holding back"?
This was practically opening the floodgates.
No—this was closer to stepping forward and asking to get punched.
It was so blatant people started doubting reality.
Where was his Armament Haki?
From one angle, Garp could be called one of the top three strongest in the world—
And that wouldn't even be an exaggeration.
But—
Facing Luffy, his own grandson—
At the critical moment, there was no Armament Haki.
No protection.
If this wasn't holding back, what was?
It was so obvious it was almost offensive.
…
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office—
Sengoku stood there stunned, eyes wide, wondering if his entire sense of the world had shifted.
What?
The invincible Iron Fist.
The so-called "Giant Fist Superman" of the pirate world—Garp.
And he…
Got dropped by a single punch?
Sengoku had partnered with him for decades, and he'd never once seen anything like that.
What made it even more absurd—
Was how fake Garp's "acting" was.
Right in front of the camera, he didn't even use Armament Haki.
Was he trying to make it obvious to everyone that he was deliberately giving up a free kill?
Nearby—
Vice Admiral Tsuru wore a complicated expression.
Surprise, yes.
But also: of course.
And on top of that, she looked like she was trying not to laugh.
"Heh…"
Tsuru chuckled lightly.
She glanced at Garp and teased,
"If all those pirates you've smashed with that iron fist over the years saw what just happened…"
"Every last one of them would probably want to change their surname, call you 'Dad,' and become your son—or your grandson."
Tsuru knew it herself.
Even though she was an admiral-class powerhouse in her own right, and one of Garp's longtime comrades—one of the Marine 'iron triangle'—
If Garp truly went all-out—
If he threw a punch with that kind of overwhelming momentum—
Then even if she used Armament Haki to wrap her body in defense, and planted herself in the most perfect guard stance…
She still couldn't guarantee she wouldn't be knocked down with one hit.
Or even blasted away outright.
So if even she thought that—
Then the other high-ranking Marines present needed no explanation.
Even the three admirals—Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji—could see it clearly.
Garp was doing it on purpose.
The Marine Hero—
A living ceiling of combat power—
How could he possibly be beaten so easily by one punch?
This joke couldn't keep going.
—
Elsewhere—
In the Shinigami world, in the underground district of the West District—
Inside Urahara's shop—
"Ohohoho…"
"See? Everyone overthought it! The on-screen captions never lie!"
"From the very beginning, this fight between grandfather and grandson had no suspense at all—everyone just got fooled by that earlier display of momentum!"
"…That's why people mistakenly thought the ending might suddenly flip around!"
Kisuke flicked his folding fan and chuckled as he analyzed the scene.
As the sharpest mind—
A man of towering intellect in the Shinigami world—
From start to finish…
He had never doubted it.
He'd believed the one going down would be Garp, no matter what.
Because otherwise…
Given Luffy's position right now—
He was directly beneath the execution platform, closer than ever to reaching Ace.
And as the roadblock—
The one guarding the front of that platform—
Stood the "king of the Marines."
If Garp didn't hold back…
There was no way Luffy could pass.
The rescue would end right there.
Without "background," he'd only have one outcome—getting one-shot.
"Yeah…"
Behind reflective lenses—
Tessai smiled brightly and added a reminder:
"But still… let's be fair. Even though what we just saw confirms Garp's identity…"
"He really is Luffy's grandfather."
"But looking at the situation—even if Garp is down…"
"Up on the execution platform, Sengoku—the Fleet Admiral—is still there in person, holding the line!!!"
The implication was clear:
Even now, rescuing Ace was still going to be brutally difficult.
Sengoku—
A powerhouse on the same level as Garp—
And the leader who represented the entire Marine camp and its 'justice'—
Would not pull his punches.
Which meant…
The biggest highlight of the war was still ahead.
(End of Chapter)
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