Next Bonus, 100!!
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BOOM!
The battlefield erupted into absolute bedlam as Luffy made his desperate sprint toward the execution platform.
The aging Whitebeard, battered by Sakazuki's relentless assault, was forced back two steps, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
Jozu was flash-frozen by Kuzan!
Marco, momentarily distracted, found his wrists snapped into Seastone cuffs!
And then...
Borsalino—the Admiral infamous for holding back—unleashed a barrage of laser fire, piercing the phoenix cleanly through.
It was a blatant display of 'taking it easy.' Given Marco's compromised state, a single headshot would have ended him instantly. Yet, Borsalino had aimed for his torso.
In the blink of an eye!
The division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates were systematically taken down!
The Whitebeard Pirates were on the brink of total collapse!
But then!
"Leave this to us!" Ivankov bellowed.
The revolutionary forces threw themselves into the meat grinder, desperately buying time.
In that fleeting moment, the eyes of the world locked onto Luffy's solitary figure.
The pirates launched suicidal charges against the Marine lines, and the Marines fought back with equal, fanatical ferocity.
Even the three Admirals...
Their gazes were fixed on Luffy's back.
Leaving Sakazuki to keep Whitebeard engaged, Kuzan and Borsalino spun around, rushing back to defend the platform.
"ACE!"
Luffy screamed his brother's name with every step, tearing up the makeshift ramp Inazuma had carved for him.
Garp's face was a mask of dark thunder.
He leaped, landing squarely in Luffy's path.
"You stupid brat! Look at the mess you've made!"
"Grandpa! Move! Get out of my way!"
Seeing the man who had raised him now standing as his final obstacle, Luffy roared in desperation, begging him to step aside.
"Don't be an idiot! How could I possibly do that?? I am a Marine Vice Admiral!"
"The moment you chose the life of a pirate, you should have been prepared to face me on the battlefield!"
"You chose this path! Now face the consequences!"
"If you want to get past me, you'll have to kill me first!"
Garp's voice boomed across the plaza, heavy with the absolute weight of Justice.
He raised his legendary iron fist, aiming straight for Luffy.
His declaration echoed across the battlefield.
The Marines roared in approval.
That's Vice Admiral Garp for you! Putting duty before family!
Even Kuzan and Borsalino slowed their advance, watching calmly as Luffy charged fearlessly at his own grandfather. They weren't worried.
They knew exactly how devastating Garp's fists were.
Even now, as Admirals, neither of them would willingly challenge the Hero of the Marines to a fistfight.
With Garp standing guard, victory was assured.
"GRANDPA! I'M GETTING PAST YOU TODAY, NO MATTER WHAT!"
Luffy's eyes were blazing with unyielding resolve.
There was no fear.
He shifted into Gear Second.
He drew his fist back and swung with everything he had.
BAM! BAM!
Fist met fist!
CRACK!
In the very next second, a figure was violently launched through the air.
"H-how is that possible...?"
"Vice Admiral Garp was defeated??"
"Dammit!"
The Marines gasped in collective, horrified disbelief.
It was inconceivable. The man sent flying from the platform was their invincible idol, Vice Admiral Garp?
The truth was glaringly obvious to those who knew him: Garp had thrown the fight. He had allowed Luffy's punch to connect, taken the fall, and now lay conveniently "unconscious" at the base of the platform.
Borsalino, Kuzan, Sakazuki, and the rest of the Marine high command were utterly speechless.
Their jaws practically hit the floor.
Are you kidding me?? You could have at least tried to make it look convincing!
Throw a few punches, put up a token resistance... anything but THAT!
Sengoku's eye twitched violently.
His face darkened to a shade of apoplectic purple.
Garp... you absolute...
BASTARD!!!
You dare pull a stunt like this in front of the entire world??
The man known as "The Fist," knocked out cold by a single punch from a rookie??
But...
Deep down, Sengoku understood the agony tearing at his old friend's heart.
Fine.
Even if Luffy reached the top, he wasn't walking away with Ace.
Because standing on that platform was the final, unyielding pillar of the Marines. The man known as the "Resourceful General." Sengoku the Buddha!
"You will not defeat the Justice of the Marines!"
Sengoku roared.
His entire body expanded, transforming into a colossal, radiant golden Buddha.
The Mythical Zoan, Human-Human Fruit, Model: Buddha!
A terrifying, suffocating aura erupted from him. Glowing with golden light, Sengoku drove a massive, palm-strike down toward Luffy and Ace.
In the original timeline, Borsalino had fired a precision laser to shatter the key in Luffy's hand. Here, he abstained.
However, due to the altered sequence of events, Mr. 3 was not present to forge a wax replica.
A crushing, asphyxiating pressure enveloped the two brothers. The colossal golden palm descended, generating a devastating shockwave before it even made contact.
BOOM!
The execution platform was pulverized into splinters. The sheer force of the impact sent Luffy and Ace tumbling through the air.
They hit the ground hard.
But the shadow of the colossal Buddha already loomed over them.
Luffy had no time to unlock Ace's cuffs.
Sengoku's follow-up attack was already descending.
With no other option, Luffy abandoned the key.
"Gum-Gum Balloon!"
He inhaled a massive breath, his body rapidly inflating into a ten-meter-wide rubber sphere.
He threw himself over Ace, using his own body to shield his brother from Sengoku's crushing blow.
WHAM!
A violent shockwave ripped through the air. The kinetic force bypassed his rubbery exterior, driving deep into his internal organs with brutal, unforgiving intensity.
Cough!
Unable to absorb the catastrophic impact, Luffy's balloon form was violently compressed, sending him skidding across the plaza as blood sprayed from his mouth and nose.
Yet...
Even as he tumbled, Luffy desperately kept his lips clamped shut.
If he let the air out, his defense would collapse.
And Ace, lying defenseless behind him, would be crushed. He absolutely refused to let anyone hurt Ace again! Not Sengoku, not anyone!
"SENGOKU!!!"
Witnessing the brutal exchange, Whitebeard let out an ear-splitting roar. Abandoning Sakazuki, he launched himself high into the air.
His towering frame eclipsed the sun. He swung Murakumogiri, the massive blade gleaming with a chilling, white-hot light.
His eyes were burning with a fierce, unstoppable resolve. As the blade descended, the very fabric of space began to fracture along its edge.
"Quake-Quake Space Cleaver!"
"Look out!"
"Get back!"
The pirates directly in the line of fire scrambled desperately for cover.
"You're not getting past me!"
Giant Vice Admiral John Giant swung his colossal broadsword, clearing a path through the pirates as he charged to intercept Whitebeard.
"What terrifying power! But I swear on the absolute Justice of the Marines, you will not pass!"
"Out of my way," Whitebeard growled.
He barely spared the Giant a glance. With his free hand, he gripped the empty air and viciously yanked downward.
The entire island, and the sea surrounding it, tilted violently on its axis.
Before John Giant could even close the distance, the intense seismic shockwave sent him sprawling.
And then!
DOOOOOOOOOM!
Whitebeard's naginata clashed with Sengoku's golden palm in mid-air.
BZZZZZT!
The sound was like mountains shattering.
Their Conqueror's Haki collided with the apocalyptic force of a meteor strike. Countless sparks and arcs of black lightning erupted in all directions.
Two distinct, overwhelming auras formed opposing domains, grinding and tearing at each other in a cataclysmic struggle for dominance.
The thick storm clouds above were violently ripped apart, creating a massive, churning rift in the sky.
The earth beneath their feet groaned and fractured, a deep, jagged chasm opening up and rapidly spreading across the entire island.
The sky changed color.
The seas boiled.
The sheer, terrifying magnitude of the clash forced everyone still standing on the battlefield to stop and stare in absolute awe.
It was completely overwhelming!
"A clash of Conquerors!"
Jinbe braced himself, pouring all his strength into resisting the terrifying gale generated by the impact.
When two high-tier Conquerors clashed, the resulting shockwaves were indiscriminate.
Across the plaza, fighters collapsed one after another. Even some Vice Admirals were brought to their knees!
The elite Vice Admirals gritted their teeth against the splitting headaches, feeling as though a literal mountain had been dropped onto their minds.
They could barely breathe.
BOOM!
Finally.
The stalemate broke.
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