Uncertain!
And on top of that, filled with doubt!
At this moment, Garp's mood could only be described as extremely complicated!
He simply had no way of being sure—
No way to be certain at all—
How the next part of the recap would unfold!
At the same time, Garp was also extremely tense.
Afraid that his future self, if he truly acted on impulse…
If he couldn't hold back and actually moved—
If he really did "uphold righteousness even against family"!
If he really did punch Luffy so hard that he was smashed flat on the spot!
Then…
In a moment…
Would the other marines around them—and the pirates as well—
Take advantage of the opening to swoop in, haul away Luffy's injured body, and then subject him to even more violence?
The instant that possibility crossed his mind,
Garp's already tightly furrowed brows immediately knotted even further, twisting into a hard lump, the skin at his temples turning pale.
It was easy to imagine.
As one of the people directly involved…
Garp at this time was nowhere near as calm as he looked on the surface.
After all,
As just another member of the audience,
He couldn't guess what the future held either—
Because this was the plot's hidden answer!!!
—
And then.
Under Garp's tense, unblinking stare,
The image on the transparent light screen flickered as the recap continued—
This time…
The moment the clip began,
A legendary scene appeared immediately!
On screen, Garp clenched his fist, his voice low, and in front of the camera, he roared with the fury of justice:
"Luffy…"
"If you want this old man to step aside, there's only one way—"
"Step over me… from my corpse!!!"
Compared to before—
Compared to the earlier conversation—
This time, Garp's attitude was even more resolute.
And the way he stood there with his fist clenched—
His battle posture was obvious.
He had clearly taken up a stance to receive and counter!
It made the audience feel even more strongly that he was about to actually fight?!?!
"It's over…"
"Luffy's grandpa is serious!"
"Next, Luffy… he's not really going to get crushed flat by that fist, is he?"
[One Piece World]
In the real world, the members of the Straw Hat Pirates—
One after another—were terrified, and also felt incredibly awkward.
Since it had nothing to do with them, and out of respect for a powerhouse…
Even among them—
Even Zoro and Sanji, the two strongest in combat strength—
Both had their brows tightly knit as they worried for Luffy's future.
Because everyone knew:
In the previous era,
The man recognized by the world as the Pirate King—
Even the legendary Roger—
Had been chased all over the world by Garp!
Roger had been completely unable to do anything about Garp!
That marine monster!
So,
If it were Luffy…
That was basically suicide.
No one believed he could handle Garp.
Not to mention taking a punch head-on!
If he could endure even a single exchange without dropping, that would already count as Luffy's victory!!!
And yet.
After a brief exchange of words,
When Luffy heard Garp say:
"If you can't break through yourself… then Ace will definitely die!"
Luffy's eyes changed instantly.
His expression was no longer pleading—
It became more serious than ever before.
"I won't accept it! I refuse!"
"I don't want to see Ace die!!!"
Those words of desperate concern
Fermented inside Luffy's chest and spilled out from his mouth.
When his voice fell, he didn't hesitate anymore.
He swung his rubber fist with unwavering resolve.
Opposite him,
Garp did the same—
A massive black iron fist, wrapped in Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki),
Equally violent—
Smashed straight forward, blasting toward Luffy's body!!!
Just like that,
Under the focus of countless gazes across the world,
One large and one small.
One old and one young.
Two fists—
In a tight camera close-up—
Were about to collide at any second!
This nerve-wracking, thrilling scene,
Played and exposed in perfect sync,
Naturally sparked another wave of discussion.
And this time…
It was the Bleach world's "Slacker King" who spoke—
[Bleach World]
"Heh…"
"Upholding righteousness even against family—throwing a full-force punch at your own grandson, huh?"
Beneath his straw hat,
Kyōraku Shunsui grinned broadly, smiling with easy cheer as he looked at the Captain-Commander and teased:
"Old man… I think this Garp is even more ruthless than you."
"After all, back at Sōkyoku Hill, when you dealt with Ukitake and me… the scene was kind of similar too, wasn't it?"
That's right.
From just now until this moment,
Kyōraku Shunsui had kept feeling that what he was seeing was strangely familiar.
Of course,
This was only teasing.
Kyōraku Shunsui naturally didn't believe that Luffy and Garp were truly enemies!
At the very least,
With blood ties—grandfather and grandson—
It wasn't as if they would meet and immediately try to beat each other to death, eyes red with killing intent, right?
"Hmph…"
"Kyōraku, say less nonsense…"
"Doesn't this only prove even more that no matter which world or dimension it is—stance and discipline are what matter most?"
White, heavy brows drooped low.
Seated at the head, the Captain-Commander leaned on his wooden staff and answered in a deep voice.
He approved of Garp's actions!
And he understood all too well that as a leader, one must set the example!
If nothing else,
Not betraying one's stance, not abandoning justice—
That was the wise choice.
And clearly,
Garp had not made a mistake!
Even if it became "upholding righteousness even against family"…
His actions would still be worthy of praise!!!
"Heh…"
Soi Fon sneered coldly as she expressed her stance:
"I didn't expect that as one of the navy's upper ranks, this Garp would be so decisive."
"It seems I underestimated the emotions of those humans…"
As an icy beauty,
As the commander of the Onmitsukidō,
Soi Fon had always been absolutely strict about separating public duty from private feelings during missions—never allowing emotion to mix in.
Even…
Even when facing Yoruichi, it was the same.
Between the two women, there were far too many threads of love, hate, and unresolved knots—
Though of course, more of it was Soi Fon's feelings alone.
On Yoruichi's side,
From beginning to end, her preferences were normal, and she hadn't fallen into that many inner demons.
But back to the point.
Right now, Garp's actions—
Even through the screen, Soi Fon could clearly feel that oppressive momentum pressing down on everyone!
This wasn't acting.
It wasn't a performance.
He was truly putting real strength into it—his fist's power was terrifying!
Under those conditions,
Soi Fon didn't believe Luffy had any possibility of defending against it at all.
Getting punched flat with a single blow—
That outcome had already been decided!
The only thing left was just how brutal it would be, and waiting for the reveal, nothing more!!!
However…
Among the captains of the Bleach world,
Not everyone thought the same way.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi glanced over, then spoke with a calm expression:
"You're overthinking it! Did you seriously forget that the recap video and its subtitles… have never lied to the audience?"
Behind the blue-and-white mask,
Mayuri Kurotsuchi's eyes rolled as he analyzed with a low, raspy voice—arrogant, confident:
"This round of the recap is about the king-level title of 'Background King'!"
"And as the fourth—and one of the most crucial figures—"
"I still maintain this: in the end, Garp will definitely hold back!!!"
His tone was firm,
Filled with absolute certainty.
From start to finish, the reason Mayuri Kurotsuchi had remained calm and hadn't joined the discussion…
Was because he believed the pattern hadn't changed.
The recap subtitles were always a preview of the content to come. That rule never changed!
So,
The final outcome wouldn't be an accident.
Garp would definitely hold back!
And Luffy would definitely cross over him!
Which also meant…
In the end,
The one getting punched flat…
Might not be Luffy at all!
It might be Garp instead!!!
(End of Chapter)
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