On the Marine side, there was only ashes and complete despair.
On the pirate side, Whitebeard's commanders—Marco, Jozu, and Vista—were all frozen in place like statues.
They stared at Luo Chen, their faces filled with disbelief.
'How can he be so powerful?'
Two Marine Admirals, plus the Hero Garp.
Such a powerful lineup was actually defeated by Luo Chen alone.
The shock in their hearts was like a monstrous, raging sea.
'Even Pops probably couldn't defeat those three working together, right?'
'But Luo Chen did.'
'What does that mean?'
Marco swallowed, comforting himself in his heart: 'Pops is just old. In his youth, he definitely could have done it.'
Jozu, Vista, and the others were silent.
They looked at Luo Chen, then at their father, Whitebeard.
'Is the title of "World's Strongest Man" about to change hands?'
When word of this battle spread, it would truly set off a storm on the seas.
Luo Chen's power and his horrifying battle record would be known by all.
Even their Whitebeard Pirates would be eclipsed by this man.
This war was originally between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines.
But it wasn't anymore.
It would become the living proof of Luo Chen's rise to fame, his ascension to the ranks of the sea's top-tier powerhouses, or perhaps even the strongest.
As for the Straw Hat Pirates, whether it was Zoro and Sanji, who were in the middle of the rescue, or Carina, Usopp, and the others watching from a distance, all their eyes were wide.
They had, for the most part, traveled with Luo Chen all the way from the East Blue.
They had seen Luo Chen in a bitter fight with a Marine Rear Admiral in Loguetown.
They had seen Luo Chen flee at the mere sight of the Marine Admiral Aokiji.
They had seen Luo Chen defeated by the combined efforts of Admirals Aokiji and Kizaru.
Luo Chen was strong, yes, but he should not have been this strong.
He was so strong that he felt unfamiliar, almost inhuman.
Defeating two Admirals alone—and capturing them alive.
Beating Luffy's grandfather, Garp, to the point where no one knew if he was alive or dead.
"..."
Thinking of something, the Straw Hat crew quickly turned to look at Luffy.
'If Garp really died, Luffy won't become enemies with Luo Chen, will he?'
Seeing him, Carina, Usopp, and the others let out a temporary sigh of relief.
Luffy didn't seem to have noticed what was happening over here. He was quietly climbing the execution platform, taking advantage of Fleet Admiral Sengoku's daze, to save Ace.
Luffy grabbed the edge of the execution platform with one hand and stretched his other arm up to the platform, successfully grabbing Ace.
Just as he was about to pull Ace to safety, Sengoku snapped out of it.
His devastated expression suddenly turned sharp, and his entire body erupted in a brilliant golden light.
His body swelled up, transforming into a giant golden Buddha.
"Straw Hat!"
It was as if Sengoku's long-suppressed anger finally had an outlet.
He roared, and his shimmering golden Buddha fist smashed down with full force.
Luffy pulled Ace back hard and turned to run.
But the difference in strength was too vast, and after Sengoku's transformation into the Great Buddha, his fist was enormous. They couldn't escape its range.
"Boom!"
The entire execution platform collapsed. The golden Great Buddha stood in its place.
Luffy and Ace spat out blood as they were sent flying more than ten meters.
"No matter what, Ace must be executed!"
Sengoku's voice was cold, and you could hear the rage in it, and even a trace of madness.
He was like a beast forced into a corner, lashing out with no regard for anything.
He thrust out his palm, and a golden shockwave enveloped Luffy and Ace.
The two had just climbed up from the ground, their faces covered in blood.
Ace shouted urgently, "The keys! Do you have the keys to unlock the Sea-Prism Stone?"
If he could just get these Sea-Prism Stone handcuffs off his wrists, he could get Luffy out of the attack's path.
Luffy shook his head frantically. "What's that? Keys?"
Hearing this, a trace of despair appeared on Ace's face.
'It's over.'
Sengoku seemed to have been driven into a complete rage by Luo Chen. Both his previous punch and this palm strike were imbued with Armament Haki.
Whether it was him or the rubber-man Luffy, they would be heavily wounded, or even killed.
Nearby, Tsuru's eyes showed hesitation. 'Should I save them?'
'If both of his grandsons die, Garp will definitely lose control and go berserk when he finds out.'
Tsuru was certain Garp was still alive, just that he was probably badly injured.
'Save them? The whole world is watching.' Tsuru glanced at the Den Den Mushi in the distance, which was still broadcasting live.
In the end, she chose not to.
In front of the entire world, a Marine Vice Admiral saving two pirates... it was completely unjustifiable.
In the distance, Whitebeard, Marco, and the others were also too late.
Their eyes were wide with anger and desperation, but they simply couldn't get there in time.
Ivankov, Zoro, and Sanji had escorted Luffy to the vicinity of the execution platform, but they were now surrounded by Marines and couldn't help.
Luffy bit his thumb, entering Third Gear.
His body inflated into a giant ball, intending to forcibly block Sengoku's attack.
But a full-power Sengoku was in no way inferior to an average Emperor.
The instant the golden Buddha palm's lightwave touched Luffy, his round body caved in over a large area, and he spurted blood.
Then his balloon-like body was flattened by the palm wave, pressed tightly against the ground.
Luffy screamed in pain, a large amount of blood gushing from his mouth.
Sengoku's golden Buddha palm was still descending.
Ace threw himself over Luffy, shielding him, and instantly coughed up blood.
Carina, Usopp, and the others were so scared their faces turned ashen, their lips white as frost.
"Sage Art: Gracious Deity Gates."
From the sky, a high, ethereal voice was heard.
Above the ruins of the execution platform, red shadows fell from the sky.
They were five giant, red torii gates, shaped like rectangular wooden gates, hollow in the middle with only the outer pillars.
The five red torii gates descended from on high, smashing down precisely onto the golden Great Buddha.
Sengoku sensed the foreign objects in the air. The Great Buddha's face changed slightly, and he prepared to dodge.
But a powerful sealing force emanated from the five torii gates.
It suppressed him so completely that, for a moment, he couldn't move.
He could only watch as the red torii gates smashed down.
"Bang! Bang! Bang..."
One red torii gate precisely pinned the golden Great Buddha's neck, its two pillars embedding themselves deep into the ground.
The gate's horizontal beam pressed the Great Buddha's figure down, forcing it to sprawl on the ground.
The remaining four torii gates landed at the same time, locking down the Great Buddha's four limbs.
No matter how Sengoku unleashed his golden Buddha light, the five red torii gates didn't budge an inch.
"Roar!"
Sengoku roared. The golden Great Buddha struggled again with all its might. This time, the five torii gates trembled, showing signs of being overturned.
However, from the heavens above, the sound of splitting air was heard again.
Another five giant torii gates fell, landing on Sengoku's neck and limbs.
This time, Sengoku was completely immobile.
No matter how he struggled, the red torii gates wouldn't move.
Ace and Luffy stared blankly at this scene.
The Great Buddha, wreathed in golden light, was pinned to the ground by ten red torii gates, unable to break free no matter how it struggled.
They turned their heads to look at the space between the eyebrows of the thousand-meter Martial God Giant in the distance.
The voice that had just called out "Sage Art: Gracious Deity Gates" had come from Luo Chen.
Ivankov, Zoro, Sanji, Whitebeard, and the others all let out a sigh of relief.
They looked gratefully toward the sky, above the thousand-meter Martial God.
Luo Chen had saved Luffy's and Ace's lives.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]