Chapter 2: 1v3 Admirals?
"Sengoku, you're too noisy."
One sentence plunged the entirety of Marineford into a deathly silence..
The muscles on Sengoku's face twitched violently. Golden Buddha light flickered ominously behind him—a sign that his rage had reached its boiling point.
"Garp!"
He let out a roar like a wild beast.
"Do you know what you are saying?! Are you betraying the Navy?!"
Garp did not answer.
He didn't even spare Sengoku another glance, as if the Fleet Admiral beside him was nothing more than a mass of noisy air.
He moved.
Taking a step out, his figure left a blurred afterimage on the high platform.
The sturdy execution stand groaned under his feet, cracks spreading like black lightning in all directions..
His target was Ace.
Just then, a blinding golden light flashed, appearing out of thin air directly in Garp's path.
Kizaru( Borsalino)—materialized from the light. He adjusted his sunglasses and spoke in that unique, drawling tone of his.
"This is really scary, Garp-san. Where do you think you're going?"
Before his voice had even faded, his right leg was already raised high, condensing light capable of piercing through steel.
Light Speed Kick.
Without a shred of mercy, wrapped in destructive power, it came whistling down.
However, Garp did not dodge. He did not evade.
He simply stopped his advance, allowing that beam of golden light to kick heavily squarely into his chest.
"BOOM!"
A muffled, heavy sound echoed, like a siege ram smashing into the most resilient city wall.
Shockwaves blasted outward, flapping the clothes of everyone nearby.
Everyone expected to see the scene of the Marine Hero being kicked flying.
But, they didn't.
"My body really feels like it's returned to its youth!"
Garp grinned, a smile that sent a chill down Kizaru's spine!
Garp had merely slid back half a step.
On the white Justice coat upon his chest, there was a scorched mark.
But the man himself... was unharmed.
The entire battlefield fell quiet.
A second later, a tsunami of gasps erupted.
"You're kidding, right?! He didn't use Armament Haki!" A Colonel's voice went high-pitched with shock.
"He used his body... He used his raw body to tank Admiral Kizaru's Light Speed Kick?" The person beside him stammered, completely unable to process the reality before them.
"Impossible! That was a full-power strike from an Admiral! Even Diamond Jozu wouldn't dare do that!"
"Is Garp-san's body made of steel? No! It's harder than steel!"
"His Haki... I didn't feel it! He really didn't use Haki to defend!"
"A monster! A true monster!"
The Navy ranks completely exploded into chaos. The worldview of countless soldiers was shattered into dust in that instant.
On the platform, Kizaru maintained his kicking posture, the relaxed ease on his face vanishing completely for the first time.
Only he knew clearly just how terrifying the power in that kick was.
Power enough to sink an island, yet it only left a scorch mark on the opponent's clothes.
"Oh my..." He retracted his leg, his expression behind the lenses graver than ever before. "This is truly... quite the formidable body."
At that moment, a completely different aura descended.
Bone-chilling cold attacked from Garp's other side as Aokiji (Kuzan)—quietly appeared.
He wasted no words. He simply extended his palm and pressed it toward the ground.
"Let's end this here, Garp-san."
"Ice Age."
Crack... Crack...
Terrifying ice spread madly toward Garp with Aokiji at the center!
Almost instantly, it encased Garp and a large section of the execution platform beneath his feet, thoroughly freezing them into a massive ice sculpture.
The sculpture was crystal clear; one could even see Garp inside, maintaining his standing posture, motionless.
"Phew... finally controlled him," a Vice Admiral sighed in relief.
"If Admiral Aokiji makes a move, even Garp-san..."
His words were cut short.
Crack.
A faint fracturing sound rang out.
The sound was soft, yet it struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer..
On that massive ice sculpture, centered on Garp's body, a tiny hairline crack appeared.
Then a second, a third...
Crack!
Snap!
BOOM!
Like a spiderweb, fissures instantly covered the entire iceberg. Then, under the horrified gaze of everyone present, it exploded!
Countless massive chunks of ice flew in all directions, smashing into the execution platform with sharp whistling sounds.
Amidst the sky-filled ice dust, Garp's figure walked out perfectly intact, wisps of white cold air rising from his body.
Once again, unharmed.
If the first time was shock, this time, it was fear.
"Ice Age... was forcibly broken from the inside!"
"Even Admiral Aokiji's freezing couldn't hold him for a single second?"
"What kind of power is this? Is he still human?"
"A demon! He's turned into a demon!"
"Garp-san... why are you doing this?!"
The crying shouts of young Marines mixed with various horrified discussions, sounding so helpless.
Aokiji looked at the figure steaming with cold air and slowly exhaled a white breath.
"Trouble... things have really become messy."
Below the high platform, the members of the Whitebeard Pirates were also dumbfounded.
"Pops! That guy Garp... is he saving Ace?"
Phoenix Marco's face was full of disbelief.
Whitebeard said nothing, only gripping his blade, Murakumogiri, tighter.
If it's him... perhaps it really is possible!
_______
On the execution platform.
Akainu's face was so dark it looked like water would drip from it.
He looked at the two executioners paralyzed on the ground, then at Garp, who was pressing forward despite the obstruction of two Admirals.
The muscles on his face twisted violently with rage.
"A bunch of useless trash!"
He roared.
"Since you can't do it, then this old man will grant him death personally!"
" The sinful bloodline must be thoroughly eradicated!"
The moment his voice fell, Akainu's figure flashed, appearing directly in front of Ace.
His right arm transformed into rolling magma, carrying a high temperature hot enough to evaporate the sea.
The air itself scorched, making sizzling sounds.
"Hell Hound!" (Meigou)
The hound's head formed of magma opened its giant maw, aiming straight for Ace's heart.
This strike was a hundred times more vicious than the planned execution!
"ACE!"
Luffy let out a heart-tearing scream from the plaza.
Everything happened in a flash of lightning.
Kizaru and Aokiji didn't even have time to react.
Sengoku's roar was still stuck in his throat.
The whole world thought Fire Fist Ace was dead for sure.
Just a moment before that magma hound could touch Ace's body.
A figure blocked Ace like a phantom.
It was Garp.
Arriving later but striking first, he had unknowingly bypassed the blockade of the two Admirals.
Facing the magma capable of melting everything, he made no flashy movements. He simply, plainly, threw a punch.
An ordinary-looking punch.
No Haki coating visible, no special light effects.
Just an old man's fist.
Then, the fist and the magma collided heavily..
"This is the Iron Fist of Love that protects family, you bastard!"
(To be Continued)