Garp had just been about to rise and enter the field to teach those two reckless brats a lesson.
But to his surprise, the giant soldiers stationed in front of the execution platform acted first.
As Marine vice admirals, they naturally would not allow the two to break through so easily.
They raised their massive weapons and brought them crashing down toward Cain and Yamato.
As warriors of Elbaf, there was no such thing as fearing the enemy.
Facing these two intruders charging straight for the execution platform, they did not feel the slightest trace of hesitation.
"Cain! Yamato!"
Seeing the two of them about to rush close, Ace finally could not hold back and shouted.
Sengoku also hurriedly called out.
"Do not underestimate them! Giant soldiers, listen carefully! Those two are no ordinary enemies! They are the children of Emperor Big Mom and Kaido of the Beasts, and they carry evil bloodlines powerful enough to throw the world into chaos!"
With that single statement, Sengoku confirmed Yamato's background.
Between her signature technique and the oni horns on her head, anyone could tell she was Kaido's daughter.
At the same time, he publicly threw out the rumor that Cain was Big Mom's child, clearly intending to raise the perceived danger of the two by another level!
"Hey, hey, are you serious, Sengoku?"
Sitting in the chair below the execution platform, Garp could not help muttering a complaint.
"That brat is obviously my grandson. Did you really have to drag out such an absurd rumor?"
The moment his words fell, the entire island suddenly shook violently.
...
On the other side of the battlefield, the all-out war had erupted in full.
And when those giant soldiers heard the words "Big Mom," their faces turned deathly pale.
Back in their homeland of Elbaf, that name was an "evil god" feared so deeply that even crying children would fall silent the moment they heard it.
Then, faced with the sudden earthquake, the giants' tense bodies swayed uncontrollably.
They nearly fell on the spot, and the arms swinging their weapons instinctively paused.
But Cain and Yamato had no intention of wasting time entangled with these giants.
Almost at the same moment, the two of them raised their hands to attack.
Yamato instantly switched into her human-beast form.
"Move!"
"Don't block the way!"
Boom!
Boom!
After two deafening explosions, several giant soldiers were sent flying outright, crashing to the ground one after another.
At the same time, in the plaza of the Sabaody Archipelago, although the broadcast screens were still pitch-black, everyone clearly heard Sengoku's urgent shout.
The reporters either thought they had misheard, misunderstood the meaning, or perhaps Sengoku had simply failed to explain the two people's identities clearly enough.
Sengoku had not separated their backgrounds when he spoke.
And so, they frantically wrote down Sengoku's words—
"Those two are the children of Emperor Big Mom and Kaido of the Beasts."
But what appeared in their notebooks became something else entirely.
"Yamato and Cain are suspected siblings, children of Emperor Kaido and Big Mom."
Clearly, something important had been recorded incorrectly.
After all, they had not heard Garp's quiet complaint about the rumor afterward.
Combined with the explosive news that Cain was the grandson of Marine Hero Garp, the reporters simply imagined an even more outrageous conclusion.
Perhaps Garp was suspected to be the father of one of the two Emperors.
They did not consider whether the ages made any sense.
They did not know the actual ages of the people involved either.
Because of one vague shout from Sengoku, their notes drifted further and further from the truth!
…
At the same time, on Akainu's side, he had been trading insults with Whitebeard from a long distance for several rounds already.
By now, the members of the Whitebeard Pirates had all entered the crescent bay, and Whitebeard himself was advancing step by step.
Clearly, the Marines' encirclement had reached the moment when it was time to close the net.
This was the best opportunity to attack Whitebeard.
"Great Eruption!"
Akainu roared.
His fist, covered in boiling-hot magma, instantly swelled until it resembled a small mountain.
Carrying force that seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth, it blasted toward Whitebeard.
Naturally, Whitebeard was not stupid enough to stand there and take it head-on.
There was still some distance between him and Akainu.
He swung both hands sharply, and the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit erupted across the sea.
The entire surface of the ocean shook violently in an instant. Even the island of Marineford tilted hard toward one side.
The massive magma fist brushed past the top of Whitebeard's head and slammed heavily into the frozen sea behind him.
In the next instant, the glacier melted, seawater evaporated, and white mist surged into the sky.
Yet that attack failed to injure even a single person.
Whitebeard threw his head back and laughed boldly.
"Gurararara! Magma brat, your aim still needs a few more years of practice!"
"Even without aiming, I can still take your head!"
Akainu gnashed his teeth and fired back.
Before his words had fully faded, both of them sensed movement near the execution platform and turned their heads in that direction at the same time.
…
At that moment, Cain and Yamato had already used the bodies of the giant soldiers as stepping stones and leaped high into the air.
They were now only a short distance away from the execution platform.
Garp had been ready for this from the start, prepared to intercept them at any moment.
Yamato and Cain exchanged a glance.
In that instant, their eyes met, and both immediately understood what the other was thinking. It was just as they had discussed before.
While still in midair, the two of them took their stances at the same time.
Their auras surged violently, and overwhelming Conqueror's Haki swept outward, dyeing the space around them in a strange hue.
Black-red lightning crackled wildly around their bodies.
The lightning of Conqueror's Haki struck toward the execution platform in midair.
Seeing it, Sengoku's expression became grave to the extreme.
This level of power was nothing like the small-time clashes of ordinary pirates.
Even pirates with bounties above a billion Berries would fall far short of this level.
Of course, that did not include the Emperors.
Just as the two figures were about to reach the execution platform, Garp suddenly leaped high into the air.
Laughing loudly, he charged straight toward them.
His own Conqueror's Haki surged and churned at that moment, colliding fiercely with their auras.
Cain and Yamato swung their weapons down at the same time. Fierce Haki carried heaven-shattering force, making the surrounding space seem dark and oppressive.
Their eyes blazed with a strange crimson light.
The instant their weapons collided, the force intertwined and formed a massive purple-black sphere.
"Hakai—Ocean Sovereignty!"
As their earth-shaking roar rang out, Garp also threw a punch.
It looked plain and unadorned.
Yet it carried the same heaven-destroying, earth-rending power.
"Galaxy Impact!"
"Damn it, Garp! And you too Cain! Are you trying to destroy the execution platform?!"
Sengoku roared instinctively.
His body suddenly expanded, transforming into a golden Buddha several meters tall as he stood in front of the execution platform.
He forcibly endured the aftermath of the collision and shielded Ace, who was supposed to be executed, behind him.
In an instant, the entire island shook violently.
This tremor did not come from Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
It came from the collision of these three earth-shattering attacks.
The surrounding buildings cracked and collapsed one after another. Rubble and broken stone flew everywhere.
A terrifying shockwave spread in all directions.
The pressure of Conqueror's Haki compressed the air and shot straight into the sky, tearing apart the heavy clouds above.
Strangely, however, almost the very next instant, the scattered clouds gathered back together in an eerie fashion.
The collision, powerful enough to destroy the world, resounded throughout the whole of Marineford.
Across the battlefield, countless powerful fighters turned in shock, staring toward the astonishing change at the execution platform.
In the blink of an eye, the sturdy execution platform was flattened.
Sengoku pulled Ace with him and retreated several steps in a miserable state before landing heavily on the ground
Looking at the ruined state of Marineford, shock was written all over his face.
Just the aftermath of the clash had affected the buildings, the ground, and the island itself, destroying them all and leaving Marineford in a battered state!
Screams and wails rose one after another.
During this chaos, the busiest person was Kizaru.
He no longer had time to bother with Katakuri and simply flashed across the battlefield, saving people.
Garp, Cain, and Yamato all landed on the ground.
The three looked at one another, their expressions incomparably solemn.
But at that moment, a heart-wrenching shout suddenly rang out from the sky.
"ACEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"