Following Sengoku's earlier order, the Encircling Walls that had been hidden throughout the crescent bay all rose from the ground at once, sealing off the harbor.
Just like in the original course of events, Little Oars Jr. broke free from Doflamingo's strings and crashed into the Encircling Wall at the entrance, jamming that section in place and preventing it from rising any farther.
Only this time, he had not been gravely injured.
Just as Little Oars struggled to get up and rush toward the execution platform to save Ace, a shout cut through the air.
"OARS! WHETHER WE CAN SAVE ACE OR NOT DEPENDS ON YOU! SIT THERE AND DON'T MOVE!"
Marco flew over the rising Encircling Wall, shouting toward Little Oars.
Then he twisted in midair and charged straight toward Ace.
Hearing him, Little Oars tightened his grip on his massive sword and sat firmly on the section of the Encircling Wall that had failed to rise, facing the giant vice admirals closing in around him.
Seeing this, blue lightning instantly surged around Sabo.
His body turned into a streak of electricity, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared above Aokiji and Ace.
He reached out, trying to push closer to Ace, but Kizaru's Ama no Murakumo sword blocked his path with perfect precision.
Yellow points of light gathered into Kizaru's figure as he slowly shook his head and sighed.
"A lightning ability… how terrifying. That power is no worse than mine.."
…
"NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO HESITATE, GARP! WHY DID YOU TAKE PART IN THIS WAR? DIDN'T YOU ALREADY SAY IT BEFORE? THERE'S NO NEED TO WAIT. THE TIME IS NOW!"
Sengoku shouted sharply.
Since Garp had chosen to step onto this battlefield, he had to fulfill his duty as a Marine and stop this group of intruders trying to storm the execution grounds.
"Yeah. That's what I'm thinking too."
Garp answered in a low voice.
Ace's desperate cry earlier had lifted more than half of the weight pressing down on his heart.
Now that he no longer had any worries holding him back, it was time to fulfill the agreement he had made with Cain.
Cain represented family.
Garp represented justice.
"Right now, this old man fights only for justice!"
That was what Garp said aloud, but inside, he was secretly laughing.
'Nice work, Cain! Now Sengoku doesn't have a reason to execute Ace anymore. Hahaha! Now take this, you damn brat!'
With that thought, Garp suddenly leaped high into the air.
Cain saw him move and jumped as well.
His body rapidly expanded into his human-beast form, and the weapon in his hand came chopping down with fierce wind wrapped around it.
But Garp had no intention of taking the blow head-on.
His toes landed precisely on Cain's weapon, and he used the force to flip higher into the air.
Borrowing that momentum, he slammed a punch into Marco's head as the phoenix came flying in.
Marco took the blow directly and was sent flying back into the area inside the Encircling Wall.
At that moment, Moria was greedily eyeing Little Oars' enormous body.
Just as he excitedly rushed in that direction, Marco came flying back and crashed straight into him.
The two rolled across the ground together and slammed right between Katakuri and Crocodile.
On the other side, Cain had just steadied himself in midair when he rushed to Luffy's side and yanked him away at high speed.
Yamato also dodged to the side at the same time.
Sengoku had transformed into his giant Buddha form once more and struck at Cain and the others with a shockwave from his palm.
Cain and Luffy managed to avoid it, but unexpectedly, Garp landed at that exact moment and caught both Cain and Luffy by the neck.
He grabbed their heads and spun them violently through the air several times before throwing both of them back inside the Encircling Wall.
However, Cain's tail also wrapped around Garp's neck, dragging him down along with them.
Yamato wanted to step forward and help, but she suddenly swung her kanabo backward.
A block of ice the size of half a house was smashing toward her.
After Yamato shattered the ice, she saw Zephyr charging toward her.
The corner of his mouth lifted into a cold smile.
"Round two, pirate!"
…
By now, Sengoku had already switched positions with Aokiji.
He personally guarded Ace, while Aokiji rushed off to support the Marines on the battlefield.
Across the battlefield, Whitebeard and Akainu were clashing violently. Magma and earth-shaking roars erupted again and again.
The division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates were being held back by Marine vice admirals and Warlords.
Though to be more precise, among the Warlords currently present, Mihawk was the only one seriously fighting.
After exchanging a few blows with Vista of the Flower Swords, Mihawk grew bored.
He raised his blade, the edge pointing straight toward Golden Lion, who hovered in the air holding a tiny knife.
Golden Lion did not understand why Mihawk had suddenly targeted him, but he showed no weakness.
He immediately activated his Devil Fruit ability, causing the surrounding buildings to float into the air before smashing them toward Mihawk.
At the same time, he gripped the short blade in his hand and slashed horizontally, sending a powerful flying slash tearing through the air.
As for the other Warlords?
Kuma was nowhere to be seen.
Moria had just been knocked flat to the ground.
As for Pirate Empress Hancock and Jinbe, who had escaped from Impel Down, they were both rushing toward the place where Luffy had fallen.
The Revolutionary Army's Ivankov and the others followed close behind.
But they, too, were surrounded by layers of Marines and could not break through in a short time.
And Doflamingo was simply lying on the ground.
Aokiji, who had come to reinforce the Marines, naturally ended up facing Katakuri, Crocodile, and Marco, who had just climbed up from the ground.
…
"LUFFY, HOLD STEADY!"
Cain held Luffy with one hand while his tail stayed tightly wrapped around Garp's neck.
The three of them were flying backward through the air together, and Cain turned his head to shout at Luffy.
"Huh?! Waaaahhh!"
Luffy had no idea what was going on.
His whole body was being dragged around wildly.
In the next second, Cain kicked him hard, sending him flying straight toward Hancock.
Cain knew exactly what needed to be done.
The execution platform had already been destroyed, and Mr. 3's whereabouts were still unknown.
Right now, they needed to get the key from Hancock first.
'Luffy, Ace's handcuffs are up to you. I'll hold things here.'
With a thunderous crash, Cain and Garp slammed into the ice at the same time.
"Bwahahaha! Cain, the way you handled things wasn't bad at all! Now this old man can jump into this battle without holding back!"
Garp laughed loudly, slapping his knee, his voice filled with obvious pride.
But the moment he finished speaking, his brows furrowed.
His tone abruptly shifted, carrying clear dissatisfaction.
"What a shame, though! You and that brat Luffy called so many pirates here to join the fun. You really never let this old man have any peace!"
Cain sighed helplessly.
"Those pirates came to save Ace… And Grandpa, when you say you can join the war without holding back, don't you actually mean you can beat up your grandson without holding back?"
"Hmph. Blame yourself for growing stronger so damn quickly. Why were you so slow when you were training under me? How did you shoot up so fast after becoming a pirate? Don't tell me you're actually suited to being one…"
The more Garp spoke, the darker his face became.
His relaxed smile disappeared completely, and the pressure around him suddenly sank.
Seeing that, Cain instinctively shrank his neck and spoke with a slight tremble.
"Oh, no, no, no. Grandpa, what you said… uh, there's a problem. You're wrong."
"STICK YOUR ASS OUT AND TAKE YOUR BEATING!"
Before the words even finished, Garp had already flashed behind Cain.
His fist, as large as an iron pot, came whistling through the air, aimed straight at Cain's rear.
"Grandpa, that move stopped working on me ages ago!"
Cain did not even turn his head.
His wrist flipped sharply, and the weapon in his hand swept out horizontally.
The two forces did not collide.
Instead, they blasted off in different directions.
Almost at the same time, both of them were shaken backward and sent flying, smashing into the opposite sides of the Encircling Wall and leaving two deep craters.
"DIDN'T YOU SAY YOU WERE GOING TO HIT MY ASS? WHY ARE YOU AIMING FOR MY FACE NOW?!"
Cain clutched his aching cheek, nearly crying as he pulled himself out of the wall.
The moment he finished speaking, the two figures shot toward the center again like cannonballs.
The sounds of fists, feet, and weapons colliding exploded one after another.
In only a short while, the two were blasted away by each other's force again and slammed into the Encircling Wall.
This repeated over and over, who knew how many times.
The entire Encircling Wall buzzed and trembled from the impacts.
The two of them were like stones being fired back and forth by a powerful slingshot, crashing into the surrounding walls again and again.
Amid the spreading smoke and dust, only the constant sounds of impact and muffled groans remained.
Watching from afar, Sengoku's frown grew tighter and tighter.
Seeing that the amplified Den Den Mushi in his hand had finally woken up, he immediately roared,
"GARP! YOU BASTARD, ARE YOU TRYING TO TEAR THIS PLACE DOWN?! GO FIGHT SOMEWHERE ELSE!"
Hearing him, Garp grinned.
Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki gathered around his fist.
Cain's gaze sharpened as well.
The two forms of Haki wrapped around his weapon at the same time.
Almost simultaneously, the two shouted...
"EIGHTY GODS VACUUM STRIKE!"
"GALAXY IMPACT!"
---------
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