Seeing the pirates under his command shaken by Garp's reputation, Whitebeard laughed loudly.
"Don't worry! He's just an old soldier on his last legs!"
Sitting in the Admiral's seat, Garp grinned.
"Whitebeard… it's been decades since we last fought, hasn't it?"
In the past, the pirate Garp had pursued most frequently was Roger.
But he had clashed with Whitebeard as well and crossed blades with him several times.
If Whitebeard were still like he was in the original timeline—covered in wounds and barely able to walk—then Garp would never take advantage of such weakness.
But the current Whitebeard had eaten a Senzu Bean.
His condition had greatly improved.
He had been suppressing his heart disease the entire time, hiding the symptoms from others while even overpowering Akainu in battle.
That stirred a restless excitement in Garp's heart.
The old generation of great warriors was disappearing one by one.
Garp wanted to use this battle to bid a final farewell to his former enemies.
Whitebeard narrowed his eyes.
"What? You want to compete with me too?"
"No," Garp said with a smile.
"Winning or losing doesn't matter. I'm just reminiscing about the days when I chased you and Roger across the seas."
"Gurararara!"
Whitebeard burst into laughter.
"You really are a sentimental old soldier… actually reminiscing about your enemies."
The smile slowly disappeared from Garp's face.
How could he not miss Roger?
After all—
Roger's son had been raised by his own hands.
That boy was family.
If Roger were still alive right now, and could join Whitebeard in rescuing Ace…
For a brief moment, such a thought actually crossed Garp's mind.
It startled even him.
"I am a Marine! A defender of justice! How could I sympathize with pirates?!"
Garp forced himself to reaffirm his stance.
Then suddenly—
He leapt up from the Admiral's platform and charged toward Whitebeard with his iron fist raised high.
"No matter what happens, Whitebeard!"
"I will never allow you to trample the dignity of the Marines!"
The strongest Marine hero, Garp, had truly made his move against the strongest man in the world, Whitebeard.
Even Akainu, who stood on the opposite side of Whitebeard, couldn't help but glance over.
To be honest—
As the most hardline figure within the Marines, Akainu had never had a good relationship with moderates like Garp and Aokiji.
Moreover, Akainu knew very well that Garp was the father of the world's most dangerous criminal, the revolutionary Dragon.
And his grandson, Monkey D. Luffy, had recently caused chaos at Enies Lobby and was now an unforgivable pirate.
Those two facts alone were enough for Akainu to find Garp extremely unpleasant.
If not for Garp's title as the Hero of the Marines and his close relationship with Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Akainu would have long recommended placing Garp under strict supervision.
Now, however—
Seeing Garp actually fighting Whitebeard rather than idling around like Aokiji and Kizaru—
Akainu felt surprised.
But only slightly.
Although Akainu didn't know that Ace had been raised by Garp, he had vaguely sensed that Garp and Ace shared an unusual relationship.
Unless Garp personally executed Ace and captured both Dragon and Straw Hat Luffy for Marine Headquarters—
Akainu would never believe that Garp had truly returned to the path of absolute justice.
In short—
In Akainu's eyes, which upheld Absolute Justice, not even a grain of sand was acceptable.
It was simply that he had no way to deal with Garp.
Meanwhile—
At the Sabaody Archipelago.
Luo Xing watched the live broadcast from the Den Den Mushi and raised his eyebrow slightly.
So the hero Garp had finally clashed with Whitebeard.
This was an excellent opportunity to observe Garp's true strength.
As for Garp's inner struggle and his so-called choice of justice—
Luo Xing couldn't care less.
In Luo Xing's view—
Garp insisting on some ridiculous notion of justice while both his son and grandson stood against the Marines and the World Government was simply laughable.
If justice couldn't even protect your own family—
Was it truly justice?
And if you insisted on such justice, you should at least carry it through to the end.
Yet Garp couldn't bring himself to kill his own kin.
In the end—
It was nothing but self-deception and self-inflicted suffering.
As far as Luo Xing was concerned, the Monkey D. family was full of people with strange minds.
A man raised in a traditional Marine household became a revolutionary.
A boy raised to become a great Marine became a pirate.
And an old man who couldn't even guide his own family still stubbornly remained in the Marines, tormenting himself.
If the one scheduled to be executed at Marineford wasn't Fire Fist Ace—
But instead Straw Hat Luffy…
Or even Dragon—
What would Garp do then?
In any case—
Luo Xing had zero respect for Garp's idea of justice.
The only thing he cared about was Garp's strength.
His eyes remained fixed on the massive screen.
On the battlefield—
Garp's iron fist collided with Whitebeard's Murakumogiri, sending ripples spreading through the air.
A powerful shockwave blasted outward in all directions.
Garp truly deserved his reputation as a legendary warrior equal to Whitebeard.
The two fought on equal footing.
No matter what technique Whitebeard used—
Garp's seemingly limitless Haki allowed him to block every attack.
Even while fighting, Garp still had enough composure to speak.
"Whitebeard… it seems your body hasn't fully recovered."
"Your Haki has weakened quite a bit."
Whitebeard was absolutely capable of using Conqueror's Haki coating.
Yet he hadn't used it even once during this battle.
That was why Garp concluded that Whitebeard's Haki had declined significantly.
"Stop talking nonsense!"
"I'm Whitebeard!"
Whitebeard roared angrily.
A transparent vibration wave enveloped the blade of Murakumogiri as he raised it high.
Clearly he was preparing to strike Garp with a devastating blow.
Garp's Observation Haki sensed the danger of the attack.
Not daring to be careless, he coated his entire body in Armament Haki.
But—
The raised blade never fell.
Instead, Murakumogiri dropped heavily to the ground.
"Cough…!"
Whitebeard suddenly clutched his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood.
If not for Murakumogiri supporting his weight—
He might have collapsed entirely.
Garp was shocked.
"You have heart disease?!"
"You've been suppressing it the whole time while fighting the Marines!"
For a moment, Garp couldn't help but admire Whitebeard's resolve.
But another man felt no admiration at all.
For him—
This was the opportunity he had been waiting for.
The chance to destroy the Whitebeard Pirates had finally arrived.
That man was Akainu.
The moment Whitebeard coughed up blood—
Akainu instantly struck without hesitation.
"Meigo!"
A magma fist shaped like a vicious hound blasted forward—
Piercing straight through Whitebeard's chest.
Whitebeard's entire body trembled violently.
His organs were scorched by the burning magma.
The unbearable pain caused him to cough up even more blood.
"Die, Whitebeard!"
Akainu said mercilessly as he continued releasing magma.
Behind him, Garp couldn't help but shout:
"Sakazuki! Attacking while someone is weakened like that is too despicable!"
Akainu sneered.
"Despicable?"
"When dealing with pirates, you use any means necessary."
Garp's expression darkened with anger.
The difference between his beliefs and Akainu's was truly irreconcilable.
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