Bang! Bang! Bang!!!
Once Austin finally stopped deliberately evading, the aftershocks of the three-way battle spread across a certain area. Freezing air mixed with dust and smoke, drifting skyward.
The previously clear sky gradually darkened.
After turning and swinging his blade again, sending massive black sword beams flying out to intercept every attack before him, Austin looked up at the sky.
The pitch-black sky looked like the precursor to a storm.
"Austin, was this your doing too?" The two looked up as well, clearly noticing the strange change in the sky as they asked Austin gravely.
"Can you stop pinning every bad thing on me... There's no way we could've caused this, right? Looks like someone important has arrived."
A terrifying red glow flared. Surprise appeared on Austin's face, but after a brief moment of thought, he found it only natural.
Yeah, Captain Roger was about to be executed. It was time.
Still, witnessing a historic scene wasn't bad. At least this trip hadn't been for nothing.
"Looks like your scheme is about to fall apart halfway through. Someone incredible has come to Marine Headquarters."
With great interest, Austin sheathed his sword and, with no regard for fighting etiquette, warped straight to the plaza in front of Marine Headquarters.
"Who else besides you would dare invade Marineford? Hey, wait—"
Gion wanted to pursue him, but Kuzan grabbed her shoulder.
She looked confused.
When she turned around, she found that Kuzan had not moved at all. Instead, he was staring solemnly at the sky above Marineford.
Following his gaze, Gion looked up as well. Cold sweat instantly formed on her forehead, and her pupils trembled uncontrollably.
Th-this was impossible.
A meteor?
No, it looked more like islands?
One after another, massive rocks resembling islands broke through the clouds and descended toward Marineford.
The two could no longer spare any attention for Austin. Or rather, none of Marine Headquarters' high-ranking fighters had the leisure to care about the chaos in the residential district.
What they were about to face was a crisis capable of sinking all of Marineford beneath the sea.
Golden Lion—Shiki had arrived!!!
"Even knowing how outrageous it is, this ability is seriously cheating."
Sitting atop the Marine Headquarters building, Austin watched as a vast cluster of islands descended like the end of the world, plummeting straight toward Marineford under the pull of gravity.
Nearly every high-ranking Marine officer, including several familiar faces, was using Geppo to deal with the crisis at full strength.
Garp, Sengoku, Tsuru, Sakazuki...
There was a huge gap in strength against this assault, but it was not insurmountable.
After all, young Garp alone had the power to destroy an island with one punch, not to mention the other Admiral-level fighters and those Logia Type monsters specialized in wide-area attacks.
After unleashing a barrage of attacks, they shattered most of the islands, but by rough estimate, nearly half of Marineford was still destroyed.
Naturally, that did not include the Marine Headquarters building Austin was currently sitting on.
As the clouds shifted, a heavy rain followed, and a floating figure descended.
"Long time no see, Golden Lion."
Austin sat atop the Marine Headquarters building, looking at the golden figure floating nearby as he took the initiative to greet him.
"Huh?"
Hearing the voice, Shiki, who had come storming into Marine Headquarters in a rage, froze for a moment. He then looked toward its source and saw a figure in a trench coat sitting on the rooftop, calmly watching him.
"It's you. I remember you, that monster brat from Roger's ship!"
Shiki was surprised to see someone he knew. "Hey, brat, did you come for Roger too?"
Uh...
Austin had originally wanted to say that he was not here to break Roger out, since he knew full well that Captain Roger had surrendered willingly.
But he really had come for Captain Roger, intending to blend into the Marines and visit Impel Down.
"Well... sort of."
"Zehahahaha! As expected, people with Conqueror's Haki are all the same! Roger could never have been captured by a bunch of worthless Marines, nor should he die in humiliation in the weakest East Blue!
Join forces with me, brat! Let these Marines see the terror of the Great Pirates!!!"
Austin was about to say something when his Observation Haki suddenly sensed danger approaching.
"You pirates, one after another, what do you all take Marine Headquarters for!!!"
BOOM!!!
Amid a blinding red flash, black-and-red lightning erupted through the air. A burly older man charged straight at Austin, his fist wrapped in terrifying Conqueror's Haki.
Austin had felt that kind of power from afar more than once before, but this was the first time it had been aimed at him.
Captain Roger was not here to block the blow for him now.
As the rooftop shattered inch by inch, the lingering force of that terrifying punch shook the dark clouds overhead and sent waves rippling through the sky.
"That's playing dirty. I'm a young man of the New Era, Garp."
At some point, Austin had already appeared beside Golden Lion.
The Warp Fruit's continuous movement allowed him to maneuver through the sky in a way that was almost like hovering.
With both hands in his pockets, he stood as though he were on solid ground.
Looking at the burly older man standing atop the Marine Headquarters building, black-and-red lightning still crackling from his fist, Austin felt a chill run through him.
He was a top-tier powerhouse, after all. Against a king-tier fighter like this, Austin's Conqueror's coating was still somewhat lacking.
At least for now,
he would lose in a direct clash of fists.
"Zehahahaha! Garp, have you gotten so old you can't move anymore?
You couldn't even hit a brat. Go home and retire already!"
Seeing that Garp's punch had missed, Shiki mercilessly activated his taunting skill.
At the same time, among the Marines on the ground, quite a few were holding Den Den Mushi cameras, capturing the sight of Austin and Golden Lion standing side by side in the sky.
Seeing this, Austin could only sigh helplessly.
He had only come to join the excitement and witness a famous moment. How had he become an accomplice?
This was like getting mud in his pants.
Whether it was shit or not, everyone would think it was shit...
Looking down,
Marine Admirals, Vice Admirals, Rear Admirals... countless ordinary Marine soldiers.
This lineup was not much weaker than the one at the Summit War. If anything, it was even stronger.
After all, in that war, Garp and Sengoku, those two trump cards, along with two Marine Admirals, had barely done anything. They had spent the entire battle slacking off, while only Akainu and some Vice Admirals had truly put in effort.
But now, he was facing Garp and Sengoku going all out, along with numerous Marine officers and the future Three Admirals.
Honestly, Austin was tempted to just warp away and run.
But as he looked at this unprecedentedly grand scene, he admitted that although he was overestimating himself a little,
his hands were really itching for a fight!!!
He acted as soon as the thought came to him. If things went wrong, he could retreat.
After training for so long, he truly wanted to see where his limits were. Besides, Garp and Sengoku had Golden Lion to keep them busy.
Then he would give it everything and charge in!
Before you continue