History repeated itself.
Buggy was once again used as a substitute weapon, hurled before Hawkeye and sliced to ribbons, interrupting Hawkeye's actions.
"Hm?"
What a strange Devil Fruit ability.
A sharp sword aura came from nearby, unlike the fodder from before.
"Fifth Division Commander, Flower Sword."
With two outsiders disrupting his rhythm, Hawkeye could only deal with the person before him first.
"Go save your brother, Straw Hat Kid," Flower Sword said as he stood before Hawkeye.
"Thanks, that really helped."
Having lost interest, Hawkeye could only turn his gaze to Flower Sword. At least he was a decent swordsman. This would do.
Scissors Hand appeared beside Luffy at that moment.
"Let me help you forge a path to the execution platform."
The Scissors Fruit ability activated. Giant scissors cut the hard ground into long strips and threw them toward the execution platform, forming a road.
"Luffy~." Boa Hancock stepped in front of Luffy.
Of course, she was not there to stop him.
"Hancock! I was just looking for you." Luffy ran over happily. "Give me the key."
At those words, Hancock's heart blossomed, and she fell into a symphony of love.
Is this the telepathy between husband and wife!? Ah~ Luffy.
Her palm slowly opened, revealing a key, which she handed to Luffy.
"Thanks, Hancock!" Luffy leaped onto Hancock and gave her a hug.
Shichibukai Boa Hancock was defeated.
"Garp, this is all because of your poor discipline!"
Sengoku glared darkly at the delighted Garp. "You bastard, are you even listening to me?!"
"Hahaha, my grandson is amazing!"
"Garp!"
"I understand." Garp put away his smile and turned serious. "Then let this old man shoulder the responsibility himself."
"Grandpa..." Ace looked at Garp guiltily.
"Both brothers are incorrigible idiots."
Garp rose to his feet and looked at the approaching Luffy.
"I am a qualified Marine."
"But as a grandfather, I have failed."
Garp recalled the past in East Blue, more than ten years ago.
Back then, the two little brats had still been shouting about becoming Pirates.
After being lectured, they had refused to accept it and tugged on his beard.
"My teachings..."
"Where exactly did they go wrong?"
Come to think of it, Luffy had seemed to say at first that he wanted to become a Marine like his grandfather.
That damn Red-Hair!
If it had not been for that bastard... forget it, there was no point thinking about that now.
"Luffy!"
Watching Luffy draw closer, Garp roared, "Why can't you two brothers listen to this old man?!"
If you had obediently become Marines...
"Get out of my way, Grandpa!!!"
"This old man is a Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters!"
As they spoke, the distance between them steadily shrank until they were close enough.
"This is the path you two chose for yourselves!"
Do not resent this old man!
But at the instant they clashed, Garp recalled those days from the past. In the end, his invincible iron fist could not come down.
"Garp."
Sengoku's pupils contracted as tension rose within him.
You bastard, don't tell me...
Sure enough, Garp crashed into the ground, smashing out a crater.
Though the surrounding Marines were shocked, they more or less understood. The relationship between Straw Hat Kid and Garp was no secret to those in the know.
Putting themselves in Garp's position, they feared they would also have found it difficult to choose.
"Grandpa!" Ace lowered his head, tears streaming down his face.
His recklessness had put his family in such a difficult position. He did not regret becoming a Pirate; he only hated himself for being so powerless.
Sengoku was so furious that even his beard stood on end.
As Garp's old comrade-in-arms, Sengoku could not possibly fail to realize that Garp was throwing the fight!
"Ace—!" Luffy cried out excitedly.
He ran to Ace's side and used the key to unlock him.
Sengoku frowned tightly, feeling utterly helpless.
Then his Devil Fruit ability activated.
Sengoku transformed into a giant Buddha behind them, his voice filled with fury.
"You think you can escape from the palm of my hand?!"
"It's Sengoku! Fleet Admiral Sengoku has made his move!"
Sabaody Archipelago
The gossip-hungry reporters erupted into cheers again.
Meanwhile, the Pirates eating meat and drinking in the Sabaody Archipelago grew tense as they watched the broadcast.
That was someone from the same era as Garp!
The Fleet Admiral of the Marines—Sengoku.
And because Luffy was nervous, he could not line the key up with the lock.
"I didn't expect there to be something like a key, Straw Hat Kid." Kizaru, who had just joined the battle, felt that he should do something useful.
Light flickered at his fingertip.
Just as in the previous Summit War, a laser shot toward the key in Luffy's hand.
Only this time...
"Hm?"
Another beam of light from afar interrupted Kizaru's attack.
"Su Lin!" Luffy cried out in surprise.
Countless points of light appeared before him and gathered into a human figure.
It was Su Lin.
"Mr. 3, wake up." Su Lin kicked Mr. 3, who was lying at his feet dressed as a Marine execution soldier.
"Ah, right, Mr. 3, you're here too!" Luffy finally remembered that during the previous rescue operation, Mr. 3 had made a key at the critical moment and saved Ace.
Watching this unfold, Sengoku finally brought down his fist.
"I'll leave the unlocking to you, Mr. 3!" Luffy tossed the key to Mr. 3.
Mr. 3 had only just woken up and had yet to understand the situation when he was entrusted with an important task.
"Gear Fourth!"
Luffy transformed into a small giant, his entire body coated in Haki. Conqueror's Haki wrapped around his massive fist, making it look like an enormous iron fist.
"Gomu Gomu no..."
King Kong Rocket Punch!
The golden fist collided with the black-iron fist.
Waves of air and shockwaves erupted, yet the two fists never actually touched.
As the Fleet Admiral,
Sengoku naturally knew Haki Infusion as well.
The power brought by Haki and abilities collided and intertwined.
The resulting shockwaves even sent nearby soldiers and artillery platforms flying.
The execution platform began to crack apart as well.
Kizaru stared at Su Lin and fired several more beams from his fingertips. Once again, they were blocked by the same move.
"That guy has the same ability as Admiral Kizaru?!" the surrounding Marines cried in shock.
"Hohoho~." Kizaru turned into light and appeared in midair, kicking toward Su Lin.
Su Lin turned into a beam of light to counterattack. The two lights tangled together as they moved away from the execution platform that was about to collapse.
"Is that all you can do?!" Sengoku shouted.
"Straw Hat Kid!"
"It's not over yet!" Luffy roared, determined to withstand this Marine Legend's attack.
Below the platform, the Marine artillery unit had already assembled.
"Aim at the execution platform. Fire."
"Fire Fist Ace is just an ordinary person right now. Attack!"
The Seastone Handcuffs had not been removed. This was the Marines' opportunity.
Whoosh—!
Amid the roar of cannons, the execution platform shattered completely.
After the shells screamed through the air came booming explosions.
In an instant,
A tornado of flames soared into the sky before the eyes of everyone present!
"Ace!"
Along with Luffy's cry, Ace, holding Mr. 3 by the collar, used a wall of flames to isolate the explosive force of the shells.
"You really are a disobedient little brother, Luffy!" Ace said with a smile.
"Ace—!"
Everyone except the Marines began cheering. Whitebeard's dark golden eyes gleamed as he revealed a happy smile.
(End of Chapter)