Hero of the Marines, Garp

"The legendary Marine, current Marine HQ vice admiral—the 'Hero of the Marines,' Monkey D. Garp! Even a legendary figure like him had joined the fight?"

Teach's pupils shrank sharply. If there was anyone at Marine HQ he feared most, it was undoubtedly the legendary Hero of the Marines before him! Monkey D. Garp was not a Devil Fruit user, yet his reputation struck terror into countless pirates! He had reached the pinnacle of this world's power through physical prowess alone! He was truly one of the strongest among the strong!

Even though Teach had defeated one of the Four Emperors, Red-Haired Shanks, and had once fought Rayleigh, the "Pluton" and remnant of the old era, he truly had no confidence when facing Garp!

However, the more he fought monsters like this, the faster he himself would grow stronger! This was exactly what Teach wanted! But there was one prerequisite—you had to survive!

"Garp joined the fight too? That's really rare!" Sengoku stood atop the execution platform, his eyes gleaming. Without a doubt, with Garp taking action, the pressure on the others would be greatly reduced!

Just as Sengoku had expected, the instant they saw Garp, many pirates began trembling all over! But they could not be blamed. After all, King of the Pirates Gol D. Roger had been defeated by the Marine standing before them! (The World Government had publicly claimed that King of the Pirates Gol D. Roger had been defeated by Garp and thrown into prison!)

"Whitebeard Pirates, I swear upon my honor as a Marine HQ vice admiral that you will not take another step forward!" Garp declared domineeringly as he stood before the pirates.

The moment Garp finished speaking, an utterly ordinary pirate raised his right foot and slowly set it down on the ground before him...

Garp:...

On the other side of the battlefield, several Shichibukai were displaying their abilities to the fullest!

"Fufufufufu! I never expected even legendary figures to join the battle! What an interesting war!" Doflamingo admired the severed limbs scattered across the battlefield like a madman, then kicked straight through the body of a pirate trying to ambush him.

"Doflamingo! I'm your opponent!" A tall man wielding two blades burst forth with speed utterly mismatched to his fat body!

"Fufufufufu! You're the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' 13th Division? You're quite a decent opponent!" Doflamingo cackled strangely as he began fighting him.

"Dracule Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman! As a fellow swordsman, I've long wanted to test myself against you!" Flower Sword Vista, captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' 5th Division, challenged Mihawk with his twin rapiers!

"A powerful swordsman!" At last, a different expression appeared on Mihawk's wooden face. How should it be described? Like a hunter who had spotted his prey!

As for Teach, he pretended to fight Namur, captain of the 8th Division, while "accidentally" injuring a few Marine HQ soldiers.

As for the Marines' three admirals, Aokiji was being handled jointly by Diamond Jozu, captain of the 5th Division; Haruta, captain of the 12th Division; and Speed Jiru, captain of the 14th Division. For the moment, the battle was deadlocked!

Kizaru, meanwhile, was being handled alone by Marco, captain of the 1st Division, the "Phoenix." With the phoenix's regenerative abilities, Marco could temporarily hold back Kizaru, who had yet to go all out!

The remaining Akainu was being handled by Fire Fist Ace, captain of the 2nd Division, and Izo, captain of the 16th Division. Though Ace's Devil Fruit ability was inferior to Akainu's, with Izo's Seastone bullets supporting him from the side, they had fallen into a disadvantage but could still barely hold on for some time!

As for Garp, Whitebeard himself was dealing with him! The battle between these two legends of the old era was truly spectacular! Even the aftershocks they released unintentionally sent many people coughing up blood!

"Gurararara! Garp, you old bastard, your fists are still as hard as ever!" Whitebeard swung Murakumogiri in broad, fierce arcs, his blade strikes incomparably savage!

"Hmph! On the contrary, Whitebeard, your attacks are growing weaker and weaker! What, even someone like you could not escape the erosion of time?!" Garp coated his fists in Haki and threw punch after punch, producing explosive clangs! Compared to Whitebeard, Garp's fists were as small as pebbles! Yet even so, Garp's attacks gave Whitebeard endless headaches!

However, Garp had not fully devoted himself to this battle, because his grandson was also on the battlefield, facing Akainu, the admiral of absolute justice! Garp had to make sure that even while fighting Whitebeard, he could immediately break away and lend aid if Ace was in danger!

"You're still getting distracted while fighting me! Are you looking down on me too much?! I'm Whitebeard!" Seeing Garp's attacks slow slightly, Whitebeard's fury flared! Whitebeard was naturally worried about his sons as well, but there was nothing he could do. The erosion of time and the hidden injuries within his body had greatly diminished his strength! He had to focus completely just to fight Garp to a draw!

But at that moment, a sudden change occurred!

"Great Eruption!" Akainu's attack was incredibly vicious. He suddenly seized upon an opening in Ace's movements and drove a fist straight toward Ace's heart!

His fist was covered in blazing magma. If that punch landed on Ace, there was no doubt that the scene from the original story would unfold!

"Not good! Iron Fist: Mountain Shatter!" Garp, who had been keeping a close eye on Ace, was horrified. He hastily forced Whitebeard back, covered his right fist in dense Armament Haki, leaped high into the air, and smashed down at Akainu's body! Of course, this strike would not kill Akainu. No matter how panicked Garp was, he still knew his limits! Well, at most, it would only paralyze Akainu from the waist down!

"Ace!" Whitebeard, who had been forced back by Garp, also noticed that his son was in mortal danger. At that moment, he could no longer care about anything else. Dragging his aged body along, he frantically activated the power of his Tremor-Tremor Fruit!

"Earthquake!!!"

In other words, Akainu was now about to suffer attacks from two legendary figures...

But did you think that was all?

"Red Dog, fuck you! Dark Entanglement: Spatial Shockwave!" Teach also noticed Ace's life-threatening situation. In his panic, he could no longer bother concealing his identity. He frantically activated the powers of two Devil Fruits and unleashed a powerful blow directly at Akainu's head!

Akainu:...

At the critical moment between life and death, Akainu's battle-honed instincts set off alarm bells in his mind. He swiftly withdrew his fist, turned his entire body into magma, and slipped underground through a crack in the earth!

The next second—

The spot where Akainu had been standing sank exactly five meters! That was Garp's iron fist!

A terrifying fissure appeared between Whitebeard and Akainu, its trembling aura making everyone shudder!

Teach's attack, which had originally been aimed at Akainu's head, flew off course due to Akainu's evasion. Everyone in its path scrambled to dodge. In the end, the attack struck the frozen tsunami, and after a massive explosion, half of the tsunami vanished entirely...

"What... happened?"

Sengoku stood on the execution platform, the bewilderment on his face plain for all to see...