Jozu could not raise his head at all now. He wanted to know what had happened; his attention had been entirely on Ace just now, and he had not seen anything else clearly.
But the more desperately Jozu tried to lift his head, the harder he was pressed down, until his head had been forced into a crater.
From Vista and the Marine Vice Admiral's angle, however, they could see a burly, white-haired old man holding the renowned Diamond Jozu down with just one hand, leaving him unable to raise his head for quite some time.
Only, Vista and the Marine Vice Admiral wore completely opposite expressions.
The old man was, of course, Garp. His expression was so dark it looked as though water might drip from it.
But that darkness was not directed at Jozu for nearly succeeding in rescuing Ace just now. It was directed at himself.
In fact, Garp had already spent a long time hesitating aboard the warship. He had not acted even while the Three Admirals were ganging up on Whitebeard, because, at heart, he did not want to act.
When he saw Jozu charge toward Ace, his inner conflict reached its peak.
He knew perfectly well that once Jozu had Ace in his hands, Ace would be completely safe. No one could snatch Ace away from Whitebeard.
But his duty as a Marine told him that he absolutely could not let that happen! He had to stop it!
And so he had agonized over it until the instant Jozu was about to touch Ace before abruptly springing into action. This was not Garp making his final choice, but his body reacting on instinct.
With an explosive burst of Geppo, Garp instantly crossed the distance between himself and Jozu, then delivered a hefty punch that