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Chapter 72: A Declaration to the World
BOOM!
A blue-purple thunderbolt tore the sky apart. With a violent, all-consuming fury, it slammed toward the Marines' most sacred place: the execution platform!
It was too fast!
So fast that the three Admirals had only just begun to rise, their faces still showing shock!
So fast that the bolt of lightning, which spanned heaven and earth, was about to completely swallow the platform and everyone on it!
However.
Just as the lightning was about to touch Ace.
A golden curtain of light, without warning, shot up!
BOOM!
A towering golden Buddha appeared from thin air!
Sengoku the Buddha... had activated his Devil Fruit ability!
He didn't dodge, nor did he counterattack. He thrust out a giant golden palm, as large as the sky, meeting the attack head-on, blocking the thunderbolt's path!
BANG!!!
The blue-purple lightning and the golden palm collided in mid-air!
There was no deafening roar.
Only a shockwave that twisted the air, spreading out wildly!
Lightning and golden light frantically eroded and annihilated each other, letting out a sickening sizzle!
That violent thunderbolt... had actually been stopped!
The lightning faded, revealing the "Pirate Garp's" face, which was filled with tyranny and rage.
His fist was pressed against the golden palm, just inches away from Ace!
"Get lost!"
Garp's roar was like muffled thunder exploding from his chest, every word crackling with electricity!
"Sengoku!!!"
The golden Buddha's compassionate face... was now twisted with a mortal's rage and pain.
"Garp!"
Sengoku's voice boomed from within the Buddha, like a great bell, making all of Marineford hum!
"Do you have any idea what you are doing?!"
"Of course I do!" Veins popped on Garp's neck. The Lightning Release Armour on his arm exploded with an even more dazzling light, trying to pierce the golden palm!
"I'm here to take my grandson home!"
"He is not your grandson!" Sengoku roared. Visible cracks were spreading across his golden palm, but he held firm, not giving an inch!
"He is the son of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger! He is the root of evil that started this sinful era! He must be judged by justice, here!"
"To hell with your justice!"
Garp roared, his eyes burning with a pure, unreasonable madness!
"All I know... is that crying brat over there... is the grandson I watched grow up!"
"I don't care whose son he is! Today... he's coming with me!"
"This is treason, Garp!" Sengoku's voice trembled with anguish. "You are betraying the Marines! You are betraying the creed we've upheld our entire lives!"
"BWAHAHAHA!" Garp seemed to zone out for a second, then burst into a wild laugh, a laugh full of self-mockery and resolve.
"That's right!"
He stared into the golden Buddha's eyes, roaring every word.
"Today, I'm telling you! And I'm telling the whole world!"
"Family..."
"Is more important than anything!"
The words... were like an invisible hammer, slamming into Sengoku's heart.
The light of the golden Buddha... dimmed for an instant.
Sengoku looked at his old friend, so familiar, yet so alien. He looked at his face, filled with resolve.
He saw it.
He saw... the part of this man... that had been suppressed for a lifetime... had finally, today, exploded.
"Garp..."
Sengoku's voice, for the first time, held a note of pleading. It was the voice of a lifelong friend.
"Stop this..."
"It's not too late to turn back."
The wild laugh on Garp's face... slowly faded.
The violent lightning on his body... seemed to calm slightly.
He looked at the giant golden Buddha. At this man, with whom he had argued, and fought alongside, for his entire life.
A complex emotion flashed in his sharp eyes.
Apology.
Nostalgia.
But more than anything... unshakeable resolve.
"Sorry..."
Garp spoke softly, his voice quiet, but Sengoku heard it clearly.
"Sengoku."
He grinned, a reckless smile, just like when they were young.
"Just let me..."
"Be selfish... this one time!"
The moment his voice fell!
CRACKLE!
The blue-purple lightning on his body... exploded... with a light more violent, more brilliant than ever before!
"What?!"
Sengoku's pupils shrank!
He felt an unprecedented, overwhelming, crushing force... coming from that fist!
A force... that had surpassed the realm of pure Haki!
"For me..."
Garp's voice... was like the judgment of a thunder god!
"Get... lost!!!!"
KRACHA!
A crisp snap!
The sky-covering golden palm... shattered!
Countless golden particles... scattered in all directions... like broken glass!
"Pfft!"
Sengoku spat a mouthful of blood. His giant Buddha body... was blasted backward... by this unstoppable force!
And the blue-purple thunderbolt, which had pierced everything, was finally free.
Boom!
Garp's figure... landed heavily... on the execution platform!
He stood in front of Ace, his back to his grandson, who was frozen, his face stained with tears.
Before him... were a pale-faced Aokiji... a grave Kizaru... and a boiling Akainu.
The three Admirals... representing the Marines' highest power!
The execution platform, at this moment, became the focus of the world.
A Garp, wreathed in blue-purple lightning, his back to his grandson, facing the Marines' strongest... alone.
All of Marineford... was silent.
"Ooooh..."
The first to break the silence... was Kizaru Borsalino.
His perpetually sleazy face... wore a smile that was uglier than crying. He adjusted his sunglasses, his tone exaggerated.
"This is really... scary..."
"Mr. Garp... are you planning on... taking on all three of us?"
His voice... was lazy as ever.
But the next second.
His body... dissolved into countless, shining, golden particles... and vanished!
"Light Speed Kick."
His slow voice... was still echoing.
But a foot, made of light, carrying destructive power... was already at Garp's neck!
Fast!
The ultimate speed!
The speed of light, which could pierce all things!
However.
"Too slow."
Garp didn't even turn his head!
Crackle!
His Lightning Release Armour exploded. In an instant, his entire body... also turned into a blue-purple bolt of thunder!
"What?!"
Kizaru's horrified voice, for the first time, held an uncontrollable tremor!
He saw it!
His Light Speed Kick, strong enough to shatter an island... had missed!
It was dodged!
That man... in a way he couldn't understand... had kept up with the speed of light!
No!
He was... even faster than light!
"Over here, kid."
Garp's mocking voice... came from behind Kizaru.
The hairs on Kizaru's entire body... stood on end!
He whipped his head around, his pupils shrinking to their limit!
A fist, wreathed in blue-purple lightning, as big as a pot... was growing rapidly in his vision!
"Liger Bomb!"