On the execution platform.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku the Buddha's normally calm face was, for the first time, filled with tumultuous waves.
A vein throbbed in his forehead.
He could feel it!
He clearly perceived it with his Observation Haki, which was unparalleled in the Marine!
The overbearing, tyrannical, and unreasonable aura emanating from Garp, who appeared on the enemy ship, was exactly the same as that of his old comrade who had sat beside him for decades!
No!
Sengoku's pupils constricted sharply.
It was different!
This Garp was stronger!
Because he was younger!
If the Garp beside him was a majestic mountain range that had endured countless winds and rains, still grand, but showing signs of weariness.
Then the Garp on the enemy ship was a raging volcano, erupting with endless vitality!
"Garp..."
Sengoku turned his head with difficulty to look at the "real Garp" beside him, squeezing out a few words through gritted teeth.
"What in the world... is going on?!"
Garp, sitting in his chair, had completely lost his usual laziness.
He stared intently at his distant self, his eyes filled with unprecedented shock and confusion.
"I... I don't know..."
At the Three Admirals' seats.
Kizaru Borsalino's perpetually lewd and lazy face, for the first time, completely collapsed.
He adjusted his sunglasses, his mouth exaggeratedly forming an O-shape.
"Oh my oh my oh my... This is truly, terrifying..."
"This aura... it's Mr. Garp, right? But... it feels like it's about to explode..."
Akainu Sakazuki's face was so dark it could drip ink.
His muscles were all tensed, and magma slowly flowed beneath his arms, emitting scorching heat.
"An enemy trick... But... this power... What a joke!"
Aokiji Kuzan, meanwhile, covered his face with one hand, his shoulders trembling slightly.
Others only felt it, but he had experienced it firsthand!
This terrifying sense of oppression, both familiar and strange, was practically carved from the same mold as the white-haired kid he faced in the East Blue back then!
"Whoa, whoa, whoa... no way..."
And on the other side.
On the main mast of the Moby Dick.
The strongest man in the world, Whitebeard Edward Newgate, tightly gripped Murakumogiri, the Supreme Grade Great Grade Sword in his hand, the majesty of a Four Emperors on his face replaced by extreme bewilderment.
He and Garp had been lifelong rivals!
No one was more familiar with the aura of this marine hero than him!
This Garp in front of him was definitely not a fake!
That unique Haki, mixed with forthrightness and iron will, could not be faked!
But... why did it feel so wrong!
Why was this old bastard's aura... why was it so full of vitality?
It was like... they had returned to their youth, to the era when they fought freely on the high seas!
"Gurarararara..."
Whitebeard let out a laugh of unclear meaning, staring at Garp in the distance, his eyes terrifyingly sharp.
"Garp! You old geezer!"
"Is this the surprise you're giving me?!"
"You even got younger!"
Whitebeard's thunderous words brought the entire battlefield to a standstill.
Everyone heard it.
The strongest man in the world had acknowledged the identity of the impostor!
Garp stopped his wild laughter, he looked up, his terrifyingly sharp eyes directly at Whitebeard standing on the main mast.
He scrutinized the man up and down.
The old rival who once fought him to the point of heaven and earth collapsing, making the sea tremble.
His golden hair was long gone, replaced by white whiskers and deep wrinkles all over his face.
His once burly body, capable of shaking islands, was now riddled with various medical tubes, like a mighty lion trapped by time.
Garp's gaze slowly shifted from initial amusement to complexity.
There was a hint of nostalgia, a hint of emotion, and even... a subtle hint of pity.
"Newgate..."
He spoke, his voice low, yet clearly echoing across the entire deck of the Moby Dick.
"Have you really gotten this old?"
These words were like a giant rock smashing into a calm lake, stirring up monstrous waves!
"Bastard! What did you say!"
"How dare you disrespect Pops!"
"Kill him!"
The surrounding Whitebeard Pirates commanders instantly erupted in fury, charging forward with murderous intent.
However, they were stopped by a wild burst of laughter.
"Gurararararara!"
Whitebeard roared up to the sky, his laughter filled with unparalleled Haki and grandeur, suppressing the anger of all his sons.
He lowered his head, his hawk-like eyes fixed on Garp on the deck, a blazing fire burning in his gaze.
"What a joke!"
Whitebeard's voice boomed like thunder, making the entire Moby Dick hum!
"I am Whitebeard!"
Boom!
He slammed Murakumogiri in his hand heavily onto the deck, and an invisible wave of air suddenly burst forth!
The entire world trembled at the man's declaration!
Garp grinned, revealing an extremely wild smile.
"Bwahahaha! That's more like it!"
He clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking like popping beans.
"You old geezer, you're not at the point where you need help walking yet!"
"Gurarararara! To deal with you Marine scumbags, one hand is enough for me!" Whitebeard laughed wildly, but his gaze never left Garp.
"It's you, Garp!"
"Playing these tricks, what exactly do you want to do?"
Garp grinned, his smile so wild that it sent shivers down the spines of the surrounding pirates.
"What do I want to do?"
He turned his head, his hawk-sharp eyes looking directly at the strongest man in the world, his tone filled with self-evident arrogance.
"BWAHAHAHA!"
"Is that even a question, Newgate!"
He extended his thick thumb and pointed sharply backward, towards the towering execution platform.
"That disobedient Grandson!"
"This old man is here to take him home today!"
These words, not amplified by a den den mushi, but with a more penetrating force, clearly poured into the ears of every strong individual present!
On the Moby Dick, there was a deathly silence.
All members of the Whitebeard Pirates looked at Garp with eyes as if seeing a monster.
Take Ace home?
You, a marine hero, come to Marineford, and in front of the whole world, say you're taking a pirate from the Marines?
Did he get the script wrong?!
"Gu..."
In Whitebeard's deep eyes, there was first extreme shock, and then, that shock turned into understanding.
"Gurarararararara!"
Earth-shattering wild laughter erupted from the chest of the strongest man in the world, his laughter shaking the atmosphere and stirring up gales!
"For family, huh..."
Whitebeard lowered his head, an unprecedented blazing fire burning in his hawk-like eyes, an appreciation and recognition of finding a kindred spirit!
"Garp! You old bastard!"
"Still as unreasonable as when you were young!"
"Good! Very good!"
Whitebeard raised Murakumogiri high in his hand, its blade pointing directly at Marineford!
"My sons! Did you all hear!"
"Even a marine hero is helping us! What reason do we have to lose!"
"Oh oh oh oh oh oh!!"
The pirates, who were bewildered by Garp's shocking declaration, were instantly ignited by Whitebeard's roar!
Doubt? Confusion?
To hell with all of it!
Even a marine hero has rebelled! How can they lose this battle?!
"Charge! Save Captain Ace!"
"Take down those Marines!!"