On the Marine Plaza, Sengoku stood still.
His golden Buddha form had been dispelled, leaving only a tattered uniform.
He watched the Whitebeard Pirates retreat in an orderly fashion, his lips pressed tightly together.
"Fleet Admiral..."
A Marine officer beside him spoke, trembling.
"Should we pursue?"
Sengoku was silent for a moment.
"No, we won't pursue."
"What?!"
The officer's eyes widened.
"But Fleet Admiral! Ace has already been rescued!"
"If we don't pursue..."
"Enough!"
Sengoku suddenly turned his head, his eyes full of exhaustion.
"Didn't you see?"
"Sakazuki is already!"
"Garp..."
He paused, not continuing.
"We have already lost this war."
The officer opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Sengoku turned around and looked at the figure bathed in emerald green light in the distance.
Garp stood at the edge of the deep pit.
The emerald green steam around him had dissipated, and the lightning no longer flickered.
But his aura was still powerful.
Sengoku looked at him.
"Garp..."
His voice was very soft.
"What exactly... did you choose?"
Garp did not answer.
He just stood there, watching Whitebeard's fleet gradually disappear into the distance.
Kizaru stood on the distant ruins.
He had his hands in his pockets, watching the pirates retreat.
"Oh dear..."
He scratched his head.
"This is going to be hard to clean up."
"Boom—"
A strange tremor came from the depths of his soul.
Garp suddenly looked up, emerald green steam surging around his body.
Task completed!
Successfully rescued 'Fire Fist' Ace!
instance settlement in progress...
Countdown: 60 seconds
A cold, mechanical voice exploded in his mind.
Garp froze.
He looked down at his hands.
They were covered in cracks, blood dripping between his fingers.
"It's over?"
He murmured to himself.
The clamor of the battlefield was still clearly audible.
The Whitebeard Pirates were retreating in an orderly fashion, while the Marines sat slumped in the ruins, their eyes filled with confusion.
Garp turned around and looked at the Moby Dick in the distance.
Whitebeard stood at the bow, holding Ace with one hand.
The boy was still wearing Sea Stone handcuffs, but the despair he had before was gone from his face.
He was looking this way.
Looking at him.
Garp grinned.
"You little brat..."
He raised his hand and waved in Ace's direction.
Ace was startled for a moment.
Then, his eyes instantly turned red.
"Grandpa—!"
He roared, his voice echoing across the battlefield.
Whitebeard looked down at him, but said nothing.
He just released his hold on him.
Ace struggled to stand up, but his body was too weak.
He knelt on the deck and bowed towards Garp.
"Thank you..."
His voice choked.
"Thank you for saving me..."
Garp did not answer.
He just stood there, watching the boy.
Countdown: 30 seconds
Sengoku stood at the edge of the deep pit.
He looked at Garp's back, his lips pressed tightly together.
"Garp..."
His voice was very soft.
"Can you tell me where you came from now?"
Sengoku stood at the edge of the deep pit, looking at the man who was both strange and familiar.
Garp was silent for a moment.
He looked at his old friend's weathered face, his lips moved, and he was about to speak—
"Ace! I've come to save you!"
A heartbreaking roar came from the sky.
Garp suddenly looked up.
He saw a young man wearing a straw hat, standing at the bow of a battleship.
The deck of that ship was filled with pirates in prison uniforms.
Impel Down prisoners?
Garp's pupils suddenly constricted.
"Luffy?!"
Sengoku also froze.
At the same time.
From the direction of the Moby Dick, Whitebeard's earth-shattering roar came.
"Teach!"
The voice was filled with fury and killing intent.
"Only you are unforgivable to me!"
Garp subconsciously turned around, wanting to see what was happening over there.
But just then—
Countdown: 5 seconds
4
3
Garp's body suddenly stiffened.
"Wait—"
He wanted to take one more look.
Look at that brat.
2
1
"Damn it—"
Garp gritted his teeth.
Teleportation begins
A blinding white light instantly engulfed his figure!
Boom—!
On Marineford Plaza, the figure bathed in emerald green light suddenly disappeared.
As if he had never appeared.
Leaving only ruins everywhere, and that deep footprint crater.
Sengoku stood frozen.
He looked at the spot where Garp had disappeared, his lips pressed tightly together.
The white light dissipated.
Garp fell heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
He rolled over and stood up, the emerald green steam around him completely gone, and the lightning no longer flickering.
It was this dark space again.
Boundless, deathly silent void.
"Hoo..."
Garp exhaled a mouthful of stale air, looking down at his hands.
They were covered in cracks, blood already coagulated into dark red scabs.
The side effects of the Eight Gates were still present.
But much lighter than expected.
Probably because he only opened to the Third Gate?
Garp stretched his shoulders, his joints making crisp cracking sounds.
To be honest, he hadn't fought enough.
Just at that moment, a cold, mechanical voice exploded in his mind.
instance settlement complete
Mission evaluation: SSS-rank
Evaluation details: Successfully rescued 'Fire Fist' Ace, defeated Marine Admiral 'Akainu' Sakazuki, directly confronted Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Admiral Aokiji, and Kizaru, turning the tide of battle with his own strength!
Fulfilling the "Reward Doubling" promise...
Reward obtained: Strongest Paramecia-type Tremor-Tremor Fruit (Perfect Version)
Reward description: A power said to be capable of destroying the world. Can cause vibrations with enough force to tear the atmosphere and unleash tsunamis. The Perfect Version has removed all Devil Fruit side effects; the user will no longer fear seawater and Sea Stone.
Garp's pupils suddenly constricted to the size of needlepoints.
His mind buzzed, a complete blank.
Tremor-Tremor Fruit?
Newgate's... that old bastard's power?
Garp subconsciously clenched his fists, an unprecedented, terrifying power that felt capable of tearing everything apart, awakened within him and instantly merged with him, like an innate instinct.
He remembered the instance, every time Whitebeard swung his bisento, every time he threw a punch, the atmosphere shattered.
That destructive power... was now his?
Garp slowly raised his fist, and facing the void in front of him, mimicking Whitebeard, he fiercely punched out!
No sound.
No light.
Only the pitch-black space in front of him, like a mirror struck by an invisible hammer, suddenly became covered in spiderweb-like cracks!
Crack—!
A crisp shattering sound echoed, and the void he had struck truly shattered inch by inch like glass, collapsing to reveal an even deeper, more unsettling chaos behind it!
Garp froze completely.
He stared intently at his fist, then looked at the slowly repairing spatial rift, the muscles on his face twitching uncontrollably.
After a moment of dead silence.
"Pfft..."
"Pffthahahahaha..."
"Pffthahahahahahahahahaha!!"
Deafening laughter boomed in this silent void, even causing the surrounding world fragments to tremble!
"This is truly... interesting!"
"I've become Whitebeard Plus."