Saint Garling was also utterly perplexed.
He picked up his high-tech telescope and looked directly at the distant sea.
A moment later, a drop of sweat uncontrollably dripped from his forehead.
"Judging by the flag, it really is the Straw Hat Pirates. That terrifying 'Demon God'... Ray... he still alive?"
Saint Garling rarely felt fear toward anyone.
But after the battle at the Sabaody Archipelago ended and he returned to Mary Geoise, seeing the empty office of the Five Elders left him with a deeply unpleasant feeling.
Those were the Five Elders who had already obtained immortal bodies, yet they had all died at Ray's hands.
Which meant he too could be killed by Ray.
Originally, the God's Knights only possessed the infinite regeneration ability provided by Imu-sama, but their lifespans were still limited.
At that time, Saint Garling viewed death with relative equanimity.
But because all of the Five Elders had died, Saint Garling ascended to power while also gaining eternal life.
It was from this moment that Saint Garling's mindset changed—he became afraid of death.
And Ray, who could kill the Five Elders, naturally became his nightmare.
...
Like Kong at this moment, Saint Garling couldn't understand why the Straw Hat Pirates were still alive.
Without another word, he picked up his most advanced telescope and looked forward, carefully observing every corner of the distant Thousand Sunny.
He even took extra glances at the bees flying over the lawn.
After repeatedly confirming several times, Saint Garling briefly let out a sigh.
"No sign of Ray."
Kong silently watched Saint Garling's series of puzzling actions from the side, his eyeballs shifting slightly.
The former top combatant of the God's Knights was actually so afraid of that man called Ray.
This was interesting.
'Hmph, what a weakling.' Kong felt disdain in his heart, but for the sake of his own goals, he couldn't show it in front of Saint Garling.
What concerned him more now was that the Marines had to win, and he needed to quickly gain Imu's "favor" as well.
The ruler of the world, Imu, was too mysterious—so he had to investigate.
For the sake of the world.
...
On the Marineford battlefield, all the Marines were gritting their teeth in frustration.
When Sengoku saw the Straw Hat Pirates and the Beasts Pirates' fleet, he felt his scalp go numb.
'What's going on here... Weren't the Straw Hat Pirates completely wiped out?'
'And you, the Beasts Pirates—your captain was killed by Ray, yet now you're coming with the Straw Hat crew to attack us Marines? Where's the logic in this? Has the world gone mad?'
But soon, Sengoku calmed down.
The scene before him suggested one possible explanation: after Ray defeated Kaido, he subjugated the Beasts Pirates, so these people were now following the Straw Hat crew here.
The most important question now was: how strong were the pirate crews that had come here?
The Beautiful Pirates, the Floating Artist Pirates, and the Barto Club were average; the Marines could easily eliminate them.
But both the Straw Hat Pirates and the Beasts Pirates once had Yonko-level powerhouses.
Based on the current situation, Kaido was definitely gone.
But since the Straw Hat Pirates had appeared, could Ray still be alive?
If so, the Marines would be in serious trouble.
Even if they could win, the losses would be enormous.
Anxious, Sengoku also picked up the telescope beside him and carefully watched the approaching Thousand Sunny.
Unlike Sengoku, Garp and Ace were currently overjoyed.
When the two had earlier received news of the Straw Hat Pirates' annihilation, their anguish had been overwhelming.
Initially, neither wanted to believe it, with Garp even personally confirming the facts with Sengoku.
Upon learning that the Straw Hat Pirates might have been fighting the Five Elders on the Sabaody Archipelago, Garp nearly fainted from shock.
Garp knew perfectly well that when Sengoku suggested the Straw Hats might have clashed with the Five Elders, it was almost certainly true.
This nearly led Garp to come to blows with Sengoku.
If Sengoku hadn't withdrawn the Admirals from the Sabaody Archipelago, would the Celestial Dragons have intervened personally?
Of course, as a Marine, Garp suppressed his rage for the sake of justice.
After asking Tsuru to watch over Ace, Garp had personally gone to scout the Sabaody Archipelago.
The massive archipelago had completely vanished, leaving only a bottomless black crater.
In that moment, Garp despaired.
By the time he returned to Marine Headquarters, the always upright posture of this Marine hero had noticeably slumped.
In their final days together, he and Ace could only exchange silent glances in the prison cell.
But now, grandfather and grandson both wept with joy upon seeing the Straw Hat Pirates' flag approaching them.
"Bwahahaha! That's my grandson for you!"
No longer able to restrain his emotions, Garp clapped Ace's shoulder as they both burst into exhilarated laughter.
This scene infuriated Sengoku, who roared, "Garp, mind your conduct!"
"BWAHAHAHA~ Got it, got it."
Then Garp's expression sobered, his bent spine straightening once more.
He voluntarily shared his thoughts with Sengoku. "I understand my position. A fierce battle is coming, and I'll give it my all."
Hearing this, Sengoku said no more, not wanting to clash with Garp.
This would suffice, Sengoku's expectations weren't high, he just needed Garp not to cause trouble.
After all, they were about to execute his 'grandson'.
Sengoku actually felt somewhat guilty toward Garp.
Without further conversation, both tacitly turned their attention to the battlefield ahead.
The real fight was just beginning.
...
Luffy and the others had reached the waters outside Marineford.
Anyone could see the Whitebeard Pirates were in dire straits.
Luffy immediately activated Gear Fourth, charging toward Kizaru and the Pacifistas surrounding Whitebeard's rear.
Zoro and Sanji sighed inwardly—could he at least wait for them?
Charging in like that was just asking to become a target.
But what could they do? They'd chosen to follow this reckless captain!
So Sanji called back to Yamato, "Yamato-san, could you provide covering fire for us first?"
Yamato hoisted her kanabo onto her shoulder, smiling in response.
"Leave it to us. Beasts Pirates, open fire!"
The order transmitted, 30 massive warships—each 200 meters long and 80 meters wide—instantly opened fire. Each ship mounted ten giant-caliber cannons at the bow.
These were the super-weapons Kaido had manufactured in Wano, surpassing all other nations' armaments.
Their shells were powerful enough to seriously injure even giants with a single hit.
Marineford's inner walls mounted fewer than a hundred such cannons in total, and those could only be used for defense.
Whereas a single Beasts Pirates warship carried 30 cannons (including broadsides), with 30 warships totaling nearly a thousand artillery pieces.
It could strike anywhere across the vast seas.
One could say it achieved generational superiority in weaponry.
At this moment, the Marines of Marineford experienced an artillery barrage more terrifying than their own Buster Call.
The first to bear the brunt of this bombardment were the hundreds of Pacifistas led by Kizaru.
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NO WAYYYYYYYY IMU IS A DUDE