Seeing Luffy bouncing up toward them, Garp, who had originally planned to play dead, was forced to stand up from the execution platform under Sengoku's stern glare.
He leaped forward, blocking Luffy's path. In that split second, he had already mapped out the entire sequence of events in his head.
The moment Luffy's fist connected, he would immediately let himself be sent flying backward. Then, he'd close his eyes, kick his legs out, and directly "pass out."
After that, he could just slack off until the war ended.
The script was absolutely perfect.
However, despite all his calculations, he hadn't accounted for just how absurd this brat Luffy's current strength and Devil Fruit powers had become.
Before he could even utter a word, he was punched flying.
That punch nearly snapped his old waist in half.
Despite the intense pain radiating from his lower back, Garp decided to roll with it, rolling his eyes back as he began his performance.
But before he could even fake fainting, a bizarre softness pressed against his back.
The wall he had crashed into had somehow turned into rubber, bouncing him right back the way he came.
Greeting him was a barrage of Luffy's Gum-Gum Gatling.
Every single punch was brimming with a grandson's "filial piety" toward his grandfather.
Garp's face instantly darkened like the bottom of a pot. He couldn't shake the feeling that Luffy was doing this on purpose.
*'This damn brat! Are you going to let me act or not?!'*
As the dignified Hero of the Marines, he couldn't just let a pirate beat him up in front of everyone without fighting back.
Left with no choice, Garp coated his fists in Armament Haki and braced himself to meet the attack head-on.
"Fist Bone Meteor!"
Luffy acted as if he hadn't even seen it, making no attempt to dodge. *(He knew he'd be fine even if he took the punch head-on.)*
Suddenly, an elegant figure glided silently across the ice, slipping right between the grandfather and grandson.
The hem of Erii's Gothic dress fluttered gently in the turbulent air currents generated by their clash. She exuded a tranquil beauty that felt entirely out of place on this brutal battlefield.
Garp's iron fist, capable of shattering mountains, landed squarely on her arm.
Then, defying all logic, it simply slid off, failing to inflict even the slightest bit of damage on her from start to finish.
Erii turned her head and gave Luffy a playful wink.
"Leave this to me, Luffy-chan. Hurry and go save Ace-chan!"
"Ahahaha! Thanks, Erii!"
Luffy grinned, his body turning into a white bouncy ball once more as he bypassed the two and continued ricocheting toward the execution platform.
Looking at the young girl before him who could perfectly "neutralize" his attacks, Garp let out a long sigh of relief in his heart.
Finally... he had finally found an excuse to be "held up."
And so, the old man and the young girl began their exhibition match.
However, just as everyone thought the scales of war were about to tip in favor of the Whitebeard Pirates...
The sky suddenly darkened.
A terrifying, suffocating pressure descended from the heavens.
Then, a massive azure dragon that blotted out the sun tore through the clouds, unleashing a deafening roar.
"Worororororo!"
"Whitebeard! How could such a grand war happen without me, Kaido?!"
Aboard the Moby Dick, Whitebeard, who had been about to charge forward, instantly flared with anger at the sight of that annoying azure dragon.
He backhanded the air, throwing a punch toward the sky.
*Crack—!*
The atmosphere shattered on impact.
The power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit struck the azure dragon ten thousand meters in the air.
"Kaido! I don't have time to play with you right now!"
*Bam—!*
Kaido whipped his dragon tail, slamming it into Whitebeard's attack, and the two forces canceled each other out.
But before he could launch another strike at Whitebeard...
An equally massive draconic shadow appeared beside him.
Fenrir had already reverted to his sun-blotting dragon form as the Lord of Earth and Mountains.
His golden eyes, burning like molten lava, stared coldly at Kaido.
"Kaido of the Beasts, let me be your opponent!"
Seeing an equally colossal dragon before him, Kaido's belligerent blood instantly boiled.
He roared and charged at Fenrir, engaging him in the most primal and savage melee ten thousand meters in the sky.
On the other side of the battlefield.
Luffy finally bounced his way to the very bottom of the execution platform.
"Ace, I'm here!"
"Don't even think about it!"
Sengoku the Buddha, transformed into a massive golden Buddha, let out a furious roar and thrust a palm forward, sending a golden shockwave blasting toward Luffy.
However, the moment he launched his palm strike, a figure instantly appeared before him.
Xia Mi gently raised her hand and tapped the weak point of the golden shockwave. The powerful attack instantly shattered, dissipating into pure energy.
She tilted her head at Sengoku and said with a smile,
"Old man, your opponent is me."
As the Lord of Earth and Mountains, Xia Mi's control over force and power had already reached the absolute pinnacle.
Now, she even had a toy like the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
No matter how much force Sengoku exerted, he couldn't shake her in the slightest.
The Marines' final line of defense was gone.
With no one left to stop him, Luffy rushed up to Ace and flashed a wide grin.
He plucked a single strand from his long hair, which fluttered like white flames.
He blew on it gently in his hand.
The strand of hair miraculously transformed into a key.
*Click.*
With a soft sound.
The Seastone handcuffs binding Ace were effortlessly unlocked.
"Luffy..."
Ace looked at Luffy, who had come all this way to rescue him. For a moment, he was overwhelmed with mixed emotions, a thousand words caught in his throat.
Luffy simply pulled him into a massive hug.
"Shishishi! Ace, I bet you never thought it'd be my turn to save you!"
After so many years, the two brothers stood shoulder to shoulder once again.
This scene was broadcast to every corner of the world through the visual Den Den Mushi.
Everyone stared at their screens, utterly dumbfounded.
An unknown, mysterious crew possessed top-tier combatants that could rival the Marines—no! It was more accurate to say they were completely suppressing the Marines.
After all, there were still two people on their ship who hadn't even made a move yet.
Just who on earth were these people?
Viewers all over the world unanimously turned their attention to the Kuja pirate ship.
The lens of the visual Den Den Mushi slowly panned over as well.
Finally, it focused on the captain standing at the bow, Yang Yi, who hadn't lifted a finger from the very beginning.
However, not far behind Yang Yi...
"Buggy the Clown" was currently shaking like a leaf, his legs trembling uncontrollably as his teeth chattered with a rhythmic *clack-clack-clack*.
*My god!*
*My god!*
*Just what kind of monsters are on this ship?!*
*Pull out any random one of them, and they can go toe-to-toe with a Marine Admiral!*
*Even Fenrir, who he thought was a bit of a dimwit, was actually suppressing the Yonko Kaido in a fight!*
*And to think he actually dared to fight him for snacks earlier!*
Right now, all he wanted was to find a wooden barrel to hide in, then immediately jump into the sea and escape this dangerous ship.
Just then, Buggy suddenly realized that the live broadcast camera had turned toward his direction!
His thirst for wealth instantly overpowered his survival instincts.
With a *swish*, he straightened his back.
He crossed his arms over his chest.
He forced an expression of aloofness, cold arrogance, and utter disdain.
Peering out of the corner of his eye, he cast a sidelong glance at the entire battlefield, acting as if this world-shaking Summit War unfolding before him was nothing more than children playing house.
This scene instantly sent viewers all over the world into an uproar!
"Look! That red nose! He looks so strong!"
"Yeah! Yeah! He hasn't moved a muscle this whole time!"
"Everyone else is locked in fierce combat, but just like that leading man, he's only watching!"
"His expression is terrifying! That's pure contempt for the top powerhouses of the world!"
People began wildly speculating about Buggy's identity.
"He must be the number two of this crew!"
"The man in front is the captain, so he's definitely the vice-captain!"
"No... look at his aura. I suspect he might even be another titan on equal footing with their leader!"
"Having so many monsters on one ship... this is almost on par with the Rocks Pirates from decades ago!"
Buggy stood triumphantly behind Yang Yi. His actual strength might not be much, but the great Lord Buggy had every right to be proud.
At the very least, no one dared to read his name backwards!