...
Saint Sommers stared fixedly at Red-Haired Shanks on the light screen, his entire face scrunched up like he'd been constipated for three days and nights.
Red-Haired Shanks' face looked far too similar to Saint Garling's—practically carved from the same mold!
At this moment, the Celestial Dragons on God Valley island had collectively fallen into chaos.
Every Celestial Dragon present knew Saint Garling—who didn't?
Seeing this pirate who resembled him so closely, they all wore expressions of utter disbelief.
"Saint Garling! What the hell is going on here?"
A shrill voice pierced the air as one Celestial Dragon shouted at the top of his lungs: "Why does that pirate look so much like you?
We Celestial Dragons are the World Nobles—now there's a pirate walking around with your face. This is an utter disgrace to all of us!"
Those words lit the fuse. The other Celestial Dragons immediately exploded, chattering and echoing in agreement.
Faced with the overwhelming barrage of questions, Saint Garling's brows furrowed tighter and tighter, veins bulging on his forehead.
"Shut up, all of you!"
He barked harshly, his ferocious tone instantly silencing the noisy crowd: "How the hell should I know what's going on?"
Honestly, even Saint Garling himself had to admit that this pirate named Shanks looked remarkably like him.
But he was absolutely certain he had no brother, cousin, or anyone like that wandering around in this filthy lower world.
"Wait... Shanks? This new Four Emperor is called Shanks?" Saint Garling suddenly froze, searching his memory.
Upon thinking, he actually recalled a minor, overlooked incident.
Remembering it now sent an involuntary shiver through Saint Garling.
Before the great hunt began, he had personally executed his old lover—and that woman had borne him twin sons...
One named Shanks, the other Shamrock!
"Impossible... this is absolutely impossible!"
Saint Garling's mind surged with shock: "How could my son become a pirate? And even rise to Four Emperor?!
What about the other child? Could he already be dead?"
While Saint Garling was lost in this earth-shattering revelation, Saint Sommers had silently slipped behind him.
The sly fellow wore a lewd grin, quietly leaving the scene like a cat sneaking off to steal fish.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the island!
Big Mom came storming back astride Zeus, radiating a terrifying aura.
Kaido trailed behind her leisurely, looking completely unconcerned.
To be fair, Big Mom had still been somewhat "considerate" toward Kaido earlier.
Those few slashes from before looked vicious, but they had all avoided vital spots—it was purely to vent her anger.
Back at the original spot, Kaido didn't continue mocking Big Mom, though the amused smile never left his face.
Rocks watched the two of them. As their captain, he wouldn't overly restrain them.
Even Rocks himself knew that in this pirate crew, every crew member had their own agenda—treating his pirate group as nothing more than a tool for violence.
But Rocks didn't care—as long as these people could serve as his fighting strength and help him achieve his goals!
He could accept anyone—even desperate outlaws.
"Aaaahhh, I can't take it anymore! Can this thing change the scene already? Stop showing pictures of me like that!"
Big Mom broke down again seeing her future self—wide-bodied and heavy-set on the light screen. How could she accept looking like that!
Every woman loves beauty. Though Big Mom's strength was monstrous, she was still just a woman at heart...
"Linlin, don't be sad—I think you look quite blessed like that!"
At this moment, Stussy gently soothed Big Mom with a sweet smile that instantly made the surrounding pirates' eyes turn to hearts.
"Yeah, Linlin—as long as a woman is confident, she's always the most beautiful!"
Gloriosa joined in comforting Big Mom. Though the three usually didn't get along well, as women...
Stussy and Gloriosa could more or less understand Big Mom's feelings. But if they themselves ended up like that in the future!
They had no idea how they'd feel.
[Alright alright, that's the introduction to the veteran Four Emperors. Let's shift our focus back to the Summit War!]
[At this moment, with intentional assistance from the Whitebeard Pirates and help from Ivankov, Luffy charges straight toward Ace's execution platform!]
After Linley finished speaking, the light screen switched again—to the scene of Luffy sprinting full-force up the stone steps, charging toward the execution platform like an unstoppable force!
Just as the various powerhouses of God Valley watched Luffy about to reach the top, a figure suddenly appeared and blocked his path.
Only the elderly Garp himself knew how heavy, how agonizing, the word "Justice" on the back of that cloak felt at this moment!
"Grandpa! Get out of the way! I have to save Ace!"
Luffy shouted at his grandpa blocking the way, begging him to move aside. Luffy didn't want to fight his own family—especially his grandpa!
He yelled with a sobbing plea, hoping Grandpa would let him pass...
But after shouting for a long time, aside from Garp's trembling body, he showed no sign of yielding.
Watching Luffy approach step by step, Garp closed his eyes—and then began a memory unique to him.
The scene shifted to a sunset. White-haired Garp carried a sleeping little Luffy on his back, walking down the mountain.
Seeing Luffy sleep so soundly yet covered in injuries, Garp's heart ached terribly...
"You must really hate your scary grandpa, huh?"
"I force you through such grueling training every day to make you a Marine... Don't blame me, Luffy—this is Grandpa's wish!"
Garp carried Luffy, talking to himself in self-mockery. Little Luffy, drowsy-eyed, couldn't hear his grandpa's words at all.
"Hahahaha!"
As he spoke, Garp burst into laughter, while little Luffy clung tightly to Garp's clothes from his back...
"How could I possibly step aside? I'm a Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters—Straw Hat Luffy! If you want to get past here, you'll have to kill me first!"
The memory suddenly ended. The elderly Garp was yanked back into cruel reality!
Luffy's pupils dilated in shock as he stared at his grandpa. He begged again for Garp to move, but since Garp had chosen to block him, how could he possibly step aside!
Facing Luffy's repeated pleas, Garp gave the same answer...
"I can't bring myself to hit you, Grandpa!"
"If you can't bring yourself to hit me, then Ace will die—and so will you!"
Hearing that Ace would die, Luffy shouted "No!" and activated Gear Second. Seeing Luffy like that, Garp also swung his fist!
Looking at Luffy's face, Garp's resolute gaze wavered again. Flashes of photos—of Luffy, Ace, and the three of them together with him—flickered through his mind...
Garp chose to close his eyes. This scene was also witnessed by Sengoku on the execution platform!
"Bam!"
In the end, Garp couldn't bear to strike—Luffy's punch landed on his face. The soft little fists from childhood could now draw blood!
"Villains don't deserve sympathy... but family is different!"
That sentence flashed through the elderly Garp's mind on the light screen. Under the shocked gazes of everyone in the Summit War... Garp tumbled from the stone steps...
Landing head-first, crashing heavily onto the ground!
In this way, with the help of many others, Luffy successfully reached the top of the execution platform and arrived at his brother Ace's side!
...
Silence!
A deathly silence!
Seeing his future self knocked flying by his grandson on the light screen, young Garp in God Valley now felt a true mix of emotions...
Aside from the God's Knights and Celestial Dragons, every pirate and Marine present collectively turned their gazes to Garp sitting on the ground.
Though pirates were all irredeemable scum, even the most stone-hearted would surely be moved by this scene...
"That guy Garp must have felt awful inside back then—family versus justice. What a painful position!"
Whitebeard looked at Garp with unexpected empathy. Though he was still young now, Whitebeard's philosophy of family had been with him his whole life.
He could understand and relate to why Garp ultimately closed his eyes and held back—Garp never wanted to face this situation...
Forced by circumstance, he chose to let Luffy knock him out of the fight. If Ace escaped, then it was Ace's fate to survive!
If Ace still died in the end, then it was fate.
"Pops..."
At this moment, Dragon—rushing while holding Shanks and Shamrock—saw the scene on the light screen, and a line of clear tears unconsciously fell from the corners of his eyes.
Combining it with his future self becoming a revolutionary, Dragon could somewhat understand his old man's painstaking intentions...
He himself stood on the opposite side of his father—he definitely didn't want his grandson to end up the same way!
...