Hearing this, Luffy stared blankly at Garp.
For a moment, he suddenly felt that Grandpa was extremely unfamiliar.
Not in any other way.
In terms of strength.
The Pirate King was what he wanted to become more than anything.
Yet from Grandpa’s mouth, that title sounded so…
insignificant.
And Luffy couldn’t refute it.
Because he could feel that Grandpa was telling the truth.
Also, for some reason, attacks from others never hurt him.
But Grandpa’s punches hurt.
A lot.
In any case, Grandpa’s fists were really powerful.
“Grandpa, if you’re this strong, why didn’t you tell me?”
Holding the bump on his head, Luffy puffed his cheeks and glared at Garp.
He felt that Grandpa had held back when teaching him.
He was clearly this powerful.
Yet when Luffy was young, Grandpa had not trained him properly.
Instead, he threw him into ravines and made him fight tigers.
Too cruel.
“Huh?”
“What’s there to say?”
“Your grandpa has so many glorious achievements that you couldn’t count them all!”
“Was I supposed to brag about every single one to you, brat?”
Garp looked at Luffy with disdain.
Seeing how useless this kid looked made him somewhat speechless.
Under Luffy’s shocked and confused gaze, Garp turned toward Sentomaru.
The kind, smiling expression from moments ago vanished.
What remained was indifference.
This little fatty had tried to kill him just now.
He couldn’t simply…
let that go.
“I’ll give you ten seconds.”
“If Kizaru doesn’t come save you…”
“You’re finished.”
Like Satan from hell, Garp issued his final ultimatum.
There was no point in letting this farce continue.
He would kill this brat and then wait for Kizaru to arrive.
“Ten…”
“Nine…”
“…”
Every second he counted was like a sword hanging over Sentomaru’s heart.
Each number brought unbearable pain.
Death itself wasn’t frightening.
But the pressure before him was far more terrifying than death.
Garp seemed like a Titan beast.
Just one gaze.
A few simple words.
Yet Sentomaru felt an overwhelming chill throughout his body.
He had never seen anyone with such oppressive force.
“Two…”
“One…”
“Zero…”
When Garp counted to zero, Sentomaru closed his eyes in despair.
Inwardly, he was cursing furiously.
Too slow!
Way too slow!
Wasn’t its speed comparable to light?
Damn it!
Was this the end?
Was he going to die here?
After finishing the countdown, Garp did not immediately attack.
Instead, he turned his head toward a spot not far behind him.
There—
A flash of golden light streaked past.
In the blink of an eye, it arrived beside him.
The newcomer was tall and thin.
His appearance was sloppy.
He wore a yellow striped suit.
With such glaring clothes, there was no need to guess who he was.
Marine Headquarters Admiral—
Kizaru, Borsalino.
“Ohhh, my, my.”
“How scary.”
“Mr.
Garp…
I never expected you to leave the Marines.”
“What a pity.”
Kizaru spoke the moment he arrived beside Garp.
Usually lazy and carefree, even he found it difficult to remain calm after hearing this news.
To the Marines, this was even more shocking than Roger becoming the Pirate King.
If mishandled, the Marines’ authority would completely collapse.
That was why killing the old man before him was the only way to preserve the Marines’ dignity.
Otherwise…
Pirates across the sea would become even more rampant.
More reckless.
That was how the balance worked.
Two opposing forces.
If one side weakened, the other would naturally grow stronger.
The scales would tilt toward the stronger side.
Neither the Marines nor the World Government could allow that.
And Kizaru’s orders were exactly that.
At all costs—
Execute former “Marine Hero” Garp.
Moreover, the World Government seemed to have deployed a secret weapon.
It was apparently extremely powerful.
At its current stage, its combat power might already rival the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
It probably wouldn’t be long before it arrived.
Just then, a clear voice like a silver bell reached everyone’s ears.
The speaker seemed somewhat exhausted and was still panting.
“Luffy!”
“Luffy, are you okay?”
In the distance, the members of the Straw Hat Pirates rushed over.
Nami ran at the front.
Behind her were Zoro and Sanji.
Further back came Chopper and the others.
When Nami saw Luffy standing there safe and sound, she slowed down slightly and patted her chest in relief.
She hurried to Luffy’s side and carefully checked him over.
After confirming he was unharmed, she finally smiled.
But at that moment, Luffy’s expression was completely serious.
He stared toward Kizaru not far away like a tiger ready to pounce at any second.
Seeing this, Nami, Zoro, and the others turned their heads.
Before they looked, everything was fine.
But the instant they saw the situation clearly—
They froze.
Nami directly staggered back four or five steps.
Zoro immediately drew the blade at his waist and pointed it solemnly at Kizaru.
The other crewmates reacted the same way.
Every one of them became serious.
After all, a Marine Admiral had arrived.
That was no small matter.
As the Marines’ highest combat power, Kizaru was not someone they could resist in their current state.
“Kizaru!”
“Marine Headquarters Admiral Kizaru!”
Nami cried out in alarm.
She had known that punching a Celestial Dragon would bring an Admiral.
But she never expected him to arrive so quickly.
How long had it been?
Less than three hours at most.
And an Admiral was already here.
Huh?
That broad, muscular body.
That old man with the tiger-like back and bear-like waist.
Why did he look so…
familiar?
Nami took a few small steps to the side and carefully looked at Garp.
The moment she saw his face clearly, her eyes rolled back in shock.
Zoro, Sanji, and the others wore the exact same expression.
“Luffy.”
“Your grandpa came too?”
“Is punching a Celestial Dragon really that serious?”
Zoro stretched his neck forward, staring at Garp in disbelief before looking back at Luffy.
This had gotten way out of hand.
Even the Marine Hero had come.
What were they supposed to do now?
If it were only a Marine Admiral, they might still dare resist.
But the reputation of the Marine Hero was far too great.
He was even known as one of the Marines’ strongest combatants.
His legend had continued for decades.
Compared to Kizaru, they were more afraid of Garp.
“Oh, it’s fine.”
“Grandpa came to save us!”
Luffy turned back, scratched his head, and grinned cheerfully.
Back at Water 7, when the Thousand Sunny was built, Grandpa had already met the crew.
So Luffy didn’t find it strange that they recognized him.
Although he didn’t know exactly why Grandpa had come, there was no way he was here to arrest him.
Haha—
No problem.
Even an Admiral could be punched away!
Hearing Luffy’s words, Garp shook his head helplessly.
This brat…
He sure was self-aware.
Garp hadn’t even explained why he was here, yet Luffy had already spoken for him.
Still, it didn’t matter.
He had come to have some fun.
Saving Luffy along the way was no issue.
More importantly, Garp was curious.
If Luffy didn’t experience those events—
Amazon Lily.
Zoro’s ruined kingdom training.
Sanji’s time on Kamabakka Kingdom.
Then what would happen to the future?
This would definitely count as a massive change.
And the rewards he would obtain would surely increase many times over.