Marco, whose mind had almost collapsed, only snapped back to reality when he heard Ace's name.
Getting Pure Gold for Pops was important—but rescuing Ace came first!
Worst case? They could figure out how to take the Pure Gold back from Kizaru later!
With that thought, Marco glared fiercely at Kizaru before hurriedly shifting back into his Phoenix form and flying toward the execution platform.
"Sabo, I'll leave Admiral Kizaru to you."
Dragon, his body lifted by a storm, suddenly thought of something and spoke meaningfully to the stunned Sabo.
After all, only he truly understood how much incredible knowledge was hidden inside Kizaru's mind.
Sabo couldn't be taught by Kizaru the same way Dragon had been in the past—
But even a moment of contact was still valuable.
Do your best, Sabo!
I believe you'll be able to learn a lot from him!
"W-Wait! Dragon-san—"
Before the completely stunned Sabo could react, Dragon was already flying toward the execution platform.
Watching this, Sabo looked completely abandoned, like a lost puppy left in the rain—
Too heartbroken to even speak.
"Ahem. Am I done for?"
Luckily, a "kind-hearted soul" quickly brought Sabo back to reality—
Kizaru, his face full of "kindness," was casually toying with the Seastone cuffs in his hands, smiling.
"What are you planning?!"
Sabo instinctively tried to back away—
Only to realize that behind him was a solid, unbreakable alloy wall.
"For Dragon-san, huh?"
Kizaru cracked his knuckles—
Each sharp "pop" sounded exactly like the sound of bones breaking in Sabo's ears.
"Damn it! I'm not afraid of you! Armed—Dragon Claw Fist!"
At the end of the day, Sabo was one of the three most thick-headed idiots who grew up with Luffy.
With nowhere to run, he suddenly lashed out with full force.
If before regaining his memories, Sabo had only been on the level of a Whitebeard division commander,
Then right now—
He was strong enough to go toe-to-toe with a Warlord.
Not quite Hawkeye or Boa Hancock level—
But definitely not far from Doflamingo.
His hand, cloaked in Armament Haki, struck forward with a force so powerful—
It almost seemed like a dragon's claw piercing through the clouds.
"Not bad…"
Kizaru raised an eyebrow—
Sabo really was the sworn brother of Straw Hat Luffy.
Even without a "cheat" like the Gomu Gomu no Mi,
His explosive battle talent was undeniable.
No wonder Dragon had promoted him to second-in-command at such a young age.
But…
Just like before—
Kizaru effortlessly grabbed Sabo's wrist.
Following his usual routine, he swung him around in a tornado of windmills—
And then threw him away with a flick of his wrist.
But this time, Kizaru actually held back a little.
Since Sabo had already been slammed into the wall twice—
Once by himself and once by Marco—
Even if he had insane sit-up recovery abilities, there were still limits to human dignity.
So this time, Kizaru didn't throw him straight into the metal wall.
"Waaaahhh!!"
Dizzy and disoriented, Sabo barely managed to regain his senses—
Only to see something… checkered in front of him.
His eyes widened in horror.
"…Ah?"
Even Kizaru's face stiffened a little.
He swore on his own little Kizaru—
He really had just thrown Sabo randomly.
At that very moment—
Morley, the Revolutionary Army West Army Commander, was locked in battle with the Giantess Vice Admiral, Vivian.
Suddenly, he felt a shiver run down his spine—
Before he could react—
Something slammed into the back of his checkered miniskirt—
Right at the bullseye.
"Aahhh!!"
Morley's old face flushed red, and his muscles clenched instinctively.
Then, he heard the heart-wrenching scream of his own Chief of Staff, Sabo.
If it had been any other Giant Vice Admiral, they might have taken this chance to attack.
But Vivian—
Having served under Kizaru for years,
She knew perfectly well that her boss had some complicated connections with the Revolutionaries.
So instead of striking,
She just stretched her neck curiously to see what had just happened.
And then—
She saw Morley pulling out a totally devastated Sabo from behind him.
After carefully confirming that this was indeed the annoying brat who had stopped her attack earlier,
Vivian's mind pieced things together.
Morley's expression—
Sabo's miserable scream—
The direction he was thrown from—
Her eyes snapped toward Kizaru.
And there he was—
Standing there, looking completely innocent.
At that moment—
Vivian's nose tingled, and her eyes welled up with emotion.
So Boss really was watching over her this whole time!
He must've seen her struggles and had specially punished that damn kid on her behalf!
So cruel… but so touching!
"Sabo! Sabo, are you okay?! Are you still alive?!"
Morley held Sabo in his trembling hands—
His huge tears falling like raindrops.
"M-Morley…?"
Sabo jerked awake from his nightmare, his breath coming in sharp gasps.
Realizing he was in Morley's palm, he let out a deep sigh of relief.
Just now, he had a horrifying dream—
He was about to fall into the 18th level of hell,
Only to be saved at the last second…
By two soft, squishy mountains of flesh that clamped him in place.
As his fragmented memories pieced back together,
Sabo's face turned pale as he recalled everything that had just happened.
Even now, the faintest trace of that indescribable stench seemed to linger in the air…
"Urgh—!"
He dry-heaved,
But nothing came out—
Which somehow made the feeling even worse.
"Sabo! Are you okay?!"
Mori, his teary-eyed face looming closer, sounded truly concerned.
If he had known earlier it was Sabo, he definitely wouldn't have…
Wait—no, that sounded even worse!
"I'm fine, Morley… Just… leave me alone for a bit…"
Sabo hugged his knees, sitting in Morley's massive palm,
His body gradually losing all color, turning a dull gray.
If Gecko Moria had seen this, he'd probably assume that Perona had snuck into Marineford to hit Sabo with a barrage of Negative Ghosts.
As Sabo curled up in silent despair,
On the other side, Dragon—who had departed a little later—had quickly caught up to Marco.
The two now flew side by side, racing toward the execution platform.
But just then—
A figure blocked their path.
His form aged yet powerful,
His face full of conflicted emotions.
It was none other than Vice Admiral Garp.
"I won't let you through!"
Garp took a deep breath, forcing himself to focus,
Then roared at Dragon and Marco.
"Tch… Troublesome."
Marco's face darkened with caution.
Old man Garp was from the same era as Whitebeard—
A top-tier monster on the battlefield.
If this were any other situation, Marco would've turned tail and run the moment he saw Garp.
But right now—
Saving Ace came first.
"You go save Ace!"
At the crucial moment, Dragon stepped forward—
Then transformed into a raging storm, surging toward his own father.
No one knew better than Dragon just how hard Garp's fists were.
To be honest, he left the Marines mostly for the revolution—
But if he claimed his father's iron fists weren't a factor…
That'd be a blatant lie.
"Brat! Just in time!"
"Fist Bone: Mountain Storm!"
Faced with the howling storm of Dragon's attack,
Garp's previous sadness vanished in an instant—
Replaced by pure excitement.
He loved fighting strong people.
The stronger the opponent, the more fired up he got.
Back when he teamed up with Roger to fight the Rocks Pirates,
That was the most exhilarating battle of his life.
And now—
His own son had grown from a punching bag into a steel fortress.
On a bad day, Garp wasn't even sure if he could beat Dragon anymore.
But that only made him more excited!
"Still just as much of a headache as ever…"
Dragon let out a sigh.
Just seeing his father's battle-hungry grin made his whole body ache—
A phantom pain from decades of beatings.
But—
After getting pummeled for so many years…
It was finally his turn!
Dragon prided himself on being a dutiful son—
Beating his old man into a pig-headed mess should be enough filial piety, right?
"Ahahaha! Now you're fired up too, huh?"
"That's my son!"
Garp burst into laughter.
To him, a fight was only fun when both sides were equally excited!
A real man's battle was one fought with fists, iron, and blood!
"Storm Dragon Claw: Fang Breaker!"
Dragon vanished in an instant, lunging straight at Garp.
His Haki-clad hands—
Like true dragon claws,
Brimming with unmatched ferocity and dominance.
"Good!"
"Fist Bone: Impact!"
Garp roared in delight,
Feeling a long-lost pressure from his son's attack.
It had been years since he last felt something like this—
The last time was probably when he accidentally broke one of Kizaru's model ships,
And the little bastard made him pay for it by nagging him for days.
Right now—
Garp didn't care who his opponent was.
All that mattered was breaking them into pieces!
Dragon?
Hah! Just another punching bag!
BOOM!
Two behemoths collided—
Their fists meeting head-on,
Sending a shockwave so powerful,
The very foundation of the execution platform cracked apart.
And that was with them holding back!
Had they not restrained their power,
Even the execution stand itself might not have survived!
"Hahahaha! That's a damn solid punch! Come at me again!"
Garp roared with laughter.
Back in the day, just to flatten Chinjao's pointy head,
He had trained by punching mountains flat—
Eight of them, to be exact!
A good, old-fashioned brawl of brute force was his absolute favorite.
"Storm Dragon Claw: Dragon Horn Strike!"
Dragon's eye twitched as he shook out his hand behind his back.
Why the hell did the old man's fists feel even harder than before?!
But then—
Recalling the countless beatings he had endured since childhood,
Dragon gritted his teeth and charged back in.
And so—
Father and son clashed, a brutal and relentless exchange!
Fists cracked like thunder,
Shockwaves split the air,
The sheer impact of their blows turned the battlefield into chaos.
Meanwhile—
Marco had slipped past the brawl and soared up to the execution platform.
"Ace! I'm here to save you!"
Marco grinned, pulling out a Seastone key from his pocket.
The Marines all used standard-issue Seastone cuffs and keys,
Meaning any key could unlock any pair of cuffs.
Normally, this wasn't a security risk,
Since very few people ever got their hands on one—
And even fewer had the chance to use it.
Luckily—
Thanks to the Revolutionary Army raiding Impel Down,
They had managed to scavenge a bunch of Marine gear.
Otherwise, Marco would've just been staring helplessly at Ace's cuffs.
"Marco…"
Ace's eyes welled up, his nose running uncontrollably.
It wasn't just Marco's arrival—
It was the fact that Whitebeard and the crew had risked everything to come save him.
"Alright, alright, don't embarrass yourself."
Marco chuckled, unlocking Ace's cuffs.
"If you wanna cry, wait till we're back with Pops."
"For now—"
He clapped Ace on the shoulder.
"Let's tear this place apart!"
"Hah! Couldn't ask for anything better!"
As the Seastone shackles fell away,
Ace felt his strength flooding back.
Fire blazed around him—
The power of the Mera Mera no Mi fully restored!
But before they could make their next move—
The execution platform suddenly trembled violently.
The months-long construction effort that made it sturdy was all for nothing—
Crushed by the shockwaves of Garp and Dragon's earth-shattering battle.
With a deafening CRASH!,
The platform collapsed into rubble.
For Marco? No big deal.
He could fly.
For Ace? Even less of an issue.
As a Logia user, he wasn't going to fall to his death anytime soon.
But just as they prepared to regroup with Whitebeard—
A molten figure stepped into their path.
"The sinful blood of Roger… and the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates."
"Did you really think you could escape the justice of the Marines?!"
Akainu.
His face twisted in fury,
His body radiating searing magma,
His very presence exuding a near-physical weight of murderous intent.
Even if he couldn't wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates entirely—
He would not let the "accursed bloodline" of the Pirate King live.
°°°
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