One Piece: Surrounded at Marineford? Just kidding!

Chapter 137: A Hero's Question, A Crossroads of the Times

Garp stared intently at Chen Ye.

To Garp at this moment, Chen Ye's calm face, tinged with a hint of a smile, was more terrifying than the two figures engaged in a cataclysmic battle in the distance.

However, Chenye's smile remained unchanged, so calm that Garp had nowhere to vent his anger.

What are you doing here?

"Are you here to laugh at our navy?"

Karp's voice was squeezed out one word at a time, through his teeth.

hoarse.

Low-pitched.

He wanted to take action.

He couldn't bring himself to do it.

Everything that happened at the Naval Headquarters and in the entire world had already been spread throughout the world through various channels.

As a hero of the navy, he knew better than anyone that the young man in front of him was someone he could not defeat.

"Don't get so angry, Mr. Garp."

Chen Ye completely ignored his almost tangible hostility, and walked over to him, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

Then he looked towards the distant, apocalyptic battlefield where ice and fire intertwined.

"Let's discuss this."

"Your good disciple Aokiji, and that Sakazuki, who will win this battle?"

This topic struck a nerve with Garp.

He was silent.

A moment later!

"...It's hard to say."

Finally, he answered.

There was a struggle hidden in her voice that she herself was unaware of.

"From my personal perspective, I... of course hope Kuzan wins."

He spoke these words with immense difficulty.

He is a naval hero and should not have any particular stance.

But Kuzan was someone he personally mentored, and he was the one who came closest to "humanistic justice" in his ideal.

"Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."

Chen Ye shattered his hopes with just one sentence.

"Sakazuki will win this battle!"

"On what grounds?"

Garp suddenly turned his head and stared intently at Chen Ye.

"Kuzan's strength is no less than Sakazuki's!"

"I admit that."

Chen Ye nodded, meeting Garp's gaze with composure.

"In terms of Devil Fruit development and physical skills, these two are indeed evenly matched."

His tone suddenly shifted, becoming sharp.

"However, the 'determination' they hold in their hearts is far too weak."

"Especially Aokiji, his sense of naval justice has long been riddled with holes by his own self-doubt!"

"shut up!"

Garp finally lost his temper and let out an angry roar.

What right do you, a criminal, have to judge the Navy's justice?

boom!!!

A furious shout!

An invisible burst of Conqueror's Haki erupted from Garp's body!

The power did not spread; instead, he used incredible control to twist it into a single force, which he then hurled at Chen Ye alone!

The ground beneath his feet groaned under the unbearable weight, and cracks spread wildly from Garp's center!

Chen Ye, at the eye of the storm, didn't even flinch.

The terrifying impact slammed into him.

No trace was left.

He simply turned his head calmly, his golden eyes meeting Garp's furious gaze.

"criminal?"

Chen Ye repeated the word, his tone tinged with amusement.

"Is the definition of a criminal determined by that high and mighty, corrupt world government, or by your own sense of justice, Mr. Garp?"

He took a step forward, his momentum decreasing rather than increasing, which made Garp's eyelids twitch violently.

Chen Ye didn't give him a chance to react.

Was the tragedy in Ohara more than twenty years ago justice?

"Is Sakazuki's idea of ​​'complete justice'—bombing a refugee ship full of innocent civilians—is that the justice you want?"

"Is it justice to arbitrarily mobilize admirals and destroy a non-participating country just because the Celestial Dragons have a whim?"

Garp's face began to turn pale.

Chen Ye's voice was completely flat, yet every word was piercing.

"And there's Haguval D. Saul, the giant from the navy, who died unjustly while protecting a group of innocent scholars."

"Let your disciple Kuzan freeze his friend with his own hands, so that he may bear a lifetime of pain and inner conflict."

Sentence by sentence.

One sound after another.

Every word is piercing to the heart!

Karp wanted to refute.

But he couldn't utter a single word.

yes...

Ohara...

Celestial Dragons...

These words are a nightmare he can never shake off for the rest of his life.

What exactly is he protecting?

Is it the safety of the people, or the privileges of the Celestial Dragons?

His lifelong commitment to justice, which he was so proud of, seemed so pale and laughable in the face of these ugly truths.

For the first time, Garp's steel-like body trembled.

The anger in his eyes subsided.

All that remains is endless pain, confusion, and struggle.

That powerful and unyielding aura dissipated as well.

Just as his mind was in turmoil, a system notification sounded in Chen Ye's mind.

[Ding! Detected that the target "Monkey D. Garp" is experiencing a severe upheaval in his mind, and a huge crack has appeared in the foundation of his beliefs!]

[The progress of the divine analysis has greatly accelerated!]

Current progress: 15%...25%...45%...

The rapid ascent of the progress bar deepened Chen Ye's smile.

It became.

When the time was right, Chen Ye stopped.

The playfulness on his face faded, his tone softened, and even a hint of respect appeared.

"I have no intention of being your enemy, Mr. Garp."

"I still like you very much. Because on this vast ocean, in this cold naval machine, you are one of the few people who still have humanity and retain a bottom line."

"Otherwise, do you think I would have been standing here talking so much nonsense?"

Garp's body trembled, and he raised his head, looking at Chen Ye with an extremely complex expression.

Meeting his gaze, Chen Ye unleashed his true killing move.

"I came here today not only to see the play, but mainly to talk to you about your grandson."

"Monkey D. Luffy".

boom.

"Luffy".

This name is a spell.

All of Garp's sharp edges and defenses were instantly removed.

The imposing presence of naval heroes.

Faced with the hostility of criminals.

The anger ignited by the tainted justice.

Everything is gone.

All that remained was a long, heavy sigh, filled with helplessness and remorse.

"well..."

Garp's tall and upright figure hunched over slightly at that moment.

He slowly turned around, no longer looking at Chen Ye, and looked back at the distant battlefield.

The focus of their gaze had already drifted far away.

He lost.

It's not power.

It was this conversation.

It's the topic of "family" that he can never avoid.

They suffered a crushing defeat.

He was a successful naval hero.

But he was a failed grandfather and a failed father.

The initiative in the dialogue has completely shifted to someone else.

Looking at Garp's lonely figure, Chen Ye knew the time was ripe.

"Luffy is a good boy, Mr. Garp. Although he's a bit noisy and a bit of an idiot, he has a kinder and more steadfast heart than anyone else."

"He will become an outstanding pirate, and perhaps even the Pirate King."

Garp's fist clenched instinctively when he heard the words "Pirate King".

Chen Ye didn't look at him and continued:

"His father, your son, Monkey D. Dragon. He also saw through the corruption of this world, so he chose the most difficult path, wanting to overthrow it from the root."

"They are father and son, one pursuing ultimate freedom, the other pursuing true fairness."

They didn't choose the path you paved, but they all inherited that spirit of yours that refused to be bound, didn't they?

Chen Ye's voice echoed on the cold mountaintop.

"You have protected the order of the Navy, while they are pursuing their own justice."

"Everyone should have the right to choose their own justice."

"Isn't that right, Mr. Karp?"

The final rhetorical question, both gentle and incredibly heavy, struck Garp's heart.

Yes... the right to choose...

He wanted Ace and Luffy to become the strongest Marines, but one of them went on to become the Pirate King, and the other became Whitebeard's son.

He wanted Dragon to live a peaceful life, but Dragon became the World Government's number one villain and wanted to overthrow the entire world.

Throughout his life, he has been trying to pull his family back onto the path he believes is "right".

As a result, they were pushed further and further apart.

Perhaps... I was wrong from the very beginning?

Garp clenched his fist.

It loosened again.

The veins on the back of my hand bulged out, then slowly subsided.

He remained motionless.

Let the raging winds of ice and fire blow that "justice" coat.

The coat fluttered in the wind.