The decisive battle erupted suddenly at this moment, with the Navy's three Admirals joining the fray simultaneously. The sheer scale of the conflict shocked everyone, but the most intense focus was on the clash between Whitebeard and Akainu.
The scorching magma hellscape was nearly impossible to approach, resembling the apocalyptic end of the world. The blistering heat radiating from it could be felt clearly even from a thousand meters away.
Yet, Whitebeard's every strike was even more astonishing. The perfect fusion of his overwhelming Devil Fruit power and monstrous physical strength not only suppressed Akainu but also sent shockwaves that blasted away thousands of Marines behind him. Even the legendary fortress of Marineford was being torn apart bit by bit. Truly, this was the power capable of destroying the world—even in his old age, Whitebeard still required the Navy's strongest Admirals at their peak to stand against him. Anyone else would have been utterly crushed.
"What's wrong? Too old to even hold your blade steady?"
Akainu taunted Whitebeard mid-battle. For him, victory was all that mattered—how it was achieved made no difference.
But such weak provocations meant nothing to Whitebeard. He had fought in at least tens of thousands of battles—there was no trick he hadn't seen before. These words couldn't shake him.
"Brat Akainu, you think you're worth my full strength? Save that magma of yours for lighting candles!"
With that, he swung his bisento at Akainu, his Devil Fruit power flickering along the blade's edge.
Facing Whitebeard's attack, Akainu didn't dare be careless. He focused intently, bracing to defend.
Once again, a wave of ferocious force tore through the battlefield. A radius of a thousand meters around the two of them had become a complete no-man's-land. No one dared approach. Just sensing the occasional flares of their auras was enough to plunge people into despair—let alone actually getting involved.
Watching the battle between those two monsters, Katie couldn't help but compare herself to them. She concluded that—if she was lucky—she might last thirty seconds at most before being obliterated.
The sudden bursts of power from the two were terrifying. Whitebeard's strength needed no elaboration, but Akainu's Devil Fruit was also nothing to scoff at. The Magma-Magma Fruit was renowned for having the highest explosive power of all Logia-types. In head-on combat, he didn't fear anyone.
Among the three Admirals, only Akainu could go head-to-head with Whitebeard. Aokiji lacked the explosive edge, and while Kizaru might match the burst damage, he couldn't withstand direct hits. If Kizaru had taken Akainu's place, Marineford might not have lasted ten minutes before being completely erased from the map.
By comparison, Katie's Flame-Flame Fruit still fell short. Its power and explosive force were weaker overall.
She could only hope that once she upgraded her ability, the Flame-Flame Fruit would unleash greater strength. Otherwise, she might be better off trading it for the Sand-Sand Fruit, which was more versatile for both offense and defense.
She even considered modeling her development after Gaara from Naruto, becoming a version of the One-Tailed Shukaku—maybe even stronger. After all, Shukaku couldn't turn into an element or be immune to physical attacks. As long as she improved her physique, she'd be like an enhanced, elemental Shukaku.
When Katie snapped back to reality and focused on Luffy's movements, she was surprised to find that he was already within a few hundred meters of the execution platform. Countless pirates were fighting with everything they had to carve a path for him. Even the commanders of Whitebeard's crew were assisting his advance.
At this moment, all hope was pinned on Luffy—even Whitebeard had placed everything on his shoulders.
"Inazuma, it's time to show your power!"
"Got it!"
As Ivankov gave the command, the long-waiting Scissors Man finally sprang into action.
His hands transformed into giant scissors and easily cut through the once-indestructible ground. Under his ability, the hardened battlefield softened like strips of cloth.
With a casual toss, he threw the "cloth-like" ground toward the execution platform, creating a direct and accessible ramp for Luffy to run up.
"Go, Luffy! Leave the rest to us!"
At that moment, countless eyes were on Luffy. Pirates fought desperately to hold back the crazed Marines, while the Marines charged forward to stop the suicidal offensive.
Even the three Admirals were watching Luffy's back. Except for Akainu, the other two were turning away, preparing to retreat.
"Don't even think about it!"
Just then, Jozu and Marco moved to stop them. Victory or defeat would be decided now—they couldn't let the Admirals leave unchecked.
"ACE!!!"
With no time for words, Luffy leapt onto the ramp and rocketed toward the execution platform.
Seeing Luffy racing forward, Katie instinctively turned to look at Garp. If she remembered correctly, he would try to stop Luffy—but in the end, he'd let him pass, even taking a punch to sell it.
"You bastards! Every single one of you is giving me trouble!"
Garp growled and rose to face Luffy.
"Grandpa, move! Don't block me!"
Luffy roared as Garp suddenly appeared before him, blocking the way.
"You brat! No way! I'm a Vice Admiral of the Marines! From the moment you chose to set sail, you should've been prepared to meet me on the battlefield! Since you picked this path, be ready to face what comes!"
"If you want to pass, then step over my corpse!"
With that, Garp raised his iron fist and swung at Luffy.
Garp's rough voice echoed across the battlefield. Everyone who heard it was stunned. They all knew about Garp and Luffy's relationship—he was Luffy's biological grandfather. Who would've thought he would actually attack?
But no matter how hard it was to believe—Garp really made his move.
Seeing Garp's determined expression, the tens of thousands of Marines had just one thought:
This is it—we've got this!
Even the previously retreating Aokiji and Kizaru stopped in their tracks and calmly watched Luffy, completely unhurried. They knew how terrifying Garp's fists were. Even now, they didn't think they could go up against him. With Garp stepping in, it was practically a guaranteed win.
"Grandpa, today I will get through!"
Luffy, who usually feared Garp, showed no trace of hesitation now. He instantly activated Gear Second, raised his fist, and punched back at Garp.
BOOM! In the next second, a figure was sent flying.
"W-what?! That's impossible!"
Tens of thousands of Marines couldn't accept what they just witnessed. The one sent flying… was none other than Vice Admiral Garp, the very person they had placed their hopes in.
Aokiji and Kizaru nearly dropped their jaws. That fake-out was way too obvious. At the very least, they could've pretended to exchange a few blows!
But the one most furious of all… was Sengoku. He nearly spat blood on the spot.
"That bastard Garp is putting on an act right in front of me!"
You're a legendary brawler—and you got blown away by a rookie with one punch?! You messing with me?! At least pretend to be professional, dammit!