Chapter 575: Chaotic Battlefield
It hurts!!
That was Ian's first thought after taking the punch. Honestly, ever since he learned Armament Haki, it had been a long time since he'd felt such a painful attack.
Garp, as a hero of the Marines and a legendary soldier, was once the main force chasing down Pirate King Roger. But he wasn't a Devil Fruit user. His entire strength came from Haki and physical combat. Unlike Vergo, whom Ian had killed before, Garp didn't like coating his entire body in Armament Haki. That kind of application looked fierce, but it actually thinned out the Haki's effect. Instead, Garp's favorite method was to concentrate all his Haki power into his fist.
As a result, the density of Haki on Garp's fist was extraordinary, and the attack power it boosted far surpassed others.
That was precisely why Garp had the title "Iron Fist." Countless enemies had fallen to that fist.
Now, Ian had tasted the flavor of Garp's Iron Fist. Even though he had used Haki to defend in time, after getting up from the ground, Ian still felt his cheek swelling. His gums on that side were shaking, and he nearly had his teeth knocked out by Garp.
Releasing Twin Heaven Return Shield on his cheek, Ian quickly healed himself while looking up at Garp.
Ian had anticipated that Sengoku would make a move against him, but he absolutely hadn't expected Garp to attack him too!
Although he hadn't met Vice Admiral Garp many times, Ian could sense that Garp had a great fondness for him. The reason, of course, was Ace!
Garp knew that once Ace's identity was exposed, endless troubles would await him. However, Ace was lucky. Not only did he have Whitebeard caring for him like a son, but now he also had a brother like Ian to support him. Garp had always been secretly watching Ace's situation, so he naturally understood the bond between him and Ian. Garp had even secretly gloated about it for a long time, thinking back to when he first met Ian in the East Blue and told him to capture Ace. What a brilliant decision that was! That very opportunity had made Ian and Ace brothers.
For this reason, Garp's goodwill toward Ian was boundless.
Ian could also feel Garp's silent care for him all along, so he never imagined Garp would attack him.
"Old man, you..." Ian looked at him in surprise, only to find Garp's face dark and gloomy.
"Shut up!" Garp growled at him in a low voice. "Ian! Why are you here!? Do you have any idea what consequences interfering in this war will bring you!?"
Hearing Garp's words, Ian felt relieved inside. He understood now: Garp was actually worried about him. But Garp's way of teaching children was usually to hit them, calling it "love punches"! Ace had experienced this firsthand and complained to Ian about it more than once. Now, Garp was "educating" him in the same way.
Grinning, Ian said, "Old man, it's fine. I..."
Before he could finish, Garp threw another punch!
Ian quickly dodged. Garp kept punching at Ian while attacking and saying, "You brat! Not only did you come, but you brought Luffy too! Do you think this old man doesn't have enough to worry about!?"
"I had no choice!" Ian dodged as he replied. "That idiot Luffy insisted on coming as soon as he heard Ace was involved! Besides, with Ace in danger, I couldn't just stand by and do nothing!"
"Shut up!" Garp roared. "Ace is on Whitebeard's side, so if he dies, he dies! You take Luffy and get out of here right now!"
Even as he said this, Ian could see sorrow in his eyes, which left him utterly confused.
Ace dead? What was going on? Wasn't he still fine!?
Ace had fallen into the water and been rescued by Jinbe from the seabed. Ian hadn't actually seen this happen. He was still in the clouds at the time, and the battlefield below was so chaotic that Ian couldn't have spotted it. But he had Ace's Vivre Card, and before coming down, he had confirmed that Ace was fine. So Garp's words baffled him.
There was no helping it; the information was mismatched. When Garp saw Ace shot into the water by Kizaru and never resurface for so long, he assumed that a Devil Fruit user who couldn't swim would have definitely drowned. Sengoku had used this as an excuse to rally the Marines and launch a full-scale assault on the pirates.
Although he hadn't seen Ace's body, Garp was still deeply grieved. At that moment, he could have eaten Kizaru alive.
But from the Marines' standpoint, Garp also knew that Ace had brought this on himself.
So when he saw Ian appear with Luffy and the others, Garp flew into a rage. He had already lost one grandson and didn't want to lose the other two. So when Sengoku attacked Ian, Garp joined in, intending to capture Ian. That way, even if Ian was taken prisoner, it would be better than being killed by the Marines!
Although Ian's lineup was astonishing, the Marines weren't without counterforce. Garp himself was a high-ranking Marine and understood the Marines' strength. He knew that the Marines and the pirates were evenly matched, about fifty-fifty. But once the fighting started, Ian, as the leader, would be the Marines' primary target. Not only would the three Marine Admirals go after him, but Sengoku would too.
As an elder, even knowing that the child had grown up and grown stronger, he still subconsciously felt that the child needed protection.
Ian wasn't stupid. He quickly understood Garp's feelings. Amidst his amusement, he felt even more touched.
Garp was just a lovably clumsy old man, poor with words, so he could only express his feelings this way.
However, Garp's attack also made Ian realize one thing: not everyone in the Marines was his enemy.
While exchanging blows with Garp, Ian stole a glance at the battlefield.
Fujitora and Aokiji were fighting. Aokiji radiated intense cold, and within a hundred meters of him, no Marine or pirate dared to approach. Anyone who got close would turn into an ice sculpture.
Meanwhile, Fujitora's Gravity Blade kept striking, and no one dared to appear within his attack range. If they did, they'd be coughing up blood on contact.
Enel and Kizaru's figures flashed through the air. Kizaru's Laser and Eight-Foot Sacred Jade occasionally bombarded the pirates on the ground. Enel wasn't to be outdone, summoning thunderbolts from the sky that left large numbers of Marine soldiers charred and twitching as they fell.
Marco was fighting Akainu, but Akainu had the upper hand. Once his Meteor Volcano was activated, a rain of meteor fire appeared in the sky. These meteors, shaped like fists, screamed down with thick smoke, blasting the pirate crowd into wails and howls. Even Marco sometimes couldn't dodge in time and got hit. Luckily, his Phoenix flames allowed him to regenerate, so he could recover quickly from injuries, managing to keep Akainu occupied.
Crocodile and Ivankov had now joined forces to attack Sengoku. Ivankov activated "Galaxy Wink," her figure spinning rapidly around Sengoku's giant Buddha form, releasing shockwaves with every blink from the afterimages. Crocodile, meanwhile, turned into sand and wind, appearing and disappearing to strike with Desert Spada and poison hooks.
Despite the two attacking together, Sengoku seemed to handle it with ease. His "Immovable as a Mountain" stance rooted him to the ground, rendering Ivankov's shockwaves useless. Then, with a single Giant Buddha Palm, he sent Crocodile scattering into a cloud of sand.
The clashes between these powerful figures made the battlefield especially intense. The areas where they fought were completely empty, with no one daring to get close. But such large-scale area-of-effect attacks on a crowded battlefield couldn't be avoided just by wanting to. Their battles caused casualties on both sides to skyrocket instantly.
Since even Fleet Admiral Sengoku had joined the fight, the Seven Warlords like Hawk-Eye and Boa Hancock couldn't just stand by. They had to act too. Even if they mostly slacked off in battle, if they did nothing at all, Sengoku would surely come after them later.
So Hawk-Eye took on Flower Sword Vista, while Boa Hancock faced Jozu. Moving a little was enough to give Sengoku an explanation.
Unfortunately, Ian had brought the entire Straw Hat Pirates this time. When Zoro saw Hawk-Eye, he went straight for him, taking over from Vista, wanting to settle things with Hawk-Eye.
Vista didn't mind and withdrew to find another opponent, but Hawk-Eye was a bit annoyed.
Having exchanged words with Ian before, Hawk-Eye naturally knew he had two junior disciples. He had looked into Zoro's situation and knew that this green-haired guy was one of them.
But the problem was, Zoro didn't know Hawk-Eye was his junior uncle! Driven by Hawk-Eye's reputation as the world's greatest swordsman, Zoro ambitiously wanted to challenge him. So even Hawk-Eye found it a headache at the moment.
Fortunately, Hawk-Eye wasn't ordinary. When he saw the blazing fighting spirit in Zoro's eyes, he got serious, intending to test the kid's strength.