Luffy, who was naturally carefree, quickly threw the matter of his missed punch to the back of his mind and stepped forward with Ace to help Garp up.
"Grandpa! Are you okay?!"
Ace grabbed the shackles on Garp hands, used an advanced technique of Armament Haki, and pulled hard, freeing his hands.
"Sigh... You two shouldn't have come..."
Garp murmured with a low sigh as he moved his freed wrists.
"What are you saying?! How could Luffy and I just watch you get executed!"
Ace retorted in dissatisfaction.
Luffy also picked his nose and echoed with a look of disgust, "Exactly, Grandpa, why do you feel like you've gotten dumber? Is it because they didn't feed you enough in prison?"
After all, to Luffy, being full and being hungry were two completely different states.
However, right after thoughtlessly dissing Garp, he immediately recalled the terror of his grandfather, instantly covered his head with both hands, and begged loudly for mercy, "Wow! I'm sorry, Grandpa! I wasn't saying you're an idiot!"
Yet, Luffy did not receive the "Fist of Love" he anticipated instead, he was suddenly pushed away by Ace beside him.
Pfft!
A sharp dagger stabbed fiercely into Ace body, shocking everyone who was watching this scene, including those watching the live broadcast.
"Muruhihi... What a pity, the one who came over isn't Dragon. Otherwise, the reward promised by the Five Elders should have been even higher."
Garp, who had blindsided Ace, rolled backward. His form shifted into a woman who was equally heavily built, sporting a long nose that could easily rival Usopp, and wearing heavy makeup.
She glanced regretfully at the fallen Ace, showing no intention of following up with a finishing blow. Instead, she decisively retreated to the rear.
Sherwin, who had been curiously studying the bulbous red nose he just sliced off of Buggy, was likewise shocked by this sudden turn of events...
When he noticed the Marine unexpectedly lax preparations, Sherwin had naturally suspected the possibility of the Garp on the execution platform being an impostor. However, the presence sensed through Observation Haki had told Sherwin that the guy was the real deal.
The only thing capable of disguising even one presence like that was a Devil Fruit. The problem was, the Clone-Clone Fruit was currently with the Revolutionary Army, so Sherwin naturally hadn't doubted it any further.
As for this woman who had turned into Garp, Sherwin recognized her as well...
She was also one of the future officers of the Blackbeard Pirates, nicknamed the "Crescent Moon Hunter," Catarina Devon. As a user of the Dog-Dog Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Nine-Tailed Fox Model, she indeed possessed the ability to disguise herself as others.
It was just that... was this woman fruit ability not stolen from someone else after she joined Blackbeard?!
Furthermore, was this unlucky kid Ace just fated to take a hit for Luffy during the "Summit War"? I already took down Akainu, yet Catarina had to pop out out of nowhere...
Sherwin ranted speechlessly in his mind.
As for Ace life, Sherwin wasn't all that worried. Let alone the fact that he was only stabbed once right now and his presence was merely a bit weak rather than fading away entirely, even if he were to be punched through with a gaping hole like in the original story, Haibara Meow Angel Potion could bring him back from the brink as long as he hadn't drawn his last breath.
What he was more concerned about at this moment was...
The Marines seemed completely oblivious to this plan as well.
"Catarina Devon?! Why is it you?! Where is Garp?!"
Sengoku questioned in shock and anger.
Aside from worrying about Garp safety, this was also a very terrible signal—he, and even most of the Marine high-ranking officials, were no longer trusted by the World Government, or rather, the Five Elders.
"That, I wouldn't know. I am merely obeying the orders of the Five Elders."
After swiftly retreating back to Shiryu side, Catarina shrugged non-chalantly. "However, when I saw him, his condition wasn't very good. Perhaps he has already been secretly executed by the Five Elders."
"You bastard! I'm gonna send you flying!!!"
A surge of Conqueror Haki soared into the sky. Luffy, who had finally snapped out of his shock, was about to rush into the massive crowd of Marines and CP agents to seek revenge on Catarina.
Fortunately, at this moment, Sabo, the calmest of the three brothers, called out to stop him: "Luffy! Get Ace to the Moby Dick for medical treatment first!"
Having rushed forward a few steps, Luffy hurriedly halted his pace. He glared fiercely at Catarina, who was still provocatively looking back at him, before turning around to hoist Ace onto his back and retreating toward the Whitebeard Pirates.
Normally at a time like this, Sengoku and the others would have intercepted them to some extent. After all, Ace identity was no secret among the Marine high-ranking officials. However, the fact that Garp had been replaced entirely without their knowledge was too shocking, and the implications behind it were too complex, causing them to subconsciously choose to continue watching from the sidelines.
But the CP agents did not have so many personal thoughts they were still desperately trying to obstruct the retreat of the Revolutionary Army and the Whitebeard Pirates.
Furthermore, as the Warden of Impel Down, Magellan was clearly aware of this matter as well.
And so...
"Stay right here, all of you! Venom Demon: Hell Judgment!"
Magellan, who had been holding back just like the others earlier, unleashed his ultimate move. A venomous skeleton giant, consisting of only an upper body, was released from his form, and the color of the venom shifted from its original purple to a blood-like bright crimson.
With the appearance of this venom giant, every substance that came into contact with that crimson venom—including the ice beneath everyone feet—was immediately infected by the toxin. The color of blood, representing death, spread indiscriminately outward in all directions with Magellan at the center.
"Run! If you touch that venom, you will die!!!"
Ivankov shouted a warning, "Smash the ice beneath your feet! Only seawater can stop him!"
"Hmph! What a troublesome bunch of guys!"
Whitebeard, who hadn't really made a move and had been resting on his ship after noticing the Marines had no heart to fight, let out a cold hmph and then threw a punch toward Magellan direction.
"Quake!"
Magellan Venom Demon was instantly shattered by Whitebeard strike, but that red toxin continued to spread regardless.
Although Whitebeard strike also shattered most of the ice beneath everyone feet in the process, Magellan could still fling this red venom out even without continuing to summon the Venom Demon.
What made matters even more troublesome was that some CP agents were even willingly touching the toxin, then throwing themselves toward Dragon and the others in an attempt to drag them down with them.
"An interesting toxin. Shirley Meow, go fetch some back for me to study, meow."
(=ω=)
"Ba-ow—!"
At Haibara Meow command, the axolotl that had been crouching on her head immediately leaped out, instantly splitting into dozens of clones to intercept Magellan spreading venom.
Upon making contact with the red venom, Shirley acted like a sponge, rapidly absorbing it into her body. Her originally translucent, slightly bluish body was quickly dyed a bright red, matching the exact color of the Venom Demon from just moments ago.
As for Shirley main body, after being injected with an antidote by Haibara Meow, she went to rescue the comrades who had accidentally been poisoned.
While sending Shirley to intercept, collect, and alleviate the venom created by Magellan, Vermouth was also dispatched by Haibara Meow. The little white bat circled above everyone heads, firing globs of Angel Medicine at Ace and the other injured comrades, instantly stabilizing their conditions.
Meanwhile, Sherwin knit his brows tightly...
Something was wrong. Even at a time like this, the Five Elders had still not appeared, and there seemed to be no trace of Uranus detected over by the Dodo Advance.
The Five Elders had gone so far as to recruit criminals, arrange for someone to impersonate Garp, and even cause friction with the Marines because of it. After stirring up so much trouble, could it really have been just to stab Ace or Dragon in the back?
No matter how much Imu and the Five Elders looked down on the Marines, they couldn't possibly make such a foolish decision.
Just as Sherwin was feeling puzzled, the Thousand Sunny beneath his feet suddenly shook violently. Not only the sea and the ship, but even Marineford not far away underwent a visible shaking that could be seen with the naked eye.
As things stood, only four situations could cause such a scene—
Whitebeard using his Devil Fruit ability with full force, Klee Meow dropping "Little Girl", the Cat Princess smashing cat food cans.
And...
Uranus launching an attack somewhere.