Garp's eyes locked fiercely onto Lucian.
To him in this moment, Lucian's calm face with a faint smile was even more terrifying than the two men unleashing apocalyptic destruction on the battlefield below.
But that smile remained unchanged—so serene, so steady—that Garp's fury had nowhere to go.
"Why are you here?"
"To watch the Marines make a fool of themselves?"
His voice came through clenched teeth, word by word.
Hoarse.
Heavy.
He wanted to fight.
But he couldn't.
Everything that had happened at Marineford, and in Totto Land, had already spread across the world through countless channels.
As the Navy's hero, he knew better than anyone—
The young man before him was no longer someone he could defeat.
"No need to be so hot-tempered, Vice Admiral Garp."
Lucian paid no mind to the intense hostility coming off Garp in waves. He stepped up beside him, standing shoulder to shoulder.
Together, they looked out at the battlefield—a hellish scene of ice and fire tearing the island apart.
"Let's have a talk," Lucian said casually.
"Who do you think will win?"
"Your prized disciple Kuzan, or Sakazuki?"
That question hit Garp right where it hurt.
He went silent.
After a long moment—
"…Hard to say."
The words came out slowly, laced with a kind of inner conflict even Garp himself didn't realize he was showing.
"If it's from a personal standpoint… then yes, I want Kuzan to win."
He said it painfully.
As the Navy's hero, he shouldn't take sides.
But Kuzan was someone he'd personally trained—someone who, in Garp's eyes, had come closest to embodying "justice with humanity."
"Then I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed," Lucian said plainly.
"Sakazuki will win this fight."
"And what makes you so sure?"
Garp whipped around and glared at Lucian, voice sharp.
"Kuzan's strength isn't inferior to Sakazuki's!"
"That I agree with."
Lucian nodded, meeting his eyes without flinching.
"In terms of Devil Fruit mastery, Haki, and physical ability—they're evenly matched."
Then his tone sharpened.
"But in terms of conviction—the willpower behind their fists—they're worlds apart."
"Especially Kuzan. His idea of 'Marine justice' has long been shattered by doubt."
"Shut up!"
Garp couldn't take it anymore and exploded with fury.
"What right does a criminal like you have to speak of Marine justice?!"
BOOM!
A thunderous shout—
Garp's Conqueror's Haki exploded outward!
But instead of spreading, he compressed it into a focused beam with inhuman control, aimed straight at Lucian!
The ground beneath him groaned in protest, spiderweb cracks spreading madly.
Yet Lucian's coat didn't even flutter.
The impact hit him directly.
And vanished without a trace.
Lucian turned his head slightly, his golden eyes locking with Garp's blazing ones.
"A criminal?"
He repeated the word, amused.
"And who defines that, Vice Admiral Garp?"
"That rotting throne of the World Government?"
"Or your own sense of justice?"
He took one step forward—his pressure didn't increase, yet Garp's eyelids twitched hard.
Lucian gave him no time to reply.
"Twenty years ago, the tragedy of Ohara—was that justice?"
"Sakazuki obliterated a refugee ship full of innocent civilians… was that the justice you dreamed of?"
"When the Celestial Dragons can order an Admiral to annihilate a non-affiliated kingdom just for amusement—is that justice?"
Garp's face went pale.
Lucian's voice was calm—but every word was a dagger to the heart.
"And what about the giant Marine, Jaguar D. Saul?"
"He died protecting innocent scholars."
"Your disciple Kuzan had to personally freeze his friend to death—and carry that burden for life."
One sentence.
Then another.
Each one driving deeper.
Garp opened his mouth to refute it.
But no words came out.
Because it was all true.
Ohara.
The Celestial Dragons.
These names were nightmares he could never escape.
What was he really protecting?
The safety of the people?
Or the privileges of tyrants?
The justice he'd proudly upheld all his life now looked pale—pathetic—in the face of these ugly truths.
For the first time—
Garp's iron-hard frame began to tremble.
The fire in his eyes dimmed.
All that remained was pain, confusion, and conflict.
Even his Haki—the compressed Conqueror's Haki—flickered and dispersed.
And at that moment, a system notification echoed in Lucian's mind:
Ding! Target "Monkey D. Garp" has suffered extreme internal turmoil. Belief system has fractured!
God-Tier Analysis Progress Greatly Increased!
Current Progress: 15%… 25%… 45%…
The rising progress bar deepened the smile on Lucian's face.
Perfect.
The moment was ripe.
He held back the pressure.
His expression softened, voice turning respectful.
"I don't intend to fight you, Vice Admiral Garp."
"I've always admired you."
"Because in this cold machine called the Navy—you're one of the rare few who still have humanity and a moral line."
"Otherwise, do you really think I'd be here wasting my breath?"
Garp trembled, lifting his head to look at Lucian—
Eyes filled with shock and complexity.
Lucian met his gaze.
Then tossed out the real bait.
"Aside from watching the battle, I came here to talk about your grandson."
"Monkey D. Luffy."
BOOM.
"Luffy."
That name was a spell.
Everything—Garp's posture, his wariness, his rage—all crumbled at once.
The aura of a Marine hero—
The hostility toward a criminal—
The fury inflamed by twisted justice—
All gone.
Only a long, heavy sigh remained—full of helplessness and regret.
"Sigh…"
Even Garp's towering body slumped a little.
He slowly turned his back to Lucian, once again looking at the battlefield—
Though his eyes were already elsewhere.
He'd lost.
Not in strength—
But in this conversation.
In this one topic he could never escape: family.
And he had lost utterly.
He was a successful hero.
But a failed grandfather. A failed father.
Lucian now had full control of the conversation.
He looked at Garp's lonely back and knew—it was time.
"Luffy's a good kid, Vice Admiral Garp."
"A bit noisy. A bit dumb. But his heart is kinder and stronger than anyone's."
"He'll become a great pirate. Maybe even… the Pirate King."
At the words Pirate King, Garp's fists clenched instinctively.
Lucian didn't look at him.
He went on:
"His father—your son—Monkey D. Dragon. He too saw how rotten this world is, and chose the hardest path—to tear it all down from the roots."
"Those two—father and son. One seeks absolute freedom. The other, true justice."
"Neither walked the path you laid out for them—but both carry your spirit."
"That unyielding soul that refuses to be chained."
Lucian's words echoed across the frozen mountaintop.
"You upheld order in the Navy.
They pursue their own justice."
"Everyone should have the right to choose their own justice."
"Don't you agree, Vice Admiral Garp?"
The final question was soft.
Yet it crashed down with terrible weight.
Yes… the right to choose…
He'd tried to make Ace and Luffy into Marines.
But one chased the Pirate King's title.
The other became Whitebeard's son.
He wanted Dragon to live quietly.
Instead, he became the World Government's top enemy.
His whole life, he'd tried to pull his family onto the path he believed was "right."
But all he did… was push them further away.
Maybe…
Maybe he'd been wrong from the start.
Garp's fists clenched.
Then loosened.
Veins bulged. Then slowly receded.
He stood still.
Letting the storm of fire and ice whip his "Justice" coat behind him.
The wind howled around them.
But he didn't move.
Not even once.