"Marine Hero, Garp!!"
Katakuri looked toward Ace, his face filled with shock.
He never would have imagined that the person who raised Cain was actually this legendary Marine!
"You're… one of Linlin's brats?"
Garp raised a brow and questioned him without the slightest politeness.
"What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're trying to steal my grandson from me?"
On the other side, Burgess and the others carried Blackbeard as they dodged through the battlefield in a sorry state.
When they caught sight of Garp, they seemed to have found a lifeline and hurriedly rushed in that direction, shouting anxiously.
"Run over there! Lead him toward the Marines!"
"OLD MAN, FORGET ABOUT THAT FOR NOW!"
Seeing the situation over there, Ace urgently stepped forward.
"FIRST, STOP CAIN! HE'S COMPLETELY LOST HIS MIND RIGHT NOW!"
Before he could even finish speaking, the Blackbeard Pirates had already swept past Garp's side, fleeing in panic.
Clang—!!!
A piercing metallic roar exploded.
The massive staff in Cain's hand descended with a world-destroying force, cleaving straight toward Garp's head!
"How disgraceful, Cain!"
Blood ran from Garp's head, yet his expression did not change at all.
He stiffly turned his head and looked at the crazed youth.
"It's been a while since we last met, and you actually dare attack your grandpa now?"
Seeing the second strike about to fall, Garp suddenly made his move.
His iron palm clamped firmly onto Cain's head and smashed him viciously downward.
Boom!!
"A DISOBEDIENT CHILD NEEDS TO BE PROPERLY TAUGHT A LESSON!"
Boom!!
Another deafening explosion rang out as Garp's pitch-black fist slammed heavily into Cain's face!
The entire battlefield shook violently.
The ground collapsed with a thunderous crash, forming a vast crater as wide as a plaza. Broken stones and dust surged into the sky.
Katakuri had predicted it in advance and steadied himself firmly.
Ace, however, was knocked off balance by the shockwave and nearly tripped to the ground.
When the aftershock of the punch faded, Cain had completely lost consciousness.
The human-dragon form around his body silently receded, and he lay flat on the ground.
Garp looked at him.
With only a tiny bit of information, he already understood Cain's condition.
He turned his head. His sharp gaze shot straight toward Katakuri as he asked in a low voice, "Was this your doing?"
Katakuri slowly shook his head.
Garp then looked at Ace.
Clearly, it had not been him either. Thinking back to the Blackbeard group he had encountered just now, who had been beaten by Cain until they fled in panic, it obviously had not been them either.
Only then did he remember Sengoku's earlier request.
He hurriedly searched the chaotic battlefield for Doflamingo, only to discover that the man had already disappeared without a trace.
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Garp suddenly burst into laughter, his tone becoming a little lighter.
"Looks like this old man came late! Good thing Cain was protected—and you too, Ace?"
"How is Cain?"
Ace hurriedly rushed to Cain's side and carefully helped him up, looking at Garp with eyes full of worry.
"This brat squeezed and overused his Observation Haki without caring about the consequences, all for the sake of a battle."
Garp waved his hand, his tone carrying a hint of heartache.
"He won't be able to use Observation Haki again for a while, but it's nothing serious. He'll recover after sleeping for a day or two."
After saying that, he once again turned his gaze toward Katakuri.
His aura suddenly surged.
Even though Katakuri was several times taller than him, the intense pressure radiating from Garp still completely overwhelmed him.
"So, what exactly are you here for?"
"Old man, you said earlier that he came to steal your 'grandson'…"
Ace suddenly reacted, his face filled with disbelief.
"Don't tell me you knew? Cain really has something to do with Big Mom?"
Garp casually picked his nose, looking completely unconcerned.
"Ah, of course I knew. This matter has practically spread all over the New World, but it's just a baseless rumor. How could my grandson possibly have anything to do with that old hag Linlin? Cain was raised by my own hands… Well, forget it. No need to talk about that."
"Phew, so that's how it is."
Hearing this, Ace immediately let out a sigh of relief.
'Thankfully, it was only a rumor.'
Seeing that Garp had no intention of capturing him, Katakuri steadied his breath and slowly explained the reason for his visit.
At the end, he added firmly, "Whether Cain is willing to come with me or not, until the truth is clarified, he will be considered a member of the Big Mom Pirates."
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"
When Garp heard this, he burst into wild laughter and mocked him mercilessly.
"You think that old hag Linlin could give birth to such a good kid like Cain? At most, their hair colors are a little similar! As long as this old man is here, Cain will never join you, and he definitely won't go to that hellhole Totto Land!"
"Something like that should still be left to Cain himself, shouldn't it, old man?"
Ace supported Cain's head and softly refuted him.
No matter what the truth was, Ace had already made up his mind—he would definitely respect Cain's final choice.
As for Totto Land, Ace thought back to the descriptions he had heard about that place and could not help pondering inwardly.
'A land filled everywhere with tempting food and desserts did sound rather appealing.'
'But even that probably would not be enough to lure Cain in.'
'If it were Luffy, though, he would probably have been unable to hold himself back and rushed straight there already.'
Katakuri paid no attention at all to Garp's mockery.
He raised his hand and tossed a Den Den Mushi wrapped in a scarf to Ace, speaking in a calm voice.
"Totto Land still can't do without me, so I can't stay long. Once Cain wakes up and makes his decision… no matter what he chooses, Totto Land will welcome him at any time. Of course, I can also come pick him up whenever needed."
The moment his words fell, his figure had already disappeared into the smoke and dust of the battlefield.
Ace caught the Den Den Mushi.
Then he turned his head and immediately noticed something strange about Garp.
He frowned and hurriedly questioned him.
"Old man, you're acting weird today! Normally, if you ran into a pirate, you would've attacked right away. This time, why…"
"HAHA, IT'S NOTHING, NOTHING!"
Garp laughed heartily and patted Ace on the shoulder.
But in the next second, Ace suddenly collapsed to the ground.
"My strength… what's going on?!"
Ace's face was full of disbelief.
Looking down, he was shocked to discover that another pair of Seastone shackles had somehow appeared on his wrists!
Now he had two pairs of the things on him.
The doubled Seastone pressure made him completely unable to move.
"Seeing that you could still run and jump around while wearing one pair of Seastone cuffs, this old man decided to reward you with another pair! Not bad, right?"
Garp said with a loud laugh.
"HEY! OLD MAN, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"
Ace struggled to get up, but the Seastone suppression left his whole body weak.
"What? You don't like the 'bracelets' Grandpa gave you?"
Garp tugged at the unconscious Cain and adjusted his posture.
Then he leaned sideways against him, raised his eyes toward Ace, and his tone suddenly sank.
"This old man didn't set sail this time to carry out a Marine mission."
"My target on this trip has always been only you, Ace."
"D-Don't tell me…"
Ace's pupils shrank. Countless scenes flashed through his mind in an instant.
Cain stopping him again and again.
Garp suddenly appearing to save the situation.
All the doubts from before and after connected in his head at once, and he suddenly understood.
"You came to stop me from going after Blackbeard too?"
"Hah? is that kind of trash is worthy of making this old man come all the way here?"
Garp sneered, but his eyes grew a little more serious.
"I just don't want you to be targeted by the Marines! You've caused more than enough trouble over the years. It's about time you settled down, Ace."
"Don't forget who you are!!"