This sudden realization caused a stir among the surrounding Marines, almost causing some of them to strain their backs. With Ace already defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates, there was little to debate. If even Luffy, who had just set sail, couldn't defeat Buggy, what chance did he have against Garp? It was clear that Crocodile was no match either, and he couldn't even come close to Whitebeard.
The captain of the Straw Hat Pirates was clearly related to Garp, given his name. He was either Garp's grandson or a member of the Whitebeard Pirates like Teach.
Conclusion: Garp let Ace be saved.
No wonder he couldn't remember; that's what really happened.
As Sengoku heard Brannew's words, he shot Garp a fierce glance. Today, this guy had tarnished the reputation of the Marines.
He had a headache...
But now wasn't the time to confront Garp. Sengoku glared at him, indicating that he would deal with him later.
Garp nervously smiled at Sengoku, realizing that he might have actually done what they suspected. He didn't have much confidence in himself.
Sengoku ignored Garp.
The most crucial thing now wasn't this matter.
As the Fleet Admiral of the Marines, what concerned him more was the significance behind Ace's rescue. Although this event had yet to occur and was in the future, it would take place at Marineford.
He had assembled a hundred thousand elite Marines, including the Admirals and the Marine's top forces, all at Marineford.
Even the Seven Warlords of the Sea had been assembled.
It could be said that the Marines had gathered their strongest forces.
They had the advantage of timing, location, and manpower.
However, in such a situation, they failed to execute Ace and he was rescued.
If this was true, it meant that the Marines couldn't defeat one of the Four Emperors.
And as everyone knew, there were four Emperors in the New World. If one Emperor could cause such a disastrous outcome, the other three would be eagerly watching from the sidelines.
Sengoku could imagine what would happen if this news spread and the Emperors learned about the true strength of the Marines.
The strong deterrence that had prevented them from acting recklessly would no longer exist.
Once this delicate balance of mutual fear and caution was broken, there would be only one outcome—endless warfare.
This would be a huge problem.
And things were exactly as Sengoku had anticipated.
In the New World, on Onigashima and in Wano, Kaido and Big Mom were also watching the live broadcast. Upon hearing that the Marines couldn't even withstand Whitebeard's crew, they started to wonder if they had overestimated the Marines' strength.
Perhaps they should consider expanding their influence toward the Marines in the future.
In the East Blue, upon hearing his own name mentioned in the discussion, Luffy's spirit soared.
Of course, the rescue of Ace wouldn't be complete without him. Yes, it must have been him who did it.
At this moment, Ace pondered for a moment upon hearing Marco's words, then said:
"I haven't heard of this clown Buggy, and Crocodile has nothing to do with me.
But Luffy, he's my little brother, although we haven't seen each other in two years."
At this point, Luffy didn't have a bounty yet, so Ace wasn't aware of his current situation.
But upon hearing this answer, Ace smiled. This guy had indeed set sail, and he even used Ace's most cherished straw hat as the name of his pirate crew.
Ace continued, "I think among these four choices, only Luffy and Teach are more likely. But based on my understanding of the old man, even if I were to be executed, he wouldn't go easy on Teach.
Although he is my grandfather, he is first and foremost a Marine, an outstanding one.
I barely see him a few times a year, either because he's chasing pirates or on the way to catch them.
If there's a pirate that could make him go easy, I think there are only two, me and Luffy.
No one else can do it."
Upon hearing Ace's words, the crowd fell into silence, including those who were watching the live broadcast around the world.
The people who had previously demanded accountability from the Marines suddenly went quiet.
The Marines, who spent the entire year chasing pirates and couldn't even spare time to meet their grandsons, were impossible to berate.
As for the notion of going easy on their grandsons, they believed that no one could bring themselves to harm their own flesh and blood. It was human nature and understandable.
Moreover, they thought that perhaps the reason Garp's two grandsons had strayed and become pirates one after another was because Garp was always busy working, lacking in giving them proper education, which led them astray.
From this perspective, the one who suffered the most was Garp himself. He was a Marine, yet his grandsons had become pirates.
In the end, his grandson was being publicly executed, and as a grandfather, he couldn't do anything.
It was a painful dilemma between family and responsibility.
........
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