Garp's expression gradually shifted from initial rage to a deep, profound agony.
His thick fists were clenched tight, his knuckles white from the excessive force, and the veins on his arms bulged like gnarled roots.
He could not refute her. Having fought his way in, he had personally witnessed too many atrocities. Those corpses in target uniforms and those despairing eyes had long since planted the seeds of doubt deep in his heart.
"Even if..." Garp's voice was dry, carrying a sense of difficult struggle,
"Even if the World Government's Orders... if there's a problem with the high-level decisions! But these soldiers!"
He suddenly pointed toward the young, panicked faces behind him,
"Many of them were just ordered to be stationed on the perimeter; they have no idea what is actually happening on the island! They are innocent! They have families too; they are living human beings!"
"Innocent?!"
Charlotte Linlin's voice suddenly rose, full of irony as she spoke:
"Then what about these elderly people, women, and children who were forced into target uniforms and hunted like rabbits?! Are they not innocent?!"
"What did they do wrong?! Just because they were born in a country not affiliated with the World Government? Just because their race was defined as 'inferior'? Do they deserve to be stripped of their humanity and slaughtered like livestock?!"
Her gaze was as sharp as a blade, sweeping between Garp and the Marine Soldiers:
"You keep talking about protecting the lives of these 'unaware' Marine Soldiers who are 'just following Orders'..."
"Then let me ask you, Iron Fist Garp, Hero Garp—"
"Who will protect the lives of those civilians who 'did nothing wrong'?!"
The sharp contrast was like a silent slap, stinging the faces of Garp and every Marine who heard her words.
Garp's chest heaved violently. He gritted his teeth, squeezing words from deep in his throat:
"I will investigate! I will report everything that happened here to my superiors exactly as it is! I will question the highest levels of the World Government! The people... will get an explanation! But that is no reason for you—a pirate—to kill these soldiers at will! Order and procedure..."
"An explanation? Heh... Hahahaha!" Charlotte Linlin let out a mocking sneer, as if she had heard the world's most ridiculous joke,
"Garp, stop lying to yourself! You know better than anyone!"
His voice became cold and cruel, revealing a bloody 'future':
"This matter will never be made public. The words 'God Valley' will soon vanish completely from all sea charts, history books, and official records, as if it never existed.
The official story for all the dead on the island will be unified as 'lost in a massive shipwreck,' or even more simply—'massacred by the vicious Rocks Pirates and their subordinate pirates.'"
"And we 'evil' pirates will be the perfect scapegoats. You Marines might even be rewarded for 'heroically fighting off pirates to protect the civilians'—who are already all dead."
She took a step closer, her massive frame casting an oppressive shadow:
"By standing here and stopping me now, Garp, you are personally participating in this highest-level cover-up! You are using your so-called 'procedural justice' to whitewash an actual, inhumane evil! Is this the path you've chosen?!"
**"Enough!!"**
Garp finally erupted in a roar, the sound waves shaking the surrounding rubble. His eyes were bloodshot, reflecting not just anger, but the painful tearing of a violent conflict between his ideals and reality.
Charlotte Linlin looked at him, the last trace of patience for debate vanishing from her eyes.
"Since reasoning doesn't work..." She slowly raised [Nothingness] in her hand, black Haki beginning to coil around the blade once more,
"Then let's speak with the most direct language of this sea!"
She didn't strike with full force; it was more like a probe. A sharp but smaller-scale sword energy slashed toward Garp.
Garp remained silent and did not dodge. He threw a straight right punch coated in top-tier Armament Haki, shattering the sword energy once again.
But his thick brows were tightly knit. His fist had shattered the sword energy, yet it felt as if it had struck his own heart.
After the strike, Charlotte Linlin stopped looking at him. Her Dragon Wings unfurled with a 'whoosh' as she made a move to fly toward the coast again.
"Stop!"
Garp's figure vanished instantly, and in the next moment, he stood like an iron tower blocking Charlotte Linlin's flight path, the sonic booms from his Moonwalk crisp and loud.
"Move." Charlotte Linlin's voice dropped to freezing point.
"Are you going to destroy the Celestial Dragons' evacuation fleet?" Garp asked in a low voice.
"So what?" Charlotte Linlin raised an eyebrow, making no effort to hide her killing intent,
"Iron Fist Garp, are you finally going to fulfill your duty and protect your 'noble' masters?"
Garp took a deep breath, as if trying to use all the air in his lungs. His voice carried a strange weight:
"On those ships... there aren't just Celestial Dragons. There are also Marine Soldiers responsible for the escort! The Orders they received were simply to 'escort to safe waters'!
If you attack in your current state, you won't distinguish between targets! They will all die under your blade and thunder! Many of them haven't even seen the atrocities on this island!"
Charlotte Linlin's movements paused slightly.
One second.
A pause of just one second.
Yet her eyes became even colder because of it—a look of complete disappointment and detachment that saw through to the very essence of things.
"So," her voice was as light as a sigh, yet heavy enough to make mountains crumble,
"To protect those few hundred Marines who 'might' be caught in the crossfire while 'following Orders'... you would let go of those Celestial Dragons who 'certainly' will continue to do evil and have already committed unpardonable crimes?"
She shook her head, as if mourning a certain naivety:
"Garp. Your 'justice' is so double-standard... it's laughable."
"I will arrest them!" Garp almost roared, the veins on his temples throbbing,
"I will arrest the culprits who directly participated in and ordered the hunt! Through the Marine's formal judicial process, a public trial..."
"Arrest the Celestial Dragons? Use the World Government's judicial process to try World Nobles?"
Charlotte Linlin interrupted him directly, the corners of her mouth curling into an extremely mocking arc.
"Garp, do you think a lie that even a three-year-old wouldn't believe can convince me? Or have you even started to believe this self-deceiving fantasy yourself?"
Garp froze in place. He opened his mouth but found that all words were pale and powerless in the face of her cold gaze and the cruel reality.
His clenched fists represented power, but they also represented shackles.
In the end, he simply, slowly, and with immense weight, blocked the path between Charlotte Linlin and the coast once more, building a silent barrier with his body. His voice was hoarse and firm, yet hollow, as if it had lost all support:
"Regardless... right now, I cannot let you pass."
The sea breeze, carrying the scent of blood and ash, wailed as it passed between the two.
The concept of justice had already shattered.
In the silent standoff, only the most primal power remained, about to decide the direction of the path.
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