CHAPTER 324: CHAPTER 324: GARP RETREATS

"Ace!"

"Captain Ace!"

"Hang in there, Captain!"

"Damn..."

Marco rushed to Ace’s side and immediately used his powers to heal him.

The other pirates who arrived with Marco all stood in front of Ace.

They took a defensive stance against Garp.

"Oh?"

"So you made it." Garp saw Marco and let his Haki fade. He also dropped his fighting stance.

"Ma... Marco..."

With the healing flames of Marco’s Phoenix power, Ace’s injuries quickly began to improve.

He opened his eyes and saw Marco using the flames of healing.

"Ace!"

"Thank goodness, Ace, you’re finally awake!"

The pirates nearby turned around happily when they heard Ace’s voice.

"Everyone..."

"Sorry... I didn’t expect the one from the Marines to show up would be the old man."

"He was just way too strong..." Ace said with difficulty, forcing a bitter smile.

"Ace, don’t say sorry. You did great!"

"That’s right!"

"We get it, Ace. Garp’s a legend—he’s on the same level as Pops..."

"Ace..."

Everyone took turns comforting him.

"Wahahaha!"

"Ace, how did that Fist of Love feel?" Garp laughed out loud.

As soon as he said that, every pirate glared at him.

"Damn it!"

"Old man, that punch was nothing like before!"

"That was Conqueror’s Haki infused in it!" Ace had recovered a bit and struggled to his feet, shouting angrily at Garp.

"Ace!"

"Remember that feeling. I believe you can do it!"

"And..."

"Next time, I’ll be coming to arrest you for real!" With that, Garp turned around and left without hesitation.

"Old man..."

Ace stared at Garp’s strong and steady back. His eyes welled up instantly.

Seeing Garp retreat, everyone from the Whitebeard Pirates was a little surprised.

But then they remembered the connection between Garp and Ace, and it all made sense.

Ace raised his hand and touched his chest.

That punch from the old man just now had given him a sudden insight into how to use Conqueror’s Haki.

————

West Coast.

The 2nd Division pirates standing off against the Marines stepped aside on their own when they saw Garp coming.

"Vice Admiral Garp!" Bogard immediately stepped forward.

"...Mm. Their reinforcements are here. Let’s go—to the next island," Garp said as he jumped onto the warship.

Why are they leaving?

Even if the enemy’s backup had arrived, it’s not like they couldn’t still win. After all, everyone knew just how strong Vice Admiral Garp really was.

Not to mention Bogard was with him too.

Bogard didn’t hesitate at all and followed Garp onto the dog-headed warship.

It wasn’t until Garp and Bogard had boarded that the Marines on the shore reacted.

"Yes, sir!"

"Vice Admiral Garp!" the Marines quickly followed orders and climbed aboard the ship.

The dog-headed ship slowly pulled away, the carved bone in its mouth swaying.

"Captain Marco and the others have arrived!"

"Hurry!"

"Let’s go! We need to check on Captain Ace!"

The pirates on the shore snapped out of it and rushed anxiously into the valley.

———

"Ace!"

"Captain Ace!"

The 2nd Division members ran into the valley and froze when they saw Ace covered in injuries.

But seeing Marco treating him eased their worries—after all, Marco’s Flame of Healing was incredibly strong.

"Everyone..."

"I’m so glad you’re all still alive..." Ace smiled with relief when he saw his crew.

"But... the others..." Vakalo spoke in a heavy voice.

As soon as he said that, sadness fell over everyone in the 2nd Division.

Garp’s attack had been terrifying—just one blow had taken out nearly a third of their crewmates!

"Good thing it was Garp."

"If it had been someone else—like Akainu—we wouldn’t have been this lucky," Marco said quickly.

Because of the unique relationship between Garp and Ace, Marco was trying to shift everyone’s attention so they wouldn’t blame Ace for what happened.

Sure enough, after hearing Marco’s words, relief appeared on their faces.

Ace understood what Marco was trying to do.

But deep down, he was still worried.

Everyone had seen how things went just now—if the old man had truly wanted to, they all could’ve been wiped out in an instant.

Ace knew just how strong his grandfather was.

Even if Marco and the others had jumped in on time, it probably wouldn’t have changed anything.

But...

That first blow from the old man had just been to scare them.

Even though he’d been taking hits afterward, Ace knew his grandpa hadn’t gone all out.

He could’ve ended it at any time, but because of Ace, he held back.

If word of this reached the Marines, what would people say about their so-called Marine Hero?

Would Marine HQ punish Garp for it?

"Ace!"

"Don’t overthink it. We still have a long road ahead of us!"

"We’ve only cleared the first stage. If we really want to restore the Whitebeard Pirates’ name, we’ve got a lot more work to do!"

Marco saw right through Ace’s thoughts, so he tried to redirect them again.

When Ace heard Marco’s words, his expression turned serious.

Right now, without Pops to protect them, all the other powers in the New World were eyeing them.

The Four Emperors might not be rushing in yet—

But the smaller pirate crews didn’t care.

The New World had a huge number of pirates, and the good islands were already taken by the Four Emperors. All that was left were scraps.

There was barely any space left for them to survive.

With Whitebeard gone, they saw their chance—a shot at grabbing territory from the Whitebeard Pirates. That’s why they were attacking like crazy.

"Don’t worry, Marco. This time, I’ll make them pay for what they’ve done!"

Flames flared up instantly around Ace’s clenched fist.

And within those flames—

A flicker of dark red Haki could be seen!

"Ace!"

"Wait a second..." Marco noticed the change in Ace’s flames, and excitement lit up his face.

"Yeah!"

"It’s still not quite there, but I’m getting close to mastering the real Conqueror’s Haki coating. I’ll get it soon!" Ace said with total confidence.

"That’s amazing!"

"That’s the power only Pops had in our whole crew!"

"Ace!"

"You were amazing!"

Hearing Ace’s words, the nearby pirates all got excited, and even Marco let out a sigh of relief.

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