Marineford, once rebuilt after the war against the Whitebeard Pirates, was now completely destroyed. The remaining marines and civilians organized themselves and began to secure the battlefield. Some Marine soldiers patrolled the surrounding waters, keeping an eye out for any signs of pirate activity.
It was crucial to prevent the news of Marineford's destruction from spreading worldwide. The Marines could not afford to show weakness to their enemies. However, before the high-level combat power from Naval Headquarters arrived, the information about what had happened in Marineford had to be kept secret.
This also led to the fact that no pirate dared to remain in the waters around Marineford. Some pirates, driven by curiosity, approached the island to see why there were tsunamis and roars in the area. But encountering the aggressively patrolling marines, they suppressed their curiosity and left.
Finally, after a day of travel from New Marineford, Sakazuki and the others arrived at Marineford. But as they got closer to the island, they became increasingly surprised by what they saw. They were stunned by the scene before them. Except for Sakazuki, who had some mental preparation from Drake's call, Garp, Tsuru, and the others rubbed their eyes unconsciously, fearing they were dreaming.
What was the situation? How had Marineford turned into a forest? All kinds of buildings had turned into ruins, and none were intact.
In an instant, everyone was shocked and couldn't remain calm. At that moment, they finally understood why Akainu was so hurried to get to this place.
"Wait... no, Sengoku... I can't sense Sengoku's breath..." murmured Garp, with a trembling voice and a pale face.
Boom! In the next moment, everyone also erupted with extremely terrifying aura fluctuations, seemingly also stimulated by the desolate situation of Marineford.
Among them, Garp and Tsuru panicked even more and quickened their pace. Soon, they found something that left them shocked: a torso with legs standing intact, covered in blood.
Apparently aware of Garp's arrival, Sengoku's corpse, still standing on the ground, fell to the ground with a thud.
"Sengoku!" roared Garp, quickly breaking out of his shock, and moved forward to embrace what was left of Sengoku, with a sad expression and eyes that couldn't stop looking at him.
He never imagined this would happen. Marineford completely destroyed... Sengoku dead...
Zzmmm! A terrifying aura uncontrollably emanated from Garp's body. From his body as the epicenter, red lightning began to release in all directions, breaking structures, lifting the ground, and churning the seas.
"Why?... What happened?" Tsuru, losing her previous wisdom, her body trembling, took a few steps back, and stood there crying.
"Garp, calm down!" Tensei shouted, his voice resonating with authority amidst the chaos. Seeing Garp losing control, Tensei clenched his fists tightly, taking a deep breath to calm himself.
"I understand your pain," said Tensei, his voice firm and serene. "But you also have to understand us. Now is not the time for lamentations. The first task is to identify the killer so that we can take the necessary measures."
His words resonated with Garp, like a bucket of cold water that awakened him from his pain. The fury that consumed him began to recede, giving way to a grim determination.
Releasing his monstrous Conqueror's Haki, Garp embraced Sengoku's body more tightly, bloodying his hands and clothes.
"Whoever it is, I will kill them," vowed Garp, his voice hoarse with grief and anger.
At that moment, Ryokugyu's voice echoed in the air.
"Something is wrong with these trees..." he murmured, frowning.
He had tried to communicate with the trees since he arrived, but an invisible force was blocking him.
"Wait a minute... The energy... it's the same as the trees from Wano," he said, his eyes shining with sudden understanding.
"What?!" the other admirals exclaimed in unison.
"If I'm not mistaken," continued Ryokugyu, directing a serious look at Akainu, "the Ninja God who died over 40 years ago, Hashirama, has been resurrected by King. I wasn't sure before, but now..."
Akainu nodded, his face hardened by anger.
"According to my information," he said, "Hashirama was the one who killed Tokikake in West Blue before heading here, to Marineford."
A murmur of horror ran through the group.
"What?!" Tsuru exclaimed, tears in her eyes.
"The legendary Ninja God..." murmured Tensei, incredulous.
They couldn't believe that the one responsible for Marineford's destruction and Sengoku's death was this man.
Garp, with trembling hands, placed Sengoku's body on the ground.
"The moment I saw these trees," he said with a broken voice, "I knew who had done this."
A deathly silence took hold of them.
"I simply cannot believe that this man is still alive..." murmured Garp, looking at the sky with tear-filled eyes.
_____
Time: Depending on how much support this fanfic receives, the updates will be.