𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 (A One Piece Fanfic)

Chapter 96- The start of the War!

With closed eyes, Juli ignored the rest of Sengoku's speech which motivated the marines battle spirit to new heights. She could already feel the tenseness in the air, a mere chill of the tightening atmosphere that was running down her spine. Taking a deep breath, she focused her mind once more. 'Soon... It will start soon.' She thought seriously, opening her eyes once more to glance at her grandfather figure.

Garp was clearly struggling with guilt and the reality of this situation, but no matter how hard she might try, she couldn't blame him at all. If he were to go against the marines to save his grandson, the believes of the civilization in the marines would collapse completely. She knew it as well as Garp himself. As a marine hero, he was a part of the balance of the world. His famed existence in the ranks of the marines was giving the general population something to believe in. If he were to betray them, that entire system of trust would collapse and leave chaos and a mess that would run far deeper than they could foresee.

'It's really a difficult situation. I don't know if I could be in Garp-jiji's shoes without going insane... The sheer pressure resting upon him is crazy.' Juli shook her head, her gaze traveling to the ground for a moment. 'I can understand now why someone as strong as Garp-jiji never became an admiral. As a Vice, you still have freedom over your own choices. As an admiral, it becomes difficult to enforce your own believes in justice at times, meaning that you would have to betray your own sense of justice if it was for orders.' She paused in her thoughts and glanced to Aokiji before raising her gaze up to the serious Sengoku. 'The worst... Has to be the Fleet Admiral though. Alas strong, your sense of justice doesn't matter anymore...does it, Sengoku-jiji? It's really sad. The root of all corruption truly comes from the government.'

With a sigh, Juli interrupted her serious train of thoughts and raised her gaze. The intense rising in the atmosphere was now undeniable. And yet, it was absolutely silent. Her eyes narrowed further in thoughts, the tickling feeling against her skin only increasing as she slowly realized it. 'It's time for them to appear, isn't it?' A tiny smile lit up her features, turquoise orbs eagerly watching the surface of the water in excitement.

Suddenly, alarm sirens started to ring loudly over Marineford as the watch guards alarmed them of the appearance of a fleet of pirate ships at the horizon.

"They appeared so suddenly!! Where did they get in??" Sengoku shouted in alarm.

'43 ships of pirates from the New World, all allied with Whitebeard...' Juli counted and smiled while the marines around her tensed in alarm. 'What a sneaky strategy, Uncle Whitebeard...'

"Don't panic! So pathetic!!" Tsuru huffed annoyed as she stared down at the panicking marine soldiers.

Juli leaned forward as soon as she spotted bubbles reaching the surface of the bay. She glanced to Garp, whose expression showed surprise. "I believe you didn't expect underwater traveling as a possibility of arrival?" She questioned with a tilted head.

Garp sighed softly. "Well, he always was smart enough to appear from where we least expect it." He stated seriously.

"I think we might have the wrong lineup..." Tsuru agreed indirectly, causing Juli's eyes to shine in awe.

Just as she went in to reply, her head snapped back to the surface as the Moby Dick appeared from underwater. As soon as the big ship hit the surface of the water, its coating disappeared.

Juli smiled seriously as she shielded her eyes from the water droplets of the ocean that fell down on them like rain. "Amazing! What an entrance!!!" She exclaimed softly in awe, not able to hide her amusement about such a dramatic appearance to a war. 'I guess all pirates have a hang to dramatic entrances after all...' She thought in fondness while she watched three smaller ships of the Whitebeard pirates appear around the main ship.