"Old man!!!"
"Ahhhhhh... old man..."
"Waaaaah!!!"
Everyone was crying their eyes out. Even Ace, who had only just been swept up in the overwhelming emotion of finally acknowledging his father, was pulled out of it. He tried to rush back without caring about anything else.
"Don't do it, Uncle Ozz!!!"
But before he could get far, a hand grabbed him and stopped him cold.
"Let go of me, Sabo!!!"
Ace struggled wildly. Looking at that tragic, aging figure, tears and snot ran down his face in streams.
"I know you're hurting, Ace, but have you forgotten why Whitebeard is doing this in the first place?!"
Ace kept thrashing, his body turning to flames.
A trace of hesitation flashed across Sabo's face, but in the end he still brought his fingers together into the shape of a dragon's claw.
Clang.
"Dragon Claw Fist!!!"
Dense black Armament Haki instantly wrapped around his hand. Then he slammed Ace's half-elementalizing head straight into the ground and pinned him there.
"Don't blame me, Ace."
"This is not just for brotherhood. It is also Whitebeard's final wish, bought with his life!!!"
Whether Sabo's words got through or not, Ace stopped moving. His face stayed buried in the ground.
Only a muffled sob could be heard.
"My sons..."
Whitebeard forced his failing body to remain standing. He looked at the sons who were crying so hard they could barely breathe, and his expression turned unreadable.
"Thank you. You are my greatest treasure...
Farewell, my sons."
Bang.
A bullet from the strongest man in the world added one final hole to Whitebeard's chest, already riddled with bullets and blade wounds.
Even without that shot, Whitebeard would have died soon enough.
If he had to die, then better this than falling to a traitor.
Better to die at the hands of the strongest.
Roger grinned broadly, though his eyes were filled with tears as well.
"So you're gone, Newgate."
He thought back on the decades of memories between them, stretching all the way from the Rocks Pirates to now.
"Wahahahaha!!!"
"To be taken by a king of the era, you bastard. Your death is even grander than mine. I'm jealous as hell!!!"
The Marines were silent too.
Especially Sengoku and Garp. For old men like them, Whitebeard's death brought more sorrow than joy.
The Whitebeard Pirates wept bitterly.
Even Crocodile, who had always treated Whitebeard as an enemy, had his face cast in shadow. Not the slightest trace of a smile could be found on him.
At that moment, perhaps only one person on the battlefield was happy that Whitebeard had died.
And that was...
"Relics of the old era should be thrown into a corner and forgotten. Whitebeard's death will simply become another achievement in the Navy's victory!!!"
Rumbling magma rolled forward through clouds of smoke. Seizing the moment while everyone was frozen in shock, Sakazuki immediately launched a long-range volcanic eruption toward the three brothers.
But there were still people standing in his way.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
The ice beneath them split apart.
Slash!!!
A blade of sand rose from below like a giant spear and split Sakazuki's body cleanly in two. Then it transformed into a dark-coated, brooding figure.
"Crocodile...!!!"
"Sandstorm!!!"
A sandstorm blasted the three brothers away.
"So even you're protecting them now?"
"When did a bastard like you become so softhearted? Playing babysitter now?"
Sakazuki spoke coldly, but Crocodile only darkened his expression.
"Don't forget, Akainu. It's not just Whitebeard. I still have unfinished business with you from back then too..."
The first time Crocodile had been driven into Impel Down, it had been because of Akainu.
So whether this sudden intervention was for one reason or another, it was hard to say for certain.
Meanwhile, Buggy, who had originally wanted to find Ozz and Roger but had stayed on the outer edge to avoid getting caught in the nuclear-like blast, just happened to catch the three brothers.
"The battlefield is getting more dangerous by the second. We need to get to Ozz and the others fast... guh...
What the hell?! What just got thrown over here?!"
He took a closer look and instantly saw Ace and Luffy.
"Ace?! Straw Hat, you idiot!!!"
"Whoever you are, thanks for saving us."
Sabo thanked him politely.
Buggy immediately put on a courteous smile.
"No, no, it's nothing. Just a little help, you're being too poli... wait a second!!!"
"Why did you all suddenly get thrown over here?!"
The lackeys below had been flying around the outskirts with Buggy and were confused at first.
Some of them had even suspected that Captain Buggy was too scared to approach the battlefield.
But now, seeing this scene, they instantly understood everything.
Especially the ones who had doubted him. They looked like they wanted to commit ritual suicide on the spot, crying with guilt.
"I'm sorry, Captain Buggy! I should never have doubted you!!!"
"So you kept circling outside the battlefield all this time because you were waiting to save the son of your former captain. What incredible loyalty!!!"
"You're magnificent!!!"
A chorus of praise erupted, leaving Buggy sweating awkwardly. Something about all this felt a little off.
Although none of the people blocking Sakazuki were truly Emperor-level or Admiral-level fighters, there were enough top officers and commander-tier figures there to hold him back for the moment.
Ozz had been watching the fight and was about to say something else to the Blackbeard Pirates, but then his Observation Haki picked up something.
He could only shake his head helplessly.
"Those two really can smell excitement from miles away."
With a light step, he instantly moved into the air and stretched both hands forward.
Boom!!!
Boom!!!
A tremendous explosion rang out right in front of him.
Two blindingly fast figures had crashed into his space. Their muscles bulged, their bodies were monstrous, and their eyes blazed with ferocity.
"Oh... long time no see, Bullet."
"It's you... Ozz!!!"
The two high-speed figures Ozz had sensed were none other than the muscle-crazed monsters who had been fighting each other moments ago, Kaido and Douglas Bullet.
Ozz had intercepted them both at once.
"Get out of my way. I'm going to challenge Roger!!!"
Roger had become Bullet's obsession, his greatest inner demon. The chance to challenge Roger again had driven him nearly mad with excitement.
"I've got years of unfinished business with Roger!!!"
Kaido was no different. He craved battle against stronger opponents. Bullet was still not enough to satisfy him.
But Ozz merely shook his head.
"Roger and Garp are fighting. At their age, they do not have the energy to deal with the two of you as well..."
Then he reversed the grip on his black gun and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
"If you two can't understand what a proper one-on-one is, then I happen to know a little marksmanship myself."
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