At this moment, the battle at the Holy Land of Mary Geoise had also taken a dramatic turn.
On the side of the World Government, the situation was gradually slipping out of control. Faced with the furious assault of the New Era Alliance, their defensive lines were steadily pushed back, all the way to the foot of the city.
Even so, with Steel Bone Kong and the others desperately holding the line, breaking into the city itself was still no easy task for the attackers.
Beneath the Red Line, on the frozen sea.
While the majority of fighters charged toward the summit of the Red Line to assault Mary Geoise, Marco and Aokiji were still locked in a fierce battle on the ice.
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!"
The chill pouring from Aokiji's right arm rapidly condensed, forming a massive ice bird that screeched through the air as it hurtled forward.
Boom!
Marco's entire body erupted in blue flames as he shot forward like a meteor, smashing straight through the ice bird without slowing down in the slightest. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance and slammed a powerful kick into Aokiji's chest.
Aokiji's expression changed violently. Blood sprayed from his mouth as his body was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing hard into the rocky face of the Red Line.
At last, exhaustion caught up with him.
After repeatedly freezing vast stretches of seawater, Aokiji had already been running on empty. Now, after a prolonged battle with Marco, his body was riddled with injuries.
He had completely lost the ability to fight.
"You win," Aokiji said with a sigh. "Go on—kill me."
Marco walked over, smiling as he shook his head. "That won't do. Pops specifically told me not to kill you."
"Whitebeard… doesn't want me dead?" Aokiji froze, clearly taken aback.
But Marco shook his head again, grinning. "Not Pops. It was that person from the Ninja Guild who said you're not to be killed."
"What?!"
Aokiji was even more stunned by that answer.
Elsewhere, along the edge of the Red Line.
Kizaru was engaged in combat with Fisher Tiger. As a legendary figure among the Fish-Man Pirates, Fisher Tiger was undeniably powerful, but against Kizaru's overwhelming speed, he was unable to fully utilize the natural advantages of the fish-men.
In the end, after a brutal exchange, Fisher Tiger was defeated by Kizaru's lightning-fast attacks.
"Yata Mirror!"
Kizaru transformed into a beam of golden light and reappeared instantly in front of Fisher Tiger, raising his leg to deliver a fatal kick to the head.
Suddenly, a figure appeared out of nowhere between them.
Kizaru's pupils shrank, his face filled with sheer terror. "What the hell—you again?!"
Bang!
In the next instant, Kizaru was sent flying, his body slamming violently into a distant mountain.
"Sorry about that," Minato Namikaze said calmly as he looked at Fisher Tiger. "I'll take this one. Go find someone else to fight."
Earlier, Minato hadn't stayed out of the battle—he had simply gone to investigate something on Lin Xuan's behalf. Now that the matter was settled, he was finally free to act.
Moments later, Kizaru burst out of the collapsed rubble. But to everyone's shock, he didn't charge at Minato.
Instead, he transformed into a streak of light and shot straight into the distance.
Kizaru… ran away.
Facing Minato Namikaze once more, he didn't hesitate at all. The fear had been carved too deeply into his mind—one look at Minato was enough for him to choose escape without a second thought.
Fisher Tiger stood there dumbfounded.
Minato rubbed his nose awkwardly. Am I really that scary?
Everyone nearby was completely stunned.
Was that really a Marine Admiral just now?
Sengoku witnessed the scene as well, and he was so furious he nearly spat out blood. Borsalino, that bastard—since when did he become such a coward?!
But there was no time to dwell on it. Facing Whitebeard head-on, Sengoku was already struggling to hold on. Without the assistance of several CP0 agents, he would have been defeated by now.
Meanwhile, on another battlefield, the third Marine Admiral—Akainu—was still fighting against Sabo, Luffy, Ace, and Kid.
These four young pirates were unleashing astonishing power, continuously pressuring him from all sides.
Even so, Akainu was still an Admiral of the Marines. His combat experience and raw strength far surpassed theirs. Despite fighting four against one, he had yet to be defeated and was instead suppressing them.
But despite that, Akainu was seething with rage.
This wasn't the battle he wanted.
He was desperate to prove his strength. Even if he defeated—or even killed—these brats, it would prove nothing in the end, only inviting more criticism.
Yet every time he tried to break away and seek a stronger opponent, these pests clung to him like glue, driving him to the brink of fury.
Finally, his patience snapped.
"All of you—die!" Akainu roared.
In the next instant, his entire body transformed into magma. It began to swell and expand, forming a colossal magma giant that raised an enormous hand and slammed it down toward Sabo and the others.
Boom!
The earth-shaking explosion sent torrents of molten lava spraying in all directions like cascading waterfalls.
Sabo, Luffy, and the rest turned pale, scrambling desperately to evade.
The devastation spread outward, catching others in the blast as well. Several pirates and World Government soldiers were struck by the magma and instantly incinerated, reduced to ash before they could even scream.
"Akainu, stop this!" Steel Bone Kong shouted furiously.
But Akainu ignored him completely. Laughing wildly, he bellowed, "Die! All of you!"
At this point, Akainu had completely lost control, no longer distinguishing friend from foe as he prepared to unleash yet another frenzied attack.
And then—something utterly unexpected happened.
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T/N:
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