Everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates burst into laughter, their voices booming across the frozen battlefield. Akainu's hard-won reputation had been wiped out once again by nothing more than a single contemptuous slap from Pops.
At the same time, Sengoku and Whitebeard stepped forward together, signaling the true beginning of the war's final phase.
From the instant the Fleet Admiral arrived, neither man exchanged a single glance, yet the tension between them was as deep as the sea.
Weight pressed into the air, thick as mud, forcing those nearby to retreat instinctively.
After an immeasurable moment of silent pressure, Whitebeard's sharp eyes narrowed.
"Sengoku! Decades have passed since we last fought face-to-face. For me to walk all the way here, isn't that enough of an answer? I thought you would at least allow an old man to live out his last years."
"You didn't need to come," Sengoku replied coldly.
His voice was flat, disturbingly calm.
"My only objective is to execute Ace. He is not your biological son. If you leave now, the government will let you go."
"Gurararara! Sengoku, after all these years, you still think I don't understand you?" Whitebeard sneered.
"This war isn't just about Ace. You want to erase the old era, starting with me."
"I don't know what you are implying," Sengoku answered, expression unchanging.
"I will say it again. If you retreat now, you may go."
Whitebeard scoffed.
"Decades apart, and you think your strength hasn't regressed?"
He released Akainu's head, stepped forward, and his body erupted in dazzling white light.
A violent shockwave burst from him, powerful enough to shake the battlefield.
Akainu's body shot backward like a fired cannonball, blood spraying from his mouth as he crashed into the distant ice.
A deafening boom followed, the impact carving a massive crater into the frozen ground.
"You…" Sengoku's eyes trembled with fury as he saw Akainu's crumpled form.
Golden energy rippled around him, and the cloak of justice behind him snapped violently in the wind.
"Want to fight, Sengoku?" Whitebeard grinned.
"Back then, you weren't my equal. If that old fool Garp hadn't stepped in, you'd have lost far sooner. But now? Ace is his grandson. He can't help you today. That means I can beat you down, drag you by the collar, and trade you for Ace."
"Hmph. I was weaker than you in the past, but only slightly," Sengoku retorted.
"You're old now. Your body isn't at its peak anymore. Talking is pointless. Come, Whitebeard. Let me see if your strength has actually grown over these decades."
In a flash of golden brilliance, Sengoku's entire body expanded.
Radiant light engulfed him as he transformed into the colossal Buddha.
The air trembled under the weight of his power.
"Gurararara! Decades have passed, but your fruit's ability remains exactly as I remember it," Whitebeard laughed, gripping his massive bisento with absolute confidence.
The golden giant moved with astonishing speed, appearing before Whitebeard in an instant.
His enormous hand descended like a divine palm, radiant with destructive power.
Air rippled violently beneath the crushing pressure.
Whitebeard remained unmoved.
His blade swung upward.
Cracks split the air like shattered glass, spreading toward the heavens.
Sword energy surged, merging with a sweeping shockwave.
A thunderous impact echoed across the battlefield, loud enough to make Marines clutch their ears.
Golden light and white energy collided, filling the world with blinding brilliance.
For a moment, everything turned white.
When the light finally faded, both attacks had been obliterated.
Sengoku staggered backward in his Buddha form, his massive hand throbbing painfully.
"Whitebeard…" he growled.
"Gurararara! Sengoku, it seems you really can't keep up anymore," Whitebeard mocked.
The joy in his voice only deepened Sengoku's scowl.
From the Marine side, Kizaru exhaled lightly.
"Marshal Sengoku losing… that old man is terrifying. As expected of the world's strongest."
Marco folded his arms.
"Of course. Pops didn't get that name by luck. Even if he's old, he's not someone Marine HQ can handle."
Before anyone could reply, a thunderous explosion ripped through the distant ice, forcing every head to turn.
Lava surged upward like a volcanic eruption, and Akainu rose from the crater, body dripping magma, expression twisted with rage.
His voice cracked the air.
"Whitebeard!"
"Oh? Pops really angered him," Kizaru muttered.
"I've never seen Akainu look like this."
Marco's jaw tightened.
"Even with Pops' strength, fighting Sengoku and Akainu together is too much. His body can't take battles like this anymore."
Magma spilled across the ice as Akainu advanced.
His fury was so overwhelming that Marines and pirates alike instinctively stepped aside wherever he walked.
Whitebeard smirked.
"Magma boy, didn't you already get beaten enough? Want more?"
The taunt drove Akainu's fury to the brink.
Lava surged wildly around him, forming another massive magma arm.
This time, Armament Haki coated the molten limb, turning it black and crimson as it loomed overhead like a demonic totem.
At the same moment, Sengoku gathered power behind him.
His massive golden hand opened wide, light condensing into a focused shockwave.
Both attacks radiated immense destruction.
A Marine Admiral and the Fleet Admiral attacked together, their combined power capturing the attention of every fighter on the field.
Even the Transponder Snails shifted to record the clash between these towering forces.
Whitebeard raised his bisento without hesitation.
White light wrapped around the blade as he swung upward toward the descending magma fist.
His other fist clenched tightly as he struck toward Sengoku's incoming shockwave.
Cracks rippled across the ice and air alike.
The bisento unleashed blue and white sword energy intertwined with a devastating shockwave, racing toward Akainu's lava fist.
At the same time, another wave of spider-like cracks spread outward, aiming directly at Sengoku's golden attack.
Invisible force erupted like a tide, each wave stronger than the last, colliding with the Buddha's shockwave in a blast that shook the world.
Two colossal explosions shattered the air.
Sword energy and shockwaves crashed head-on with the Admiral's molten fist.
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