Renji's Cursed Energy attack, now amplified by the King of Curses skill, was so powerful that even with Marco's incredibly fast regeneration from his blue flames of resurrection, he could no longer withstand the formidable assault of Hollow Technique: Purple.
Marco's body was devoured inch by inch by the purple light of Hollow Technique: Purple, and the pain caused by the Cursed Energy attack was beyond normal. Even with Marco's endurance, he could no longer maintain his facial expression.
Oh, of course, Marco's face was no longer recognizable.
If it could still form a human face, Marco's expression at this moment would surely be twisted.
Normally, wounds regenerated by the blue flames of resurrection caused almost no pain, but facing this purple light, he found the pain almost unbearable. Under such immense pressure, his regenerative ability rapidly deteriorated, and he could no longer maintain it.
"Old man, watch out!"
Almost at the same instant he shouted that sentence, the purple light was already less than 5 meters from Whitebeard. At this distance, Whitebeard could feel the stinging sensation from Purple.
That furious purple threatened to crush everything!
At this distance, the other commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates had no time to react. Then, under the shocked gaze of the world, Whitebeard was forced to act.
Boom!
Whitebeard unleashed his left fist. Due to the tight timing, he could only mobilize a portion of his Devil Fruit ability and a limited amount of Haki. But even so, such a punch was enough to incapacitate a normal Vice Admiral.
The massive fist, imbued with tremor power, slammed into Purple.
Crack... Crack...
Large cracks rapidly spread, and the furious purple light began to tremble violently.
Everyone watched the confrontation, holding their breath, until the tremor power generated by Whitebeard stood in equal opposition to the purple light, like an invisible storm.
On the screen, purple and white formed two distinct zones.
"Whitebeard blocked it... Did he?"
At the bow of Moby Dick, this colossal ship, which had weathered countless battles unscathed, now suffered extensive damage and fragmentation from the clash of the two powers.
Then, under Whitebeard's wide-eyed gaze, the terrifying Purple sphere suddenly exploded, like a deep spatial tunnel completely devouring him.
Boom!
On this ice-blue battlefield, witnessed by the world, a deep purple tunnel, almost spanning Marineford, was awe-inspiring and striking.
Hollow Technique: Purple continued its momentum after crushing Whitebeard, forcefully blasting him to the other end of the second massive ship before finally stopping.
If Whitebeard hadn't resisted with all his might, this single blow might have pushed him out of Marineford's inner bay.
However, this meant Whitebeard had to endure almost the full, maximum output of Purple. But he had no other choice. If he didn't neutralize the power of this attack, he would be humiliated in front of the entire world.
Being a little embarrassed was fine, but it would greatly affect morale. For such a war, this was something Whitebeard absolutely could not accept.
—
At this moment on the Marineford battlefield, apart from the roar caused by Purple's explosion, almost all other sounds vanished.
Countless eyes were fixed on the end of that purple tunnel. They desperately wanted to know Whitebeard's condition after taking that blow.
People all over the world discussed amongst themselves.
"Whitebeard isn't dead, is he?"
"Possibly? After all, the power of that move was terrifying. Even Marco couldn't stop it."
"By the way, how is Marco?"
On the ice, a ball of blue flame was slowly coalescing into a human form, but the speed of its formation was unusually slow.
Marco, who had just managed to reform his mouth, looked up with concern. Ignoring the intense pain from all over his body, he was about to fly into the sky to search for Whitebeard.
"Old man!"
The Moby Dick was now severely damaged, its entire bow crushed and broken. From the middle of the hull, a deep crack had been gouged out, as if the ground had been plowed.
Having suffered such a blow, even if the Whitebeard Pirates won this battle, the Moby Dick would no longer be able to return.
The pirates climbed up from various parts of the ship. If Whitebeard hadn't blocked most of Purple's power, those who remained on the ship would likely have been wiped out.
"Old man! Are you alright?!"
"Bastard! How dare you attack pops?!"
The director was very astute and aimed the camera at the end of the purple tunnel. As the deep purple collapse slowly dissipated, Whitebeard's appearance was revealed.
Whitebeard's battle robe was somewhat tattered, and purple residue remained in many places on his body, especially on his left hand, which was covered in a dense purplish-black.
That was the corrosive Cursed Energy residue.
But what was most striking was the fresh red blood continuously flowing from Whitebeard's mouth.
"Whitebeard... is injured."
"The man known as the world's strongest is actually injured."
Whoosh!
The world was in an uproar.
Marine soldiers cheered, while the pirates' eyes showed fear.
It had just begun, and their pillar of strength, the strongest man, their old man Whitebeard, was already injured. And it happened even with Marco's interception, making him look rather disheveled.
The atmosphere quietly began to shift. The scales of victory in this war began to tip towards the Marine side.
"Fufufufu! Who on earth was that? That's Whitebeard." Doflamingo laughed heartily.
Hancock's eyes were filled with shock. If she had faced such an attack, the outcome would likely be unpredictable.
Whitebeard frowned, looking up at a certain spot, his eyes filled with ruthlessness. At this moment, he was being consumed by the residual Cursed Energy of Purple, which brought an extraordinary sense of pain.
Following Whitebeard's gaze, the director aptly shifted the camera to the high sky.
At the opening of that purple tunnel, a black-haired figure stood proudly.
At Sabaody Archipelago, Rayleigh's eyes flickered, meeting the gaze of the protagonist on the screen. Then, his mouth slightly parted, looking somewhat lost at the perpetrator of all this.
That black-haired figure...
"It really is that brat."
On the large screens around the world, Renji tilted his head slightly, and his azure eyes were thus reflected in the eyes of the world.
"He is Renji! He's the one who severely wounded Whitebeard!"
"Who is Renji?!"
"He's that Marine rookie! Didn't you read the newspaper that day? The one about 'who is the challenger'."
Marineford, on the execution platform.
Sengoku now realized that the tide of the battle had begun to shift towards the Marine side because of one person.
He couldn't help but smile. He absolutely couldn't miss such an opportunity.
Picking up the Den Den Mushi, he shouted with all his might, "Attention all personnel, the enemy's captain, Whitebeard, has been successfully injured by our side."
"Such a powerful blow came from our Marine's Super Rookie—Renji! He is the future star of our Marine!"
"Even Whitebeard, the man known as the world's strongest, could not withstand the future of our Marine!"
"In this battle, Marine will surely win! All forces... attack!"