Whitebeard swung his weapon with all his might.
Murakumogiri was wrapped in a brilliant, searing sphere of light, power vast enough to tear space apart and shatter the seas themselves, as it crashed against Akainu's colossal magma fist.
"Dark Hound!"
Akainu roared, pushing his Magu Magu's heat and destructive power to the absolute limit.
Even before the blow connected, the scorching airwaves ignited the very atmosphere. The frozen battlefield melted and steamed away in an instant, revealing the black reef bed beneath.
BOOM, BOOM!!!
The ultimate collision between the Gura Gura and the Magu Magu!
There was no drawn-out struggle. The moment their attacks met, an indescribable shockwave burst outward in all directions!
At the epicenter, the solid ice field shattered like fragile glass, collapsing piece by piece.
What rose up in towering waves tens of meters high was not seawater, but a blinding white mist of instantly vaporized ice mixed with chunks of molten rock!
The sky itself was ripped open, leaving a massive hole in the clouds.
Even Marineford's fortress walls, reinforced by both Aokiji's ice and Akainu's magma, trembled violently, webbed with spreading cracks!
Those too close, pirates and marines alike, didn't even have time to scream.
Their organs burst under the crushing pressure of the shockwave, or they were engulfed by flying shards of magma and ice.
"Gurararara! Magma brat, is that all you've got?"
Whitebeard bellowed in laughter, swinging Murakumogiri once more. The power of the Gura Gura no Mi condensed at the blade's edge, ready to strike again.
"Don't get cocky, old man!"
Half of Akainu's arm had turned to rolling magma, dripping onto the ice with a hiss of white smoke.
His eyes burned with fury and defiance. With his remaining hand, he readied another devastating blow.
And then, a flash of golden light streaked across the battlefield faster than the eye could see, aimed straight at Whitebeard's back!
It was Kizaru!
"How terrifying, Whitebeard~"
Kizaru's body materialized in midair, fingers still in a pistol pose from firing his laser.
His voice was as sleazy as ever, as if none of this chaos could ruffle him.
"Getting hit by that punch… would be fatal, you know~"
Whitebeard didn't even turn around.
He simply clenched his free left fist and swung backward casually.
Vmmm!
The air cracked.
Transparent fissures raced across space, reaching the point where Kizaru stood, distorting and shattering the light beam, and even the surrounding space, into fragments!
Kizaru had already turned into light, scattering into countless golden particles before reforming at a safe distance.
He patted his chest exaggeratedly.
"Waa tha almost shook me to pieces! What a monster of an old man~"
His tone was easygoing, but his movements were anything but slow.
In a flash, he vanished again and reappeared beside Whitebeard, his toes gleaming with concentrated light.
"Ama no Murakumo!"
A sword of pure light coalesced in his hand, slicing toward Whitebeard's neck at lightning speed, so fast it seemed like teleportation!
"Hmph! A buzzing fly!"
Whitebeard snorted coldly and swung Murakumogiri in a wide arc instead of downward, the sheer force of the blow flattening the air itself.
Kizaru was forced to dematerialize again, retreating just in time to avoid being bisected.
But Akainu's next strike had already arrived!
"Inugami Guren!"
Magma condensed into the form of a giant hound, roaring as it lunged at Whitebeard's chest.
Its speed was incredible, its power concentrated and deadly!
Whitebeard was forced to turn his blade and block.
Murakumogiri met the magma hound head-on, triggering yet another explosion that rocked the battlefield!
For a moment, the center of Marineford became the arena of three top-tier monsters.
Akainu led the assault, a relentless, destructive force who cared nothing for the cost, determined to burn his enemy to ash. Every swing of his molten fists was like a volcanic eruption, seeking to overpower Whitebeard with sheer might and heat.
Aokiji moved along the battlefield's periphery, controlling the terrain and supporting Akainu's offensive.
Whenever Whitebeard's quake force grew too wild and threatened to cause massive destruction, freezing cold surged in to stabilize it, stopping shockwaves mid-air or turning rising tsunamis into ice walls.
Occasionally, he launched surprise attacks, giant ice spears thrusting from tricky angles, forcing Whitebeard to divide his focus.
And Kizaru…
Kizaru had his own "unique" style.
He darted around like an unpredictable golden beam of light.
Sometimes he rose high into the sky, arms crossed, unleashing a rain of light bullets in a wide-area bombardment.
Sometimes he suddenly appeared right beside Whitebeard, stabbing at joints or nerve points with Ama no Murakumo, aiming for seemingly minor but potentially crippling spots.
But every one of his attacks was shallow; if he missed or met resistance, he immediately turned into light and retreated, never staying still.
All while muttering:
"Ahh this shaking is too much~ my hands are going numb~"
"Akainu's trying so hard I could never keep up."
"Aokiji, it's so hot over here~ bring some ice, won't you?"
He fought like a man dancing on a knife's edge, a masterclass in professional slacking.
He looked omnipresent and aggressive, but the real killing intent… only he knew.
Rather than attacking full-force, he was clearly harassing and distracting Whitebeard, preventing the World's Strongest Man from focusing entirely on Akainu.
Watching from afar, Sengoku's temple pulsed with veins… but he couldn't say anything.
Kizaru was stalling Whitebeard.
They couldn't exactly ask this man to fight like Akainu, who treated life like a disposable fuel source.
Just as the three Admirals and Whitebeard clashed at their peak, a dazzling blue flame shot into the sky. Marco, who had been "persuaded to retreat" by Renzo and injured by Kizaru, had fully regenerated with the Phoenix's incredible healing.
His eyes were sharp, furious, resolute. With a single beat of his wings, he streaked across the sky like a blue meteor, but not toward the execution platform this time.
He dove straight into the center of the top-tier battlefield!
"Don't you dare lay a hand on Pops!"
Marco screeched, his flame-covered talons slashing toward Kizaru, who was preparing to fire another laser.
"Ooo, the phoenix bounced back fast~"
Kizaru expected it; he elementalized early, letting Marco's attack pass through him. But he was forced to stop his assault and engage Marco instead.
Blue fire and golden light clashed violently in the air, weaving together into a spectacular and deadly tapestry.
Marco's attacks were wild and desperate, with no regard for himself, doing everything to help Whitebeard.
Kizaru maintained his rhythm, dodging, blocking, occasionally countering, while still joking:
"What's the rush? Being hot-blooded is bad for your health, you know~."
"Tsk, what a pain…"
Behind the execution platform, Renzo watched the distant chaos as light and fire exploded across the battlefield. Kizaru's dramatic fighting style and constant chatter made Renzo frown again.
He shifted his seat, turned even farther away from the battlefield, and pulled his coat over his head.
"So noisy… Why do they talk so much while fighting…"
He even wondered whether he should use a wide-area sound-blocking command on them.
At the battlefield's center, with Marco holding down Kizaru, Whitebeard's pressure lessened.
The quake force on Murakumogiri grew even stronger as he swung, forcing Akainu back several steps.
Then, he pointed the quake-charged blade toward the execution stand.
"Ace! Hold on just a little longer!"
The white glow of the quake force gathered frantically at the tip, Whitebeard was aiming to destroy the execution platform itself!
"Not good!" Sengoku and Garp said simultaneously.
Akainu and Aokiji realized it in the same instant and unleashed their most powerful attacks to stop him.
"Great Eruption!"
"Ice Age!"
Blazing magma and extreme cold clashed violently with the world-shattering quake force.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu