The shockwaves of the battle had yet to settle.
The ice field was torn open with gaping wounds that steamed and smoked, a mixture of searing heat and biting cold.
At the center of the ruins stood Whitebeard, Murakumogiri planted into the ground, his broad chest rising and falling heavily. His clash with Akainu moments ago had drained an enormous amount of his stamina and strength.
Scars both old and new marked his mighty frame, yet his eyes remained sharp, scanning the battlefield, searching for even the faintest chance to break through and rescue Ace.
But within this brief calm, like the pause between two storms, a lone figure cut through the chaos, approaching Whitebeard quickly, emotions twisting across his face.
It was Squard, one of the captains of Whitebeard's allied fleets, once taken in as one of Whitebeard's sons.
Grief, anger, and the warped pain of betrayal were all mixed in his expression. He couldn't even look his "father" in the eye.
"Pops!"
Squard's voice trembled as he stopped right in front of Whitebeard, close enough to reach out and touch him.
Whitebeard lowered his head, his expression one of puzzled gentleness, the same patience he always had for his sons
"Squard? What are you-"
Before he could finish-
Shing
A flash of madness crossed Squard's eyes as his hidden hand whipped out a long blade gleaming with cold light, and with lightning speed, he plunged it straight into Whitebeard's abdomen!
Shhk!
The sound of the blade piercing flesh seemed to echo across the entire battlefield, crisp and deafening.
For a second, time stopped.
Every pirate who saw it, from lowly grunts to division commanders, froze as if struck by lightning.
Marco, still clashing with Kizaru, caught sight of it from the corner of his eye. Blue flames burst violently from his wings as he roared, voice breaking with fury:
"Squard!! What the hell are you doing!!!"
Vista's twin swords halted mid-swing. His eyes went wide in disbelief.
Jozu, still struggling under Renzo's Sloth suppression, strained to move, his diamond body creaking like it would shatter.
Whitebeard's massive frame shuddered. He looked down at the blade sunk into his abdomen, then up at Squard's twisted face, his eyes filled first with disbelief, then with deep, sorrowful pain.
He didn't push Squard away.
Didn't strike back.
He only looked at him with those world-weary eyes, full of disappointment and compassion.
"Guh… cough cough…" Blood poured from Whitebeard's mouth, staining his "white beard" crimson.
The wound was deep, not only reopening old injuries but worsening the illness festering within. His powerful life force faltered visibly, his once-mighty aura flickering like a dying flame.
"Squard…"
Whitebeard's voice was calm, but weak, heavy with heartbreak.
Squard staggered back, tears and madness mingling on his face. He screamed, his voice hoarse with hatred and grief, parroting Akainu's poisonous lies:
"You lied to us! You're trading our lives, your sons' lives, just to save Ace! The Marines promised to spare your real crew!"
That baseless accusation spread like venom through the hearts of the pirates.
Even those still fighting faltered for an instant, their morale shaken.
"Now! Akainu!"
Sengoku's voice boomed, sharp and commanding.
Akainu's eyes blazed with killing intent.
He would not let such a chance slip away.
"Whitebeard, your era is over!"
With a furious roar, his entire right arm transformed into a seething mass of molten magma, burning so hot it ignited the very air, the ice beneath his feet instantly vaporizing.
"Dark Hound!!"
The blow contained all his killing will and might. The speed, the force, all at their peak, striking just as Whitebeard reeled from his wound, his breath ragged, his body breaking down.
"Pops!!!" Marco screamed, trying to break past Kizaru's golden light, but a storm of lasers pinned him in place.
Every commander tried to rush to Whitebeard's aid, but the Marine officers kept them at bay, their desperate cries echoing through the chaos.
Whitebeard tried to lift Murakumogiri to block, but the agony in his gut and the old wounds tearing open slowed him by a single, fatal heartbeat.
BOOM!!!
The magma fist slammed into his chest with earth-shattering force!
Flames and shockwaves exploded outward.
Whitebeard's broad torso was engulfed, burned through, the glow of molten fire visible even from his back.
His enormous body flew through the air like a falling titan, crashing into the distant ice with a thunderous impact that sent shards and smoke flying sky-high.
"Kh… cough-ACK!"
Whitebeard tried to rise, but a torrent of blood and pieces of his insides spilled from his mouth.
His breath weakened rapidly.
The gaping burn in his chest made it clear: the mightiest man of the sea had fallen.
"Pops!!!"
The pirates screamed in grief and fury, morale collapsing completely.
The balance of the war shattered. The tide turned sharply in the Navy's favor.
"Admiral Akainu!!!" The Marines roared in triumph.
Akainu stood unmoved, magma fading back into flesh, his face cold as stone, the embodiment of Absolute Justice.
"Subdue the remaining pirates. Leave no one alive."
His voice was as merciless as the lava he wielded.
In the shadow of a half-collapsed wall nearby, darkness writhed like something alive.
Marshall D. Teach, Blackbeard, crouched with his first crew, watching through the cracks at the fallen giant.
When he saw Squard's betrayal, followed by Akainu's devastating blow, a moment of shock flashed across his face, then twisted into uncontrollable, gleeful madness.
"Zehahahaha!!! Zehahahahaha!!!"
His bulky frame quivered with excitement.
"See that, Burgess! Lafitte! That's fate! Pops… Pops has finally fallen! Hahahahaha!!!"
Greed burned in his eyes as he stared at Whitebeard's dying form, waiting for the perfect moment to seize the power he had coveted for so long.
"The time's close… just a little longer… until he stops breathing… or maybe…" His laughter slithered into the air, thick with cunning and malice.
Behind the execution platform, beneath a shadowed pillar.
Even Renzo was momentarily distracted by the sudden turn of events.
He lifted his eyes slightly, watching the enormous body lying motionless amid the chaos, as despair spread among the pirates.
"Betrayal followed by a finishing blow…"
He bit into a biscuit he'd somehow fished from his pocket, speaking lazily through the crumbs.
"What a messy, ugly play."
Whitebeard's defeat didn't move him; it only annoyed him at how loud and chaotic everything had become.
He idly expanded his Domain of Absolute Sloth, smothering dust and noise alike, too lazy to let the world's turmoil bother him any further.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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