The air atop the execution platform felt frozen in place.
The two executioners held their long blades high, stance perfect, but their eyes were vacant.
They glanced at each other…
Then at the chaotic battlefield below…
Then at Ace, kneeling with his head bowed between them…
A powerful, inexplicable feeling washed over them, "Why bother? Less work is better than more…"
"My arms… are getting really sore," the one on the left muttered under his breath.
"Yeah… and everyone's watching. The pressure's insane."
The one on the right agreed, his arms unconsciously drooping a little lower.
A faint gray "lazy aura" spread from Renzo's direction, like a sticky film draped over the top of the execution platform.
It not only dissolved Luffy's burst of Conqueror's Haki, but also continuously radiated thoughts like:
"Take a break."
"No need to rush."
"Don't bother…"
Sengoku's execution order still echoed in their ears, but the will needed to carry it out was being drained away by this bizarre aura.
"You two! What are you waiting for!?" Sengoku roared through the Den Den Mushi, his voice burning with urgency.
He could see everything, the executioners' vacant eyes, sluggish movements… as if they were sleepwalking!
Garp's fists were clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms. His chest heaved as he stared at Ace's back… but in the end, he simply shut his eyes in agony.
Below the platform, Akainu's patience finally snapped.
He saw the executioners hesitating.
He saw the gray mist.
He saw Renzo still leaning lazily against the pillar as if none of this had anything to do with him.
A bright, furious flame shot up his spine.
"Useless scum! You can't even handle an execution!?"
With a roar, magma exploded around Akainu, the scorching pressure instantly driving away the lingering cold.
He no longer expected the "lazy aura"-infected executioners to do anything.
His body burst into motion, becoming a blazing red meteor as he shattered the frozen
ground and charged straight toward the platform!
"Akainu! Don't you dare!"
Even with a gaping molten wound in his chest and failing strength, Whitebeard erupted with ferocious power.
Murakumogiri gathered a dim but deadly quake-light as he tried to intercept him.
"Whitebeard, your opponent isn't just one person, you know~"
Kizaru flashed into position at the perfect angle, unleashing a rainstorm of light bullets that forced Whitebeard to raise his blade and defend.
Then, Ama no Murakumo followed with a sharp golden arc, stabbing toward Whitebeard's wrist and successfully pinning him down.
Elsewhere, Luffy used his rubber elasticity to launch himself like a cannonball, using the last scrap of strength he had left:
"Aaaace!!!"
"Straw Hat boy, this isn't a place you should be~"
Kizaru's voice carried teasing amusement as he ghosted into Luffy's path.
His right foot glowed gold.
BANG!
Luffy didn't even see it. One instant, he was charging, the next, something smashed into his chest and sent him flying back faster than he came.
He crashed into the shattered ice far away like a fired cannonball, vanishing into a spray of seawater.
In that split second, Akainu had already leapt onto the execution platform!
He ignored the two stunned executioners completely.
His massive magma fist, burning with pure lethal intent, swung straight toward Ace, who was chained in seastone and utterly unable to move.
"Ace!!"
Whitebeard roared with grief and fury after forcing back Kizaru's harassment, but Marco stopped him with everything he had:
"Pops!! Your wound!!"
On the platform, Ace slowly raised his head.
He looked at the massive magma fist rushing toward him, the embodiment of death itself, and felt no fear.
Only relief.
And a deep, profound apology.
He looked toward where Luffy had been blasted away.
His lips moved, trying to form a final message.
Akainu's eyes were cold, merciless.
"Evil bloodline, this is where it ends."
BOOOOM!!!
The magma fist smashed directly into Ace's chest.
The extreme heat instantly vaporized his clothes and skin.
The brutal shockwave pierced his body completely.
Ace arched backward violently, his eyes going unfocused.
A spray of blood mixed with fragments of his organs burst from his mouth.
The searing magma didn't just pierce him; it melted a massive hole into the execution platform beneath him.
Time seemed to freeze.
Everyone who saw this, marine or pirate, fell silent for a heartbeat.
Ace collapsed forward weakly.
A charred, burning hole gaped in his chest, his life flickering out like a candle in a storm.
"ACE!!! NO!!!"
On the distant ice, Luffy had just managed to stand up, only to witness the scene that shattered his world.
His scream tore through Marineford, raw and inhuman.
Garp was held down by Sengoku.
Whitebeard staggered violently, nearly dropping Murakumogiri.
His beard was stained red with blood.
His eyes burned with limitless grief and rage.
Akainu calmly withdrew his magma fist.
He looked at Ace's now lifeless body as if he had just completed a trivial task.
Then he turned, sweeping the battlefield with icy eyes before settling on the two executioners, who finally snapped out of their trance and stood pale as ghosts.
"Trash."
He spat a single word before jumping off the platform.
His true objective was already accomplished; the two small fry didn't matter.
Behind the platform, Renzo frowned slightly, not because Ace died, but because Akainu's punch created too much heat and noise.
He waved his hand lightly, as if brushing away dust and nonexistent smoke.
"So noisy…"
He grumbled, lifting his coat collar higher to block the unpleasant scorching air.
On the battlefield, pirate morale completely collapsed.
Ace was dead.
Right before their eyes, killed by a Marine Admiral.
Shouts of despair erupted.
"Ace… Captain Ace!!"
"Kill them! Kill the Marines! Avenge Ace!!"
Some pirates fell apart and retreated in panic.
Others went insane and launched suicidal counterattacks.
Sengoku stood at the edge of the platform, looking down at the battlefield spiraling out of control… and at Whitebeard's gaze, the gaze of a wounded beast ready to slaughter anything.
There was no joy in him.
Only exhaustion.
He glanced at Renzo in the corner…
Then, at Akainu returning to his station.
He exhaled heavily.
"Suppress every pirate. Leave none alive!"
He finally issued the merciless order.
The war had to be carried through to the end.
In the shadows, Blackbeard Teach stared at Ace's corpse, unable to hide his growing excitement.
"Zehahahaha… dead. Really dead! Excellent! The next step… the next step is…"
His greedy gaze fell upon Whitebeard, the dying lion.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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