In an instant, the sound of impact rang out.
Jozu flew backward like a kite with its string cut, his body tracing an arc through the air.
It was clear that Kizaru was extremely annoyed and displeased by the minor provocation from Jozu moments earlier.
Thus, this kick was undoubtedly delivered with all his might, holding nothing back.
Unlike Vista, who was earlier sent flying by Jozu, Kizaru's kick was far from merely knocking someone out of the sand mist.
Kizaru shot like a cannonball straight toward the innermost part of the military port, then crashed into the wall with astonishing speed and force.
In an instant, accompanied by an earth-shattering roar, the sturdy wall was directly smashed apart by the terrifying impact, collapsing in a large section!
Yet, that was not the end.
The fallen debris piled up like a small mountain, mercilessly burying Jozu beneath it.
Just as everyone thought Kizaru would be pinned down and unable to move under the heavy rubble, a sudden flash of dazzling light appeared.
Kizaru emerged like a ghost, standing atop the ruins.
He stood there, posture upright, expression arrogant, his sharp eyes fixed intently ahead as if waiting for Jozu to rise from beneath the wreckage.
This scene unfolded before Sengoku's eyes like a slow-motion shot in a film.
His eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.
He'd never seen Kizaru act so proactively and ruthlessly—this cold, merciless style of attack was a stark contrast to his usual demeanor.
Meanwhile, Vista, standing nearby, was so shocked by what he witnessed that his jaw nearly dropped.
He could hardly believe his eyes.
Kizaru's attack was so ferocious, clearly aiming to kill Jozu.
As his gaze shifted, Vista finally saw the full extent of the Whitebeard Pirates' dire situation.
Under attacks like Gin's, the Whitebeard Pirates were utterly defenseless, forced to endure the assault passively.
The once brave and fearless crew members had now turned into desiccated corpses, writhing in agony on the ground. The most terrifying part was that they weren't dead yet.
The despair and fear in their eyes struck a chord with anyone who saw them.
Witnessing this, Vista's heart sank like ice.
Though he was still standing, his eyes were also filled with despair and fear.
Whitebeard and Marco had sacrificed their lives to create a path of escape for them. But now, that path had been mercilessly cut off by the Marines.
He looked around and realized they'd been pushed to the edge of the chasm that Whitebeard had created earlier to save them.
Before, it had been an obstacle hindering the Marines' pursuit; now, it was an obstacle blocking their escape.
Even without it, if they continued to flee, they'd only plunge straight into the Marines' encirclement.
Clearly, there was no chance of escape left.
The Marine Headquarters was evidently determined to annihilate the entire Whitebeard Pirates within this military port.
And as Gin's sand mist swept over them, it completely extinguished any hope of survival for the Whitebeard Pirates.
Even Vista was no exception!
"It's over!"
This was the shared thought of everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates at that moment.
However, just then, the dense sand mist began to dissipate as if gently parted by an invisible hand.
Gin's figure gradually became clear before everyone's eyes, his face revealing extreme shock, as if he'd witnessed something utterly unbelievable.
The Whitebeard Pirates were all puzzled and bewildered by Gin's sudden halt in his attack, silently speculating about the reason in their hearts.
However, without exception, they all wore expressions of relief after surviving a disaster.
A hint of color returned to their faces.
"Holy shit!"
Seeing this, Lancelot couldn't help but blurt out a curse.
He widened his eyes, staring intently at Gin, a surge of intense shock rising within him.
Because he had keenly sensed the real reason Gin stopped—he had been startled by Red-Haired Shanks' Conqueror's Haki!
Just moments ago, that powerful Conqueror's Haki had shot through the sky like a bolt of lightning, striking Gin accurately from an extremely far distance.
This sudden attack caught Gin completely off guard, his body as if tightly bound by an invisible force, unable to move.
Lancelot couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
This kind of long-range Conqueror's Haki attack was something even he couldn't achieve.
Red-Haired Shanks' strength was actually this terrifying—truly astonishing!
It must be said, Red-Haired Shanks' strength was indeed formidable. His Conqueror's Haki had reached a pinnacle level, leaving others far behind.
Not just him, but in that instant, Sengoku, Garp, Kizaru, Aokiji, and Akainu all trembled as if struck by lightning, their expressions instantly turning grave.
That Conqueror's Haki swept over like an invisible storm, impossible to ignore.
Whoever released Conqueror's Haki of this level was definitely not someone to be trifled with.
Even seasoned and powerful figures like Sengoku and the others couldn't help but feel a sense of wariness.
After all, someone possessing such powerful Conqueror's Haki must have truly unfathomable strength.
Sengoku pondered silently.
He'd already received a warning from Lancelot earlier, so he naturally had an idea of who the owner of this Conqueror's Haki was.
However, when he truly felt this Haki, he couldn't help but be shaken.
He was shocked by the fear brought by Red-Haired Shanks' Conqueror's Haki—a trembling that originated from the depths of the soul, as if the entire world quivered before this Haki.
At the same time, he was also amazed by Red-Haired Shanks' Observation Haki, its range of perception was so vast that it seemed nothing could escape his notice.
Sengoku glanced at Lancelot, his heart tightening involuntarily.
Because he realized that Lancelot's Observation Haki was no less impressive than Red-Haired Shanks'.
At this moment, a deep sense of regret welled up in Sengoku's heart.
He couldn't help but lament—if only Lancelot were on his side, how wonderful that'd be!
With Lancelot's strength and talent, he'd undoubtedly be more suitable for the position of Fleet Admiral than Aokiji.
Unfortunately, Lancelot wasn't his man, which filled Sengoku with immense regret.
"Red-Haired Shanks!"
Garp, Kizaru, Aokiji, and Akainu immediately made their judgment in their hearts.
After all, in the entire world, only he could possess Conqueror's Haki of this caliber.
Once they made this judgment, their expressions couldn't help but darken.
Red-Haired Shanks—this name could make anyone wary. After all, this guy was one of the Emperors, and the youngest among them.
Before Lancelot appeared, he was the most prodigious figure in nearly a century.
Even the Pirate King Roger didn't possess such strength at his age.
"This is troublesome!"
Everyone present understood what kind of person Red-Haired Shanks was.
They all knew that if the Whitebeard Pirates were to be completely wiped out, Shanks would definitely step in to help.
After all, by intervening to stop Gin, he'd already made his stance clear.
The Red-Haired Pirates combined with the remaining members of the Whitebeard Pirates would form an incredibly powerful force.
Not only could they compensate for the loss of Emperor-level combat strength from the Whitebeard Pirates, but they'd also add a large number of Captain-level powerhouses.
Moreover, Vice-Emperors like Benn Beckman were hailed as the strongest Vice-Emperors, even more powerful than King, Katakuri, Marco, and others.
Comparable to Emperor-level!
Additionally, the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates would perfectly address the manpower shortage of the elite-focused Red-Haired Pirates.
Thus, the combined strength of the two forces would far surpass that of the Whitebeard Pirates when Whitebeard and Marco were still alive.
More importantly, they no longer had the opportunity to severely injure the strongest among them, Red-Haired Shanks, before the battle as they had done with Whitebeard earlier.
Faced with this situation, Sengoku, Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji were all deeply conflicted.
If the battle continued, the situation could easily spiral out of their control, and the resulting losses would likely be enormous!
This was a scenario that no one present wanted to see.
In the past, when facing the Whitebeard Pirates, even if they couldn't severely injure them before the battle, they'd have resolutely thrown everything they had into a life-or-death struggle against Whitebeard and his crew.
After all, they had already chosen to broadcast this battle live, and now they were in a situation where they couldn't back down.
What was more critical was that the stage had been set.
No matter how difficult it became, they could only grit their teeth and press forward.
Otherwise, the Marines' prestige would be completely shattered, and morale would inevitably waver.
However, the war against the Whitebeard Pirates had gone surprisingly smoothly.
Whitebeard was severely injured before the battle, then further wounded by Akainu under Lancelot's restraint, and finally even killed by Akainu; Marco also met a tragic end at Lancelot's hands; not only that, Lancelot crippled Vista's hand, greatly diminishing his strength, while also severely injuring Jozu to the point of critical condition.
Thus, the Whitebeard Pirates' strongest combatants had been completely wiped out.
Originally, they could've achieved total victory and taken down the entire Whitebeard Pirates.
However, contrary to expectations, the current situation had taken an unforeseen turn.
The Red-Haired Pirates were a force they couldn't afford to ignore.
Yet, among the Whitebeard Pirates now, only Jozu might recover his original strength after a period of treatment and rest.
But how could Jozu alone, along with a half-strength Vista, possibly support the entire Whitebeard Pirates and prevent their collapse?
The answer was clearly no.
After all, the other Pirates in the New World would never miss such an opportunity.
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator