Chapter 73: Breakout! Song of Thunder and Ice!
Behind the ruins of Marine Headquarters
"Saint Shalria — shouldn't you hate Rok with every fiber of your being?!"
"If I don't return to the battlefield now, once he escapes, it'll be ten times harder to deal with him later!"
Akainu's face was darker than the magma inside him.
This war was being watched by the entire world.
Everything Rok had done was a direct slap to the Marines' face.
The entire Navy had been humiliated because of one man.
How could he not be furious?
If he could kill Rok right now, he would pay any price.
"Admiral Sakazuki, your current duty is to protect Lady Shalria. That is your only priority."
"Everything else is irrelevant."
"And let's be honest — if you were actually capable of eliminating Douglas D. Rok, you wouldn't have been beaten into a pig-head, would you?"
The CP-0 squad leader, under Shalria's silent nod, delivered the mockery with surgical precision.
He wasn't wrong.
The so-called strongest fighting force of the Marines had been publicly brutalized by a teenager.
And now he was barking like a chained dog.
The Marines were nothing but tools in the hands of the Celestial Dragons.
"You…!"
Akainu's magma boiled, but he swallowed the urge to incinerate the masked man.
"Admiral Sakazuki, just focus on protecting me. The World Government will handle Douglas D. Rok."
Shalria finally spoke, soothing yet firm.
According to that person's orders, she had to keep Akainu here — no accidents allowed.
She had also just received a new mission.
She was busier than ever these days.
And all of it… helping her "enemy."
She hated it.
But orders were orders.
…
Main battlefield
Fleet Admiral Sengoku's expression was grim as he assessed the situation.
With Akainu reassigned to guard Shalria, the Marines were now in an overwhelmingly disadvantageous position.
Casualties: catastrophic.
He could request reinforcements from other branches or the World Government, but that would take too long.
The enemy wouldn't wait.
They would either charge or escape.
Either way, the Marines would suffer even more — and likely fail to stop them.
But letting Rok and Whitebeard just walk away?
The Navy would lose all face forever.
While Sengoku agonized,
Rok didn't give them time to think.
After a brief exchange with Whitebeard,
Rok, Boa Hancock, Momousagi's G-9 elites, Sabo, Ivankov, and the Revolutionary Army forces, and the entire Whitebeard fleet launched the final breakout!
"Hancock, Teacher Momousagi — once you're on the ships, head straight through the Gates of Justice toward Amazon Lily. I'll find you later."
Rok had planned everything.
Since Shanks still hadn't shown up, he clearly wasn't coming.
Rok never counted on outside help anyway.
Escape was more than possible.
He had already given the Perfect-grade Recovery Potion to Momousagi to save Alice.
Hancock had lost her Shichibukai title — she was with him now, no question.
The only surprise:
Sabo insisted on taking the unconscious Luffy back to the Revolutionary Army.
Robin and Nami went with them.
Sabo had his memories back — it made sense.
But Rok suspected Dragon had given the order.
Either way, it wasn't his place to interfere.
He was just… a little reluctant to part with Robin and Nami.
They clearly felt the same.
But they were Straw Hats. Luffy came first.
"All forces — stop them!!"
Sengoku gave the desperate order.
But thousands of elite Marines hesitated.
Because in front of them,
in a storm of blood-red lightning,
a lone young man stood with a black blade.
Just his presence froze an army in fear.
"Damn that Rok!"
"Garp — we can't let him trample the Navy's dignity any further!"
Sengoku stepped forward, ready to fight himself.
Seeing tens of thousands of Marines paralyzed by one man broke something inside him.
He knew exactly what Rok was doing.
After this war, Rok's name alone would rival half the Marines' authority.
"Ara ara~ leave it to me."
Before Sengoku and Garp could move,
Admiral Aokiji stepped up.
He raised his hand — a tidal wave of freezing mist roared toward Rok.
Sigh… Kuzan, I hope Rok understands your intentions today.
Sengoku and Garp exchanged a glance and stood down.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Ice and thunder collided.
The entire island shook.
A pure, head-on clash.
No tricks.
No holding back.
Rok and Aokiji unleashed everything.
Lightning and frost split Marineford in two — a blinding wall of destruction protecting the retreating forces.
When the storm finally died,
Aokiji looked at Rok with complicated eyes.
"Ara ara… next time we meet, I'll arrest you with everything I've got."
Rok was just tired — after all those battles, he was still unscathed.
Admiral-level. Confirmed.
And it had only been a few days since Impel Down.
"See you, Admiral Kuzan."
"Oh — and if you ever leave the Marines…"
"The Neo Marines will always have a place for you."
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