Ace, Sabo, and Jinbe successfully regrouped with Jozu, Vista, and several other division commanders.
The Whitebeard Pirates' core forces gathered together—
And protected Ace at the center.
Killing him now was far more difficult than when Akainu had faced just the three of them earlier.
But not impossible.
What was impossible—
Was making Akainu give up.
His face darkened. Without another word, he charged straight toward the clustered commanders.
At that moment—
A wild burst of laughter echoed across the battlefield.
"Zehahahahaha!!!"
"How lively! Looks like we arrived at just the right time!"
"Old man~ You're really something. Still not dead yet?"
Marshall D. Teach, his missing teeth on full display, appeared at the edge of the battlefield—
Accompanied by his freshly assembled crew of vicious criminals from Impel Down.
The moment Whitebeard, Ace, and every member of the Whitebeard Pirates saw Blackbeard—
Their eyes erupted with fury.
They wanted nothing more than to tear him apart.
Whitebeard's expression twisted with pain and rage.
"Teach! You dare show your face!"
"Teach!!!" Ace roared through clenched teeth.
For Marco, however, Blackbeard's appearance was like a shot of adrenaline. He struggled to his feet, eyes icy.
"Teach, you traitor!"
Every single one of them glared at Blackbeard with burning hatred.
If not for him—
They never would have been dragged into this war in such a passive position.
When Blackbeard appeared, Leno's eyes flickered.
He seemed to have found a perfect opportunity to severely wound Garp.
With Blackbeard here—
The little unspoken act between Garp and Whitebeard couldn't continue.
Unless "Garp the Cannon" completely threw away his dignity and let Whitebeard go.
And if that happened—
His status as a Marine hero would be finished.
After all—
This was Marine Headquarters.
Letting a pirate run wild here?
Where would the Navy's face be?
A full-power clash would make a sneak attack easier.
Severely injure Garp? Sure.
Kill him? No need.
Better to let him live.
Let him watch Luffy become crippled.
Let him pin his hopes on Koby—
And then shatter that hope completely.
Far more satisfying than killing him outright.
Garp's life would be taken—
But only when Leno could defeat him head-on.
"Whitebeard, this one's on you now. With Blackbeard here, you can't keep acting with Garp anymore, can you?"
It was time for the strongest man in the world to unleash his true power.
Sure enough—
Just as Leno predicted—
The moment Blackbeard appeared—
Garp and Whitebeard's battle intensified dramatically.
No more obvious holding back.
Punch after punch landed solidly.
The Whitebeard Pirates stared at Blackbeard.
So did Sengoku.
Beside him, Rayleigh exhaled.
"Sengoku… that guy still has this much stamina. Zoan fruits really are something…"
He adjusted his glasses.
Sengoku, however, trembled—
Not because of the chaos—
But because of the prisoners behind Blackbeard.
Those men—
Should be in the deep sea prison.
Not here.
If they were here, what had happened to Impel Down was obvious.
Impel Down… had fallen again!
The prison Magellan swore to guard like his own wife—
Had been breached once more!
When Straw Hat Luffy had shown up earlier with escaped inmates, Sengoku had known something was wrong.
But he chose to trust Magellan.
If it had just been a few weaklings from the upper floors, he could tolerate it.
But clearly—
That wasn't the case.
Prisoners from Level 6—Infinite Hell—had escaped.
The worst-case scenario had come true.
Even the two previously slacking Admirals grew serious.
Aokiji's lazy demeanor faded.
"This… just became a huge problem."
His gaze swept over the familiar vicious faces behind Blackbeard.
Each one had once been an infamous pirate.
Kizaru finally removed his hands from his pockets.
"Oh~ how scary~ Even those old monsters got released? Impel Down's reputation is completely ruined~"
Sigh.
Looks like slacking off wasn't an option anymore.
Admiral pay meant Admiral work.
And if they felt that way—
Akainu even more so.
He stared coldly at the Blackbeard Pirates—especially the Level 6 escapees.
"A bunch of damned trash! Daring to break out of prison!"
But…
The top priority was still executing Fire Fist Ace.
The escaped convicts could live a little longer.
His gaze shifted immediately to Ace.
"No more delays! Justice must be carried out at once!"
Ace: How much do you hate me exactly?!
At this point—
If Sengoku, Aokiji, and Kizaru still dared to slack—
Akainu would applaud them sarcastically.
His eyes flickered briefly toward Garp, still battling Whitebeard.
He had zero expectations there.
Meanwhile—
Under the gazes of Whitebeard, Ace, Sengoku, the Admirals, and countless others—
Blackbeard swallowed.
First time being stared at by so many top-tier powerhouses.
A little nervousness was normal, right?
Cold sweat formed on his forehead.
"Damn it… miscalculated. Came too early. Got carried away."
Why wasn't Whitebeard dead yet?
And why did he still look so strong?
Stronger than when Teach had killed Thatch and left the crew.
Taking the Tremor-Tremor Fruit under these circumstances would be nearly impossible.
Still—
With so many powerhouses gathered here—
Surely there was some Devil Fruit suitable for him.
His gaze swept across the battlefield—
Then paused.
Leno stood there casually—
Surrounded by beautiful women.
Even the Pirate Empress Hancock was practically glued to his side.
…Wait.
Was this right?
On a battlefield like this—
You're sightseeing?!
"If I can't get the Tremor-Tremor Fruit… the Love-Love Fruit wouldn't be bad either."
Blackbeard's eyes gleamed greedily as he looked at Hancock.
"Leno and Hancock are together… must be allies."
A proud woman like Hancock wouldn't approach someone otherwise.
And compared to Whitebeard—
Leno looked far easier to handle.
Decision made—
Blackbeard whispered a few instructions to his crew.
Then abruptly changed direction—
No longer looking at Whitebeard—
But charging straight toward Leno.
"Zehahahaha! Old man! Ace! Your lives can wait! I've got something more important to do!"
Everyone froze.
What was Blackbeard doing?
They couldn't understand.
But once they realized his target—
The Whitebeard Pirates looked stunned.
The Marines looked baffled.
Every single person wore the same expression.
Did Blackbeard lose his mind?
Of all people—
He chose to provoke Leno?
Did he think Leno was a soft target?
Did he misunderstand what "soft" meant?
Even Leno hadn't expected this twist.
He looked at the aggressively approaching Blackbeard—
His expression extremely strange.
Pointing at himself, he asked Hancock, Domino, and the others beside him—
In genuine disbelief:
"…Do I really look like a easy target?"
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