Whitebeard's condition on the battlefield was terrible.
His body was covered in wounds, and compared to Akainu, the severity of their injuries was nearly equal.
But in the end, Whitebeard's situation was still worse.
The reason came down to the difference in their fighting spirit.
Akainu struck without hesitation.
Every attack carried molten magma and blazing heat, each one aimed straight at Whitebeard's vital points with no concern for the battlefield around them.
Whitebeard could not do the same.
The corner of his eye was always fixed on the pirates running in every direction behind him—his precious children.
The aftermath of Akainu's magma attacks was scorching.
One careless moment, and those young figures would be burned to charcoal.
So every punch Whitebeard threw, every attack he blocked, forced him to divide most of his attention toward protecting those behind him from heat waves and flying rubble.
In this restricted fight, Whitebeard still used the overwhelming power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit to force Akainu back again and again, leaving more deep wounds on his body.
But Whitebeard himself, while repeatedly taking the aftermath of magma attacks head-on, was also burned by that hellish heat until his flesh split open.
And now that Ace had already been rescued, what he needed to do was clear a path for the rest of his crew to retreat.
But at that exact moment, a familiar figure suddenly rushed straight into Akainu's attack range.
Whitebeard did not even think.
He instinctively shielded that person in front of him, taking the attack with his own body.
Akainu's Hell Hound pierced through him instantly, tearing a bloody hole through Whitebeard's abdomen.
In the end, Whitebeard, a man who valued bonds more than anything, was undone by the very "family" he treated like his own flesh and blood.
Before he could recover from the pain, a blade stabbed viciously into his chest.
"You—!"
"POPS!"
The pirates who noticed the change shouted in panic, then immediately cursed the one who had struck.
"SQUARD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"BASTARD! YOU TRAITOR!"
That's right.
The one standing beside Whitebeard was Squard, the spy Akainu had turned against him.
He had waited until the very last moment and finally delivered the most fatal stab.
"POPS! YOU NEVER SHOULD'VE COME TO SAVE ACE! YOU NEVER SHOULD HAVE—!"
Squard's roar had yet to finish before he let out a scream.
Akainu's Hell Hound had already pierced through Whitebeard's body, surging magma carrying terrifying heat as it swallowed Squard along with him.
In the blink of an eye, he was burned into charcoal.
Whitebeard did not even have the chance to ask him why he had done it before Squard's life was gone.
Rage exploded in Whitebeard's chest.
He coughed up a huge mouthful of blood, forced himself to swing his fist, and blasted Akainu flying with one punch.
Then, gritting his teeth, he pulled the blade from his chest and fixed an icy stare on the enemy before him.
Fortunately, Akainu's attack had struck the right side of his body and had not damaged his spine.
That was why he could still stand with his back straight.
Seeing Whitebeard heavily injured, the underlings surrounding Buggy began shouting as well, clamoring for their Lord Buggy to cut off Whitebeard's head.
When Little Oars saw this, he immediately charged over with huge strides.
Ever since Ace had been rescued, he had broken free from the section of the Encircling Wall he had crushed down, and now he was running toward Whitebeard.
But Whitebeard suddenly flashed in front of him and blocked his path.
He raised a hand, tripped Little Oars, then forcefully swung him away, throwing him toward the area where Aokiji and Marco were fighting.
Marco was caught off guard and had no choice but to intercept Little Oars himself.
Almost at the same time, Katakuri and Crocodile, who had originally been tangled with Aokiji, both changed direction and charged toward Whitebeard.
Aokiji stood where he was and slowly whistled.
"Arara. Looks like the pirates are fighting among themselves."
Whitebeard completely ignored the two rushing toward him.
With one hand, he tightly grabbed Akainu by the head as the man tried to charge in again, then leaped up onto the Encircling Wall closest to the ruined execution platform.
It was at that moment that he noticed Blackbeard's group suddenly appear, but he had no spare energy to deal with them.
Instead, he used the last of his strength to roar at everyone on the battlefield.
"I NOW GIVE MY FINAL ORDER AS YOUR CAPTAIN! LISTEN WELL—!"
"THIS IS WHERE YOU AND I PART WAYS! EVERY ONE OF YOU MUST SURVIVE AND RETURN SAFELY TO THE NEW WORLD!"
"POPS!"
Ace, Cain, and Sengoku were all riding inside Kuma's paw-shaped bubble, racing toward the battlefield at incredible speed.
Seeing Whitebeard's resolve and hearing that final order, Ace could no longer stop himself from shouting.
How could he possibly allow something like this?!
But what he did not expect was that another accident would happen.
They crashed again.
Sabo was carrying Luffy through the air with the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
By all logic, that ability should have been extremely fast, but because he was carrying Luffy, a rubber man, his speed had been cut by more than half.
Unfortunately, Cain and Ace's paw bubble was also rushing in like a thunderbolt.
Even though Sabo reacted, it was useless.
In the end, he and Luffy collided violently with Cain and Ace's group!
By sheer coincidence, the three broadcast Den Den Mushi Sengoku had been carrying also fell over to Buggy's side.
"Lord Buggy, look!"
As expected, Buggy's Summit War broadcast suddenly began without warning.
The moment Ace landed, he tried to rush toward Whitebeard, but Cain stopped him.
Cain thought to himself, 'Yeah, I really can't give him the key yet.'
At this moment, Cain understood very clearly how important Whitebeard was to Ace.
It was the same as what Shanks meant to Luffy, perhaps even deeper.
In the original course of events, when Akainu insulted Whitebeard, Ace immediately turned back to confront him.
It was almost exactly the same as when Loki mocked Shanks as a coward and Luffy instantly flew into a rage.
Whitebeard and Shanks held extraordinary meaning to Ace and Luffy.
They would never allow anyone to insult them.
That was not recklessness.
It was simply the instinctive reaction of someone defending a person precious to them.
…
At that moment, on the Sabaody Archipelago, the crowd that had been watching the black screens was still discussing the state of the battlefield.
Then all three display screens lit up at the same time.
The left screen showed Whitebeard, Cain, and the others.
The right screen showed Shiki and Garp.
The escaped pirate prisoners began introducing the current state of the battlefield to the world one by one, while also introducing the figures who had appeared.
At the center screen stood the current focus of attention: Buggy, surrounded by the pirate prisoners!
But just then, the Den Den Mushi broadcasting the left side of the battlefield was suddenly snatched away.
The one who took it was Laffitte, who had just arrived.
Since he could fly, the moment he noticed the activity there, he directly seized the broadcast Den Den Mushi and threw it to Blackbeard.
At the same time, from the right battlefield's Den Den Mushi screen came Shiki's shout.
"HEY, STOP LYING THERE, GARP! HAVEN'T YOU NOTICED?"
"EVEN THOUGH I'M OLD AS HELL NOW TOO, AFTER GETTING THAT SHIP'S WHEEL TAKEN OUT OF MY HEAD, MY MIND BECAME A LOT CLEARER. I CAN REMEMBER A LOT OF THINGS FROM THE PAST NOW."
"THAT GUY… THAT GUY'S FACE…"
On the other side, Blackbeard examined the broadcast Den Den Mushi with great interest.
He switched it between his left and right hands, adjusting the angle, preparing to announce his ambition to the world.
Buggy, meanwhile, was also being surrounded and pushed forward by the escaped prisoners, slowly turning around.
Their movements were almost perfectly synchronized.
On the left and center screens in Sabaody's plaza, Blackbeard's side profile and Buggy's sweat-covered, vicious forced smile appeared at the same time.
The left half was Blackbeard's laughing profile.
The right half was Buggy's side profile as he was pushed forward by the crowd.
The two faces merged strangely on the screen, forming a bizarre split image.
At the same time, Shiki's shout paused.
Then he roared, completely unaware that the broadcast had started.
"THAT GUY LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE HIM…"
"ROCKS!"