"How scary~"
Kizaru, finally freed from his cage, flashed into the air and lifted his leg, ready to kick toward Cain and the others.
But before his attack could fully take shape, a mass of mochi coated in Armament Haki came roaring in, transforming into a solid wall that firmly blocked the blow.
"Don't even think about it."
Katakuri's cold voice rang out.
Whitebeard was already at the end of his strength.
Whether Katakuri killed him or not no longer mattered.
In that case, he might as well stay here and protect Cain.
That was what Katakuri was thinking at this moment.
On the other side, Aokiji had just arrived and was about to unleash Ice Block: Partisan when an intense wave of cold air rushed toward him.
"Namuji Glacier Fang!"
Yamato flashed into place.
While blocking Aokiji's attack, she swung her kanabo and followed up with a Thunder Bagua, knocking Aokiji back hard.
Seeing that his own attack had failed, Kizaru slowly landed beside Akainu.
Akainu, who had just climbed back to his feet, had a face so dark it looked ready to drip water.
The three Admirals stood side by side, their chilling presence sweeping across the entire battlefield.
Cain brought Luffy and the others down from the sky, landing steadily on the ground.
Ace, Sabo, Cain, Luffy, Katakuri, and Yamato spread out in a fan-shaped formation, facing the three Admirals head-on.
Just as the battle seemed ready to erupt again, something unexpected happened.
Akainu, who had been standing in the middle, suddenly collapsed straight to the ground.
His death match with Whitebeard had already drained most of his strength, and he had just taken the combined attack of the four brothers head-on.
He had held himself upright purely through willpower until now.
At last, he could no longer endure it and fell heavily.
Luffy also began to show signs of trouble.
Ivankov had only injected him with a small dose of Tension Hormones, and the effect was now fading rapidly.
His body swayed, and he looked as if he might collapse at any moment.
Sabo was just about to reach out and support him, but someone moved faster.
Hancock, who had rushed over in a hurry, flashed to Luffy's side and caught him firmly.
Her eyes were filled with worry she could not hide.
One could only say that something faster than Sabo's speed was love.
Aokiji glanced at the fallen Akainu, then turned his gaze toward the six people opposite them.
Clearly, he no longer intended to attack.
Kizaru, meanwhile, slowly raised his wrist and stared at the time on his watch, looking as if none of this had anything to do with him.
…
On the other battlefield—
Out of consideration for the fact that Whitebeard had once raised Ace for a time, Garp did not use Haki in his attacks.
They were only ordinary heavy punches, which could be considered him holding back slightly.
But even so, Whitebeard's body had already reached its limit.
Facing the combined assault of Garp and Sengoku, he had long since become unable to keep up.
Even his consciousness was beginning to blur.
At the critical moment, he grabbed Shiki beside him, the man who had been protecting him, and spoke in a hoarse voice tinged with exhaustion.
"Sorry… old friend. I'm afraid I can't keep walking with you…"
"Go find Roger's brat and get that thing. I have something to say to the world."
Before his words had fully faded, Whitebeard hurled Shiki away.
Then he forcibly endured Garp and Sengoku's combined strike, using the last of his strength to knock the two of them back.
His consciousness grew heavier and heavier.
Even his Haki was nearly impossible to gather now.
In that haze, Whitebeard seemed to see the scene from years ago, when he had drunk with Roger.
He remembered Roger laughing as he told him the meaning of the "D" in his name.
"You bastard…"
Shiki turned his head and looked at Whitebeard's back, gritting his teeth in unwillingness.
He controlled the broken stones and collapsed walls around them, building a barrier around Whitebeard to block the next wave of attacks from Garp and Sengoku, buying him a little more time.
Then he turned and flew toward Buggy's group.
At that moment, Buggy and the others were still staring dumbly at the scene that had just unfolded in the sky, while the Den Den Mushi was still broadcasting the image from Cain's side of the battlefield.
Shiki dove straight down, reaching out to snatch the Den Den Mushi from the pirate holding it as he shouted.
"THE ROGER BRAT THAT GUY WAS TALKING ABOUT… I DIDN'T EXPECT IT TO BE YOU, RED NOSE! HAND THAT THING OVER LIKE I TOLD YOU!"
"BASTARD! WHO ARE YOU CALLING RED NOSE?!"
Buggy instantly exploded.
He hugged the Den Den Mushi tightly against his chest and refused to let go no matter what.
"There isn't much time. For Roger's sake, I won't fight you. Then you're coming with me!"
Shiki said this, grabbed Buggy by the back of his collar, and flew into the air with him.
He aimed the Den Den Mushi's camera toward Whitebeard at the center of the battlefield.
Garp and Sengoku had already broken through the wall of rubble and were pressing closer step by step.
It was at that moment that Whitebeard used the very last of his strength and unleashed a roar that shook the heavens.
"THE ONE PIECE IS REAL!"
"BASTARD!"
Sengoku's eyes nearly split with rage, and his roar echoed across Marineford.
He still wanted to rush forward and stop it, but Garp held him back tightly.
Only then did they realize that the world's strongest man had already lost his breath.
He stood there, unmoving.
The direction he was facing was where Ace and the others stood.
"POPS!"
The pirates of the Whitebeard Pirates all cried out in grief.
Some even charged forward with red eyes, ready to rush straight over.
At that moment, Ace's flames burst out, blocking the pirates' path.
He shouted at them, "ENOUGH, EVERYONE! POPS GAVE US THIS PATH TO LIVE! ALL OF YOU GET BACK TO THE SHIPS AND LEAVE THIS PLACE! DON'T THROW YOUR LIVES AWAY!"
After everything he had gone through, Ace had clearly grown a great deal.
"Everyone, listen to Ace! Hurry and get out of here. There's no meaning in continuing this war anymore."
Marco rushed over with Little Oars and spoke to the others.
Law, who had just struggled his way up from below, looked at the chaos before him with complete confusion.
He had nearly been blown away by the aftermath of the thunderstorm earlier, and now he had unexpectedly witnessed Whitebeard's final moments. His mind had not caught up with any of it.
…
On the other side of the island—
Sanjuan Wolf, whose colossal body was like a small mountain, stepped directly onto the ice and leaped up onto the floating Marineford.
He picked up Blackbeard, who was hunched over, and, following his instructions, crept quietly toward the battlefield.
Sitting in Wolf's hand, Blackbeard muttered under his breath,
"As long as I get there… as long as I touch him…"
Before anyone else could notice this sudden giant figure and Blackbeard's strange behavior, Sabo caught it first.
With the Rumble-Rumble Fruit combined with Observation Haki, his senses were enough to cover the entire island.
A target as enormous as Sanjuan Wolf had nowhere to hide the moment he stepped onto Marineford.
Just as Sabo wondered what the other side intended to do—
Cain, who had been staring at Whitebeard's lifeless body, instinctively muttered, "The Tremor-Tremor Fruit!"
Sabo's heart jolted.
He instantly remembered something he had heard from Vegapunk.
For four to six minutes after a person died, the brain could still retain activity.
That period was the golden window for extracting a Devil Fruit ability.
In other words, Blackbeard's target was that fruit!
The moment that thought appeared, electricity erupted violently around Sabo.
His entire body turned into a streak of blue lightning as he shot straight toward Whitebeard's body.
Better safe than sorry.
No matter what, during these six minutes, no one could be allowed to touch Whitebeard's body.
When Kizaru and Aokiji saw this, they immediately prepared to intercept him, but Katakuri and Yamato, who had been waiting for them, stepped in and blocked their path.
Garp and Sengoku also noticed Sanjuan Wolf and Blackbeard at that moment.
The two exchanged a glance, raised their fists, and smashed them toward Sanjuan Wolf.
But in the final second before their fists could connect, Sanjuan Wolf suddenly leaned forward and grabbed Whitebeard's body.
"Zehahahahaha! The Tremor-Tremor Fruit is about to be mine!"
Blackbeard threw his head back and laughed madly.
In just a few seconds, Cain came up with a plan.
His Observation Haki locked precisely onto Law, who had just found his footing.
Cain instantly flashed in front of him and grabbed him by the collar.
"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING, CAIN-YA?!"
Law was clearly confused by Cain's sudden appearance.
"STOP WASTING TIME! FIND A WAY TO GET WHITEBEARD OUT OF THERE, NOW! WE ABSOLUTELY CAN'T LET BLACKBEARD SUCCEED! IF HE DOES, YOU'LL BE THE ONE SUFFERING FOR IT LATER!"
Before Cain finished speaking, he suddenly used his strength and directly threw Law toward Sanjuan Wolf.
Law was caught completely off guard.
All he could do was barely steady himself in midair while shouting at the top of his lungs to activate his ability.
"ROOM!"
On the other side, Shiki's expression was becoming more and more unsightly.
Whitebeard had only just died, and these people were already rushing to steal his corpse!
Anyone would be furious.
He had just raised his hand, intending to control the surrounding rubble and broken buildings to interfere, when an outrageously powerful, completely undisguised wave of Conqueror's Haki swept over him.
It locked onto him with absolute precision!