"What's going on? Why does this scene look so familiar?" Drake was completely dumbfounded.
His nerves were stretched to the absolute breaking point. This isn't right—the script shouldn't be playing out like this! No way, no way...
"Ace..." Sabo reached out and grabbed Ace's arm, giving him a subtle shake of the head.
Ace gritted his teeth, his body trembling slightly. The shifting expressions on his face betrayed the fierce internal struggle raging within him. After a long moment, Ace calmed down. He slowly lifted his head to look at Akainu, but just as he was about to speak, he froze.
"Magma brat, who are you talking about?"
A voice suddenly rang out from directly behind Akainu, causing the Admiral's entire body to stiffen. Akainu's pupils shrank violently as a cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He tried to turn around, but found it agonizingly difficult to move.
Opposite him, Ace whispered in a daze, "Pops..."
"Old man?" Luffy blinked. Standing behind Akainu was none other than Whitebeard.
"Whitebeard..." Sabo murmured, stunned.
At that moment, Akainu felt as if ten thousand stampeding horses were charging through his mind. Whitebeard? How is he here? Wasn't he back at the plaza?
Akainu's last image of Whitebeard was him being swarmed by an ocean of Marines. Even if the old man had somehow recovered, there was no way he should have broken through the blockade so quickly. Between Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Admiral Kizaru, and the occasionally slacking Garp, how on earth did Whitebeard get past them?
HUMMM—!
The familiar sound of shifting energy vibrated through the air. Akainu couldn't stay still a second longer; he tried to lunge away to create distance, but Whitebeard wasn't about to give him the chance.
The moment Akainu moved, a massive fist slammed down toward his skull.
KABOOM!!
Predictably, the strike cratered the ground instantly. Akainu struggled to push himself up, but Whitebeard's other fist swung in from the side, a shockwave of vibration energy slamming directly into the right side of Akainu's face.
CRACK—BOOM!!
The residual force of the blow leveled the ground behind Akainu. The Admiral was sent tumbling, spraying a fountain of blood as his eyes rolled back into his head.
"Holy shit! That's incredible!" At this point, Drake forgot all about his exhaustion. He nearly jumped for joy.
Collapsing to one knee, Akainu quickly regained consciousness. He looked at Whitebeard with a twisted expression of hatred, gritted his teeth, and launched himself into a counterattack.
Whitebeard evaded the strike with ease. Akainu, refusing to accept the reality, unleashed a frantic barrage of punches, but every single one was dodged by the Emperor.
"Hellhound!" After dozens of exchanges, Akainu finally spotted an opening and drove a magma fist toward Whitebeard's chest. He didn't understand how Whitebeard's wounds had all vanished, but it didn't matter—he would just burn new ones!
"Hmm?" Whitebeard's lips curled into a smirk as he threw a punch of his own.
BOOM!
Vibration energy clashed with the magma fist. One half of the collision was a searing red; the other was a colorless, distorted blur of force. As their gazes met, Whitebeard remained as calm as a placid lake, while Akainu's eyes were filled with a feral, murderous rage.
The entirety of Marineford shuddered under the impact. Every Marine and pirate on the island was drawn to the spectacle.
"What... what is happening!?" Buggy clutched his head, snot trailing from his nose as he stared at the rejuvenated Whitebeard.
Through the visual Den Den Mushi, the world watched in awe. The Sabaody Archipelago was in total chaos. Seeing Whitebeard turn the tide alone, fighting one top-tier powerhouse after another, felt like watching a god descend to earth.
First, he had wounded Kizaru, then he had traded blows with Sengoku and Garp, and now he was thrashing Akainu. And from the looks of it, Whitebeard was completely dominating the fight.
With one massive shockwave, the area was cleared. Whitebeard moved first, his great blade Murakumogiri seemingly hungry for blood. He leaped into the air, swinging the massive polearm down toward Akainu in a sweeping arc.
BOOM!
The strike looked ordinary at first glance—there was no visible vibration energy attached to it. However, dark red bolts of lightning crackled and spiraled around the blade.
Conqueror's Infusion!!
"HRAAAH!" Akainu refused to back down, unleashing a pillar of magma to meet the strike.
CRACK-BOOM!!
The blade sliced through the magma like it was nothing, slamming directly into Akainu's body!
BANG! Akainu was launched like a projectile, smashing through everything in his path.
"ADMIRAL SAKAZUKI!!" the Marines screamed in horror.
Watching this from the periphery, Kizaru couldn't help but feel a twinge of uncharacteristic sympathy. "How terrifying... Whitebeard..."
Akainu had been punched clear across the Marine Headquarters, finally coming to a stop on the other side of the island. He spat out blood, his face a mask of humiliated fury. "Curse you, Whitebeard...!"
Drake swallowed hard as he watched. Terrifying... absolutely terrifying. He looked at Whitebeard's towering back with a newfound sense of profound respect.
By now, a massive wave of Marines had closed in. Whitebeard, Drake, Kenshin, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy were surrounded, with the rest of the Whitebeard Commanders regrouping beside them. Five of the Warlords stood among the Marine ranks, but at this critical juncture, not one of them made a move to step forward. They were there as observers; why would they risk their lives now?
The Whitebeard Pirates were currently at peak output; anyone who stepped up now was asking for a one-way trip to the grave.
"Where's Iva?" Luffy scanned the area but couldn't find a trace of her.
Jinbe, who had just arrived, shook his head. "The battlefield is shifting too fast; I didn't see where Ivankov went."
"Never mind, she should be fine," Luffy said, turning his focus back to the front.
The Marines didn't attack immediately. Instead, they focused on tightening the encirclement. Once the perimeter was secure, Fleet Admiral Sengoku stepped forward from the ranks.
"Whitebeard... you won't all be leaving here," Sengoku said calmly. He knew Whitebeard would never leave as long as a single one of his subordinates remained trapped.
However... Sengoku glanced at Ace. He was uncertain. His plan had only been half-successful. Whitebeard might stay, but he would surely force Ace and the others to flee. Now, it all came down to Ace's resolve. If Ace refused to leave, the plan could still result in a total victory.
A flash of golden light heralded the arrival of Kizaru, who took his place beside the Fleet Admiral. Once again, it was a standoff between two legendary forces.
Watching this, Drake's lip twitched. Are we really doing this 'standoff' thing again? Is it fun? Do you really have to try and keep everyone here to be satisfied? He grumbled internally, but he had already prepared himself to summon the Aegis and whisk the brothers away at a moment's notice. With Whitebeard's current strength, keeping him here would be a nightmare for the Navy—in fact, it was likely impossible unless Whitebeard actually wanted to die.
Having realized this, Drake kept his eye on Ace. Seeing the struggle on his brother's face, Drake knew Ace would hate the idea of fleeing alone. Stealing a Marine warship would be difficult now, as they had likely prepared for that.
But when Drake looked at Whitebeard and the other Commanders, he paused. Why... why don't they look worried at all?
Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.
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