"Wood, brat, I've told you before—if you ever dare to manipulate my body, no matter how much you've helped our crew, I'll take you down alongside Teach and that Akainu kid!"
As the "Strongest Man in the World," Whitebeard had his pride. He would not allow himself to linger in a pathetic state, much less be controlled by someone else.
Feeling Wood's forced intervention, Whitebeard's fury was evident. If not for his burning desire to exact revenge on Teach and Akainu, he might have crushed Wood's head on the spot.
"If you resist me again, the people left on your Whitebeard Pirates' island won't survive!"
Wood's voice cut through the tension. "Do you even know who those two are? I've seen their combination attack before. If I face them alone, I can't block it.
Even if I survive their attack, over ninety percent of the people on the island will die!"
Hearing Wood's words, Whitebeard turned his gaze toward Kaido and Big Mom, who had just stepped onto the battlefield. The terrifying aura radiating from them made it clear that Wood wasn't exaggerating. Whitebeard snorted coldly, signaling his reluctant agreement to cooperate—at least for now.
"Conqueror of the Seas!"
Kaido and Big Mom, standing side by side, swung their weapons in unison. A fierce storm erupted, and a massive shockwave, glowing with intertwining shades of blue and red, roared forward.
This was a combined version of the Giant Tribe's signature technique, Hakoku (Sovereign Slash). In the Little Garden arc, the captains of the Giant Pirate Crew, Dorry and Brogy, had used this move together to take down a sea king.
Its power was so immense that it could destroy a small island. Even among the giants, few could use such a technique.
But compared to Dorry and Brogy, Kaido and Big Mom, despite not being giants, unleashed a version of Hakoku that was even more devastating. As Emperors of the Sea, they wouldn't lose stamina from a single attack of this scale.
The terrifying shockwave tore through the air with astonishing speed, covering hundreds of kilometers in its destructive path. At such speed and scale, there was virtually no way to avoid it.
This was a combination attack from two Emperors of the Sea. Wood wasn't exaggerating when he said the island's inhabitants wouldn't survive. Those caught in its wake would be lucky to escape with their lives.
Standing in the path of such a devastating attack were no ordinary figures.
Whitebeard, despite his age, still carried the mantle of the "Strongest Man in the World."
As for Wood, while he lacked the title of Emperor, he considered himself no weaker than the so-called "Four Emperors."
As the shockwave of Hakoku barreled toward them, Whitebeard clenched his fist. A translucent sphere appeared around it. With a powerful strike, the air itself shattered, sending a seismic shockwave forward to meet the oncoming attack.
On Wood's side, the Winter Knight armor radiated icy power as he gripped his twin swords, Tenkoku and Asatsuyu. In an instant, he channeled an immense amount of magic.
Before his blades even struck, the air around him dropped to a bone-chilling temperature, and snowflakes began falling from the sky.
"Hyakki Yagyō Sword Style: Dual Sword Ultimate Art—Snow Maiden's Icy Makeup!"
As Wood unleashed his strike, the area within ten miles was instantly encased in ice. Two massive blue slashes in the shape of an "X" erupted forward, carrying a freezing gale with them.
Wood's mastery of ice magic was one of his strongest attributes, and with the Winter Knight amplifying his ice abilities, his Snow Maiden sword techniques were currently his most powerful attacks.
The massive blue "X" collided with Whitebeard's space-shattering shockwave, merging into a giant surge of blue and white energy that hurtled toward the blue-and-red shockwave of Hakoku.
On one side was the combined attack of two Emperors of the Sea. On the other, two figures—one the world's strongest man, the other with strength rivaling the Emperors.
Boom——!
The moment the blue-and-red shockwave collided with the icy, space-tearing "X," the entire island of Marineford began to shake violently.
This tremor was far stronger than any that had come before. The terrifying ripples of energy spread outward, and eventually, the entire island cracked in half.
Marineford, which had stood as the Marine Headquarters for countless years, was now facing its demise.
As Kaido and Big Mom's Hakoku clashed with the combined power of Whitebeard and Wood, the island continued to break apart, splitting from two halves into four.
Marineford had been chosen as the Navy's base for its size and stability, but even the toughest island couldn't withstand the continuous battles of top-tier fighters like the Emperors and Admirals.
The buildings of Marineford, already reduced to rubble by the earlier battles, now had no foundation left to stand on.
As the island fractured, many combatants fell into the surrounding ocean. While non-Devil Fruit users could manage, the Devil Fruit users who hit the water were as good as finished, never resurfacing again.
"Ruth, save whoever you can. Prioritize the Marines, but if you can save pirates too, then do it. If not, leave them."
Hearing Wood's shout, Ruth, now in his Ancient Zoan Pliosaur form, froze for a moment. It wasn't that he was surprised Wood wanted to save people—it was that Wood had ordered him to save Marines.
Earlier, Ruth had assumed they were siding with the pirates when his captain fought Mihawk, one of the Warlords, and then took on two Marine Admirals. Naturally, Ruth didn't hold back against the Marines.
But now, with Wood ordering him to prioritize saving Marines, Ruth found himself utterly confused.
Of course, Wood's actions always defied expectations. Since it was a direct order from his captain, Ruth would obey without question.
While seawater is the natural enemy of Devil Fruit users, there are exceptions—Ruth being one of them.
As an Ancient Zoan Pliosaur, a prehistoric ruler of the seas, Ruth couldn't swim due to his Devil Fruit curse. However, his form allowed him to breathe underwater and move within it.
In other words, while he couldn't swim, he wouldn't drown either.
Additionally, Ruth possessed an enormous stomach capable of storing people alive. As long as he didn't release digestive acids, his stomach could hold hundreds of individuals at a time, providing ample oxygen for them to breathe.
However, as the clash between the two combined attacks—the Hakoku of Kaido and Big Mom and the joint strike of Wood and Whitebeard—concluded, Marineford ceased to exist.
The once-mighty and iconic Marine Headquarters had been reduced to ruins, its towering structures now relics of the past.
The island itself had fractured into a series of scattered islets, with the area where the attacks collided forming a massive vortex in the ocean.
This whirlpool, hundreds of kilometers wide and seemingly bottomless, pulled in vast amounts of seawater as if the ocean were draining itself.
For Devil Fruit users—already helpless against the sea—it was a death sentence. Even Marines and pirates proficient in swimming stood no chance if caught in the vortex.
The sheer force of the whirlpool destroyed everything in its path. Gigantic Marine warships and pirate vessels alike were shredded into fragments, as fragile as toys before this natural disaster.
Whitebeard had intervened to protect the remnants of his crew, ensuring their survival amidst the chaos.
Wood, on the other hand, acted to save the Marines on the island.
Although Wood's relationship with the Marines had grown murky, he still believed the Navy played a vital role in the seas.
Yes, they were tools of the corrupt World Government, but they undeniably curbed the rampant evil on the seas.
Not all pirates were adventurers. In Wood's experience, the vast majority—99%—were far from virtuous.
Even the rare pirates with some conscience or moral code had blood on their hands. Pillaging, burning, and slaughtering were their daily practices. Without working or producing anything, how else could they sustain their lavish lifestyles?
The Navy, though prone to occasional missteps, still did more good than harm for the average citizen of the seas.
Without the Navy's restraint, pirates would grow even more rampant, and the lives of ordinary islanders would descend into chaos.
This was why, despite his disdain for Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Wood continued to sell weapons to the Navy.
The true disease lay within the World Government, not the Marines under its command.
Thus, while secretly aiding the Revolutionary Army in its fight against the World Government, Wood maintained his ambiguous relationship with the Marines.
The Revolutionary Army's enemy was the World Government, not the pirates wreaking havoc.
For now, the Navy couldn't be allowed to collapse, or the seas would spiral into total anarchy. Not wanting to see such a future, Wood fought to protect the Marines with everything he had.
"Marco, take everyone and leave immediately! As the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, this is my final order!"
Marineford, now fragmented into scattered islets, had become a battleground too chaotic and dangerous for the Whitebeard Pirates to remain.
Their original mission was to rescue Ace, but with Ace now dead, there was no reason for Whitebeard to let his sons risk their lives any further.
Looking at Ace's lifeless body in his arms, Whitebeard tossed it to Marco, who had flown over to check the situation.
"Get everyone out of here!" he barked.
With the Navy, Kaido, Big Mom, and so many other powerful figures present, not even Whitebeard himself could guarantee Marco and the others' safety.
Teach, Catarina, Shiryu, and the others had vanished during the earlier clash between Wood, Kaido, and Big Mom.
Wood didn't believe the "Destined Villain" Blackbeard would die so easily, but it was undeniable that Teach's strength and influence had been significantly diminished compared to the original timeline.
Whitebeard had killed Doc Q and Lafitte, while Wood had taken out Sanjuan Wolf and Avalo Pizarro. In total, Teach's crew had lost four commanders.
Moreover, Teach himself hadn't acquired the Gura Gura no Mi (Tremor-Tremor Fruit), leaving him far weaker than before. After this debacle, he'd be lucky to retain his status as a Warlord, let alone ascend to the rank of Emperor.
The Whitebeard Pirates' retreat went smoothly, as the Navy no longer had the resources to stop them.
In fact, Sengoku had already ordered all Marines, except for Aokiji, Kizaru, Gion, and Garp, to board the surviving warships and evacuate.
Marineford had been utterly devastated, and there was no point in ordinary soldiers staying behind.
The remaining battlefield was now a stage for the strongest—a "high-tier match" where weaker participants had no role except to die.
On the shattered remnants of Marineford, the weakest individuals left were the Warlords of the Sea.
Others included Big Mom's Sweet Commanders, Kaido's Calamities, and Wood's vice-captain Ruth.
At the highest level, there were the Marine Admirals Aokiji and Kizaru, the formidable Gion, Garp, and Sengoku, all of whom were on par with or even stronger than Admirals.
On the pirate side were the Emperors: Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom, as well as Wood, who, though not officially an Emperor, was every bit their equal.
It was no exaggeration to say that the most powerful figures of the seas were gathered here.
This was, without a doubt, a true gathering of titans.
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