"Meigō! (Hellhound)"
At the center of the battlefield, Akainu's right arm erupted with rolling magma. With a furious roar, he smashed a fist toward Marco's chest.
The searing magma shaped like a hound's head collided head-on with Marco's azure phoenix flames.
"This power…"
Marco's pupils dilated. He watched, helpless, as his blue phoenix wings were swallowed by the magma hound, which then crashed into his chest without slowing.
"Bang!!"
The torrent of magma punched straight through Marco's chest and hurled him across the field, where he slammed into the distant ice.
"Captain Marco!"
Members of the Whitebeard Pirates rushed to him in panic. Marco, still in his phoenix state, had one wing shattered and a gaping hole through his chest, leaving him half-buried in a crater in the ice.
"Damn it…"
Marco clenched his teeth in unwilling fury.
If anyone else took that hit, they'd be dead on the spot. But he was the phoenix—so long as he maintained that form, he wouldn't die. Even so, the wounds were too severe; he couldn't keep fighting.
With Marco no longer tying him down, Akainu's eyes locked onto Whitebeard. Magma coursed along his arm as he strode forward in great, pounding steps.
"Whitebeard, today is your death day!"
…
"Aisu Taimu! (Ice Time)"
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Aokiji tapped the ice with his foot. In an instant, a killing cold froze Ace's ankles to the surface.
Ace's face tightened, but there was no fear. He flooded his legs with Busōshoku Haki (Armament Haki) and—
With a sharp crack, he shattered the ice with a kick.
"Sorry," Aokiji said, flickering to Ace's front. He clenched his fist and spoke evenly: "You may be Garp-san's grandson, but the situation leaves me no choice. I can't hold back."
Ace sheathed both hands in Busōshoku Haki, refusing to yield.
"Don't underestimate me, Admiral!"
Under Rayleigh's tutelage, he had learned Armament Haki and fought strong foes in the New World. He didn't believe Aokiji would defeat him easily.
Aokiji's expression didn't change. He drove a fist forward:
"Aisu Gurōbu! (Ice Glove)"
His right arm turned to living frost, the chill biting to the marrow. Haki coiled around his knuckles, fused with an iron fist reminiscent of Garp's.
Their punches collided in an instant.
Ace's eyes widened—the force battering his body was overwhelming.
"Impossible… a Logia fruit power fused with Haki—just like that old man's punch…"
Before he could finish, the blow blasted him away. The cold seized him mid-air; rime exploded across his body, and in moments he was sealed in ice.
"Boom!"
Ace crashed into the frozen ground like a fallen statue.
Aokiji sighed, not pressing the attack. His gaze lifted to the Golden Lion.
"The 'Great Admiral of the Seas,' huh? You'd retired. Why come stir this up?"
…
Seeing Akainu and Aokiji overwhelm their opponents, Sengoku's face finally eased a fraction. Even with Golden Lion and Rayleigh—the two powerhouses of a bygone era—joining the fray, Navy Headquarters still had the upper hand.
At this pace, they might crush the invaders before Marineford sank.
But then he remembered the latest intel, and his expression darkened again.
"Uzumaki Naruto, Barrett, Crocodile… and those Level-6 demons from Impel Down…"
After two seconds of hesitation, Sengoku pulled out a Den Den Mushi and dialed.
"Moshi moshi, this is Sengoku…"
"Kengotsu Shōgeki!!! (Fistbone Impact)"
Garp vaulted into the air, fist clenched. An extreme surge of Busōshoku Haki coated his knuckles as he plummeted like a meteor.
Whether the Armament was too dense or the speed too great, the ebon fist flared crimson—like a garish, burning star streaking down from the sky.
"Garp!!!"
Whitebeard roared. He too clenched a fist and hurled his might upward.
"BOOOOM!!!"
Their overwhelming powers collided.
A circular shockwave rippled outward, toppling buildings and flinging marines and pirates alike like leaves in a gale.
The weaker ones were blasted straight off the plaza.
"These two…" Sengoku pressed a hand to his temple, headache spiking as Garp and Whitebeard tore Marineford apart.
Craters pocked the island; some punched clean through to the seabed below. Cracks veined the ground in every direction.
At this rate, in ten minutes the whole of Marineford would sink. But he couldn't stop them either.
As Sengoku wavered, his eyes flashed—he'd spotted Akainu closing in, twisting his body to hurl a blistering punch:
"Dai Funka!! (Great Eruption)"
Still tangled with Garp, Whitebeard didn't see it coming. The blast slammed into his shoulder.
In an instant, magma devoured the flesh there; blood never had a chance to flow—it vaporized at once in the heat.
Whitebeard's fury erupted. While guarding his chest with Busōshoku Haki, he glared at Akainu.
"You little brat…"
He hammered a fist toward Akainu. Space cracked, and the quake shockwaves rolled in like a collapsing sky.
Akainu didn't dare take it head-on. He hit the ground and rolled, barely evading the tidal wave of force.
Garp's face tightened. This was supposed to be his duel with Whitebeard, yet Akainu had chosen to strike from the side.
He couldn't rebuke him, though. He'd already betrayed his own sense of justice once; this was penance.
With Akainu's aid, Garp's suppression of Whitebeard became near-total.
In mere minutes, Whitebeard was covered in wounds—fist marks and magma brands burned across his body.
Up above, Golden Lion grew more and more battered. He was no longer the legend he once was: both legs severed, a ship's helm lodged in his skull, age weighing him down.
Under the combined assault of Tsuru and Aokiji, he was soon bleeding from a dozen places.
Just as the situation teetered on the brink—
A thunderous crash resounded. From above the frozen mega-tsunami, a colossal crocodile-turtle fell from the sky.
A blond youth stood upon its head, surveying Marineford's carnage with a slight smile.
"Looks like everyone's in a pretty rough spot, huh?"
(End of Chapter)
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