Similarly, seeing Whitebeard heavily wounded, a look of worry appeared in Jinbe's eyes.
But then, his expression grew stern. Looking at Aeridar, he stated heavily, "Aeridar-san, I will not allow you to disturb Pops."
"Well, you can try~" Aeridar gave a careless laugh, but the coldness in his eyes was chilling.
"I will crush you both in an instant."
The chilling words echoed in the air. Aeridar had already vanished from his original spot, leaving behind only a patch of cracked earth.
"Where is he?"
Jinbe's eyelids twitched, and he hurriedly searched around.
SWOOP!
A figure flashed by at extreme speed, arriving in front of Ivankov in the blink of an eye.
"Oh no!"
Ivankov was greatly alarmed. He quickly turned his hands into blades and attacked the space in front of him at super-high speed. The force was fierce, tearing the air with a sharp sound.
44 Secret Spa Arts Ultimate Attack: Hair Removal Fist!!
Aeridar's figure flickered, moving like willow fluff drifting in the wind. He evaded every single one of Ivankov's high-speed attacks, not being touched even once.
"Damn it! How can I not land a hit?"
Despite the sustained attack, he failed to graze his opponent. Ivankov was utterly shocked. He quickly withdrew his hands and backed away, preparing to launch a new attack.
"Take this! New Kama Kenpo: 44 - Aesthetic Technique: Laser…"
CRACK!
Ivankov had just assumed his starting stance and hadn't even finished the name when a pitch-black fist violently smashed into his face like a flash of lightning.
His face caved in, blood splattered, and Ivankov was sent flying backward without even a grunt, turning into a black blur that slammed heavily into the port's seawall several hundred meters away.
BOOM—
The seawall shuddered violently. A massive crater formed in the wall, with Ivankov's entire body sunken into it, and spiderweb-like cracks spreading everywhere. A huge gust of air swept outward, kicking up dust into the sky.
"How could this happen?" Jinbe gasped in astonishment.
It was too fast. From Aeridar's initial move to Ivankov's high-speed attack and then to him being sent flying—the entire process took no more than four or five seconds.
What surprised him the most was the opponent's incredibly powerful Observation Haki. Watching from the side, Jinbe could clearly see that Ivankov's super-high-speed attacks were completely predicted. Furthermore, that final punch from Aeridar perfectly caught Ivankov right when he was pulling back to prepare his next move, as if he had foreseen Ivankov's next action.
"Iva-sama!"
"Iva-san!"
The surrounding Newkama followers, wearing stockings and high heels, cried out in shock.
"Do you have time to worry about others?"
Aeridar gave a savage grin. He instantly flashed in front of Jinbe, lifted his leg, and brought down a heavy, powerful, and utterly forceful kick straight toward the Fish-Man's head.
"Sharkskin Palm Thrust!!"
Jinbe stomped his foot, leaping into the air and landing on a warehouse roof.
RUMBLE!
The ground shook. The spot where Aeridar's kick landed instantly collapsed across a span of several meters.
"Shark Brick Fist!!" Jinbe quickly stamped forward several steps, his punch flashing like electricity, the air currents fierce and the blow extremely powerful.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Aeridar clapped his hands together, and a powerful shockwave burst out.
RUMBLE—
The ground immediately collapsed into a hollow, and a crater ten meters wide appeared almost instantly. Jinbe, who had put his entire body's strength into the punch, stalled just under three meters from Aeridar. He held his ground for a moment, but was then forcibly thrown backward by the invisible shockwave, rolling far across the ground.
"Rokushiki: Rankyaku!"
Aeridar lifted his foot and swept his leg, sending a razor-sharp air-slash screaming toward the distant, tumbling Jinbe.
"Crap!"
Having just managed to stop, Jinbe felt a stifling pressure in his chest, only to suddenly find a fierce slash hurtling towards him.
CRASH!
Thinking fast, Jinbe rolled on the ground. The slash hit the earth, instantly leaving a deep fissure.
"Hee hee hee hee~ Rankyaku: Chaos!" Aeridar gave a sinister laugh, sweeping his legs in the air one after another. Slashes of vacuum blades rained down like a torrential storm, covering the entire area.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM…
The ground was instantly torn apart, covered in deep fissures. Even Jinbe, dodging back and forth, could only barely survive in the gaps between the attacks, with no time to counter.
Despite his efforts, Jinbe failed to react in time and was struck by one of the slashes, leaving a bloody wound on his body.
Where one hit, a second and third followed. Jinbe's figure froze after the first hit, and he had no time left to dodge. He was then instantly engulfed by dozens of vacuum slashes. The blades seemed to rip into his flesh, sending blood and gore flying.
"Jinbe!"
"Damn him!"
The pirates from the New World nearby cried out in alarm.
"You might be able to compete with me in the sea, but on land, you are far too weak!" Aeridar stopped his attack and curled his lip as he looked at Jinbe lying in a pool of blood.
After all, Jinbe was a Fish-Man and could only exert his full strength in the sea. On land, managing five or six tenths of his power was already considered impressive.
At the execution platform, at the same time:
"Watch closely, Whitebeard!"
Sengoku waved his hand, signaling the two new executioners to proceed with Ace's execution.
"...Stop!"
Luffy charged forward, but he was still held up by countless Marines a hundred meters away.
The two executioners raised their long-handled, pointed swords, simultaneously aiming to strike Ace's neck. Whitebeard, a dozen-plus Commanders, and countless pirates could only watch the scene in horror.
"Stop it, dammit!"
Luffy's shouted roar was like a howl, and an invisible force began to spread from his body.
WHOOSH!
The world seemed to turn black and white. The air was shaking, emitting a strange sound. The invisible power emanating from Luffy carried a kind of intimidating force, spreading across nearly half the battlefield.
THUD~
THUD, THUD, THUD…
In an instant, a large number of Marines, including the two executioners on the platform, had their eyes roll back and lost consciousness, collapsing on the ground. Even some of the pirates within the radius were affected.
"I'm coming now!" Though he didn't understand what had happened, with the surrounding Marines unconscious, Luffy immediately sprinted toward the execution platform.
"L-Luffy…" Ace stared at the scene, dumbfounded.
"Conqueror's… Haki." Aeridar raised an eyebrow as he sensed the intimidating force.
"Arara..." Kuzan was quite surprised.
"How surprising," Borsalino blinked.
Sakazuki didn't speak, but the killing intent surrounding him intensified a degree.
"That kid…" Whitebeard looked slightly startled and amazed.
Although Chinjao once said that there were countless people with Conqueror's Haki in the New World, that was actually an exaggeration.
It was, after all, the "Color of the Supreme King." It was impossible for a massive number of people to possess it, otherwise, Trebol and Diamante wouldn't have gone to such lengths to search for a successor, and Doflamingo might have been eliminated as a child.
In truth, every person who possesses Conqueror's Haki is extremely troublesome. While the post-prime Chinjao was defeated by Luffy, one must remember that a fully in-his-prime Chinjao required the intervention of a Marine of Garp's caliber to handle—meaning a Marine Admiral-level power was needed to subdue him.