Luffy's appearance drew everyone's attention.
"Straw Hat boy! Go save your brother, and leave the rest to us!" Ivankov descended from the sky, flattening several Marines in his path before giving Luffy a big thumbs-up.
"Thanks, Iva!" Luffy grinned.
"Charge forward! Fishman Karate!" "Death Wink!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Jinbe unleashed his fierce techniques while Ivankov's dramatic winks blasted open a path. Together, they cleared the way for Luffy.
"Don't let a rookie disrupt the battle!" Sengoku bellowed from atop the execution platform as he issued a command through his Den Den Mushi. "Eliminate them on the spot! Don't waste time on a single newcomer!"
With his order, waves of Marines surged forward.
Meanwhile, aboard the Moby Dick...
Wearing a Navy coat marked with "Justice," Buggy spun around dramatically and roared, "O Whitebeard, fellow pirate! Let's join forces and take down the Marines first!"
Whitebeard smiled faintly and gave his command through the Den Den Mushi, "Next up... Decalban Brothers."
"Yes, Pops." "We're here, Pops."
The two brothers leaned close to the snail, awaiting orders.
"Listen closely. I want you two to coordinate the Whitebeard Pirates and launch an attack on the surrounding Marine ships."
"Got it, Pops!"
The brothers nodded and immediately passed the word. Soon, more pirates joined the fray.
The battlefield exploded with chaos as pirates clashed with Marines.
"Fourth Squad, Eleventh Squad, cover Straw Hat!" "Charge!" "Tatakai!!"
Watching the fierce battle, Vincent moved again.
To turn the tide, there was one target he couldn't ignore.
He narrowed his eyes at a bizarre-looking man over seven feet tall not far away.
Gecko Moria.
Vincent knew he had the Shadow-Shadow Fruit. In the war at Marineford, he created a legion of zombie Marines that caused massive trouble for the Whitebeard Pirates' rescue effort.
"Heh heh heh, leave it to me!" The bat-like warlord cackled as he shoved stored shadows into corpses, raising new zombie Marines.
"Having fun?" Vincent stood before Moria, his gaze cold.
"Heh heh heh, do you want to be one of my puppets too?" Moria sneered.
Suddenly, his shadow split into multiple bats, reaching behind Vincent and trying to grab his shadow.
"Your shadow is mine! Heh heh heh..."
Moria grinned as if victory was already his.
"Pathetic."
Vincent scoffed. Flames erupted behind him, and his shadow shifted to his front.
"What?!"
Moria panicked, directing more shadow bats to strike from the front.
Vincent smirked. His right hand ignited with fire, and his shadow jumped to his left.
"Damn it..."
Moria gritted his teeth, furious. He had never been toyed with like this before.
As expected, Vincent's left hand also erupted in flames, illuminating his entire body and leaving no shadow to target.
"What now?"
Vincent gave him a mocking glance, then vanished.
A sudden strike caught Moria off guard. His size made him slower.
"Shadow Switch!"
Moria hastily swapped places with his shadow, hoping to evade the attack.
"Called it."
Midair, Vincent smirked. In a flash, his left hand hurled the Seastone-tipped jitte straight into Moria's throat.
"You... how did you know my power?" Moria gasped.
"Take a guess."
Standing before him, Vincent smiled as he drove a punch into his face.
Another Warlord of the Sea, Gecko Moria had fallen.
On the Moby Dick, Squard, the massive Big Spade Spider, stood behind Whitebeard, his eyes cold as he watched the pirates charge ahead.
"So... Akainu was telling the truth."
No longer hesitating, he quietly unsheathed his sword, eyes locked on Whitebeard's back.
Thrust!
"Squard!"
A familiar voice cried out.
Before Squard could turn around, a figure wreathed in blue flames tackled him to the ground.
"Marco?!"
Whitebeard turned, eyes wide.
Squard's sword had pierced Marco's abdomen, but Marco held him tightly.
"Marco, let him go."
"But Pops, he was going to"
"I said let go!"
Whitebeard's voice carried unquestionable authority. Marco reluctantly obeyed.
"Yes, Pops."
Marco pulled out the sword and stepped aside, glaring at Squard.
"Get up, my son."
Squard, pale and trembling, looked at the hand Whitebeard extended toward him.
Overcome with guilt, he collapsed into Whitebeard's arms, sobbing.
"I'm sorry, Pops... I was deceived... I'm so sorry..."
Whitebeard shook his head. He didn't blame him.
Towering and powerful, the strongest man in the world spoke gently.
"No matter what... you're still my foolish son."
"Pops..."
Marco sighed and turned his gaze back to the battlefield, searching for Vincent.
He knew, if not for Vincent, their unprepared father could have been gravely wounded.
"Looks like that failed."
At the Marines' rear line, Akainu rose to his feet and looked toward the Moby Dick.
"Hey, Kizaru. Can you handle the rear?"
"Still a bit tired... but I can give it a try~" Kizaru reclined lazily.
"Then..."
Akainu adjusted his cap, eyes locking onto the battlefield.
"It's my turn."
With a leap, Akainu entered the battlefield.
"Finally, Akainu makes his move..." Sengoku exhaled.
"With his strength, he can definitely deal with those punks." He glanced at Luffy, Jinbe, and Vincent.
He trusted Akainu's power one of the Navy's three greatest forces.
Akainu strode across the battlefield, adjusting his cap marked "Justice."
His gaze locked on Luffy, still fighting desperately.
"Ace's brother. Son of Revolutionary Dragon. Let's kill him first and crush the pirates' morale."
Vincent caught his gaze instantly and understood his intent. He launched forward, appearing right in front of Akainu.
"Hey. Who said you could pass?"
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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