Clang!
Another deafening explosion rocked the ruins, sending stone and dust shooting skyward.
"Akainu!"
Aokiji's voice was low and grim, his face dark with despair.
The Marines were already struggling to hold back the pirates' relentless advance. If Akainu one of their highest-ranking combat powers fell here, there would be nothing left for them but defeat.
"Admiral Akainu!" the Marines cried out in anguish.
To them, his fall would be like a pillar of the fortress shattering. Their morale plummeted.
On the other hand, the pirates' spirits surged, their lines pushing forward by several more meters.
"Whitebeard, you've grown old…"
As the dust began to clear, a pair of jet-black iron fists blocked the swing of Whitebeard's massive bisento.
It was the Marine hero, Garp.
"But then… who hasn't?"
Garp exhaled slowly, letting out a deep grunt as he forced Whitebeard's weapon aside.
"Akainu, leave this to me," he called over his shoulder, before charging in with fists raised.
Boom!
His iron fists met Whitebeard's quake-powered punch head-on. Despite his shorter frame, Garp unleashed a force that rivaled the pirate emperor's, their clash erupting in a blast that neither could claim victory from.
"Garp, it's been a long time," Whitebeard said with a small smile, lowering his fist.
"It has," Garp replied, grinning back. "Since that battle twenty-seven years ago… who'd have thought we'd end up like this?"
The two were old rivals. Back then, they had fought for three days and nights without a decisive winner.
Garp glanced at Kizaru, who was currently tangled up with Vincent Fox, and sighed.
"We're relics of another era… but these youngsters, they're something else."
"Twenty-seven years ago we couldn't settle it. I wonder if you can beat me now," Whitebeard said, white light gathering around his right hand.
"Then let's find out."
"Come show me the power of the world's strongest man."
Garp's fists crackled with Haki as the two legends clashed once more.
Meanwhile, Vincent kept one eye on Whitebeard's fight as he engaged Kizaru.
Truth be told, he wasn't optimistic for the old man. Whitebeard might be the strongest man in the world, but the earlier battles had left him badly wounded, and his chronic illness wasn't helping. Against Garp, it would be hard to gain the upper hand.
"You're distracted~"
Kizaru's voice dripped with mockery as a blade of light formed in his hand.
"Amaterasu Sword!"
Vincent sidestepped, planting his foot on the blade and using the momentum to launch himself toward the admiral at incredible speed.
"Oh my, terrifying~"
Kizaru's body dissolved into light, avoiding the strike. Even so, he frowned at the force of the blow.
"Young and dangerous. If that had hit, I'm not sure I'd still be standing. But…" his voice trailed off into a smirk, "…you seem to have forgotten that physical attacks don't work on me."
From above, golden light bloomed in his palms.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
Countless light bullets rained down, flooding the battlefield with blinding brilliance.
"Old man, I told you your move really doesn't pack much punch."
Dusting himself off, Vincent stepped from the smoke. Kizaru wasn't the only one frustrated; Vincent was starting to feel the same way. They had traded blows several times now, but neither could gain the advantage. More than once, the Amaterasu Sword had come dangerously close. Without his danger sense, Vincent doubted he'd still be standing.
He remembered what Rayleigh had once said Kizaru relied too much on his Devil Fruit. That meant his weakness was the same as the fruit's: sea-prism stone… or seawater.
But Akainu had destroyed the seastone weapon earlier. That left only one option.
"Kizaru, you seem distracted. Thinking of helping the others?" Vincent asked casually.
The admiral was indeed considering it. With his speed and long-range capabilities, he could easily harass Whitebeard.
"You're sharp, kid. So what?"
"You really think you have time to help them?" Vincent's voice turned icy.
"You mean to stop me?"
Kizaru's mocking tone faded, replaced by a genuine threat. Vincent had cost him too much time already.
Vincent didn't answer. He simply stared him down.
Kizaru moved first, diving from the sky in a golden blur.
"Then I'll deal with you first!"
His right leg flared with blinding light, kicking at light speed.
BAM!
Vincent didn't dodge. The kick sent him flying.
Kizaru's eyes narrowed. A blade of light formed in his hand as he flashed forward.
"Got you now!"
In a blink, he was in front of Vincent, driving the sword straight for his heart.
"Damn"
Vincent twisted away, feigning panic, and bolted. Even as he ran, he taunted, "Told you, your light-speed kick is just flashy, not strong."
"Is that so…"
The admiral's eyes went cold. This nameless upstart had mocked him one too many times.
They clashed across the battlefield until they reached a sheet of ice.
"Let's see where you run now, boy."
"Who said I was running?"
Vincent exhaled, slamming a fist into the ice at his feet. With a thunderous crack, a massive slab broke free.
One-handed, he hefted the ice block and hurled it at Kizaru.
"You think that'll work on me?" The admiral scoffed, slicing it cleanly in half and sailing over it.
"What about this?"
From inside the split ice, Vincent emerged, fist cocked for a strike.
"Pathetic…"
Kizaru let the punch pass through his intangible form and then his smirk froze.
Vincent's blow erupted in scorching heat, instantly melting the two giant slabs above them into torrents of seawater.
The cascade poured over Kizaru before he could react.
"Not good!"
He tried to move too late. The seawater engulfed him, sapping his strength and dragging his body toward the ground.
----------------------------------------------------
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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