At the moment on the other side of the square.
"Dangerous, Akainu is catching up!" "Whoah!!" "Ace, run, leave us alone..."
Though many pirates covered the retreat for Ace and his brothers, none were a match for Akainu. The giant lava fist swept through them, leaving instant death and injury in its wake.
"Retreating immediately after you save Fire Fist Ace. The Whitebeard Pirates have truly gathered a group of cowards!"
Seeing Ace about to escape to the edge of the square, a cold, contemptuous shout rang out. "However, I can also understand. After all, the captain is also that same kind of person, and he acts like a leader. It just means that… Whitebeard is just a loser from the last era!"
"A loser?"
Ace, who was running, stopped suddenly, flames of fury bursting from his body. He roared, "Bastard, take back what you just said right now!"
Seeing this, Kingdew, the Commander of the 11th division, urgently urged, "Ace, go quickly! Don't fall for his aggressive tactics. If you stop now, you'll be playing right into his hands!"
"Hey, Ace, don't stop!" "Let him talk all he wants, Dad is still here to cover our retreat!" "That's right, we can't let his efforts be in vain, Ace. Dad will definitely clean him up later. Let's escape from here first!" "Asshole, that guy is insulting Dad!"
Ace broke free from everyone's grasp, turned to face Akainu, and repeated again, "Take back what you just said!"
Even if the opponent was an Admiral from Naval Headquarters, he had to defend his father's reputation. This was Ace's final dignity and bottom line.
"Take it back? How is that possible? What I said isn't wrong!" A sneer was on Akainu's face as he continued to provoke. "Your father, Gol D. Roger, conquered the Grand Line and started the era of great pirates by giving his own life."
"As a Marine, although it may be inappropriate for me to say such a thing, he is indeed worthy of the title of Pirate King."
"However, compared to him, what is Whitebeard? He doesn't even have the courage to fight Roger to the death. He will only hide in a safe place and lead you trash to become the king of the pirates!"
"Even with Roger dead, he still can't become a true king. Compared with your own father, Whitebeard will always be a loser. Tell me, where did I go wrong?"
"Shut up! How can you bastard understand the greatness of Dad!"
Ace suppressed his furious emotions and walked towards Akainu step by step, ignoring everyone's calls. The flames all over his body exuded a terrible temperature.
"If a person doesn't walk the right path, he has no value in living... you bunch of thieves, there is no need for you to live at all." The look of contempt on Akainu's face became more and more intense. Looking at Ace who was getting closer, he felt like laughing out loud. This impulsive fool... Whitebeard actually wanted to push him to the throne of Pirate King. It was ridiculous.
"Whitebeard is doomed to die here today as a loser, the leader of a ragtag group, which will be a perfect fit!"
It was another sarcastic remark that didn't hurt much, but was extremely insulting.
"Fart!"
Ace's blood surged in fury, and flames rose all over his body. While punching out a tyrannical fire fist, he tore and roared, "Whitebeard is the great pirate who created this era. I won't allow you to insult my savior. This era is of... Whitebeard!!!"
"Whitebeard can only attract losers like you, and today you all... have to die here!"
Akainu's right arm turned into a giant fist of hot lava, and he struck back with a bang.
Rumble—
The ground under their feet cracked inch by inch. The raging hot temperature was enough to melt steel instantly. Although both were Logia with the "fire" attribute, in terms of the development, control, or use of the fruit ability, Ace was not in the same class as Akainu.
The two stalemated for less than a few seconds, and Ace flew backward, howling. The blood on his right arm was blurred, obviously severely burned. Facts once again proved that you can't defeat the enemy if you have a temper but no strength.
"Hmph, do you think it's great to be a Logia? You're just the devil fruit user of the common-type, but I'm the magma that can burn out fire!" A sneer of disdain was on Akainu's face. Hot lava churned up his right arm again as he walked towards Ace, step by step. "Your ability and mine have a completely different status. No matter how you try, it won't help."
"Let go of the Ace, Rubber Jet Pistol!" "Dragon Hook Claw!"
Luffy and Sabo attacked Akainu at the same time. But the next second, they both howled and flew out just like Ace did, holding their arms. Akainu didn't even bother to make a move on these two rookies—as Luffy and Sabo were burned by the hot lava on his body. Even though Sabo had already used Armament Haki, after his arm being cut off by Adrian, the strength he could use was not even half of his original. He couldn't even restrain Akainu's magma, let alone do any damage. The strength gap between the three brothers and Akainu was like a natural chasm.
"Don't worry, you two little bastards, once I finish off the Fire Fist, it will be your turn soon~!"
Akainu smiled grimly, then stretched out his hand to lift Ace's hair. He suddenly turned to Whitebeard, who was about to attack Adrian in the distance, and said provocatively, "Hey, Whitebeard, look at me. This is the trash you risked your life to rescue. Didn't you pin your dream of dominating the seas on him?"
"Okay, I'm here today to kill your unrealistic fantasy... in the cradle!"
As soon as his voice fell, Akainu's right arm pierced directly through Ace's chest. The tumbling lava kept burning the wounds and internal organs, so much so that not a trace of blood flowed out.
"No—"
Luffy and Sabo's eyes widened, and they let out a mournful howl.
The whole Marineford fell silent in an instant. This moment, whether Marine or Pirate, everyone stopped fighting. All looked at the boy who had been punched through the chest by Admiral Akainu: Portgas D. Ace.
A person who inherited the evil blood of Roger, the Pirate King. In the end, he still couldn't escape the arrangement of fate.
"Ace, you still died because of your reckless character after all."
Although the scene in front of him was quite different from the original book, from the moment Ace stopped, Adrian knew that he was bound to die. At the very moment when thousands of people risked their lives to rescue him, he still chose to go his own way. However, Akainu's tricky manipulation almost blinded Adrian.
Brother Akainu, how tough are you! Not only did he kill Ace, he didn't even forget to cast his wave of taunting skills at Whitebeard. Was he going to push the hatred value to the max in an instant? Hadn't Whitebeard hit him just now?
Adrian didn't know if this was the butterfly effect he had caused, but one thing was certain: Akainu's performance today was definitely enough for this battle to be remembered. Especially his profound satirical foundation.... Adrian could only give a thumbs up and say: "I, Adrian, a padawan, would like to call you, Akainu, the first Sith Lord of 'One Piece'!!!"
Seeing Ace who collapsed powerlessly, Luffy and Sabo burst into tears. Since Luffy was caught early, he hadn't experienced a series of events such as in Impel Down where he was poisoned by Magellan in the original, so he didn't have a mental breakdown at this moment.
"Father..... everyone.... and Luffy, Sabo..... I have always been so reckless... I have inherited the evil blood... so much,but I am really grateful!" Ace tried his best to squeeze out one last smile towards the friendly figures in the distance. Then he hit the ground hard.