"The reinforcements are here, wipe them out in one go!"
"Destroy the remaining crew of the Whitebeard Pirates in Marineford!"
"Avenge my dead colleagues!"
"This group of pirates must never be forgiven!"
"Marine must win!"
"Let the pirates firmly remember today's fear!"
"Don't let them escape!"
"Don't let Straw Hat Luffy go; we must drive out this evil bloodline!"
On the battlefield outside the harbor, a large number of Marines and Pacifistas poured out of an underground passage, launching a new wave of attacks on the remaining Whitebeard Pirates and the Revolutionary Army. Though Akainu and Aokiji, two Admirals, were being held back by Dragon and the Whitebeard division commanders respectively, the situation was still overwhelmingly in Marine's favor.
Even with their heavy casualties, Marine's morale was soaring. The pirates and the Revolutionary Army, however, were terrified and had no will to fight. They were like exhausted, stray dogs. The once-great Whitebeard Pirates were defeated in the blink of an eye after their captain's death. The scene was heartbreaking and ironic. If Whitebeard could see his "useless sons," he would probably die all over again.
"Hey, Koby, aren't we being a little too aggressive?" Koby and Helmeppo, two young recruits who had been taken on by Garp, were hiding behind a broken wall, watching the battle.
"The outcome has already been decided," Koby said, a look of sympathy and sadness on his face. "Is it really necessary to continue this?"
In his heart, Koby believed that since Whitebeard and Ace were dead, the war should end. It would only increase the number of casualties. Though they were pirates, their sins didn't warrant death. Their families were probably waiting for them to return safely.
Koby and Helmeppo had tried to desert at the beginning of the war, but they saw Akainu executing another deserter and were too scared to run. They had no choice but to return to the battlefield.
Suddenly, voices filled Koby's mind from all directions.
"Knock them down, leave them bruised..."
"Destroy all the pirates, and take revenge for the dead companions..."
"Damn pirate, go to hell..."
"Let you see the justice of our Marine..."
"Don't try to escape, destroy those pirates..."
Koby, a timid boy, accidentally awakened Observation Haki.
"Uh ah ah…" Koby covered his head, falling to his knees in pain. Tears streamed down his face. "Ah… this is so sad. All the voices in my head are appearing one by one. People are dying all the time. When will this damn war end?"
"Hey, Koby, what are you talking about?" Helmeppo said, shaking his friend's shoulders. "If anyone hears you, we'll be executed!"
"No, I want to stop this war!" Koby yelled, rushing forward.
"Hey, Kuzan, go back and deal with the Blackbeard crew! Do not let them leave Marineford alive!" Akainu said after hearing about Fleet Admiral Sengoku's death. Even he was shocked, but only for a moment. At this critical point, he needed to stand up and stabilize the army's morale. He would not allow the situation to be destroyed.
"You… can you handle this alone?" Aokiji's lazy face showed a rare dignified expression. He wanted to ask Akainu to stop fighting, but his identity as an Admiral prevented him. He believed the war should end, just like Koby did.
"Hmph, how can the results we've worked so hard for be wasted?" Akainu said, a hideous expression on his face. "If so, the sacrifices of Marshal Sengoku and the Marines would be meaningless! I will deal with these heinous people alone!"
Akainu ignored Aokiji and charged toward the Whitebeard commanders.
He's just going to ignore me? My presence is so low! Aokiji thought.
"I said, get out of my way! No matter how hard you pirates try to protect this father and son duo, you cannot hide their criminal identities!" Akainu's cold gaze went past the pirates and landed on a seriously injured Luffy and Dragon behind them. He would have killed them long ago if Jinbe and the Whitebeard leftover commanders hadn't been so protective.
Akainu was furious. They're barely able to protect themselves, but they're acting like security guards for a bunch of strangers? These idiots would give up their comrades for a stranger. Only the Whitebeard Pirates are stupid enough to do that. It's a shame that old man Whitebeard isn't here to see how useless his sons are. Pirates shouldn't exist in this world!
"Let me tell you, there's a limit to how much you can underestimate justice! Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Red Lotus!" Akainu said, as a giant lava dog head took shape and charged toward the captains.
"Damn it, we have to stop him!" "Akainu, you bastard, don't touch Ace's brother!" "Even if we risk our lives, we won't let you succeed!"
The commanders, filled with righteous anger, attacked Akainu, vowing to fight him to the death. But slogans were not enough without strength. Akainu was not like Aokiji, who liked to hold back, or Blackbeard, who used sneak attacks. He was in a league of his own, and he was crushing them. Within minutes, more than half of them were on the ground. The gap in strength was too great.
"You're all so useless. I don't know why Kuzan and Borsalino wasted so much time on you!" Akainu muttered. He felt that after the war, he needed to clean up the Marines. In such an important battle, there were still people holding back. Fleet Admiral Sengoku's death was half their fault.
"Listen to me, all of you! As long as you are a Marine, you can't let go of these heinous pirates!" Akainu yelled. "Even if Admiral Sengoku has died, we must turn our grief into strength and win the final victory for Marine!"
"Long live Justice!"
"Long live Marine!"
Marine's morale soared to the extreme, and their offensive became even more ferocious. The pirates were retreating, on the verge of total collapse.
Suddenly, a trembling voice pleaded, "Please, stop here!"
It was Koby's voice, clear and loud.
"Don't continue to fight! Stop... don't continue to trample on life!" Koby rushed to Akainu with tears in his eyes, opening his arms and trying to block Akainu's attack with his small body.
"We have clearly achieved our goal," he cried. "But we are still chasing pirates who have lost their will to fight, immersed in a battle that should have ended long ago! And those soldiers who could be saved are being ignored on the battlefield. What's the difference between this and not saving them at all? How long will this meaningless slaughter continue? Is this how we treat the brave warriors who charged forward but are now falling?"
The battlefield went silent.
"Hey, is that marine crazy?"
"What is that kid doing?"
"That guy... he looks like Vice Admiral Garp's apprentice!"
Everyone, both Marine and pirate, was shocked by Koby's action.
"It seems something strange has gotten onto the battlefield," Akainu said, his face turning cold. How shameful! This is worse than Squard's betrayal! And he's Garp's apprentice! Have they all rebelled?
Akainu's bloodshot eyes slowly moved down until it found the damn pest on the ground, tears and horror on his face.
"Who the hell gave a piece of trash like you the courage to stand in front of me?!" he bellowed.