When the Whitebeard Pirates opened the live broadcast, a cheer immediately erupted.
Whitebeard, facing the five top-tier Marine combatants, still firmly held the upper hand.
In contrast, the opponents all had varying degrees of injuries.
Aokiji was missing a leg, Akainu had a large transparent hole in his abdomen, and while the others' bodies were relatively intact, they also had many scars.
Due to the den den mushi's angle, only Whitebeard's back could be seen, but there was no doubt he was essentially unharmed.
This bizarre strength made Marco increasingly uneasy; although his father was strong when he was young, he was never this powerful.
So, to acquire such power, he must have paid some price!
As for what price, he had a vague guess in his heart, but he absolutely refused to think in that direction.
In the image, Whitebeard shook his bisento, his voice low: "My foolish sons!"
"Hey! Father is calling us!"
"Nani, nani! Is it a declaration of victory?"
"Having utterly defeated the Marine this time, Father must be eager to show off, right?"
"Hey, Ace! Watch Father's magnificent figure closely. Facing our Whitebeard Pirates, what does a mere Marine count for!"
"Hahaha! Serves them right for daring to execute our brother Ace! See how Father teaches them a lesson!"
The members of the Whitebeard Pirates were in a festive mood, but only Marco looked at the figure on the screen, his unease so profound it seemed to overflow.
The next moment, his ominous premonition came true. Whitebeard's voice came, carrying a sense of relief as if he had come to terms with something.
"My journey ends here. My last Captain's order: all of you are to return safely to the New World immediately!"
The ship instantly fell silent, some people hadn't even had time to retract their smiles and were frozen in place.
And Whitebeard, as if giving his last words, continued: "Nero, this gift of yours was truly terrible, but... arigato."
"I am a remnant of the old era; the New World has no ship that can carry me."
"That's about it."
Whitebeard continued to attack Sengoku and the others, and everyone then noticed his body was transforming back into black mud, slowly melting away from his form.
On his charge, Whitebeard suddenly thought of something and shouted loudly: "One Piece truly exists!"
"Finally, let Marineford be buried with me! Gurararara..."
As Whitebeard launched a wide-area attack, the visual den den mushi was also affected, and the live broadcast was thus interrupted... "Three hours, six times longer than I expected. Newgate, you truly presented me with a perfect performance."
Above the Sky City, Nero retracted her Observation Haki and raised the rose in her hand.
"Farewell, old friend..."
A strong wind swept in, and Nero let go, allowing the crimson rose to be carried away by the wind, scattering and drifting to an unknown destination.
"What a pity, in the end, I never managed to collect your precious beard..."
In Nero's palm, a mass of black and dark-red sludge wriggled irregularly. She clenched her fist, holding it tightly.
When she opened her hand, the sludge seemed to disappear without a trace. Nero's lips curved into a bewitching smile: "Hmm, but I didn't leave completely empty-handed."
Then, above the Sky City, Nero's figure was no longer to be seen.
A blood-red Moon, several times larger than it appeared from the ground, had climbed above the Sky City at some unknown time.
The golden celestial palace was tinged with a bloody hue by this Moonlight, adding a touch of eeriness to the sacred city...
Whitebeard died, just as he said, Marineford became his graveyard, sleeping with him in the great sea.
After the visual den den mushi failed, an unexpected person also appeared here.
Blackbeard Marshall D. Teach!
This man, who was considered the mastermind behind this series of events, brought a group of prisoners who had escaped from Impel Down, seemingly intending to seize Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability.
Unfortunately, he was scared out of his wits by the rejuvenated Whitebeard and was struck out during Whitebeard's final wide-area attack.
In front of Whitebeard, whose body was half-melted, Teach tried to grasp the last sliver of hope, foolishly attempting to seize his Devil Fruit ability.
For the first time, standing opposite him, he felt the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
And Whitebeard, having unleashed this final attack, could no longer hold on, dissolving into a puddle of sludge on the ground.
"Kishishishi! You old geezer! Even at the very end, you wouldn't hand over the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power to me?!" Teach angrily scrambled up from the ground.
There was still a massive wound on his chest, running from his left shoulder to his right abdomen, but Teach paid no attention, glaring fiercely at the puddle of sludge and cursing unwillingly.
"Murufufufu, it seems the plan failed, Captain!" Crescent Moon Hunter Katarina Devon chuckled, looking at her fingernails like an outsider watching a show.
"Captain? If the plan failed, that might not be the case anymore..." Shiliew took a puff from his cigar, his hand resting on his sword.
Most of the other Blackbeard Pirates members did not speak, but their eyes began to become meaningful.
They had just escaped from prison, attracted by the beautiful future painted by Teach's ambition, and could only be considered a rabble.
Although powerful, precisely because of this, none of them would wholeheartedly stand by Teach until the plan succeeded.
The so-called seizure of Whitebeard's Devil Fruit ability was also a test for Teach, and it now seemed that Teach had failed.
"Kusou! Kusou! Kusou!!!" Teach was not unaware of the others' gazes, but his anger at Whitebeard at that moment left him no time to bother with anything else.
"Borsalino, Garp, you two come with me to apprehend Teach!" Sengoku called out to the two, as they were the only three top-tier Marine combatants still relatively intact.
"Kowai ne, Whitebeard's son, is he called Blackbeard?" Borsalino put his hands back in his pockets.
"I still have the strength to Teach a few ruffians a lesson," Garp also clenched his fist.
Meanwhile, the medics ignored Blackbeard and his crew, carefully placing Kuzan and Sakazuki onto stretchers.
"You bastards! Kishishishi!" Black aura, like flames, Entanglement around Teach's hand.
[Dark Vortex!]
He didn't attack the Marine; he first devoured the puddle of black mud that Whitebeard had turned into.
There was no choice; it was time to go all out, but with only the Dark-Dark Fruit's ability, even escaping would be difficult.
It seemed someone would have to cover his retreat. Teach's Observation Haki swept over his crew members...
The positions of these scoundrels suggested they had the same idea.
It was every man for himself. Teach still didn't panic.
Damn it! If I can't outrun the Marine, can't I outrun you guys?
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