With a crisp, glass-like crack—
the Quake-Quake Fruit erupted.
The air around Whitebeard fractured instantly, spiderweb fissures spreading outward as if the world itself were splitting—racing straight toward Kong and Sengoku.
But neither of them backed down.
They charged forward instead—meeting that terrifying, shattering blow head-on.
In the next instant—
BOOOOOM!!
A thunderclap roared across the battlefield, as if the sky had been ripped open.
A brutal shockwave burst from the collision point and slammed outward—
so heavy it forced every Marine below vice-admiral level flat to the ice like insects pinned beneath a mountain.
Even Kong and Sengoku slid back a step, their bodies shaken.
"So strong…!" Sengoku's eyes widened.
He could feel it clearly—
this quake output was far beyond what Whitebeard had shown earlier.
At least… several times stronger.
But Whitebeard—
spat blood.
His gaze dropped to the long blade buried in his abdomen.
Veins bulged across his forehead.
Then his roar shook the air.
"You filthy… ungrateful BRAT!!"
His right arm rose high—
and he reached straight for Squard.
Squard tried to retreat.
Tried to run.
But the moment Whitebeard's hand moved—
Squard's body locked up like it had been nailed in place.
He couldn't even take a single step.
His mind went blank.
I'm dead.
This was the world's strongest man.
At this distance, one hit meant instant death.
Squard squeezed his eyes shut.
He waited.
Then—
a crushing force grabbed him.
His body lifted helplessly—
and he was yanked forward like a doll.
But…
he didn't feel pain.
No bones shattered.
No head snapped off.
Confused, Squard opened his eyes—
and froze.
Whitebeard hadn't punched him.
Hadn't even scolded him again.
Instead—
Whitebeard simply pulled him into his chest.
Squard's face was pressed into Whitebeard's blood-warm coat.
He could feel the heat of the wound he'd caused.
"Old… man…" Squard's voice trembled.
He didn't understand.
Whitebeard's voice came out heavy—rougher than usual.
"When you came onto my ship…"
Squard's pupils shook.
In a flash, he remembered.
The day he first boarded—wasn't this exactly how Whitebeard had held him?
Like a father.
Like shelter.
Tears spilled from Squard's eyes.
Because before this war—
he had struck a deal with the World Government.
He had agreed to become a "needle" in Whitebeard's heart.
He had stabbed, believing it was for vengeance and justice.
But now—
with Whitebeard bleeding… and still not condemning him—
Squard suddenly realized what the word "father" truly meant.
Whitebeard continued, voice low:
"Once you've boarded…"
He released Squard, then threw him backward, away from the front lines.
"…you're my son."
Whitebeard grabbed Murakumogiri and stepped forward.
Blood poured from his wound.
He ignored it.
His eyes sharpened.
And he charged right back into Kong and Sengoku—
but everyone could see it now.
He was hurt.
Even Whitebeard couldn't pretend otherwise.
That next quake strike didn't carry the same overwhelming weight as before.
Far away, Shiki's face twisted when he saw Whitebeard stabbed by his own man.
He cursed out loud—
and moved, instinctively, toward Whitebeard.
He knew the truth:
In this condition, Whitebeard couldn't withstand Kong and Sengoku's joint assault for long.
Shiki deliberately opened a gap—
turned to move—
only for a brutal voice to slam into him.
"Pirate!"
"Don't get distracted in the middle of a fight!"
Garp appeared—like he'd warped through the battlefield.
His fist hummed with Armament Haki, black as forged iron.
He didn't hesitate.
He drove it straight into Shiki's face.
BANG!!
Shiki felt it like being hit by an ancient beast.
His body shot backward uncontrollably.
BOOM!
He smashed into a defensive fortification and embedded himself in it, stone collapsing around him.
Even while his body still tingled and went numb, Shiki sucked in a sharp breath.
This old monster…
Whitebeard, wounded, barely managed to block Kong and Sengoku's combined blow—
but he was still sent flying.
He slid across the ice, leaving a deep groove, blood spraying from his mouth.
He wiped his lips with the back of his hand like it was nothing.
And that's when—
a giant vice admiral charged in.
A giant's shadow swallowed him.
The Marine raised a colossal blade—nearly forty meters long—and brought it down toward Whitebeard without mercy.
Whitebeard's eyes flashed.
"You think you're worth my time?!"
He lifted Murakumogiri and stepped in.
Heat hissed from his breath.
Muscles ballooned across his arm.
His foot slammed the ice—
and the frozen ground shattered beneath him.
"One Man… an Army!"
WHOOSH!
Whitebeard launched upward.
No hesitation.
Murakumogiri dropped like a mountain.
The giant vice admiral was cut down in a blink—his body thrown away like trash.
But it didn't end there.
BOOMBOOMBOOM—!!
The shockwave behind Whitebeard's strike condensed into a blade-like pressure wave.
It ripped across the ice, carving trenches effortlessly—
and continued, straight toward the execution platform.
"Don't let it hit the fortress!" Akainu snapped, turning.
With the Five Elders present, the Marines believed victory was inevitable—
but their mission wasn't only to win.
They had to hold Marineford.
"Of course." Aokiji answered.
"Tch… troublesome." Kizaru chimed in.
The three Admirals moved at once.
In a single blur, they repositioned in front of the execution platform and raised their arms.
Armament Haki surged outward—
not coating skin, but projecting into the air.
A transparent pressure barrier formed like a dome over the fortress.
BOOOOM!!
Whitebeard's pressure wave slammed into their combined defense.
A violent blast of wind detonated outward, throwing Marines and pirates alike into the air like leaves caught in a storm.
Far away—
Rōmu's eyes narrowed as he watched the live feed.
Whitebeard was bleeding heavily.
Shiki and Kaido were locked down.
Even the tide of battle was shifting.
His brow creased.
"How much longer?"
Tesoro checked the golden compass in his hand and answered quickly, respectfully—
"Ten kilometers."
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