"Not good!"
Marco immediately gathered his Undying Flames and raised them in front of himself.
But the attack coming toward him was a punch from Monkey D. Garp the man widely regarded as possessing the strongest Armament Haki in the world.
"Bang!"
With a single punch, Marco's body was blown apart.
Not even a trace of flame remained in the air.
"Cough!"
"Cough, cough!"
In the next moment, Marco reappeared on the ground.
Blood spilled from his mouth, and his face had turned deathly pale.
Garp's punch had not killed him, but that was only barely the case.
Fortunately, Marco possessed the powers of the Phoenix.
As long as he wasn't dead, he could recover.
Blue and orange flames gradually enveloped his body.
The injuries covering him slowly vanished as the flames regenerated him.
When Marco finally recovered, he looked up at Garp with a grave expression.
"As expected of a man even the old man calls a rival. That strength might be even more terrifying than his."
The battlefield had now completely descended into chaos.
Marines and pirates were fully entangled in combat.
Marco's surprise rescue attempt had failed, and the Marines erupted into cheers.
Garp stood before the execution platform and looked at Portgas D. Ace with a complicated expression.
"Ace…"
There were countless things Garp wanted to say.
He wanted to scold this troublesome grandson.
He wanted to save this troublesome grandson.
He even wanted to simply hold him in his arms.
But when the words reached his lips, nothing came out.
"Grandpa…"
Ace lowered his head, unable to look Garp in the eye.
In his twenty years of life, Ace felt he had never truly wronged anyone.
Except Garp.
The old man who had protected him, allowed him to live, and given him a childhood filled with laughter.
That was someone Ace could never forget.
At that moment, Ace couldn't help but imagine another possibility.
If he had not been so stubborn back then…
If he had chosen to become a Marine instead…
Perhaps everything would have turned out differently.
At the very least...at the very least, the old man standing before him would have been happy.
And the brothers of the Whitebeard Pirates would not have had to risk their lives because of him.
"I was wrong…"
Ace's voice trembled.
"...Sigh."
Monkey D. Garp let out a long sigh.
For the first time, the legendary Marine who had dominated the seas looked old.
This man who had fought countless battles and whose strength had never faded with time now showed a trace of weariness.
"I won't let you be rescued so easily."
The words sounded harsh.
But the moment he finished speaking, Garp quickly turned away.
He did not give Ace the chance to look at him any longer.
In the blink of an eye, he had returned to the Admiral platform.
Walking to the center seat the position where Sakazuki had been sitting Garp calmly sat down.
Even though Admirals were already fighting on the battlefield, Garp sat there leisurely, just like Sengoku.
He looked as though he had no intention of joining the battle anytime soon.
And yet…
His official rank was only Vice Admiral.
If it were anyone else, each of these actions alone would have been enough to warrant severe punishment.
But because it was Garp…
Everything somehow seemed completely reasonable.
Marco stared at Garp sitting on the Admiral platform.
"There's something terrifying about you."
His expression was serious.
"Are all the old legends from the previous generation this strong?"
"Instead of worrying about the previous generation…"
A voice interrupted him.
"Shouldn't you be more concerned about us right now?"
In the next instant—
A golden beam pierced straight through Marco's body.
The attack came from Borsalino.
The laser left a clean hole through Marco's chest.
But less than a second later, the wound regenerated completely even though it had pierced his heart.
Marco sighed.
"Still as dangerous as ever."
He turned to look at Kizaru.
"You're an Admiral, yet you're launching sneak attacks from behind. Aren't you worried about your reputation?"
Kizaru shrugged indifferently.
"You say that like it matters."
"Everything is for justice."
"Kill!"
"Kill! Kill!"
At that moment, reinforcements finally arrived.
The allied forces under Whitebeard surged forward.
Pirates from the forty-three subordinate crews, along with warriors from islands and nations protected by Whitebeard, stormed onto the battlefield.
Figures such as Squard the Great Whirlpool Spider and Whitey Bay quickly reached Whitebeard's side.
"Old man!"
Although the Whitebeard Pirates possessed overwhelming momentum, their core crew numbered only about sixteen hundred people.
Facing them were one hundred and fifty thousand elite Marines.
Marco and Jozu were busy holding back Kizaru and Kuzan.
The other division commanders and vice commanders were locked in battle with Marine Vice Admirals and the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
No one had the freedom to support the rest of the battlefield.
Even though each pirate could fight ten Marines alone, once their initial momentum faded, the battle gradually turned into a grueling struggle.
That was why the arrival of the allied fleets at this moment…
Came at exactly the right time.
The reinforcements arrived at the perfect moment.
Just as the Whitebeard Pirates were about to be surrounded by the Marines, new forces poured into the battlefield and restored their momentum.
For a moment, the balance of the war stabilized again.
On the Marine side stood one hundred and fifty thousand elite soldiers, hundreds of Rear Admirals and Vice Admirals, dozens of elite Vice Admirals, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and two Admirals.
On the pirate side were more than fifty thousand fighters, nearly a hundred powerful warriors from the New World, fifteen vice-commanders, and fourteen division commanders.
The battlefield fell back into a fierce stalemate.
In terms of raw strength, the Whitebeard alliance was still weaker than the Marines.
And they were fighting directly at Marine Headquarters.
Yet despite that disadvantage, the Whitebeard forces were slowly pushing forward.
It almost looked as if the defenses of Marineford might actually be broken.
"You're still here?"
Edward Newgate glanced toward the figure beside him.
Standing there was Squard.
Whitebeard looked puzzled.
"Why aren't you fighting?"
"Old man… the thing is…"
Squard's expression looked strange.
But Whitebeard trusted his own men completely.
He did not suspect anything.
Squard slowly walked closer to him.
Whitebeard had already turned his gaze back toward the battlefield.
"I have a question."
"Go ahead," Whitebeard replied casually.
"We brought so many brothers here just to rescue Ace."
"During this battle, who knows how many people will die."
"Is it really worth it?"
Whitebeard did not seem surprised by the question.
He didn't even turn around.
"Of course it's worth it."
"We stand in the New World because of our strength… and because our crew believes in each other."
"Even if Ace weren't captured…"
"Even if it were just some pirate I had never met before… as long as he was one of my men, I would fight the Marines for him."
Whitebeard hadn't finished speaking.
Suddenly
Pain exploded in his chest.
A blade pierced straight through his body.
The tip of the sword emerged from his chest, entering Whitebeard's own line of sight.
For a moment, the battlefield seemed to freeze.
Whitebeard slowly looked down at the blade.
Behind him stood Squard.
The man immediately staggered backward in panic after striking.
"You liar!"
Squard shouted, his voice shaking with fear.
"You betrayed us!"
"You sacrificed all of us just to save Ace!"
"Sakazuki already told me everything about your secret deal with the Marines!"
The blade remained buried in Whitebeard's chest.
And the entire battlefield fell into stunned silence.
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