…so here I am, flying through the air in a paw-shaped bubble, writing this letter to you. I see Impel Down on the horizon. I'll send a letter soon before I enter the jail and another one if I succeed. If I don't send one in three days after that. Just assume the worst.
Sorry for the lame ending of this letter, but I'll come back. Don't worry.
Talk to you soon,
Itachi
Keoni put the letter down and looked out to the sea in front of her. He promises her that he'll stay safe and then in this stupid letter literally tells her that he's doing something beyond incredibly dangerous! What kind of reasoning was that!
"Stupid Itachi. He may be a genius but there's definitely something wrong in that head of his."
She wanted to send him a letter back, but it would be a while before she was back home. She looked at the pile of swords next to her that still needed to be coated. When Makani had told her it was going to be a big order, she hadn't expected just the sheer number of swords that they were to coat, but money was money and she had a job to do.
A crow landed right next to her, looking at her curiously.
Someone behind her saw the crow as well and called out.
"Yo, Pops! Itachi sent a crow-yoi."
"Gurarara. I bet he wants to know what we're going to do with this execution. Brat was always on top of things, even if he's half a world away."
Keoni perked up at the mention of Itachi. She never knew that he could control crows! How cool! She wanted to listen to them some more and hear what Itachi had sent them, but she had already used up her break time. She sat back down at her temporary workbench and proceeded to finish coating swords for the Whitebeard Pirates on their ship the Moby Dick.
"The Marines have captured Ace, Itachi-yoi. Marshall D. Teach defected from us, killing Thatch over a Devil Fruit. Ace took responsibility for Teach's actions and took off after him to avenge. Pops tried to warn him off of doing it. Said something that he had a bad feeling about it, but you know how Ace is, so he took off after Teach anyways-yoi."
"Itachi, I'm surprised to receive this kind of note so late. I remember that you seemed to have some rather interesting ways to collect information, but no matter. I remember what you've told me about your stance on war, but the life of one of my sons has been threatened. There is no other solution but all out war. They know not to mess with my family, yet they go ahead and announce it to the whole world. I regret to force this on you, but will you come to Marineford the day of the planned execution? You are one of my most powerful commanders, and it would ease my mind greatly to have you there with us."
"Hear that, Itachi-yoi? Pops is askin', so you better be there. We'll be heading to the Sabaody Archipelago to get the Moby Dick coated. We're going to sail right into Marineford's harbor under their noses. We've called the assistance of 43 other crews. With Ace's life on the line, we're not holding anything back-yoi. See ya there, brotha."
Itachi stroked the head of the crow. When he had left Level 6 of Impel Down, the crow had landed on his shoulder ready to deliver Whitebeard's message to him. He had seen Keoni in the crow's memory and that had him very concerned for her safety. If Whitebeard was going to go through with his plans, then that would put Keoni in the middle of a battlefield.
It would put her in danger.
His heart clenched uncomfortably at the thought of her getting hurt. If she was caught helping the Whitebeard Pirates, it would put her under the scrutiny of the World Government.
He looked down at the two sleeping forms next to him. Ace and Sabo were looking much better than when he had first found them. Even if Whitebeard knew that Ace wasn't in danger anymore, he would still attack Marineford. He had been hoping that there would be some wiggle room in regards to the war, but Whitebeard was going to go through with it for the principle of the matter.
He wouldn't know either way. Itachi's crow couldn't fly faster than the speed they had been sailing at and even now, it wouldn't reach Whitebeard until after he had appeared in Marineford's bay. Of course, it wouldn't be the real Ace or Sabo that was going to be executed, but rather a pair of rather sturdy Earth Clones that Itachi had created in the pair's place. He wasn't sure if the prisoners would blab to Magellan if he happened to visit before he was supposed to take the pair to be transferred to a Marine convoy, so he had just made it look like that he came there to feed and heal them only to brutally lock them back up. He'd sealed Ace and Sabo in a scroll when he had been sealing all his cooking supplies back up and in the cover of the smoke and quickly created the Earth Clones in their place. He had thought up of the idea when he had finished healing Sabo and had created a clone to sit in the corner of the cell and draw up a seal that would increase the durability and realness of the clones.
The clone had really outdone itself. The seal was a beast, loosely based on their idea of the Impure World Reincarnation, but it would fool literally everyone. With a few locks of hair from Ace and Sabo, the seals were keyed to their DNA and once they entered the clones, the clones would walk, talk and act just like the originals, just without their abilities. Since the clones were technically copies of Itachi, they would be able to fight just like him, so he didn't worry at all about their fighting ability. Plus they wouldn't "die" unless the seal was destroyed, so even if the execution spears pierced their bodies or they were shot in the head or even decapitated, they wouldn't die. Their forms would have to be completely destroyed for the seal to be destroyed, so either Aokiji had to freeze them over and break them or Akainu would have to melt them.
It was quite overpowered and unfair to the Marines, but he didn't care.
They had already left the Tarai Current that connected Impel Down to Marineford and were still a ways from Marineford. Itachi had gotten as close as he could to the Gates of Justice before he deemed the whirlpools that surrounded it was too dangerous for even him to navigate. He had sealed Ace and Sabo (rather unwillingly) into a scroll, before sealing his ever-trusty Konoha. From there, he walked off of the Tarai Current until he found an area of stable sea, where he had unsealed his ship and then his little brothers. They had complained about it being dark and musty, but Itachi only smiled at them.
They just had to suck it up. As the eldest, he had supreme authority over them and nothing they said could change that.
Sucks to suck, doesn't it?
They were close to Marineford. Ace was back to full strength, and Sabo was well enough that he didn't need the bandages around his chest, but Itachi had firmly reminded him that anything strenuous would crack them again. His arm was still in the splint. Bones don't regrow overnight unless your name is Brook.
Sabo had only nodded his understanding while Ace poked fun at him.
"Imagine not being able to make a cool entrance cause of an injury, Sabo. Couldn't be me! HAHAHAHA!"
"Not my fault that my arm got broken, Ace!"
"Then maybe next time grow stronger bon- guh!"
Itachi had flicked Ace's forehead, "Be nice. We're almost there."
Ace rubbed his forehead while Sabo looked smugly at him.
You deserved it, prick.
Ace glared back at him.
I'll show you something deserving, punk!
He made a finger gun at Sabo ready to fire a small flame at him, but Itachi, who's back was still turned to them, interrupted him again.
"If you do that, Ace, I'll hit you with something worse than a flick."
Ace's face blanched at the statements, memories of Itachi's "punishments" from years previous making their way to the forefront of his mind. He settled down quietly.
Sabo poked his tongue out at Ace, but a fist instantly knocked his face into the wooden planks of the boat.
"Whatever I say to Ace applies to you too, Sabo. Don't think that just because you became my little brother five days ago that you'll get preferential treatment."
Sabo rubbed his nose painfully, "Sobby Itagi."
"Now is not the time for squabbling. Those clones have three hours before they're supposed to be executed. We'll get there but the fighting will have already started."
"That's what they call fashionably late, right? Sabo quipped.
Itachi smiled.
"More like a Dynamic Entry."
Whitebeard stood and watched in amusement as Straw Hat charged recklessly at the three admirals. The kid sure had guts, but as he was right now, it would only get him killed.
Squard walked up next to him.
"The rear's being hit quite hard by those cyborgs."
Whitebeard nodded, "Nothing we can do. We must charge forward."
Squard pulled out his sword, "We all owe a great debt to you. For the Whitebeard Pirates, we would all gladly give our lives."
He pivoted on the spot, intent on stabbing Whitebeard through the chest. He didn't expect it to work, but Akainu's words still bounced inside his head.
"He betrayed you all to save himself."
His sword shattered before it reached Whitebeard.
"Now now. That wouldn't be very gentlemanly of you would it?"
The massive line of Pacifistas continued to step forward, the attacks of the pirates trying to halt their march doing nothing.
"FALL BACK! WE CAN'T MAKE A SCRATCH ON 'EM! THEY'RE TOO TOUGH!"
Pirates began to fall back in droves, the Pacifistas shooting out an endless onslaught of lasers.
"HIKEN!"
A massive ball of fire careened past the fleeing pirates slamming into the line of cyborgs, destroying them on the spot with its explosive power.
The pirates looked in shock at the very familiar attack. Someone walked out of the smoke causing their eyes to bug out.
But how? Wasn't he supposed to be shackled to the execution platform?
"Yo! Seems like you guys missed me!"
Luffy looked ahead, the unconscious bodies of marines littering the ground around him from his burst of Conquerors.
The events happening behind Luffy were none of his concern. He focused solely on the platform in front of him, blocked by three of the strongest marines. He didn't care. He had to get to the platform. Not only was Ace there, but so was Sabo. Sabo was alive and he hadn't even known! He had to save them!
Ring
He whipped the massive mast at Aokiji.
Ring
The admiral froze it.
Ring
He jumped up into the air, "GUM GUM STAMP GATLING!"
Ring
The frozen chunks of mast only passed through the admirals' bodies, not at all hurting them. Luffy took a stance, ready to enter Gear Second.
Ring
"WHAT'S THAT ANNOYING RINGING SOUND!"
A hand clapped onto his shoulder.
"That would be me, captain."
Luffy slowly turned to the voice, disbelief in his eyes.
"ITACHI!"
"Who are you?" Squard asked.
"The name's Sabo, and I can't have you attacking my brother's captain. It's in bad taste ya'know? Also, would either of you happen to know where I could find a Keoni? My brothers askin'."
"ACE!"
Another wall of flame exploded against the line of Pacifistas.
"Damn, why I gotta be in the back. Front's where all the action is. Damn Itachi, but I guess it'll make my real entrance a bit more… What was the term Buggy used? Flashy! That's the word. It'll make my entrance a bit more flashy!"
Itachi smiled down at his captain's tired face.
"Don't worry, Luffy. I'm here now."
Tears of relief and joy streamed down Luffy's face. His friend was here!
"Ace and Sabo! We have to save them! They're on the execution platform! We have to save them before they get killed!"
Itachi kept the knowing smile on his face, "Them? Killed? I wouldn't know about that. I just left them a few minutes ago, raging around behind us. Those guys up on the platform? Those aren't them."
The admirals' eyes widened in surprise at Itachi's statement as Sengoku's voice boomed out.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"
Everyone turned to look at the Fleet Admiral to see what had him cry out like that only for their eyes to bug out.
On the execution platform were Ace and Sabo free from their restraints, wielding the execution spears taken from the fallen forms of their executioners.
The same questions went through everyone's heads: How did they get free?
Whitebeard's laugh boomed out over the battlefield.
"GURARARARA! Itachi did that you say! What a devious son I seem to have taken on! Gurararara!"
He addressed Sengoku, "It seems like there wasn't just one breakout at Impel Down recently. There were actually two! Gurarara!"
A vein popped in Sengoku's forehead, "What do you mean by that, Whitebeard?"
"It means that someone already broke us out of your shitty jail!" Ace yelled out as he jumped up next to Whitebeard.
Everyone's eyes bugged out at the sight of this Ace. There were two of them now?!
"WHO? WHO BROKE INTO IMPEL DOWN WITHOUT US EVEN BEING ALERTED!"
Sengoku had transformed into his Golden Buddha form in his anger, ready to bring justice down on the guilty individual's head.
"Ah, that would be me. I broke both of them out five days ago." Came the simple reply from Itachi.
"FIVE DAYS AGO?"
The statement shocked everyone on the battlefield as well as everyone watching. Fire Fist Ace and Sabo the Revolutionary had been free for five days?
Sengoku jumped off the platform aiming a massive punch at Itachi.
"I'LL TEACH YOU TO MESS WITH THE MARINES, PUNK!"
The two Earth Clones jumped off the platform as well, ready to join the battle, leaving Garp bewildered all by himself on the platform.
Itachi picked up Luffy's tired form and jumped back, avoiding the attack.
Whitebeard's voice called out over the din of fighting, "THIS IS NO LONGER A FIGHT TO SAVE ACE! THIS IS A FIGHT OF MIGHT! LET'S SHOW 'EM WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY MESS WITH THE WHITEBEARD PIRATES!"
A roar of agreement rose from the pirates and they clashed with the marines with renewed vigor. Whitebeard and Ace jumped off the boat, grins on their faces.
Sengoku stomped forward, the admirals flanking him.
"This ends now, Whitebeard."
"I couldn't agree more, Sengoku."
Whitebeard threw an air-shattering punch in front of him. Sengoku responded in kind with a punch of his own. The two shockwaves met in the middle of the plaza, the resulting explosion cracking the ground between them.
Itachi continuously dashed back towards the bay, before jumping onto the Moby Dick. He found Sabo standing on the aftcastle next to Keoni. He gently placed Luffy down before engulfing Keoni in a massive hug, relieved to see that she had been unharmed. He had seen the destruction of one of the other boats and had feared the worst.
"I'm glad you're safe, Keoni."
She blushed deeply at the action, her heart beating erratically at just how close Itachi was. Her arms gently wrapped around him as she gently inhaled his scent.
He smelt of charcoal and of the salt from the sea.
She melted into his embrace with a soft sigh, "Of course I'm safe you dummy."
He stroked the back of her head, "Yeah, I assumed so, but I couldn't help but worry."
Her heart fluttered at those words.
Sabo watched the interaction with a knowing glint in his eyes, a playful smile on his lips. He walked away to watch the battle with a cheeky parting comment.
"I'll give you two lovebirds some space."
If Keoni could blush anymore, she'd look like a tomato. She tried to pull away to cover her face in embarrassment, but Itachi just tightened his grip around her, not wanting her to see the light dusting of red that had bloomed on his cheeks.
Fighting down the blood in his cheeks, he held her out by her shoulders, an awkward silence between them.
"I'm going to go..." he pointed at the fighting behind him.
"Yeah! Yeah! Sure! I totally understand! Go and beat up those...bad gu- I mean marines. Go beat up those marines!"
Itachi shuffled to the edge of the boat, "Yeah… I'll just be...going... to fight…"
"Yup. Yeah. Go do that. Bash some heads in…" She replied back lamely.
"Itachi!" She called out walking up to him. As he turned to look at her, she steeled herself, a massive blush on her face, before leaning up and planting a chaste kiss on his lips.
He jumped off the boat. She stared as he landed on the sheet of ice below . They were both thinking the same thing.
"God, that was so awkward!"
Keoni looked down at Luffy's exhausted form, weakly trying to push himself back up.
"This must be Itachi's captain, Luffy. He's much smaller than I imagined."
And somehow, Itachi had the most romantic, but most awkward interaction he had ever had in his life during the most pivotal war of the current era.
Truly a romantic genius this one.
Pushing his embarrassment to the back of his head, Itachi dived straight into the raging battle.
Fuyukokyo sliced through marines left and right. Waves of shuriken and kunai flew from his hands, finding their marks, biting deep into their necks.
With just his sword and his ninja weapons, Itachi wrought a storm of death and destruction onto the marines, cutting through their numbers in large swaths. They couldn't touch him. He had defeated an admiral. They would need to do better than this before he even broke a sweat.
The same could be said with the marines. Most of the pirates were repelled by the large number of Vice-Admirals that were on the battlefield as well as the number of other exceptional lower-ranked marines such as White Chase Smoker or Black Cage Hina. Aokiji, Akianu, and Kizaru were also tearing through the ranks of the opposing pirates, freezing, melting, and piercing anyone that got in their way. Only some of the commanders, Itachi included, and Whitebeard could fight them.
A flash of black steel brought Itachi to a halt. He blocked the slash with his own sword. Meeting the eyes of his attacker, he grinned when he saw the piercing stare of Dracule Mihawk.
"And we meet again, Hawk-Eye."
"We do indeed, although I would prefer a less crowded area to have our duel."
Their swords swung back only to meet again. Yoru let out a velvety purr, while Fuyukokyo sniffed frigidly.
"We don't always get what we want. I think Sengoku is the spitting image of that right now."
Mihawk let out a light chuckle as he shot a glance at the Fleet Admiral's furious visage trading blows with Whitebeard. Itachi had really thrown a wrench in his plans, more so than Whitebeard had when he had destroyed the warships outside the harbor entrance.
He let out a vicious slash at Itachi but he easily sidestepped it, the resulting wave of air cutting through the plaza and knocking back both pirates and marines. If one were to look around the plaza, they would see that all of the other Warlords, sans Kuma, attacked without regard for who they hit. Pirate and marine alike fell before them.
Itachi and Mihwak exchanged another flurry of blows, almost imperceptible to the eye. Before they could cross blades again, Itachi dashed backwards, throwing a trio of shuriken at the strings he had noticed making their way to him.
He looked at the offender, who had a manic grin on his face.
"I would very much appreciate keeping full control of my body, Joker."
The flamboyantly dressed man only laughed.
"I just couldn't help myself. This war is just too fun! I wanted to see if I could get a chance to play with you while you were distracted with Mr. Doom and Gloom over there, but it seems the rumors are true about you. Nothing escapes those interesting eyes of yours."
He dodged the kunai that was thrown his way.
"Hey, is it true that you beat big old yellow over there?"
He pointed at Kizaru, causing the pirates and marines surrounding them to step back in surprise.
This man had defeated an admiral?
A large presence stepped up behind Itachi, "Kishishishi! He defeated my strongest zombie as well. I'm quite sure given some more time, he would've done me in if it weren't for his captain."
Everyone else backed away from the confrontation. Itachi was boxed in on three sides by three very powerful individuals.
Mihawk took a stance, "It appears that we will be unable to finish our duel, Itachi. Hopefully, you are able to live through this."
He replied, "Hopefully you are the ones to live through this."
Doflamingo and Moria grinned down at Itachi in gleeful anticipation.
Itachi stomped on the ground causing three pillars of earth to shoot out of the ground, aiming to hit the chins of three Warlords. It wasn't a serious attack, just something to give him some room and as expected they all jumped back to evade that attack.
Fire began to flow from Itachi's body surrounding him in a sea of spinning flames as the Eternal Mangekyo swirled into existence in his eyes. He would show them who was the real master of fire on this battlefield and it wasn't Ace. There would be no technique calling here. It wouldn't be needed.
Black flames formed within the flames coming out of Itachi's body, and he stood there surrounded by the raging inferno.
The earthen pillars crumbled and the three Warlords attacked Itachi. He parried Mihawk's slash while sweeping out a torrent of fire towards Moria's Doppleman with his leg. The black flames of Amaterasu made sure that Doflamingo's strings couldn't even get close to Itachi. Coating his greatsword in wind chakra, he cut straight through the Doppleman, landing a large cut across Moria's chest. Flames sprouted on the giant man's chest causing him to howl in pain. Itachi followed through the slash with a twisting overhead cut, shearing through the spear of strings that Doflamingo had sent his way, followed by a fluidly connected side step and upwards slash, blocking Mihawk's next attack.
The razor-sharp edge of the wind coating Itachi's sword slightly nicked Yoru's edge causing Mihawk to narrow his eyes. Very few things in the world could cut a Black Blade. He imbued Yoru with Armament Haki. He had been a bit too lax in this fight as Itachi was no longer fighting him as a swordsman but as an enemy. Nothing was to be held back.
With Moria out of the picture already (he had truly gone soft during his time in the Florian Triangle), Mihawk had more room to unleash more devastating attacks. Even though three Warlords had been attacking Itachi, they kept getting in each other's way, more or less hindering each other's attempts to land a better attack on Itachi's fiery form.
Doflamingo launched several more string attacks at Itachi, but they were easily eaten by the hungry flames of Amaterasu. He grinned even fiercer at the action.
"Those flames of yours are pretty hot, Uchiha. My strings are nigh indestructible, but they just seem to disintegrate the second they touch that black fire."
Itachi only gave him a passive look.
"Don't get burned then."
And then a massive vortex of flames was crashing down on the Warlord, his web of strings barely protecting him from the overbearing heat. He was able to jump away before the black flames consumed his string defense entirely, but not unscathed. His fluffy pink feather coat caught fire, the black flames burning the cloth in an instant, singeing the skin on his arm. It forced Doflamingo to hastily discard the garment lest he suffer more burns.
Covering his leg with Haki-coated strings he launched a kick at Itachi the same time that Mihawk slashed. Their attacks went right through Itachi's body, which erupted into a pillar of flame. Mihawk was easily able to buffer the flames coming at him with another slash, while the other Warlord disposed of the burning strings wrapping his legs.
Numerous balls of fire fired out of the pillar of flame and homed in on the two pirates with extreme speed. They both spotted the shuriken spinning inside of them. Mihawk swung into the air, releasing a massive blast of pressurized air, while Doflamingo attached strings to the shuriken. Both men had assumed that the projectiles were thrown and thus could be blocked, but unknown to them was that Itachi was still controlling them with his chakra. The flames that had engulfed the shuriken, raced down the strings that connected to Doflamingo's fingers and before he could disconnect the strings, the flames slammed into his hands with explosive force, sending him flying back with blackened hands. The slash of air that Mihawk had sent at the projectiles hadn't deterred them in the slightest but had instead fueled their flames. He scowled at the failed attempt to push them off their trajectory and took a stance ready to deflect them only to immediately jump up into the air.
Itachi burst out of the ground underneath him with a kunai aimed straight for Mihawk's throat. The Warlord was able to dodge it, but it still cut his jaw. He began to swing down at Itachi, but doing so allowed Itachi to direct his flaming spheres at Mihawk's back. In a show of extreme acrobatic skill, the swordsman twisted in midair and used his great blade to bat the projectiles into the ground. He unfortunately missed the last two, which embedded themselves into his shoulder and his upper arm as he finished the twist only for Itachi's leg to slam into his other shoulder to continue the assault.
Mihawk was launched at the ground as the two flaming shuriken stuck in his body exploded. He had fortified the area with Armament Haki, but the resulting shockwave still rattled his brain. He slammed into the ground.
Everyone looked on in shock as three Warlords were brought down in quick succession. Although Mihawk stood up from the crater he had made, Moria lay on the ground half of his body burnt and everyone had seen Doflamingo take serious damage to his hands.
Itachi landed back on the ground only to immediately blow out a massive vortex of wind from his mouth, feeding it into his fire. A massive tornado of flames formed to meet the giant pheasant-shaped block of ice that had been heading his way. The intense heat of the spinning inferno melted the ice attack into water and then continued forward, blazing through the marines in front of Itachi.
Aokiji stood in front of Itachi, a kick aimed at his torso. He jumped over it, but then a light-enhanced kick slammed full force into his exposed midriff and sent him flying away towards Akainu's molten fist.
Kizaru sped away, not giving Itachi any respite. Aokiji stayed to give Mihawk one order before he jumped away towards Itachi's location as well.
"You are not to engage with that man. Continue to hold off the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates while we deal with him."
Mihawk only scowled at the command before picking up his sword and violently cleaving through cannon fodder, clearly annoyed to have been denied such a thrilling fight.
Itachi saw the molten fist that awaited him at the other end of the plaza and he activated his Armored Susanoo instantly.
Twisting his body around, he slammed the Yata Mirror with full force against Akainu's massive fist of magma. The admiral grunted with the weight of the attack, his feet sliding back a bit. Itachi smoothly followed up with a sword slash, cutting off the admiral's molten arm at the elbow. It didn't hurt the man, but it caused the massive fist to lose form instantly. He turned on the spot blocking Kizaru's light sword but grunted when a spear of ice pierced through his Susanoo's armor.
"Seems like I've attracted quite the crowd," he commented dryly.
"You are an extreme threat that needs to be eliminated. You have survived three encounters with an admiral and come out alive, one of which you defeated," Akainu spat out. "We will not be taking any chances with you."
"You've escaped me twice now, Uchiha Itachi. You will not escape a third."
"~Woooooooo. Really toooook me by surprise on Sabaody, miiiiiiiiiister. I'll maaaaaake suuuure you dooon't leave heeeere.~"
Kizaru tried to play it off, but Itachi could tell that the admiral was still feeling the effects of Tsukuyomi. His heart rate had increased at the sight of Itachi. His hands had a slight tremble to them and a new set of creases on his face made him look far older than he should've. It was still impressive. Lesser men would still be bedridden.
Itachi stood ready, "I'm sorry to disappoint then, but what you think will happen won't happen. Always expect the unexpected."
He pivoted on his heel, catching Akainu on the jaw with a Haki-infused roundhouse kick.
Greedy eyes watched the battle rage beneath them.
"Captain, I spotted Straw Hat Luffy, Sabo the Revolutionary, and some random girl on the Moby Dick. The girl seems to have some sort of relation to Uchiha Itachi, the one who just went toe to toe with three Warlords and is now currently fighting all three admirals."
"Oh he seems real strong! I want to fight him!"
"He's a Straw Hat if I remember correctly. That means Straw Hat Luffy is his captain."
"Zehahaha! I have an idea."
Itachi was purely on the defensive. Three admirals were by far the most challenging thing he had ever fought in his life. The admirals' teamwork was much better than the three Warlords he had faced and as such, he had no room to attack. He would block two of them with the Yata Mirror and the Sword of Totsuka, and the third one he would block with his greatsword. He couldn't keep this up forever though, his limited pool of Haki was almost empty. When he would try and retaliate, they would attack again and he was forced to defend. What made matters worse was that they fought him with their eyes closed, using Observation to duck and dodge around him, while simultaneously launching attacks at him. So despite the fact that he had been injecting chakra into their systems each time they touched his Susanoo, he couldn't put any of them under Tsukuyomi.
The surrounding environment was a large mixture of molten rock, sheets of ice and scorch marks. The surrounding marines gave them a wide berth not at all eager to be caught in the crossfire between the three admiral's attacks just as much as they were in awe that this one man had held out for so long against the constant onslaught the admirals threw at him.
Whitebeard had tried to move to help his isolated commander, but both Sengoku and Garp had gotten in his way, preventing him from moving any further. Other commanders tried to get to Itachi as well, but the combined efforts of the Vice-Admirals and the remaining Warlords were able to keep them occupied.
Marco had been the closest in aiding Itachi, but the presence of Kuma and Kizaru quickly repelled him.
All of a sudden, a gross, dark feeling flooded the battlefield followed by a cry for help.
"Help! Luffy's being taken away! Ace! Itachi! Anyone!"
Itachi turned, his heart squeezing fearfully, to see Luffy floating through the air weakly struggling to escape whatever was pulling him while Keoni was desperately gripping onto his shoulders in an attempt to ground him.
"What is the at stupid girl doing? She's going to get herself killed!"
Akainu, opening his eyes to view the spectacle as well, grinned, "The son of Dragon. Unable to move and unable to escape. Now is the perfect chance to rid this world of that sinful blood."
He jumped high into the air, his fist turning into red hot magma.
Itachi made to follow after him, but Aokiji and Kizaru blocked his path. Looking behind them, he could see Ace using his fire to boost himself towards Luffy. Itachi sweeped his weapons around in a circular motion, the admirals dodging out of the way as he flared his chakra. In an instant, the two admirals were engaged in combat with the fake Ace and the fake Sabo, Itachi already gone to chase after Luffy and Keoni.
"LET GO OF MY BROTHER, TEACH YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"
Ace was propelling himself upwards towards Luffy and the white-haired girl that clung to his shoulders. He had seen Admiral Akainu jump up towards Luffy as well. He had to do something before the marine could carry out any sort of his "Absolute Justice" on Luffy.
He flew next to Luffy and the girl, trying to figure out just where Teach was hiding. If he could pinpoint the traitor's location he could throw something at the man to disrupt him.
Akainu was coming close. He began to desperately throw attacks in the general direction that Luffy was being pulled to, but they were all aimed too low, missing the Blackbeard Pirates by a long shot.
Ace cursed. Akainu was almost on top of them.
"I'll rid this world of your disgusting blood! Son of Roger and Son of Dragon! You will both die right here!"
"Shut yer trap! Like hell I'll let you touch my little brother!"
Ace prepared to launch himself at Akainu.
"Alright. I can do this. I have seven left. I have to protect Itachi's little brothers! I have to do this!"
Itachi tried desperately to catch up to Akainu, but the man had been able to get a headstart and was almost on top of the trio. He had Body Flickered to the location directly under the three and jumped straight up at them.
It wasn't enough. Akainu was closer.
That fist of bubbling, molten, fiery was so close.
It was too close.
No. No. NO!
He would kill them all!
But Itachi couldn't get close enough. He couldn't substitute with all three of them.
The fist. It could puncture right through all of them. Even Ace's fire couldn't win over Akainu's hotter magma.
He saw the muscles in Ace's legs bunch up.
No.
He wouldn't. Ace had promised. He had promised Luffy. He had promised Itachi. There had to be another way. There was always another way!
Ace's legs extended.
The magma was so hot. So hot and so bright. And then it was burning and destroying and melting.
There was a fist through a chest and then there was the stench.
An oh-so-familiar stench. It filled his nose almost instantly.
The putrid smell of burning flesh and the sharp tang of blood and the sulfuric burning of molten rock.
And then Ace was screaming.
And then Luffy was screaming.
And then Itachi was screaming.
And then the rage came crashing down like a massive tsunami and he was drowning.
Drowning in rage and anguish and absolute hate.
The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan spun violently in his eyes, swirling faster and faster until it was just a blur in his eyes.
And then all that could be seen was a white sun in a purple sky.
And it was blindingly bright, filled with unbridled rage and agonizing grief.
"KEONI!"
And with the greatest of losses
In a sea of darkness and sorrow
The Heavenly Sun will ascend
And it shall raze and burn
Until the Gentle Moon comes
And soothes and heals
But the Sun can never know
Because the Moon can only chase