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The golden, fiery fist expanded rapidly in Akainu's vision, and a stunned Akainu didn't react quickly enough to defend. In a rush, he elementalized, transforming his body into magma.
Boom!
The golden fist struck Akainu's magma form mercilessly. Exploding lava splashed around, but Akainu quickly reformed, his body gathering together and re-condensing. Elementalization is truly the most challenging ability of a Logia.
...
"Fire Fist!!!"
The explosive roar that echoed left the entire battlefield silent. Everyone—both Marines and Pirates—looked at the figure bathed in golden flames, stunned. That was today's hero.
But... why was he escaping?
For a moment, everyone was dumbfounded.
A yellow light flashed and condensed, revealing Kizaru, who wore an unusually shocked expression on his usual wry face.
"Wait, why did Ace run out?!"
Aokiji, his body covered in frost, was equally astonished. "Hey, are you kidding me!"
The usually stoic Aokiji was so shocked he nearly swore but held back. Both Admirals were speechless. Ace had escaped from seastone—something that seemed unimaginable!
...
Garp scratched his head, staring at the familiar figure in golden flames, momentarily dumbstruck.
"What!? Ace got away!!! That was seastone—what on earth is Sengoku doing?"
It wasn't that Garp was unhappy about Ace's escape, but he genuinely couldn't understand how Ace had managed to free himself. Could it be... that Sengoku had betrayed them?
For Garp, it was so incredible that he found himself doubting his good comrade, Marine Fleet Admiral Sengoku. It was hard to believe Ace could get away so easily.
"Ace... escaped!" Shock registered on Tsuru's aged face, unable to fully process what had happened.
Nearby Marine Vice-Admirals were wide-eyed, their mouths hanging open, their minds blank from the sheer disbelief of the scene before them.
"Escaped... he escaped."
"This can't be real! I must have seen it wrong!"
"That's Ace!"
"What's going on? Isn't he a Devil Fruit user? How did he break free from the seastone shackles?"
"Damn it!"
"What do we do now?"
A buzz erupted within the Marines. None of them could accept it, disbelief clouding their minds as they tried to make sense of it.
The Marines had gathered their forces to ensure the public execution of Whitebeard's crew member. While they struggled to hold back the Whitebeard Pirates, he... escaped?
How could anyone accept this?
And, more importantly, he's a Devil Fruit user bound by seastone shackles—how did he escape? The Fleet Admiral himself was right there. How did he get away?
This just doesn't make sense! Not at all!
...
Ace's unexpected freedom didn't just catch the Marines off guard; it also stunned everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates. On the deck of the Moby Dick, Whitebeard hadn't even made a move yet. His smile froze, tinged with a hint of surprise, yet also joy.
"Gurararara~~"
Whitebeard laughed heartily. Ace, you truly are full of surprises.
When he saw Ace this time, he sensed something different about him, but the familiar warmth was still there.
The flames of the Immortal Phoenix burned gently. "Ace is safe!!" Marco shouted, elated.
Although he had no idea what had happened or what Ace had done, simply seeing Ace out of danger was excitement enough! Even the flames on Marco's body intensified, reflecting his joy.
Wings spread, Marco swooped down from above, aiming for the Marines nearby. He was going to take Ace home.
"So... it's really Ace?" Joz's eyes widened, and for a moment, he was entirely lost in thought.
But as Joz regained his composure, his aura turned fiercely intense, and he fully activated his Shining Fruit powers. His entire body became covered in brilliant, indestructible crystals.
"Ace, here I come! Who dares to stop me!"
With a roar, Joz charged forward like a human tyrannosaur, knocking any Marine in his path mercilessly into the air.
After their initial shock, captains like Vista and Izou quickly led the pirates to support Ace. In an instant, the Whitebeard Pirates broke through the Marine's defensive line with unstoppable momentum.
The Marines felt a deep frustration. Not only had the prisoner they intended to execute somehow escaped, but their opponents seemed suddenly reinvigorated, overwhelming them entirely in combat.
"Ace—"
A voice of excitement echoed down from above as Little Oars Jr. brandished a massive broadsword, charging in fiercely.
In that moment, Ace became the focus of everyone's attention.
...
"Fuffuffuffu~ he actually escaped! How interesting!" Doflamingo was astonished, though his expression remained wild and manic.
Boa Hancock's beautiful eyes couldn't hide her shock. "How did he break free from the seastone shackles?"
As everyone knew, Devil Fruit powers had two natural weaknesses: seawater and seastone. But what about Ace??
Hawkeye gripped his black sword tightly, clearly surprised. Meanwhile, Bartholomew Kuma shook his head. Though he said nothing, his silence conveyed his instinctive doubts.
As for Gecko Moria, after a brief moment of surprise, he turned his gaze back to the massive form of Little Oars Jr.
"I really want that body!"
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