The ferocious battle between Whitebeard and Elior raged on. As the two clashed with earth-shattering might, countless people watching felt their scalps tingle. The weak could only tremble—whether it was Whitebeard or Elior, both had long surpassed any common comprehension of power.
Once again, the terrifying storm of lightning collided with the quake's power. White transparent shockwaves smashed against the blue-white lightning field. Finally, under the horrified gazes of all the Marines — including Sengoku — the iconic Marine Headquarters building, the symbol of justice and peace in the Great Pirate Era, collapsed entirely into rubble.
And this... was just the beginning.
Marine HQ had been built at the forefront of Marineford, but behind it stood countless other structures—now all exposed to the devastation.
Behind Whitebeard, the massive trench he had created still yawned, cutting him off from his beloved sons.
"Whitebeard, I forgot to share some good news with you—your dear son, Teach, I killed him too."
As Elior crushed Whitebeard beneath the ruins of the headquarters, his body was stained with dust and blood from a gash inflicted by Whitebeard's Murakumogiri, but he didn't care. On the contrary, this battle exhilarated him—his fighting spirit boiled over.
"Teach..."
Whitebeard slowly stood from the rubble, muttering the name of Blackbeard, a name he hated to his core. If not for Teach, none of this would have happened. He was the true culprit behind everything.
Yet now Teach was dead, a weight lifted slightly from Whitebeard's heart. But a much heavier burden still pressed down on him.
Though outwardly unscathed, Elior's relentless lightning strikes had left Whitebeard with massive internal injuries. The blow to his chest alone had nearly ruptured his organs.
The only thing keeping Whitebeard standing was his monstrous willpower.
Airquake!
With a mighty swing of Murakumogiri, Whitebeard slashed at Elior again, ripping the air itself apart. The resulting shockwave stirred a monstrous tempest, and within that storm, countless Marines floundered like leaves in a flood, utterly powerless.
Another swath of Marineford was reduced to ruins.
With the quake power's might, Whitebeard could summon tsunamis — how could the fortifications of Marineford hope to withstand him?
But Elior wasn't idle either. He slammed his fist forward, sending a sweeping thunderstorm surging against the quake shockwaves.
Each clash of lightning and seismic power magnified the destruction, tearing buildings apart, crumbling fortresses that looked like tofu under the might of gods.
Rumble... Rumble...
The thunder of collapsing structures shook the heavens. Watching Whitebeard and Elior battle was like witnessing a war between deities.
Countless Marines, as well as the people on the Sabaody Archipelago, trembled in terror.
They would never forget the sheer horror of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
"Whitebeard Pirates, retreat!"
Seeing his father's figure growing more distant—fighting a battle that would burn up his life—Marco burst into tears, forcing himself to issue the order to retreat.
The others sobbed uncontrollably.
"But... Pops..."
"Old man!"
The members of the Whitebeard Pirates were drowning in grief, with Squard, the Maelstrom Spider, crying like a child.
Marco choked out, "That's an order! He's buying us time to escape!"
"Whitebeard Pirates, retreat!!"
Marco roared, and with one last tearful look at Whitebeard's back, they all turned and fled toward the bay.
Marco was now their leader.
"Pursue the Whitebeard Pirates!"
Seeing the pirates trying to retreat, Sengoku made his decision—there was no way he'd let them escape.
"Victory is within reach — don't let a single pirate escape!"
Marines like Momonga, Smoker, Tashigi, and others moved swiftly to join the hunt.
Soon, the already-ruined Marineford plaza was engulfed in new chaos.
The Whitebeard Pirates fled, while Kizaru led the charge in chasing them.
As for the Elior Pirates, they weren't included in the pursuit. Most of Elior's crew had regrouped, and though some Marines tried to engage them, a single Sables slash from Crocodile was enough to obliterate them.
Thanks to Law, none of them bore serious injuries. Even if someone lost a limb, Law could simply reattach it with the Ope-Ope Fruit.
Without a force of Vice Admirals or higher, the Marines couldn't do a thing against them.
And where were the Admirals?
Garp was still locked in combat with the World.
Sengoku had his eyes on Whitebeard's battle.
Kizaru was chasing Marco and the others.
Aokiji was dead, Akainu was gravely wounded and unconscious, already carried away.
There was barely anyone left who could stand against the Elior Pirates.
"Captain's battle is insane" said Shiryu, exhaling smoke.
"No way we could even step in. Same with Bullet."
"It's almost over. When we're back in the New World, I'm taking a long vacation" Shiryu muttered.
Crocodile sneered,
"Whitebeard's finished. After today, his era ends."
Watching Whitebeard falter under Elior's onslaught, Crocodile knew—the world's strongest man's time was done.
"Our ship's outside — we should go check it. Otherwise, we'll be swimming back to the New World" Shiryu joked, and the others nodded.
Shiryu and Weevil decided to stay on the plaza for backup in case anything changed, while the rest went to guard the ship.
Meanwhile, the Marines were throwing everything into pursuing the fleeing Whitebeard Pirates.
Perched on a steel wall, Kizaru watched Dragon, still battling Bullet, and Redfield fighting Kong.
"What's the point of this war? We started out just to execute Ace, but now... what a mess, eh?" Kizaru mumbled.
Then he turned toward the fleeing remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates, leapt into the air, and posed.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
Countless light bullets formed behind him, then rained down like a torrential storm on the retreating pirates.
The weaker pirates were powerless before Kizaru's might. Even Marco, their strongest, could only hold his own for a few rounds — and that's if Kizaru wasn't being serious.
The light bullets decimated the ice field and their remaining ships.
"Kizaru!"
Marco, cloaked in brilliant blue phoenix flames, rocketed toward Kizaru, smashing into his shoulder and disrupting the assault, kicking him away.
Elsewhere, Vice Admirals and officers like Smoker, Tashigi, and Momonga hunted the fleeing pirates.
"What's the point of all this?"
Smoker, fighting with a heavy heart, couldn't help but question the meaning of this war.
Aokiji's death hit him hard — he had looked up to him.
Even if they wiped out the Whitebeard Pirates... the grim reality was that another behemoth had risen.
Whitebeard's fall only cleared the way for the Elior Pirates—and their dominance could be even more terrifying.
Thus, the war's real outcome was the rise of an even greater threat.
The thought made Smoker shiver.
"No point in thinking about it now" sighed Momonga, feeling deeply powerless.
"Keep pursuing the Whitebeard remnants!"
Then, Tashigi suddenly gasped, eyes wide in fear as she pointed toward the bay.
"Commodore Smoker! Look!"
"What?!"
Smoker and the others followed her gaze — and their faces turned pale.
"The Red-Haired Pirates...!?"
"Impossible! Red-Hair's joining in too?!"
"Another top-tier power?! This is hopeless!"
Indeed, approaching Marineford was the legendary ship, Red Force —flagship of the Red-Haired Pirates.
The presence of another Yonko sent dread, fear, and despair surging through the Marines.
Shanks had arrived.
Meanwhile, the scene shifted back to Elior and Whitebeard. Their devastating battle had already obliterated half of Marineford.
Standing atop the crumbling ruins, the two faced each other—nearly twenty meters apart.
Whitebeard, now covered in wounds and drenched in blood, looked just like he did after being brutalized by the Blackbeard Pirates in the original timeline.
The thunder and lightning Elior wielded were terrifying beyond words, but Whitebeard's endurance was equally monstrous. Still, despite his resilience, Elior was the more brutal of the two.
"You really are a damn monster" Elior muttered, momentarily in awe of Whitebeard's fortitude.
At that moment, Whitebeard charged again, slashing down with his massive blade. But Elior could see it—the old man's strikes were slower, his swings heavier and less precise. Even the white light of the tremor fruit that had coated his weapon flickered weakly before dissipating.
Whitebeard was at his limit.
"Whitebeard... everything comes to an end eventually."
Elior raised his right hand, crackling with blue-white electricity, arcs of lightning snaking through the air. At the same time, dark swirling mist wrapped around his entire body—his aura rising sharply, the sheer force of it oppressive.
Crack!
Just as Whitebeard's Murakumogiri was about to descend on Elior's head, Elior stood his ground, unfazed. With a sudden thrust of his right hand, he fired a brilliant yellow laser, laced with searing blue-white lightning, aimed straight at Whitebeard's chest.
The beam tore through Whitebeard's body with blinding speed and explosive force, piercing straight through and blasting into the sky behind him.
A railgun shot.
This wasn't just ordinary lightning—it was a focused, devastating electromagnetic cannon, a testament to Elior's mastery over his electricity-based abilities.
Whitebeard, already weakened to the brink, couldn't defend against it. Early in their battle, he might have withstood such an attack—but now, he had nothing left to resist with.
Their fight had raged for over half an hour, and Whitebeard had long since surpassed the limits of what his aging body could endure.
The railgun blast made his entire body convulse. His eyes bulged wide, wracked with unbearable pain.
His swings lost their power instantly — the tremor energy vanished from his blade.
Elior caught the giant naginata effortlessly.
Clang.
The sound was crisp. Whitebeard's grip gave out — Murakumogiri, the blade that had accompanied him all his life, slipped from his grasp and fell limply to the ground.
Shaky and staggering, Whitebeard stumbled back three steps, barely keeping himself upright as he stared at Elior.
But Elior wasn't done. He knew the moment Murakumogiri left Whitebeard's hand, the old man no longer had the strength to fight.
This was the end.
It was time for the flickering flame of Whitebeard's life to be extinguished—for good.
"Whitebeard"