All of Marineford fell silent.
Wilder lay in the crater, covered in blood, a manic grin plastered across his face. "Hahahaha!"
He felt no shame in resorting to such tactics on the verge of death. Compared to his life, pride was meaningless. Yes, Wilder valued his reputation immensely, but when weighed against survival, it was worth nothing.
Only Wilder's crazed laughter echoed across the battlefield. Everyone who heard his announcement was struck with utter shock and disbelief.
Impel Down... had been blown up!
The words hit everyone like a cannonball to the chest.
Sengoku's face twisted in a mask of fury the instant Wilder's words registered. "Kizaru! Kill him!"
"Gurararara! What a mess!" Whitebeard, too, was shaken by the news. Recovering, he lowered his stance slightly, drawing his right fist back.
His sharp eyes focused on Kizaru, then shifted to Wilder, lying beneath the Admiral's foot. He bared his teeth in a wide grin, his voice booming across the battlefield: "Gurararara! You cocky little brat! If you're going to bet on something..."
"Then you'd better pray that Teach doesn't die in Impel Down!" With that, his eyes flashed, and his raised arm slammed down.
"Crack!" The air itself fractured, spreading like cracks in glass.
"Krak... Krak..." The sound of shattering air was deafening. A terrifying power surged from the point of impact.
"Boom!" The invisible force struck the area where Kizaru and Wilder were, though the epicenter was clearly aimed at Kizaru.
"My, my... That kind of power could kill a man..." Kizaru drawled, his face surprisingly serious, but his body had already begun to dissolve into light particles, preparing to escape.
However, just as his body was halfway through its elemental transformation, the earthquake-like force slammed into him with a sudden burst of speed.
The golden light was blasted backward, smashing through buildings. The scattered particles coalesced into a human form. Kizaru, his suit now covered in dust, looked somewhat disheveled. He adjusted his askew glasses, muttering in mock surprise, "Almost died there. How scary... As expected of Whitebeard."
He glanced in a particular direction. Wilder, his face pale, propped himself up against a half-collapsed wall.
Seeing Kizaru look his way, Wilder grinned, revealing blood-stained teeth. "Nyehehehe, looking a bit rough, eh... Admiral?"
"That's quite rude, First. No, I should say, Lucifer Wilder," Kizaru said, his eyebrows arching downward.
As he spoke, his body once again dispersed into particles of light, transforming into a beam of gold that shot towards Wilder.
"Gurararara! My sons! Full-scale landing!" Whitebeard roared, retracting his fist. He slammed the haft of his bisento down in front of him.
"Crack!"
"Krak... Krak... Krak..." Fissures appeared in the air, and the power of the tremors surged forth!
"Aaaah!" Boulders crumbled, a hurricane-like wind whipped up, and a sweeping force scoured the battlefield. Scores of Marines were flung high into the air with cries of pain, plummeting back down.
"Whitebeard!" On the platform, Sengoku's expression was grim. Wilder, this unforeseen element, had introduced an unpredictable variable into the battle.
Predictability was gone. Everything began to deviate from the original story.
Wilder also noticed that things were no longer following the course of his memories. For example, in the original story, Kizaru had initially attacked Whitebeard. Now, it was Whitebeard who attacked Kizaru. The timing and even the order of some characters' battles had shifted.
A swirl of sand appeared behind Whitebeard. A golden hook emerged from the sand, aimed directly at Whitebeard's neck.
Crocodile's form solidified, a slight smirk playing on his lips as he puffed on his cigar.
"Gurararara... So the little crocodile has learned to lie in wait," Whitebeard said without turning. He simply reached back with a massive hand. Crocodile's expression changed instantly. His body was seized and lifted into the air!
"Brats like you should come back and challenge me in another ten years!" As he spoke, a terrifying shockwave erupted from his hand.
"Gwah!" Crocodile's body dissolved into a cloud of sand, reforming a short distance away. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his eyes wide with shock.
"Thud!" Wilder's body melted, sinking into the earth. He desperately flowed deeper underground.
Kizaru's attack struck the ground. Golden light exploded! Stone fragments, scorched and blackened, flew in all directions.
"What a shame." Kizaru twisted his brow, then turned his attention towards the Moby Dick. His body slowly dissolved into golden light and sped off.
"I can't let you keep wreaking havoc, Whitebeard." The light coalesced above Whitebeard. Kizaru formed a strange hand sign.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
Countless beads of light formed a massive sphere, pressing down towards Whitebeard.
"My, my, that's bright!" Whitebeard squinted, his expression seemingly one of displeasure.
The light was almost upon him when a figure leaped into the air, intercepting the attack!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" The Yasakani no Magatama struck the figure, the two circular forms of energy – one large, one small – locked in a stalemate.
"Boom!" Once the Magatama had finished firing, the figure spun and steadied himself.
Blue flames wreathed his entire body. A pair of magnificent wings, composed of blue fire, extended from his back. Marco, the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, had arrived!
One side of his face was revealed as the blue flames receded. He smiled and said in a low voice, "Can't let you... just waltz right in at the start, can we?"
"Hmm...? Blue flames? That's a first." Kizaru drawled, a look of surprise on his face.
"A light-emitting yellow monkey is a first for me too," Marco replied, his smile unwavering.
"My... How terrifying. So this is the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Marco? How very rude." A leg of golden light swept towards him. Kizaru's expression didn't change in response to Marco's words, but his attack arrived first!
"Marco, stand down!" Whitebeard's voice boomed from nearby. His mouth was spread in a grin, and his hand, enveloped in the power of the tremors, reached for Kizaru!
Marco smiled and leaped away.
Whitebeard's face was alight with a look of amusement. His massive hand had already grasped Kizaru's leg!
"Hey!" Kizaru's eyelid twitched. He tried to escape, but it was too late.
"Buzz...!" A terrifying shockwave instantly traveled up Kizaru's leg, engulfing his body! Kizaru's expression showed a flicker of shock. With a bang, a beam of golden light was sent flying backward, crashing into a distant building, reducing it to rubble and raising a cloud of dust.
Deep underground, swamp surged. Wilder, hidden within, was slowly recovering his stamina. From Impel Down to Marineford, every attack he'd launched had been a large-scale swamp assault, severely depleting his energy.
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