Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
At this time, half an hour had passed since the Whitebeard Pirates arrived.
The entire Whitebeard Pirates were engaged in fierce battle with the Marines.
There were a total of sixteen division captains in the Whitebeard Pirates. Excluding Ace and the deceased Thatch, the remaining fourteen captains were all present.
All forty-three subordinate pirate crews under Whitebeard had also arrived.
All forces combined numbered more than fifty thousand people, including nearly fifty fighters at or above the level of Vice Admiral.
The Beasts Pirates that Caelan defeated in Wano Country were not much weaker. Although they had only thirty thousand people, that was because many subordinate crews had yet to arrive. The number of their top combatants combined would not be less than that of the Whitebeard Pirates.
This was the full strength of one of the Yonko, enough to establish their own territory and make the World Government think twice before acting rashly.
Facing a severely aged Whitebeard, the Marines had no choice but to set traps and lure the entire Whitebeard Pirates into attacking them at their own base.
The Marines had gathered their elite forces, bringing together nearly all high-end combat power they could mobilize.
The only two remaining Seven Warlords of the Sea, Dracule Mihawk and Bartholomew Kuma, joined the battle.
Except for the necessary personnel stationed at each branch base, all available forces had arrived.
A total of one hundred thousand elite Marines, including nearly a hundred officers at Vice Admiral level or higher.
The power gap between the two sides was immense. Even though the Whitebeard Pirates were fighting with their lives on the line, they still could not stop their decline.
Hawkeye Mihawk and Bartholomew Kuma joined the battle at the same time. As the only two Warlords present, they were going all out on the battlefield.
Hawkeye's opponents were Flower Sword Vista and Diamond Jozu. Although he was fighting one against two, he still seemed at ease.
"Hawkeye, do you really have to work for the World Government!?"
Vista braced against a slash and shouted angrily.
Hawkeye was a swordsman on par with him, and Diamond Jozu was a fighter comparable to the Warlords.
Yet even together, he and Jozu could not defeat Hawkeye.
Hawkeye held the advantage while outnumbered two to one. He had not ended the fight quickly, perhaps because he wanted to savor the battle a little longer.
"Heh, this has nothing to do with being a lackey. I simply want to fight strong swordsmen."
Mihawk's golden eyes were calm, without a ripple.
Another powerful swordsman had appeared in the world, but Caelan was constantly on the move, and Mihawk could not find him at all.
He would warm up here first, then head to Dressrosa to fight Caelan.
Maybe Caelan would even show up to join the fun today.
"Damn it! You think you're invincible just because you're the world's greatest swordsman?!" Jozu and Vista gritted their teeth and roared, "We'll defeat you and rescue Ace!"
Hawkeye remained unmoved, showing no signs of being pressured by the duo's explosive power.
Ace. He seemed to recall hearing Red-Hair mention him.
But that was unimportant. What mattered was finishing his warm-up and then finding that man for a duel.
Gradually, Hawkeye increased his strength, while Vista and Jozu's bursts began to wane. The two found themselves in an increasingly difficult position.
Bartholomew Kuma, also one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, was not to be outdone. Mostly modified, he too was fighting one against two, facing two division captains of the Whitebeard Pirates at the same time.
With the combination of the Paw-Paw Fruit and Kizaru's laser technology, the two division captains were suppressed, barely managing to fight Kuma to a draw.
A draw was as good as losing. As long as Kuma had time to maneuver elsewhere, they would be doomed.
Marco, the strongest division captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, was battling Kizaru.
Kizaru appeared to be slacking, yet Marco was still being beaten down without the ability to mount a counterattack.
Kizaru felt that Marco was a very convenient opponent who could be damaged continuously.
On the surface, he seemed to be working hard and not in any danger at all.
"Phoenix Marco, how scary."
Kizaru pushed up his glasses and, with a wave of his hand, fired dozens of golden beams of light.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
Dozens of beams shot toward Marco.
"Immortal Thistle!"
Blue flames burst from Marco's hands, forming a circular shield in front of him.
The beams struck the shield one after another and shattered in an instant.
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
The remaining few beams pierced Marco's body with unerring accuracy.
His body was perforated by the light, flesh and blood turned gelatinous by the intense heat.
"Khah…"
He groaned, and blue flames wrapped around him, rapidly restoring his body.
He had repeated this action countless times.
He was being pummeled by Kizaru without the ability to fight back. Without the life-risking stimulant that heightened his vitality, he would have died long ago.
Admirals were indeed monsters.
And this guy kept saying "how scary."
Could it be he had hemophobia and was frightened by blood?
Marco glanced at the lazy, slovenly Kizaru with a hint of self-mockery.
Then he looked at his comrades around him, being forced back step by step, and could not help but steel himself.
"Admiral Kizaru, you are very strong. I am no match for you," Marco said, meeting his gaze. "But right now, I cannot fall."
The reviving blue flames surged from his body and drifted down onto the Whitebeard Pirates fighting nearby.
In an instant, everyone in Whitebeard's forces felt reinvigorated, their injuries recovering significantly.
This was the umpteenth time he had treated others. Without his healing, the Whitebeard Pirates' situation would have been far worse.
"How scary. You are still treating others at a time like this." Kizaru sighed, then his voice sharpened. "If you keep healing like that, they will dock my pay."
He shot a furtive glance at the Five Elders and Sengoku and noticed their gazes occasionally sweeping over him. It was clear he could not slack off any longer.
And since Marco had no close relatives, there was not much to worry about.
"Marco, have you ever been kicked at the speed of light!?"
Kizaru turned into golden light and in an instant appeared in front of Marco.
With a kick, golden radiance flooded Marco's vision.
Boom.
A deafening explosion rang out.
Marco was blasted into the air, his body severely damaged.
What followed was a dazzling rain of golden beams.
Under this barrage, Marco could barely protect himself and no longer had the capacity to care for others.
(To be continued.)