Chapter 187 – The Fall of the Hero
"Boy Ace, haven't you always wanted to surpass Roger? I believe you can do it!"
After saying this, Whitebeard gripped Ace's shoulder, lifted him high from the darkness with the last of his strength, and hurled him upward. His thunderous voice echoed across the battlefield:
"Idiotic sons! My era is over! There is no ship in this world that can carry me into the New World! From today onward, you will follow Ace—climb to the very peak of this era!!"
"The old era must always give way to the new. As a remnant of the past, there is no better time for me to leave than now."
Lifting his head, Whitebeard looked at Ace, still suspended in the air. A gentle smile touched his scarred face.
"Ace… one last question. I was a competent father to you, wasn't I?"
"Of course!" Ace's voice rang out, tears streaming down his face. "There's no father in this world more qualified than you, Pops!"
"Gurararara…" Whitebeard laughed, the sound carrying both relief and sorrow. "At the very end, I finally heard you call me 'Dad.' I couldn't be more satisfied…"
With that final smile, his towering figure was swallowed whole by the seething darkness.
"Pops!!!"
The pirates cried out in grief as Whitebeard vanished.
"Whitebeard… has he really fallen?"
On the Navy side, Sengoku and the others watched the scene with conflicted expressions, while countless Marines erupted into cheers.
But Akainu (Sakazuki) scowled, his voice harsh as he silenced them:
"What's there to celebrate? It wasn't us who defeated Whitebeard. Save your cheers until every last pirate is captured."
Kizaru (Borsalino) kept his eyes on the writhing darkness at his feet, his tone unusually serious.
"Don't forget… Blackbeard's threat still hasn't been dealt with, Sakazuki."
Sengoku's expression hardened. "That's right. Most of the pirates have already broken out of the bay's encirclement, while we ourselves are trapped. If Blackbeard's darkness doesn't recede soon, our casualties will be catastrophic."
"Ahhh… what a troublesome ability he's left us with," Aokiji (Kuzan) muttered, hands in his pockets.
"Hmph! No matter how dangerous, it's still just one man's power," Akainu retorted coldly. "I refuse to believe this darkness can hold us forever." He turned sharply toward Sengoku. "Fleet Admiral, the priority should be pursuing the pirates—not standing idle wasting precious time!"
"I disagree." Kuzan's eyes narrowed. "The purpose of this war has already been achieved. Whitebeard is dead. The most important thing now is to rescue the Marines still trapped in danger."
"Kuzan, you're far too soft!" Akainu snapped. "This is war! Death is inevitable. Crushing the enemy comes first!"
"And you're far too cruel, Sakazuki," Aokiji shot back without flinching. "If we've already achieved our goal, then minimizing losses is what matters most."
The two Admirals glared at one another before turning simultaneously to the third.
Kizaru raised his hands lazily. "Eh… don't look at me. I'll follow whatever orders Sengoku-san gives."
Both Akainu and Aokiji looked to Sengoku, whose face remained grim. He, too, was conflicted—Whitebeard was dead, the Navy's objective complete, but to simply allow Ace and the others to escape…
---
Meanwhile, within the abyss of darkness, Whitebeard sank deeper and deeper. For a moment, he believed death had finally come for him. But then, a figure appeared before him.
Blackbeard (Marshall D. Teach).
"Pops," Teach sneered, his teeth flashing. "Was it really worth it… doing all this for that boy?"
Whitebeard's calm eyes fixed on him. "And what about you? Do you regret it, Teach?"
"Regret?" Teach burst into booming laughter. "Thief-hahahaha! No! For the sake of my ambition, even if I die, I'll never regret it!"
Whitebeard nodded faintly. "Yes… right or wrong, good or evil—it doesn't matter. Every man pays the price for his own choices. I chose to stake the future… on Ace."
"Future?!" Blackbeard's face twisted with rage. "How do you know Ace is the future? If you chose me, I could be the future, Pops!"
"It will never be you, Teach." Whitebeard's voice was steady, absolute. "Perhaps I cannot say for certain that the future belongs to Ace. But I know for certain… it does not belong to you."
Blackbeard's laughter died. His eyes went cold. After a moment of silence, he spoke with grim finality:
"Since you've chosen Ace, then watch closely. See for yourself whether your choice was right… or wrong."
"I've walked this path without regret, Pops. Even as your enemy, I'll admit it—you were a true father to us all."
He raised his right hand. "So this is farewell… Dad!"
With a powerful swing, Blackbeard hurled Whitebeard's massive body out from the darkness.
---
"Pops!!"
The pirates shouted in joy as Whitebeard's figure came hurtling back into the light. Marco immediately transformed into his Phoenix form, soaring upward to catch him on his back.
"Whitebeard!!"
On the Navy side, faces paled. Sengoku instinctively moved to give an order—but before he could speak, the shadows erupted.
The entire bay was engulfed as Blackbeard's darkness surged upward, swallowing everything in its path.
"Damn you, Blackbeard!!" Sengoku roared, transforming into the towering golden Buddha form of the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Daibutsu, struggling against the void.
"Thief-hahahaha! Stop struggling, old man! Even you can't escape my darkness. Just accompany me on the road… Fleet Admiral Sengoku!!"
His manic laughter echoed as the all-consuming darkness contracted, compressing into a massive black sphere—
—and with a deafening boom, it detonated, shaking the very foundations of Marineford.
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