Watching the pirates on the battlefield, Whitebeard remained silent for a moment before declaring loudly, "Our purpose in coming to Marine Headquarters has been achieved. There's no need to remain here any longer."
After a pause, he continued shouting, "Listen well, Whitebeard Pirates!"
"I now issue my final command as your captain."
"F-final...?"
The pirates froze upon hearing Whitebeard's words.
"Pops, what are you saying?!"
"Please don't say such ominous things! We're supposed to return to the New World together!"
"So it's the final command," Doflamingo remarked, tilting his head as he studied Whitebeard. "It seems this old man intends to die fighting at Marine Headquarters."
Crocodile, who had also been watching Whitebeard, wore an unpleasant expression. He clearly hadn't expected the man to say such things.
Did this mean... he would never get another chance to settle scores with this guy?
The thought made Crocodile want to take action.
But after meeting Whitebeard's gaze, Crocodile fell silent, ultimately sighing quietly and lowering his raised hook.
"Pops, what exactly are you trying to say?!" Ace demanded.
"Let us part ways here," Whitebeard declared. "All of you must survive and return to the New World!"
"Part ways?"
"Could it be...?"
As if realizing something, Eleventh Division Commander Gingudo shouted with a grim expression, "Hey Pops, are you planning to die here?!"
"I am a relic of the old era. There are no ships in the new era that can carry me!"
As he spoke, Whitebeard raised his left arm, flexing his muscles into his signature pose.
With those final words, the man slammed his fist violently against the atmosphere.
"CRACK!"
"BOOM!!"
Terrifying tremors rippled across Marineford, creating massive fissures across the island while sending the Marines pursuing Ace and the others flying through the air.
"Pops!"
"Are you disobeying your captain's orders?" Whitebeard roared. "Go!!!"
Gingudo gritted his teeth before grabbing his nearby comrades. "This is the captain's command! We're leaving!"
"But..."
"Do you want to bring shame upon Pops?"
"Damn it!!"
Watching his children retreat, Whitebeard suddenly laughed,
"Gurararara~"
Go, return to the New World!
The new era belongs to you all!
Then Whitebeard turned his gaze toward the Marines. "Let's settle this, Marines!"
"Damn you, Whitebeard."
Sengoku stared grimly at Whitebeard. Was this man planning to shatter the entire island?
"Pops..."
Watching Whitebeard's expression, Marco fell silent for a moment before flapping his wings and swiftly flying toward Ace's direction. Seeing this, Aokiji frowned thoughtfully but ultimately refrained from pursuing Marco further.
"Pops, we..."
"Take them and leave, Marco," Whitebeard said without turning his head. "I'll hold them off for you!"
With those words, Whitebeard swung his blade, forcefully repelling a group of Marines before him!
"Ah!"
"Don't be afraid, keep advancing!" a Marine shouted. "Whitebeard is already dying!"
"Arrgh!"
Several Marines roared as they charged at Whitebeard, raising their weapons to launch slashing attacks.
"Get out of my way!" Ace yelled.
"Whoosh—"
"Boom!!"
A blazing Fire Fist struck the Marines, sending them flying backward.
Then, the man knelt on the ground and kowtowed deeply to Whitebeard.
"Ace, huh."
"Pops!"
"No need to say more, Ace," Whitebeard said. "I'll only ask you one question."
"Have I... been a worthy father to you?"
Hearing this, Ace instantly broke down, tears streaming uncontrollably.
"Of course!!!" Ace roared.
"Gurararara!"
"That's good enough!" Whitebeard laughed heartily.
He then turned away, refusing to look at Ace, and said, "Ace, take your brother and leave this place!"
"Go!!"
"Arrgh!"
Tears streaming down his face, Ace wiped his eyes and stood up, leading Luffy away from the scene.
"Oh~"
"The Whitebeard Pirates are beginning to retreat," Borsalino remarked, glancing at Meiser. "Little ninja, aren't you going to leave with them?"
Meiser didn't answer his question but instead fixed his gaze on the motionless Aokiji in the distance.
This guy isn't pursuing the Whitebeard Pirates...
Does this mean the Marines have essentially achieved their strategic objectives?
"Hey~"
"I'm talking to you," Borsalino said.
"Ah, I'll leave," Meiser replied, withdrawing his gaze and looking at Borsalino. "But before that, I need to do something."
"Oh?"
"What is it?"
Borsalino looked at Meiser curiously, wondering if this kid had some strange trick up his sleeve.
Meiser didn't answer but instead looked up at the overcast sky.
Borsalino: ???
Following Meiser's gaze, Borsalino noticed the cumulonimbus clouds in the sky.
Cumulonimbus clouds...
At that moment, a startling thought crossed Kizaru's mind.
"Could it be that this kid plans to use the Lightning Release Technique he used to attack Sentomaru on Sabaody Archipelago?!"
If that were truly the case, the Marines could suffer massive casualties!
Thinking this, Borsalino's expression immediately changed.
"Kid, are you planning to use a large-scale Lightning Release Technique, aren't you?!"
"You guess~"
"I won't let you succeed!" Borsalino shouted.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the man appeared before Meiser at incredible speed, aiming a kick at his head.
"Light Speed Kick!"
Watching the long leg closing in on him, Meiser voluntarily dismissed his Susanoo, choosing to endure the attack with his own body.
The next moment—
Thud!
A kick imbued with powerful Haki slammed into Meiser's head, sending him flying backward!
But before he had flown far, Meiser's body began to distort and eventually vanished from sight.
When he reappeared, he was already at Borsalino's side, with his Susanoo fully activated!
The massive Susanoo wielded a pale golden longbow, drawing the bowstring and aiming it directly at Borsalino.
"Try this move!" Meiser shouted.
As his voice faded, the Susanoo released its fingers, letting the arrow fly from the Unreal Devouring Bow.
Whoosh~
Watching the approaching arrow, Borsalino immediately kicked out to intercept it!
Thump!
"Huh?"
Staring at the pale golden arrow now fixed to his foot, Borsalino's mind filled with confusion.
Why hadn't his light-based Elemental Transformation been able to deflect the weapon?
Not only that, but the arrow had firmly attached itself to his body—as if it had fused with him!
What was going on?!
Though unsure of the cause, he needed to get rid of it quickly, Borsalino thought to himself.
With that in mind, Borsalino lifted his foot and reached out to grab the weapon.
But to his shock, his hand passed right through the arrow as if it weren't there.
Borsalino: ???
What in the world was this?
"Give it up, Kizaru," Meiser said. "You can't touch it."
Hearing this, Borsalino lowered his foot and frowned at Meiser. "What have you done, brat?"
"Nothing much. I just shot you with this bow," Meiser replied with a laugh.
"This bow…"
Borsalino narrowed his eyes, focusing on the Unreal Devouring Bow in Meiser's hand.
"That's right, it's this bow!"
As he spoke, Meiser glanced down at the weapon in his hand, his gaze flickering thoughtfully.
The Unreal Devouring Bow!
One of the divine weapons innate to his Susanoo.
Ability: When an arrow from the Unreal Devouring Bow strikes an enemy, it doesn't cause immediate damage. Instead, it enters an intangible state.
In this state, the arrow bonds inseparably with the target—no method can remove it!
At the same time… the enemy becomes "locked on," a status that persists as long as at least one arrow remains on them.
While locked on, the enemy cannot evade any arrows fired from the Unreal Devouring Bow by any means and must face the attacks head-on.
Later, by combining it with the right eye's "Kishu Mitsu Mikoto," the "Present World Devouring Arrow" can be activated, converting the intangible damage into real damage and unleashing all its power at once.
Real damage… that should mean true damage, right? Meiser mused internally.
If so, could it harm Kizaru, who possessed Elemental Transformation?
With that thought, Meiser shifted his gaze to Borsalino's foot.
Just then, Borsalino spoke up, "I don't know what this thing is, but I'll deal with you first."
As his words ended, Borsalino charged toward Meiser.
Witnessing this, Meiser decisively raised his bow and fired another golden arrow!
Seeing this, Borsalino immediately activated his Devil Fruit Ability to flash sideways, swiftly appearing behind Meiser.
But before he could act, he noticed the arrow abruptly change direction, hurtling toward him at incredible speed.
Whoosh
Borsalino: ???
Baffled, Borsalino stared at the arrow, thinking, Since when do arrows curve? Isn't this just cheating, you bastard!
With that thought, he quickly dashed upward, intending to evade the attack first.
To his surprise... the arrow charged at him again!
This made Borsalino realize one thing: it wasn't just curving—it had homing capabilities!!!
So this arrow can track its target automatically, Borsalino thought to himself. It seems I'll have to knock it away!
With that in mind, Borsalino infused Haki into his long leg and fiercely kicked at the golden arrow!
Let's test whether Haki can handle this!
The next moment...
Clang!
Boom!!
The Haki-infused leg sent the arrow flying, and it plunged straight into the body of a Marine Commodore.
Marine Commodore: ???
Glancing down at the golden arrow impaling him, the Commodore's eyes filled with confusion.
What... what is this thing? the Commodore wondered. A golden arrow?
Where did it even come from?
"Hey, why is there an arrow sticking out of you?" a fellow Marine asked, dumbfounded. "Doesn't it hurt?"
"It doesn't," the Commodore replied, frowning. "I don't feel a thing."
He then reached out to touch the arrow lodged in his chest, intending to pull out this mysterious object,
only to find he couldn't make contact with it at all.
"What's going on?!" the Commodore exclaimed, his expression shifting. "Why can't I touch it?"
"No way!"
"Here, you try!"
Hearing this, the other Marine stepped closer and reached out to touch the arrow.
"Huh?"
"It really can't be touched!" the Marine said in shock. "How is this possible?"
"How should I know?!"
The Commodore was utterly bewildered. What kind of situation was this?
Observing from a distance, Borsalino frowned and called out, "You little ninja, what kind of ability is this exactly?"
Even though the arrow couldn't be touched, Borsalino instinctively sensed it was dangerous.
Fortunately, his Haki was able to deflect the arrow—otherwise, he'd likely have even more of those golden arrows sticking out of him!
Hearing Borsalino's question, Meiser gave him a mysterious smile and said, "You'll find out soon enough."
By now, Meiser had figured out the characteristics of his Illusion Devourer Bow in this world.
Elemental Transformation couldn't block the arrows—at least, Kizaru hadn't managed to stop it earlier.
But Haki, a power akin to mental or spiritual energy, could indeed deflect the arrows shot from his Illusion Devourer Bow!
'It seems I won't have another chance to stack damage,' Meiser thought to himself.
After all, Kizaru wouldn't give him another opportunity to land a hit!
Just then, an idea surfaced in Meiser's mind.
'If my Haki surpasses his, would it produce additional effects?' Meiser murmured internally.
After a moment's consideration, Meiser dismissed the thought.
Because... improving Haki required time.
Suppressing these reflections, Meiser refocused his complete attention on Borsalino.
He then raised a finger and declared: "Present World Devouring Arrow!"
"Explode!!"
As Meiser's command echoed, the two arrows embedded in Borsalino and the Marine Commodore emitted a pale golden glow before detonating!
"BOOM!!"
"BOOM!!"
The Marine Commodore struck by the arrow didn't even have time to scream before a massive hole was blasted through his body, killing him instantly.
This horrific sight petrified the nearby Marine comrades.
D...dead?!
The Marine stared in terror at the Commodore who'd been eliminated in an instant.
Even Borsalino—the Marine Admiral who'd only had his clothes dirtied since the battle began—finally shed blood from this explosion!!!
Glancing at his nearly destroyed leg, Borsalino grimaced and said: "So it can ignore Elemental Transformation and strike the actual body directly?!"
"How ruthless!"
Had his Haki been any weaker, he would have lost that leg entirely!