"What's with that Marine?" a pirate said in astonishment as he looked at Koby. "Why is he blocking Akainu?"
Is this... a betrayal?
"Not sure," Vista shook his head.
Who knows what this Marine is thinking.
The Marines were equally confused as they looked at Koby, wondering why this guy suddenly blocked their Admiral.
"Hmm?"
After glancing at the weeping Marine blocking his path, Akainu instinctively furrowed his brow.
What did this Marine mean by suddenly stopping him and saying those things?
"Please stop fighting!" Koby shouted with tears streaming down his face. "I beg you, stop trampling on lives!"
"Every soldier who came here has family waiting for them to return!!"
"We've already killed Whitebeard and achieved the purpose of this war, so why continue pursuing pirates who've lost their will to fight?!"
"What we should be doing now is treating the Marines who are on the verge of death!"
"If we stand by and do nothing, they'll die from their severe injuries!"
If the fighting continued, not only would the severely wounded Marines die, but there would be even more casualties!
At this thought, Koby's tears flowed even more freely.
Upon hearing Koby's words, Akainu's expression immediately darkened, his eyes growing cold.
"Is this what you wanted to say?"
"Marine!"
Intense killing intent erupted from Akainu's eyes as he stared fixedly at Koby. "Do you have any idea how much we Marines have sacrificed to win this war?!"
"If we let them go now, all our efforts will be wasted!"
If they didn't kill all these pirates, the previous Marine sacrifices would be in vain!
And these pirates would continue to be scum on the seas, burning, killing, plundering, and harming civilians!
So... these guys must be eliminated!
Only by killing them all could civilians truly be safe!
"But if we don't treat them, they'll..."
"Brat, this is war!" Akainu angrily interrupted Koby, roaring. "People die in war?!"
Even he had nearly been killed, hadn't he?!!
Even when beaten bloody, he never once thought of retreating... How dare this brat?!
"But..."
"Brat!" Akainu cut Koby off again. "What you're doing now is equivalent to desertion, you know?!"
"Enough, there's nothing to discuss with someone as weak-willed as you. Prepare to die!!!"
With these words, Akainu activated his Devil Fruit ability, transforming his arm into magma.
Then, without hesitation, he struck toward Koby.
"Die!!!"
It's over...
Watching the Magma Fist hurtling toward him, Koby's eyes instantly flashed with despair.
He was doomed...
There was no way he could evade an attack from a Marine Admiral.
"Koby!!"
"Guh!!"
"BOOM!!"
The terrifying Magma Fist pierced straight through Koby's chest, impaling him completely!
"Hack... cough..."
Feeling his body being pierced, Koby immediately spat out a mouthful of blood before his gaze gradually dimmed.
Am I going to die...?
To think I'd end up dying by Admiral Akainu's hand... How...
With these final thoughts, Koby's consciousness plunged completely into darkness.
"Koby..."
Watching Koby get impaled by Akainu, Helmeppo began shedding tears, his body trembling uncontrollably.
His best friend... was dead...
"Koby, you fool... Why did it have to come to this?"
Seeing the scene unfold in the distance, Garp painfully closed his eyes.
"Whose subordinate is this?!" Vice Admiral Onigumo demanded with a dark expression.
A cowardly marine trying to block a battle-hardened admiral... What a damn joke!
"He's under Vice Admiral Garp."
"Vice Admiral Garp?"
Glancing at the old man who kept his eyes closed and remained silent, Onigumo paused for a moment before snorting coldly and saying nothing more.
He then turned, weapon in hand, and charged toward the distant pirates.
"Zehahahaha, now that was quite a show," Blackbeard grinned.
Not only did the Marines have a deserter, but he tried to stop Akainu from pursuing pirates... How entertaining!
Then he turned to Sengoku and said: "But I think he made a fair point. How about... we call it quits here?"
Without wasting a single word, Sengoku responded by firing a Shockwave at him!
Seeing this, Blackbeard's eyes turned cold as he thought: 'Stubborn old fool!'
He then activated his Devil Fruit power, clashing directly with Sengoku's Shockwave!
"BOOM!!"
After briefly glancing toward Sengoku's battlefield, Akainu withdrew his gaze and pulled his fist back.
With nothing left to support him, Koby's body crumpled to the ground, where Akainu's magma ignited it, gradually reducing it to charcoal.
But Akainu didn't even spare him a glance, instead turning toward the battlefield and commanding: "Continue! Wipe out these pirates!"
"Ooh!!"
"Charge! Follow Admiral Sakazuki and annihilate the pirates!"
"Kill them all!"
The Marines, hearing Akainu's order, immediately roared and surged toward the pirates.
"Damn it, these Marines have gone mad," the pirates muttered with grim expressions.
"No choice! To survive, we have to kill them!"
"Ooh!!"
At that moment, both sides descended into a bloodthirsty frenzy.
Approaching Akainu, Meiser stared at him and said: "You're quite decisive with your actions, Akainu."
"He dared to disrupt military morale! Of course I had to execute him!!" Akainu retorted coldly.
As a staunch hardliner, he would never tolerate such cowardice within the Marine ranks.
So... that man had to die!
Meiser simply nodded at this, offering no further comment.
He then summoned his Susanoo and swiftly charged toward Akainu.
After a glance at the pale golden spear in Susanoo's hand, Akainu's eyes turned cold as he immediately infused his fist with Haki.
Having done this, Akainu charged toward Meiser.
The next moment...
Clang!
Boom!!
The Haki-infused fist slammed against Meiser's TimePiercingSpearOfToki, unleashing a terrifying shockwave!
Boom!!
The impact alone sent nearby Marines flying!
"Ah!!"
"Fufufufufu~"
Doflamingo laughed heartily and said, "It seems this war is far from over~"
The only question was how heavy a price the Marines would have to pay to completely annihilate the Whitebeard Pirates here.
'It'd be best if more than half of them die!' Doflamingo thought excitedly.
That way, the Underground Kings like him could reap even greater benefits!
Tch!
"Planning to wipe them out completely?" Hawkeye remarked.
The Whitebeard Pirates, having lost their captain, were indeed at their most vulnerable.
But... let's not forget there are still powerful fighters like the Blood-Eyed Ninja among them!
Under these circumstances, completely eliminating them seems unlikely.
Of course, it would be a different story if the Marines received reinforcements.
Thinking this, Hawkeye turned his gaze toward the direction of the Red Line and murmured, "Will the World Government come to support the Marines?"
He was rather curious.
"Zehahahaha!"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, you can't kill me!" Blackbeard roared with laughter.
Although he hadn't obtained the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, with the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit, he could still hold his own against the Marine Fleet Admiral for a while!
"Arrogant fool!" Sengoku's eyes turned cold.
He then raised his hand again and unleashed a shockwave, clashing violently with Blackbeard's darkness!
Whoosh~
Boom!!
"Wahahahaha!"
"Captain, I'll help you!" Burgess laughed loudly.
The man then leaped out from behind Blackbeard and charged swiftly toward Sengoku.
Seeing this, Sengoku's eyes chilled as he said, "Did you think..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a figure appeared in front of him.
This figure then swung its fist, striking Burgess hard!
Thud!
The blow sent Burgess flying!
Whoosh~
Boom!!
Like a cannonball, Burgess crashed into the ground in the distance, creating a massive crater!
"Cough cough... Marine Hero Garp?!"
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Burgess's face twisted in agony.
"Garp..."
"I am also a Marine," Garp said with a stern expression.
Sengoku opened his mouth as if to say something but ultimately swallowed his words.
"Zehahahaha, the Marine Hero and the Fleet Admiral joining forces against me?" Blackbeard laughed maniacally. "It seems you really do hold me in high regard!!!"
Though he didn't know if he would survive this battle at Marine Headquarters, having two legends team up against him was enough to excite him.
Watching Blackbeard's wild laughter, Avalo Pizarro and the others were momentarily stunned.
Then, Avalo Pizarro thought to himself, 'Is this the sheer audacity of Marshall D. Teach?'
No wonder this guy acted that way!
Thinking this, Avalo Pizarro's eyes began to flicker.
"Don't get too cocky, kid," Garp said coldly.
"Cocky?"
Blackbeard shook his head. "I'm just stating facts!"
"Zehahahaha!"
Watching the figure laughing wildly on the screen, the reporters at Sabaody Archipelago instinctively gulped and said, "Is this guy really not afraid to die?"
"That's the Marine Hero and the Fleet Admiral!!"
To show not a trace of fear with two legendary figures standing before him... Is this Blackbeard's boldness?
Truly somewhat terrifying!
"If this guy can survive, his achievements definitely won't be low," Hawkins remarked.
He might even become the new Four Emperor replacing Whitebeard!
"That may be true, but the question is... can he survive?" Apoo said.
Standing before him are two legends!
"That depends on his luck."
"Luck?"
Apoo was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly. "Why don't you do a reading for him?"
"I'm not that bored," Hawkins said flatly.
He wasn't very interested in this Blackbeard, so he naturally wouldn't take out his Cards to divine the other's fortune.
Hearing this, Apoo curled his lips but didn't say anything more.
After all... whether this guy can survive will be revealed soon, won't it!
"Captain, do you think this Blackbeard can survive?" Absalom asked curiously.
"Kishishishishi~"
Moria laughed upon hearing this. "If there aren't any major unforeseen events, this Blackbeard is probably doomed."
"Unforeseen events..."
Absalom said strangely, "In this situation, can there still be unforeseen events?"
"Who knows."
Moria spread his hands. "After all... luck is the most unpredictable thing, isn't it."
Absalom fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded. "That's true."
Luck really is the most unpredictable thing.
"If nothing unexpected happens, this Blackbeard is doomed," Shakky said, flicking her cigarette ash.
As a pirate who had been pursued by Garp for a long time, she knew very well how strong Garp was!
And now Blackbeard has to face both Garp and Sengoku... there's basically no way out.
"Perhaps," Rayleigh said.
Seeing that Rayleigh wasn't very interested, Shakky didn't continue the topic.
Then, she said, "Do you think the World Government will send troops to support the Marines?"
Hearing this, Rayleigh was momentarily stunned, then frowned. "Support from the World Government..."
After thinking carefully for a while, Rayleigh shook his head. "Probably not."
"Why?"
"The Marines have their pride," Rayleigh said.
Whitebeard has already fallen in battle, and the Marines have five Admiral-level combatants!
If they still need to ask the World Government for reinforcements in this situation, it would truly show the Marines' incompetence.
So he guessed that the Marines most likely wouldn't ask for help.
Shakky fell silent upon hearing this, then nodded. "That's true."
Then, she turned her gaze to the live broadcast screen, intending to see how things would ultimately unfold.
"Captain, we're about to reach Marine Headquarters," the navigator said.
Although they had been delayed somewhat by the massive ice formations, the journey had been relatively smooth overall.
"Yeah, I can see it already."
Shanks, who had been staring at the pirate ship in the distance, frowned and said, "I wonder how the battle is going."
After a moment's thought, Shanks turned his gaze toward Yasopp.
Taking the signal, Yasopp immediately scrambled to the highest point of the pirate ship and began observing the distant situation.
A short while later, his pupils contracted as he reported, "Boss, I see Whitebeard's body."
As soon as these words were spoken, the ship fell into a deathly silence.
After a pause, Shanks said, "In the end, he still... 'Boss, we—'"
"Proceed as planned," Shanks said with a complicated look in his eyes as he gazed into the distance. "We'll be the ones to end this war!"
"Ooh!!"
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