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Fire and ice had torn the battlefield apart. Mist swallowed the sky.
Even the Marines couldn't believe what they were seeing."Admiral Aokiji's ice… was melted?!"
The pirates roared in triumph."Of course! He's the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates—what else did you expect?!"
But Sengoku slammed his fist into the ground, frustration etched on his face."To think this could happen right under my nose…"
The marines retreated in shaken clusters, muttering to calm themselves."We can't beat them… if even an Admiral struggles, what chance do we have?"
Suddenly, a shadow appeared behind them.
They turned—and froze."Admiral Sakazuki!!!"
"I won't let them escape."
At that very moment, a massive pirate ship barreled onto the battlefield—modified so it could even move across land.
The sight sent pirates scattering in shock."Who the hell is steering that thing?!"
"It's Squard!!! The Great Whirlpool Spider Pirates!!!"
From the ship's deck, Squard raised his blade and shouted,"Old man! Everyone! Get out of here! Leave this battlefield to us!!"
Whitebeard's gaze softened. "Those brats…"
"Don't be stupid, Squard!" his crewmates shouted in alarm.
Squard shook his head. "After what I did to Pops… I can't make it right. But if I don't do this, I'll never be able to live with myself. Take Ace and go!!"
Ace's flames surged higher as he unleashed another blazing strike."Divine Flame—Shiranui!!!"
Fire rained down on the battlefield, consuming the marines in its path.
Squard's ship plowed forward when, suddenly, Akainu appeared beside it.
"That idiot!"
The pirate ship barreled ahead like a runaway beast—until, out of nowhere, a massive arm stretched across its path.
The entire vessel shook violently.
"What's happening?!"
"The ship—it's stopped!"
A single hand blocked their advance.
"Whitebeard!!"
The old man was heaving for breath, chest rising and falling with effort.
"Pops!!" Squard shouted, panic in his voice.
Every gaze turned toward the towering figure.
"Squard… don't you know how cruel it is for a son to bury his father?"
His voice rumbled like distant thunder.
"Don't get carried away. That blow you struck—it wasn't enough to kill me."
"Everyone's time runs out eventually."
Whitebeard's voice carried across the entire battlefield.
"Our objective is already accomplished. Listen up—Whitebeard Pirates!"
His tone shifted, heavy and final.
"From this moment on, I give you my last order as your captain."
The crew froze, realization dawning.
"Last order? Pops, don't say things like that!"
"We don't want to hear it!"
"We're going back to the New World together!"
"Ace!!" someone shouted, as he hurled fire toward the Marines in a blazing cross.
"Pops!!!"
Whitebeard's voice cut through the chaos, stern and commanding:
"This is where we part ways. All of you—live on!"
"Return safely to the New World!!"
"Pops… you mean to die here?"
"I'm a relic of the old era. There's no ship in this new age that can carry me anymore."
With those words, Whitebeard drove his fist into the very air. Space itself shattered like glass, cracks spiderwebbing outward.
"Set sail, my sons!!!"
The ground beneath Marineford split apart, walls crumbling as smoke and dust filled the sky. Marines were hurled away like rag dolls.
Sengoku's face twisted in fury. "Whitebeard!!"
But there he stood, towering in the storm of rubble, his power splitting the Navy's fortress in two.
"Pops, no!!"
Whitebeard's lips curved into a smile. "Don't look back. The world is changing!"
On the Moby Dick
The ship was filled with sobs.
"Pops… how could you—how could you trade your life for ours?" Marco's voice trembled with grief.
"He's the strongest man in the world. No blade can kill him. Pops will return to us alive. He has to."
Ace's voice was hoarse. "So many died just to save me… and now even Pops…"
Marine Headquarters
Sengoku slammed a fist onto the table. "We cannot allow the son of that cursed bloodline to escape! Whitebeard, do you dare challenge the justice of the Navy?!"
Across the room, Garp quietly sipped his tea, pretending none of it concerned him.
"Garp!" Sengoku roared. "This is your family's mess. Explain yourself!"
Kizaru lounged lazily in his chair, though even he looked shaken. "To face that man in the future… terrifying thought, isn't it?"
Akainu shattered the table in front of him with a single punch. "Whitebeard's pirates will not escape! Justice will never yield!!"
On the battlefield, Whitebeard's voice rang out again.
"It's been a long voyage…" His tone was almost serene. "Let's finish this."
"Marines!!!"
The island itself began to crumble. Panic rippled through the ranks.
"Is he planning to drag the entire island down with him?!"
"Pops!!"
"I won't leave Pops behind!"
"We're going home together!"
The pirates roared their defiance.
Whitebeard's face hardened. "Do you refuse your captain's orders?"
"Get moving, you fools!!"
"Now's the time—strike him down! He's on his last breath!" the Marines shouted.
Gunfire erupted, bullets raining toward the old man.
Whitebeard raised his massive bisento, power surging like a tidal wave. With one swing, the earth split apart, Marines hurled screaming into the air.
His crew, eyes brimming with tears, began to retreat.
"Prepare to sail—hurry!!"
But Ace didn't move. He stood rooted to the spot.
"Ace!!" Luffy cried desperately.
Whitebeard swung again and again, carving open the battlefield, buying time for his sons to escape.
"Damn Whitebeard! Even half-dead, he's this strong?!" Marines shouted in frustration.
"He doesn't care about Fire Fist anymore—he's going to sink Marineford along with himself!"
Sengoku's gaze darkened. "So he intends to die here… dragging the Navy with him."
Garp rose slowly from his seat. "Saying farewell to an era, huh? You picked one hell of a time, Whitebeard."
"Go, Ace," he muttered under his breath. "The old man's already prepared himself."
"I know." Ace's voice was steady now. "I won't waste his sacrifice."
"Out of the way!!"
Flames erupted from his body, consuming Marines as he carved a path back to Whitebeard's side.
The battlefield burned, but for a moment, it felt like the world had narrowed to just father and son.
"Enough words, Ace. Let me ask you just one thing…"
Ace lifted his head slowly.
"As your old man… did I do right by you?"
Tears spilled freely down Ace's face, hitting the ground one by one.
His reply tore from his chest like a roar.
"Of course you did!!!"
"..."
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