When Carl raised the golden Den Den Mushi in his hand, everyone, including Whitebeard, widened their eyes in shock. Dragon, who was especially familiar with that exquisitely designed device, exclaimed,
"Not good! He's activated the Buster Call!"
The mere mention of the Buster Call caused everyone present to turn pale.
In the past, the Buster Call might not have been such a fearsome prospect for factions of their level.
But things were different now. The one initiating it was the Fleet Admiral and a Celestial Dragon.
No one knew how many Admirals would respond to the call—perhaps all of them...
Carl glanced at the Den Den Mushi in his hand and muttered,
"By my calculations, Akainu and the others should be arriving any moment."
He then looked up, smiling at the crowd before him.
"Such a grand wedding—how could the Navy possibly miss it?"
Gulp.
The sound of nervous swallowing echoed among the crowd.
Wedding? More like a funeral!
Dragon's eyes flickered as he began to consider retreat.
Carl's strength far exceeded his expectations. Initially, Dragon believed that an alliance of major forces could stand against the Navy, but now he realized he had been overly optimistic.
If one Carl was already this difficult to handle, what could they do against six Admirals and the Navy's elite?
The only way to preserve the Revolutionary Army, which he had spent decades building, was a temporary retreat.
Glancing at Whitebeard and Big Mom beside him, Dragon began to step back slowly.
However, Whitebeard and Big Mom were too focused on Carl to notice Dragon's actions.
Neither entertained the thought of retreat. Big Mom, in particular, would never abandon Totto Land, her utopia.
Whitebeard clenched his fists, the muscles on his arms bulging as he unleashed quake-imbued punches enhanced by his haki. Each shockwave tore through the air toward Carl.
Big Mom let out an ear-piercing shriek, merging Hera into her hair and gripping Zeus tightly as she hurled a massive purple thunderbolt at Carl.
"Thunderquake Strike!"
Katakuri and the others surrounding Carl quickly backed off, exposing him to the combined assault of two Emperors.
But Carl activated intangibility in an instant. No matter how ferocious their attacks, they couldn't touch him.
From above, Marco's expression turned grim. Gritting his teeth, he growled,
"Damn it! We can't hurt him at all! If this keeps up, we'll be surrounded by the Navy!"
Katakuri and Sabo also realized the dire situation. But what could they do?
With Carl's displayed power, even without his intangibility, he alone could likely hold them here until the Navy arrived to finish the job.
It was an inescapable predicament.
At that moment, Carl suddenly glanced up at Marco.
Marco froze as Carl's gaze locked onto him. A chilling sensation ran down his spine as he realized he was isolated from the main group.
Flapping his wings, Marco dove to rejoin the others, but it was too late.
Carl's wings flared as he appeared before Marco in an instant, smiling.
"Flying must be nice, don't you think, Marco?"
Before Marco could react, Carl's blackened hand gripped his neck tightly.
The blue flames engulfing Marco's body extinguished instantly, and his phoenix wings reverted to human arms.
Whitebeard's eyes widened in horror as he saw Carl capture his favorite "son."
"Stop!" Whitebeard roared, leaping into the air like a cannonball, his legs charged with haki.
But in the next moment, a pineapple-shaped head brushed past Whitebeard's face, smashing into the ground with a gruesome splatter of yellow and white.
Whitebeard froze midair, staring blankly at Marco's lifeless, headless body.
The phoenix was dead, its signature blue flames extinguished forever.
Carl released Marco's corpse, letting it fall to the ground.
Whitebeard's throat tightened, and blood spewed from his mouth. Landing on the ground, he dropped to one knee.
"Father!" Jozu and the others rushed to his side, panic written all over their faces.
Meanwhile, Katakuri and Sabo hastened to rejoin their respective groups, sticking close to Big Mom and Dragon.
Dragon stepped forward to shield Sabo. Having already lost allies like Fujitora and Karasu, the Revolutionary Army was hanging by a thread. If Sabo fell, Dragon would be left with nothing.
In the rear, Blackbeard let out a heavy sigh. Chiffon, mistaking it for grief over Marco's death, thought her husband was a deeply emotional and righteous man.
In truth, Blackbeard felt only a sliver of sadness for Marco, a companion of over 20 years. Most of his regret was for Marco's Mythical Zoan Phoenix Fruit.
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+255 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg