"Ooooh~~~!"
The moment Garp entered the battlefield, the morale of the navy surged like a tidal wave.
"Don't let his reputation shake you—he's just an old war dog!" Whitebeard bellowed, trying to rally his side before fear could settle in.
"Says the man from the same era!" Akainu sneered, launching another fierce assault at Whitebeard. "Worry about yourself first!"
"That's right! We're not here to roll over—show the navy what the New World is made of!" One of the pirate captains roared as the pirates regrouped and charged back into battle with renewed determination.
Meanwhile, Luffy, barely conscious after being flung to safety by Whitebeard, groaned and crawled toward Ivankov.
"Iva-chan! Hit me with that treatment again!" He gasped.
"No, Straw Hat BOY! That technique is far too risky! If anything happens to you, how will I ever face Dragon?" Ivankov shook his head, his voice filled with both concern and dread.
"Please... if Ace dies because I wasn't strong enough... I don't want to live anyway!" Luffy said through gritted teeth, his body trembling.
Ivankov stared at him, eyes wide with worry—then clenched his jaw.
"Very well! Healing hormone—FIRE!!" he shouted, injecting the powerful stimulant into Luffy's body.
"AHHH—AAHHH—AAACE!!" Luffy screamed in agony, the pain searing through his nerves as strength surged back into his limbs.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, a certain clown stirred.
"Cough, cough... What the hell happened?" Buggy wheezed as he woke up, finally thawing after being frozen solid by Aokiji.
Back at the front lines, Whitebeard and Akainu clashed once more. But after trading several brutal blows, Whitebeard's body faltered—he coughed violently, and blood poured from his mouth.
The battle was far from over, but time was beginning to catch up with the old legend.
"So, even the great Whitebeard can't escape the ravages of time?" Akainu sneered, feeling a surge of confidence as he watched the old pirate cough up blood.
This was exactly what the navy had been counting on. They launched this war knowing Whitebeard's health was deteriorating. A titan like him couldn't be allowed to fade away in obscurity. For the Navy and the World Government, a quiet death would be the ultimate disgrace. He had to fall here, on the battlefield.
"Damn it... what I feared most has finally come to pass!" Marco shouted, fending off Kizaru before rushing desperately toward Whitebeard.
"Victory or defeat often comes down to a single moment..." Kizaru said calmly from behind. Seizing Marco's distraction, he fired a laser beam straight through his body.
"Marco! Dad!" Joz's voice rang out in panic. Locked in battle with Aokiji, he watched in horror as two of the crew's strongest fighters fell in quick succession. The tide of the war was shifting.
"You're losing focus..." Aokiji murmured as he seized the chance. He closed in and instantly froze half of Joz's body, tipping their duel in his favor.
"Let's see you handle this, Whitebeard!" Akainu growled, stepping in and slamming a brutal molten punch into Whitebeard's midsection. The mighty emperor staggered, his body hunched forward from the impact.
"We have to reach Dad—now!" Marco gritted his teeth and forced himself back up, flames flickering around his wounds. "You got careless, didn't you, Kizaru?"
"Oh my... Still alive? You really are the Phoenix, Marco," Kizaru replied coolly, his voice like a slow, mocking drawl.
Click!
In the chaos, Vice Admiral Onigumo slipped in unnoticed—and snapped a pair of seastone handcuffs around Marco's wrists.
"Seastone?! Damn it—no!"
Before Marco could react, another searing beam of light tore through the air—Kizaru's laser strike pierced him once more, cutting through flesh that could no longer regenerate.
"Let's see you heal this time, Phoenix Marco," Kizaru said with a smirk, his tone dripping with arrogance.
All around them, Whitebeard's commanders were falling one by one. Joz lay frozen, Marco crippled, and the morale of the crew began to unravel.
"This is bad... even Jozu's down..." a pirate whispered, his voice trembling. Faces once filled with defiance now showed cracks of fear and sorrow.
"Where the hell is Dragon?!" Jack muttered sharply. "If he doesn't show up soon, the entire Whitebeard Pirates will be wiped out."
Having ensured Luffy's safety, Jack had stopped fighting. Instead, he now stood beside Garp at the execution platform, watching everything unfold. From this vantage, he could keep an eye on both Sengoku and any sudden moves. If the World Nobles made a play, Sengoku would be the first to know.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Whitebeard stood tall, bloodied but unbroken.
"Stay back! All of you!" he roared, wiping out a wave of marines with a single, thunderous blow from his naginata. "Do they think I'll fall from just a few scratches?! I don't need anyone's help—because I... am WHITEBEARD!"
Yet even as he declared it, Jack's eyes caught something horrifying—a gaping hole had been blown through Whitebeard's chest. Akainu's molten fist had done the damage, but the old man still stood, chest heaving, unshaken.
"What... kind of monster takes that and keeps standing?" Jack muttered in disbelief.
"Who do you think he is?" Garp replied quietly. "He's not called the strongest man in the world for nothing."
Jack glanced sideways. "So... who's stronger? you or him?"
Garp didn't answer. He looked at Whitebeard, battered but still fighting, and in that silence, there was a quiet acknowledgment: the answer no longer mattered—because this legend was writing his final chapter right here, on this battlefield.
"Fleet Admiral! Urgent report!"
Suddenly, a breathless messenger sprinted across the square, panic on his face as he shouted toward Sengoku.
'They're attacking?' Jack glanced toward Sengoku, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes.
"What's the situation?" Sengoku asked, his brow furrowed. At this critical juncture, any disturbance could tip the scales of war.
"Reporting!" the messenger said breathlessly. "The Revolutionary Army has launched an attack on Mary Geoise! No Celestial Dragons were harmed, but Marshal Kong has requested you organize reinforcements immediately!"
"What? The Revolutionary Army… Dragon?!" Sengoku's eyes darted to Ivankov, who was still attending to Luffy. So, they were making their move after all...
"Fleet Admiral, your orders?" the messenger pressed.
Sengoku narrowed his gaze. "Ignore it for now. If no Celestial Dragon was harmed, that means Dragon didn't send his full force. We cannot split our troops at this moment. Focus everything on Whitebeard. We lose here, and we lose the New World."
And with that, his voice thundered across the square:
"EXECUTE PORTGAS D. ACE—NOW!"
The order rang out like a cannon blast.
"No!" Jack gasped, eyes snapping to the execution stand as the bayonets were raised. He hadn't anticipated the Revolutionary Army's attack would force Sengoku's hand like this.
He could already feel himself preparing to intervene.
But just as his muscles tensed to move, a low voice came from beside him.
"Don't do anything foolish, boy," Garp said without turning his head. His voice was quiet but heavy, filled with something between warning and sorrow. He'd seen that look before—too many times.
Jack clenched his fists, torn between impulse and reason, as the blades began to descend.
"Sensei, Ace is my brother!" Jack growled, teeth clenched, his voice laced with urgency and emotion.
But before he could act, a powerful, overwhelming presence swept across the battlefield like a tidal wave.
"What... is this feeling?" Jack turned in surprise, eyes locking onto the source of the sudden surge in power. It was Luffy—his eyes wild, his breath ragged—as pure Conqueror's Haki burst forth from him, shaking the air around the execution platform.
"He awakened it… unconsciously?" Akainu muttered, watching Luffy press forward through the chaos.
"So he was hiding this all along. Scary little guy," Kizaru drawled, still wearing his lazy grin, though his tone betrayed unease.
Beside Jack, Garp murmured under his breath, "He inherited it too huh…" His expression was unreadable, caught between pride and dread.
Jack cracked a slight smile. "He's the son of Dragon. And your grandson. It'd be weirder if he didn't have Conqueror's Haki."
And then, through the roar of battle, Whitebeard's voice rang out:
"All of you—protect Straw Hat with everything you've got!"
Bloodied and weary, Whitebeard stood tall, his eyes burning—not with rage, but with something deeper: hope.
As the echoes of his command spread, he thought of the past, of shared drinks and long conversations with his old rival, the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.
"So this... is the will of D?" Whitebeard smiled faintly to himself. "Show me the future of this era, Straw Hat."
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