"Cough, cough…"
Inside a crater riddled with cracks, Luffy and Sabo struggled to their feet. Their faces were pale, chests heaving as they stared toward the execution platform with clenched fists.
Two towering obstacles stood in their way.
Two mountains.
To save Ace, those mountains had to be brought down.
Not far away on the battlefield, Bartholomew Kuma was locked in combat with a captain of the Whitebeard Pirates. Even so, his gaze occasionally shifted toward the execution platform. The sudden reappearance of Akainu and Kizaru did not surprise him. The platform had always been within his reach, but now was not the ideal moment to act.
"Luffy."
Sabo tightened his grip on his pipe. Armament Haki coated its surface as he looked at Luffy, saying nothing, yet conveying everything.
Luffy coughed up blood. Without hesitation, he reentered Fourth Gear, steam erupting from his body. He nodded, no stubbornness left in his eyes.
"Go!"
The ground exploded beneath them. Debris shot outward as Luffy and Sabo vanished, reappearing on opposite sides of the execution platform, charging directly at Kizaru and Akainu with fury burning in their eyes.
"Dragon's Breath!"
"Gum Gum Black Mamba!"
"You are overestimating yourselves!"
Akainu's right arm surged with molten magma as he met Luffy head on. The atmosphere shook violently as their attacks collided, terrifying shockwaves spreading outward and causing the execution platform to crack and collapse further.
On the other side, Sabo clashed with Kizaru. The most shocking sight was that Sabo actually managed to hold the Admiral back, if only briefly.
Magma dripped and flowed.
Akainu stood amid the lava, staring coldly at Luffy as he climbed from the ruins. Steam poured from Luffy's body, Armament Haki markings pulsing as he bounced heavily against the ground.
"The blood of great evil flows in your veins," Akainu said grimly. "Today, not only will Fire Fist Ace die here, you will die as well."
Half of Akainu's body transformed into magma. His killing intent was now firmly locked onto Luffy.
"Even an Admiral won't stop me from saving Ace!"
Luffy roared, rage burning in his eyes as his right arm compressed violently.
"Gum Gum King Kong Gun!"
He launched the attack first.
"Looking for death."
"Hellhound."
Akainu's magma arm swelled grotesquely, erupting with the force of a volcano as it smashed forward.
The collision sent a massive shockwave rippling outward.
Luffy gritted his teeth and let out a muffled cry as his body was blown backward violently.
Even in Fourth Gear, he was still no match for Akainu in raw power.
When it came to destructive force, especially explosive output, Akainu stood among the strongest in the world. The Magma Magma Fruit in his hands was refined to terrifying perfection, its volcanic might nearly unstoppable.
"Damn it…"
Luffy rolled across the ground repeatedly, carving a deep gully behind him before crashing into rubble. Blood poured from his mouth as he struggled to breathe.
At the far edge of the plaza, Emma felt her heart sink as she saw Luffy sent flying. Her gaze immediately snapped toward the execution platform, where Sengoku had already returned to Ace's side.
She did not care whether Ace lived or died.
She only cared about Luffy.
Several Main God missions were tied directly to him. Luffy could not be allowed to die here.
Even though Luffy had mastered Fourth Gear two years early, Emma knew the truth. He was still not a match for Akainu. That was absolute.
If this continued, Luffy would be killed.
"Hey… hey…"
"It's already over."
Across the world, countless people stared at their screens as Sengoku lifted his long sword once more.
This time, there was no hesitation.
The blade fell.
"Ace!"
Haoshoku Haki and powerful auras surged toward the execution platform, but none of it could stop Sengoku.
Marco, Jozu, and the others rushed desperately forward, only to be intercepted by Aokiji, CP0 agents, and veteran Vice Admirals.
"No…"
Luffy's vision blurred as he was flung backward. Blood streamed from his nose and mouth as he stared helplessly toward the platform.
"Kuma!"
Sabo roared while battling Kizaru.
The hidden piece was finally called into play.
Boom.
At the instant Sengoku's blade descended, a massive bear paw slammed into it, knocking the sword violently aside. Another bear paw followed, hurling a compressed air bomb straight at Sengoku.
"Bartholomew Kuma, what do you think you are doing?"
Sengoku's eyes widened in fury as he struck back with a palm of blinding Buddha light.
Pop.
A small mushroom cloud rose into the air. The execution platform collapsed inward as Sengoku was forced down, his feet sinking deep into the ground. Buddha light radiated from his body, his expression darker than ever.
On the opposite side, Kuma reappeared beside Ivankov, Ace held firmly in his grasp. Blood trickled from Kuma's mouth.
Even with preparation, the impact had been overwhelming.
Sengoku's Buddha palm was not something easily endured.
"Kuma!"
"What is Bartholomew Kuma doing?"
Onigumo roared in rage from afar.
"Ace has been rescued!"
For a moment, pirates across the battlefield froze.
Then cheers erupted.
No one had expected Bartholomew Kuma to intervene, and fewer still believed he would succeed.
"The Marines cannot lose!"
"Kill Fire Fist Ace!"
Marines surged forward in fury, desperate to reclaim control.
"Retreat! Retreat!"
The Whitebeard Pirates began to pull back. Ace had been saved. Their objective was complete.
"Trying to leave? Impossible!"
"Today, pirates and Revolutionaries alike will all die here!"
Hardline Marines snarled, unwilling to allow any retreat.
"Watch out!"
A devastating shockwave tore through the ground, surging toward Ace and his group. Everyone barely managed to evade as a massive golden Buddha slammed down, its raised palm radiating Vajra fury.
Buddha Sengoku was enraged.
"No one leaves!"
The Marines had committed everything to this war. Sengoku had staked his entire legacy on it.
Failure was unacceptable.
"Damn it!"
Ivankov's hair stood on end as the golden palm descended, death looming.
"You go first!"
Kuma's eyes hardened. His bear paw compressed the air and fired another massive blast upward.
"Bartholomew Kuma, you deserve to die."
Rumble.
A halo exploded outward as a towering mushroom cloud rose into the sky. In the swirling smoke, Kuma was sent flying, blood spraying as Sengoku staggered back only a single step before lunging again.
Buddha light filled his right palm as he pressed down toward Ace and Ivankov.
"Damn it…"
Who could withstand being relentlessly pursued by an Admiral?
Ivankov felt his life slipping beyond his control, burdened further by the person he was protecting.
Just as he was about to unleash everything, an old man wielding a pipe appeared, colliding head on with Sengoku. The resulting shockwave sent Ace and Ivankov flying to safety.
"Gaban!"
Sengoku looked down at Scopper Gaban, then glanced across the battlefield.
At some point, Garp had been buried up to his waist in rubble, only his legs exposed, completely motionless.
Feigning death.
Sengoku's face darkened instantly.
Decades of friendship meant understanding exactly what that meant.
He was furious.
And disappointed.
"Sengoku," Gaban said calmly, exhaling smoke. "How many years has it been since we last fought? I just tested Garp's fist. Still as hard as ever. I wonder if your Buddha palm has rusted."
His pipe staff gleamed with Armament Haki.
"Gaban," Sengoku replied coldly, "you should not be here."
"There is no choice," Gaban sighed. "That is our captain's only bloodline."
"Then prepare to be wanted by the Marines once again."
Sengoku raised his right palm and struck forward.
---