"Whitebeard, and all of you who revere him as your father, are ultimately nothing but failures!"
Akainu roared in a low, furious voice, leaping high into the air. His magma arm blasted towards Ace and Luffy, aiming to annihilate these two pirates carrying the blood of demons.
Taro also knew this move of Akainu's; it was precisely the "Nether Dog," a technique of terrifying power.
In the original story, Ace had died by this very move.
Whitebeard raised his arm, about to unleash a Quake Fist to rescue Ace, but Kizaru seized the opportunity, piercing his arm with a laser beam.
"Well, well, a direct hit, Whitebeard. I won't let you interfere. You shouldn't get distracted during a fight!"
Taro hadn't expected that despite all his efforts, things were still heading towards this outcome. Frustration welled up in his heart. He clenched his fist and cursed, "Fuck."
Then, in an instant, he drew thunderstorm and slashed down with his blade.
"Mihawk Slash!"
A sharp Sword Qi sliced directly in front of Luffy, attempting to block Akainu's pursuit.
Taro knew that with this slash, his undercover identity was pretty much unsalvageable. However, with Ace and Luffy's lives hanging by a thread, he couldn't care less about that now.
"BOOM!"
At this critical moment, a thunderclap exploded. There was no sky collapsing or earth splitting, nor any mythical hammers.
A figure suddenly appeared before Luffy, his deep green coat flapping wildly in the fierce wind.
It was Monkey D. Dragon!
With his left hand, he grasped the Void Realm, and a stream of air, like a thread, bound Akainu's fist, preventing it from advancing any further.
Simultaneously, his right hand flicked upwards, deflecting Taro's slash towards the sky.
Taro was utterly dumbfounded. Dragon was this strong? This was practically heaven-piercing cultivation!
Still, being able to save Ace and Luffy was a good thing!
Hmm... this way, it seemed he hadn't actually been exposed?
That was fantastic!
At this moment, Sengoku in his Great Buddha Form finally caught up with heavy footsteps.
Taro glanced sideways at Sengoku. He saw not a single scratch on the golden body of the Great Buddha, and Dragon also showed no signs of injury. For a moment, he was stunned.
So, you two big shots fought for half the day and it was just a friendly spar?
He had no idea how frustrating Sengoku found fighting Dragon. Every one of Sengoku's powerful, heavy attacks was neutralized by Dragon using flowing air currents to redirect the force.
If he had seen their battle, he might have deeply understood the profound martial art that Master Ma called 'Dissolving Force.'
Having casually blocked the attacks from Taro and Akainu as if strolling in a garden, Dragon stood proudly, blocking the path ahead of the three of them.
Jinbe was quick-witted. He scooped up Ace and Luffy, one under each arm, and started running.
Taro's eyes showed appreciation, and he nodded inwardly. I like this kind of nimble Blue Fatty. Well done!
"Sakazuki, Taro, pursue them!" Sengoku's voice boomed.
Akainu's magma body soared into the air and landed in front of Jinbe.
"It seems I need to deal with a traitor. For a Warlord of the Sea to act like this, Jinbe!"
Jinbe stopped and stared directly at Akainu. "This old man will not let you lay a hand on Ace and Luffy."
Hearing this, Akainu wasted no more words. He raised his right hand high, ready to smash it down.
"Jinbe, duck!"
A loud shout rang out. Marco and "Flower Sword" Vista, whose handcuffs had been removed by Mr. 2 Bon Clay restoring his abilities, charged forward to intercept Akainu.
"You go first!"
Only then did Taro, holding his sword, leisurely catch up.
"Taro, get your act together," Akainu said in a low voice. "Are you unwilling to attack Ace?"
Akainu had sensed something off about Taro earlier, and now his dissatisfaction grew, leading to a direct confrontation.
"Admiral Sakazuki, are you already preparing to shift the blame for the prisoners' escape onto me?" Taro retorted without holding back.
Akainu's face darkened, his breathing growing heavier for a moment. Suppressing his anger, he looked at Marco and Vista.
"These two are yours. I hope you won't let them interfere with me again!"
Without waiting for Taro's reply, he continued forward.
Taro gritted his teeth and snorted coldly.
Marco and Vista exchanged a glance. Vista stepped forward, preparing to hold off Taro alone.
Blue flames erupted from Marco's arms as he prepared to pursue Akainu.
Taro swung his blade to stop him, but Vista raised his twin swords to block.
"Soru."
Taro's figure flashed in front of Marco, his leg sweeping out like a whip to force him back, and said softly:
"You two are putting me in a difficult position. Stay here. Don't move."
Unfortunately, Taro didn't possess the "fruit" ability of the Red Hair Pirates' Vice-Captain Benn Beckman, so he couldn't persuade the two to retreat.
Seeing that words were useless, Taro had no choice but to raise his fists, prepared to convince them with 'reason.'
Right at that moment,
"CRACK!"
A sharp, shattering sound, as if readers' phone screens had burst, rang out, followed by the earth shaking and mountains quaking.
It turned out that on the other side, Whitebeard, fighting alone, was gradually running out of stamina. More and more Marines were being pulled away to pursue the fleeing pirates.
Growing desperate, Whitebeard mustered all his remaining strength and unleashed a Quake Fist. This strike directly tore the earth asunder, shaking all of Marineford until it fractured.
A horizontal fissure exploded open, gradually widening until it became like a cliff, splitting the entire plaza in two.
Another vertical fissure shot straight towards the main fortress of Marineford, splitting the stronghold cleanly in half.
The main fortress, symbolizing the Marines' authority, which had already lost a small portion from Taro's slash, now collapsed by another half, nearly completely destroyed.
After the quakes, Marineford was in utter shambles, littered with the ruins of buildings.
The cliff dividing the plaza cut off the Marines' pursuit. Whitebeard stood alone on the Marine side, while the pirates were on the other.
"Pops..."
"Pops..."
"..."
Seeing this, the pirates cried out in anguish.
Taro felt somewhat awkward. Now, only he and Akainu remained on this side of the cliff, standing out conspicuously among the crowd of pirates.
Whitebeard's quake attack affected the entire battlefield. Seizing the chance, Monkey D. Dragon disengaged from his fight with Sengoku, summoned a whirlwind, and suddenly appeared beside Taro.
Taro was stunned. Dragon had already swung his arm, and a powerful storm instantly whipped up, sweeping Taro back towards the Marine ranks. The battlefield was filled with howling winds.
"It seems today is not the time for a conversation. I will find you again."
As Taro flew backward, the wind noise in his ears abruptly ceased, replaced by Dragon's voice. After the words finished, the wind roared again.
Taro was astounded by Dragon's maneuver. This level of control over air currents was unparalleled. Could Dragon really be a Wind-Wind Fruit user?
Sengoku reached out a large hand and caught Taro. Seeing Taro's shocked expression, he deactivated his Great Buddha Form and nodded at Taro with deep understanding.
"Truly astonishing. In Whitebeard's physical condition, he still possesses such formidable power!"
Taro: "..."
Uh... Fleet Admiral, we're not shocked about the same thing!
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