The Whitebeard Pirates' division commanders took advantage of the moment while Jovian was temporarily held up and rapidly advanced. Every one of them wore a serious and ruthless expression. So many of their brothers had died. If they failed to rescue Ace and give those fallen brothers an answer, they would not deserve the Whitebeard Pirates' reputation as the strongest pirate crew in the world.
"Just a little farther..."
For these battle-hardened Whitebeard Pirates division commanders, whose physical abilities were exceptional, the distance of several kilometers from the inner bay to the execution platform was nothing. For an ordinary person, even running desperately, it would take more than ten minutes to arrive. For them, it would only take a few short minutes.
And those few minutes even included dealing with the Marine officers who rushed out halfway to block them.
"Damn it..."
Marine Admiral Sakazuki, who was currently fighting Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, turned his head and saw the Whitebeard commanders advancing almost unobstructed. Veins instantly bulged across his forehead.
"What the hell are Borsalino and that idiot Kuzan doing?!"
Sakazuki could not understand how these Whitebeard commanders had managed to attack their way so close to the execution platform.
After all, their side had three Marine Admirals holding the line. While he was stopping Whitebeard by himself, where could the enemy possibly find extra combat power to hold back two Admirals like Kuzan and Borsalino?
This battle should obviously have been a one-sided crushing victory, a swift collapse of the Whitebeard Pirates. So whose fault was it that things had dragged on this long?
"This is troublesome..."
Borsalino kept both hands in his pockets as he looked at the advancing Whitebeard commanders, putting on an expression that seemed very frightened and troubled.
"Arara..."
Kuzan also stood in place, no one knew what he was thinking.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"Did Blackbeard show up early? Or did Red-Hair arrive early?"
"Or maybe my arrival changed the plot, so Kaido wasn't stopped by the Red Hair Pirates and flew to Marineford to cause trouble?"
"Don't tell me the two Admirals are throwing on purpose again?"
Jovian held the huge hammer in his hand, unsure what the two Marine Admirals beside him were doing. Since he could not figure it out, he did not act rashly either.
"We're almost there!"
Just as Jovian and the others stood still without moving, several commanders arrived less than a hundred meters from the execution platform.
"Damn it..."
Sengoku looked at the Whitebeard Pirates commanders beneath the execution platform with a solemn expression. At the same time, he removed the cloak from his back, as if ready to take action at any moment.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Ace, wait for us! We're about to save you!"
Izo fired several shots in succession. The bullets, coated in Ryuo Haki, directly took down several Marine officers preparing to attack him.
After doing this, Izo raised his head and shouted toward the execution platform.
"Izo..."
Ace looked down at Izo, tears filling his eyes. He was completely moved by the bond between his brothers.
"As if we'd let you reach the execution platform so easily!"
Just as the division commanders were about to reach the execution platform and rescue Ace, one Marine after another, each wearing a white cloak of justice, blocked the pirates' path.
"It's the Marine Vice Admirals!"
The Marine soldiers, who had been helpless against the Whitebeard Pirates' division commanders, shouted excitedly when they saw those figures step forward.
"Momonga, Doberman, Onigumo, Yamakaji, Strawberry, Bastille, Dalmatian, Stainless, and Comil..."
Izo looked at the Vice Admirals before him, and drops of sweat seeped from his forehead. None of these Vice Admirals were easy opponents. Every one of them was a ruthless fighter capable of taking down a great pirate with a bounty over one hundred million on their own.
On Whitebeard's side, only nine division commanders remained: Seventh Division Commander Rakuyo, Eighth Division Commander Namur, Ninth Division Commander Blenheim, Tenth Division Commander Curiel, Eleventh Division Commander Kingdew, Twelfth Division Commander Haruta, Thirteenth Division Commander "Water Buffalo" Atmos, Fifteenth Division Commander Fossa, and Sixteenth Division Commander Izo. Among these nine commanders, their strength varied greatly. Not all of them possessed the power to fight a Marine Vice Admiral. Right now, the situation was severely unfavorable for the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Brothers, it's time to risk everything!"
After thinking for a moment, Izo tightened his grip on the guns in his hands and walked toward the Marine Vice Admirals before him. The Whitebeard Pirates had reached the moment where they had to fight to the death.
"Yeah!!"
The other commanders roared angrily, preparing to fight the Vice Admirals before them to the bitter end.
Boom!
Just as the Vice Admirals and Whitebeard commanders were about to begin a decisive battle, blue flames suddenly rose from the ground. A giant flaming bird broke through countless Marines and flew straight upward.
"It's Marco!"
The Whitebeard division commanders, who had originally been at a disadvantage, looked at the blue flaming bird spreading its wings and shouted loudly.
"This is bad!"
At the moment, all three Marine Admirals were too far away, and the Vice Admirals had been tied down by the division commanders. There was almost no one left who could stop Marco.
"As if I'd let you succeed!"
Just as Marco prepared to rescue Ace directly, a powerful figure charged toward him with endless Armament Haki.
"Vice Admiral Garp!!"
Looking at the man radiating overwhelming pressure, Marco's pupils shrank. Meanwhile, one Marine after another seemed to be pumped full of adrenaline as they shouted that man's name at the top of their lungs. The strongest gatekeeper in the Marines, Vice Admiral Garp.
"Heh..."
Facing the powerful Garp, Marco seemed to have expected this. He smiled lightly and revealed the person he had been hiding beneath him.
"This is..."
Garp looked at the figure under Marco. The fist he had originally intended to swing instantly softened, and his Armament Haki vanished completely.
"Don't get in my way, Grandpa!"
Straw Hat Luffy shouted loudly and threw a Second Gear punch at Garp.
Bang!
With a muffled sound, Garp was sent flying directly by Straw Hat Luffy.
"What?!"
In that instant, every Marine present was dumbfounded.
"Idiot Garp!"
Sengoku looked at Garp, who had clearly held back, and cursed angrily.
"Arara..."
Kuzan scratched his cheek, seemingly not surprised by the scene before him at all.
"Honestly, young people these days are like monsters. Even Mr. Garp was defeated. How scary..."
Borsalino curled his lips, acting as if he were very frightened by the scene.
"What the hell is going on?!"
Sakazuki looked displeased. If Borsalino and Kuzan were actors throwing the match, then Garp being sent flying by someone like Luffy was pure AFK behavior. He was not even willing to pretend to try.
"Damn it!"
Sengoku looked at Straw Hat and Marco charging upward, gritting his teeth. His body suddenly began radiating dazzling golden light, then gradually grew larger, quickly transforming into a supreme golden Buddha.
This was Sengoku's ability, the Zoan Mythical-Type Human-Human Fruit, Model: Buddha. Whoever ate this Devil Fruit would directly become an exalted being.
"Ah!!"
Luffy stared wide-eyed at Sengoku, who had transformed into a Buddha dozens of meters tall, with what seemed like ancient bell tolls and built-in background music and glowing Buddha effects behind him.
"Straw Hat! Ace is in your hands!"
Marco shouted loudly and threw Luffy directly onto the execution platform while he himself charged toward Sengoku.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, Marco collided with Sengoku.
Blue flames and Sengoku's fist clashed violently, and the terrifying power shook heaven and earth.
Facing Sengoku the Buddha, who displayed overwhelming battle power, sweat seeped from Marco's forehead. Even someone like him, a genuine 1.3-billion-Berry man, found it difficult to resist the man before him. This was the actual leader of Marine Headquarters, a monster who had once clashed with their king, Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, Sengoku the Buddha.
"Straw Hat, hurry!"
Marco roared at Luffy.
"I know! The key, the key..."
Luffy took out the key and began searching.
"I can't just let you save him like this..."
Borsalino, who was thousands of meters away from Luffy, slowly raised one finger.
Pew!
A yellow flash appeared. By the time everyone heard the sound and saw Borsalino attack, the key in Luffy's hand had already snapped apart.
"..."
Jovian looked at Borsalino's performance and fell silent. Kizaru was completely coasting. Luffy was such a big target, yet he could not land a single shot on him. But now he had deliberately hit a key that was only five millimeters wide. Was he showing off his Observation Haki?
"How scary..."
Borsalino curled his lips and shook his head as if nothing had happened.
"Damn it, the key's gone!"
Sweat seeped from Luffy's forehead. Without the key, he genuinely did not know what to do.
"Use this one!"
Just as Luffy did not know what to do, a white key flew toward him.
"What?!"
One Marine after another stared wide-eyed at the white key.
"This is..."
Luffy caught the key, then turned around. Not far away, atop a tower built from a human wall of pirates, Buggy the Clown and Mr. 3 stood with their arms crossed in front of their chests, livestreaming while watching him.
"Thanks, Gippy!"
Luffy gripped the key with emotion. Holding the key Mr. 3 had given him, he moved to unlock Ace's handcuffs.
"It's Buggy! Hmph! I'll take you down sooner or later!"
Buggy shouted furiously when he heard what Luffy called him.
"As expected of Lord Buggy! That makes sense!"
"He personally had a key made for Straw Hat because he doesn't want the Marines to have their way, and because he doesn't want to take advantage of Straw Hat. He plans to personally defeat Straw Hat when Straw Hat is at his peak!"
"Buggy is awesome!!!"
The subordinates beneath Buggy shouted loudly one after another, frantically cheering him on.
"What the hell are you people thinking?!"
"I need to hurry up and escape right now. The Whitebeard Pirates are finished, and I'm not staying here to be buried with them!"
However, Buggy had absolutely no time to think about such things right now. The reason he threw the key to Luffy was to throw the battle into chaos so he could run away from here. At the same time...
"Captain Roger, this should be enough, right?"
Buggy watched Luffy use Mr. 3's key to open Ace's handcuffs, and his gaze slowly sharpened.
After learning that Ace was the son of his captain, Roger, he had intended to do what little he could to help.
"As if I'd let you escape!"
Seeing Ace rescued, Sengoku could no longer care whether the person before him was Garp's grandson. He began unleashing his full power.
Golden light instantly dyed half the sky over Marineford.
"How dazzling!"
Whitebeard looked at the brilliant light above him and smiled faintly. No matter what Sengoku did, his son had already been saved.
Boom!
Amid explosions filling the sky, and amid the crossing of blue and red flames, three figures successfully escaped.
"Ace has been saved!"
The pirates looked at Ace, who had been rescued, and shouted loudly.
"This is bad!"
The Marines' expressions changed one after another. They looked at the rescued Ace in horror. No matter whether Whitebeard died at Marineford today or not, as long as Ace was saved, the Marines had already lost. Even if they killed Whitebeard, it would only count as ending in a draw with the pirates.
No, in terms of the result, it was still a vicious slap across the Marines' faces.
"Run! Ace has been rescued! Run!"
The pirates shouted one after another and led their men into a rapid retreat.
"My sons! Run with everything you have! Don't look back!"
Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, shouted loudly as he watched the pirates before him. He held his naginata like an undefeated war god and advanced straight toward Marine Headquarters.
"Damn Whitebeard..."
Sakazuki glared at Whitebeard and prepared to fall back.
"Where do you think you're going, brat?"
Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, had no intention of letting Sakazuki go. At this moment, Whitebeard unleashed his Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki without restraint. At this moment, the strongest man in the world was preparing to begin his final performance.
"Pops!!"
The division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates looked at the man radiating the aura of a true powerhouse and stopped one after another, tears filling their eyes.
"Run! Run, damn you! Who do you think I am?!"
Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, blocked Akainu's magma with one hand, turned around, and roared at his subordinates, no, at his children.
"Pops..."
"Damn it, run! Don't make Pops sad! We have to let Ace and Luffy survive, or it will be the lifelong shame of the Whitebeard Pirates!"
Marco, the second pillar of the Whitebeard Pirates, clenched his fists. He turned around and roared at his younger brothers.
"Run!!"
As Marco gave the order, the pirates began fleeing in large numbers, withdrawing from the battlefield.
As for the Marines, including the Vice Admirals and Admirals, they all seemed to tacitly accept the fleeing pirates. It was as if they were giving face to a certain man lying on the ground pretending to be dead.
But among those willing to give that man face, there was one person who was not included.
"Honestly, choosing to turn your backs on me? Just how much are you looking down on me?"
Jovian looked at the pirates fleeing with their backs toward him, and his eyes lit up with dazzling red light.
"Since you chose to turn your backs on me, then I won't hold back, you scum of the sea!"
Bzzzzzzzz...
Jovian grinned savagely as he fired freely at the fleeing pirates.
The red heat vision was like a merciless scythe, harvesting the lives of those pirates one cut at a time.
It was like slicing melons. One pirate after another was cut in half at the waist, leaving blood splattered all over the ground.
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