"Pirate Hunter…"
Edward Newgate, Whitebeard, looked at Jovian, who had stopped his attack with a single kick, and frowned slightly. This man was different. He was different from everyone else. When others stopped his attacks, they used Haki. This man had stopped his attack with raw strength.
The difference between those two things was enormous. At present, even Kaido of the Beasts, the Emperor known as the strongest creature on land, sea, and air, who was at the peak of both age and strength and possessed the greatest individual might among the Four Emperors, could not possibly take Whitebeard's blade head-on using only strength, without using any Haki. Jovian's raw power was enough to shock even Whitebeard.
Of course, because the world of pirates was too weak to draw Jovian's main body's interest, even when he created this avatar, he had barely given this version of himself any strength at all. Even so, it was enough for Jovian to walk all over the pirate world. Right now, Jovian's pure physical strength had already reached the limit that the human body in the world of pirates could train to. In other words, in the world of One Piece, no one existed who could surpass Jovian in strength. Not even Roger in his prime.
"Hey, Pirate Hunter, don't interrupt our fight!"
Sakazuki looked at Jovian with some helplessness. He needed the achievements from this battle to become Fleet Admiral. If Jovian took care of everyone, wouldn't the Marines just become background decoration?
"Hah? We can make money together!"
Jovian frowned when he heard that and spoke in a deep voice.
"Tch…"
"This isn't about money! This concerns the Marines' reputation!"
Sakazuki had a headache. Jovian was a combat force he valued. He still planned to personally recruit Jovian into the Marines once he became Fleet Admiral, so for now, if he could avoid offending him, he would.
"How much is reputation worth? Victory is what matters most, isn't it? No matter what methods we use, as long as the enemy is eliminated, that's enough, right?"
Jovian smiled disdainfully and shook his head.
"That logic isn't wrong…"
Sakazuki, the Red Dog, did not deny it. Eliminating pirates by any means necessary was also his style.
"Sakazuki, Jovian…"
"Say a little less and just take Whitebeard down together."
"Another powerful enemy has arrived…"
Borsalino looked toward the docks, at the red pirate ship arriving late, and spoke with a smile.
"Ah…"
"Red Hair, huh? Seriously, does he have to stick his nose into this too?"
Sakazuki turned and looked over. When he saw that eye-catching pirate flag and the ship's dragon-like figurehead, displeasure flashed across his face.
"Jovian and I are enough here…"
"Borsalino, go support Kuzan. That guy can't handle this kind of situation by himself."
Although Sakazuki usually found Kuzan unpleasant, at a critical moment, he still had enough judgment to see the big picture.
"Then I'll leave this to you two…"
After Borsalino finished speaking, his body turned into countless yellow particles of light and vanished from Jovian and Sakazuki's side.
At that moment, by the inner bay docks of Marineford, Kuzan had fallen into a major crisis. Behind him were the remaining division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates. In front of him was one of the current Four Emperors of the New World, Red-Haired Shanks, and his Red Hair Pirates.
"All the main officers came, huh?"
Kuzan's brows furrowed. Shanks' arrival troubled him. They had not even finished Whitebeard yet, and now another Emperor had arrived. This was very bad for the Marines' situation.
"What is Red Hair doing here?"
Marco felt a wave of pressure as he watched Red Hair slowly approach. Pirates and pirates were not allies. On the contrary, pirates were all competitors. Their goal was the same, reaching Laugh Tale, obtaining the great treasure known as One Piece, and becoming Pirate King.
That meant Red Hair was not necessarily here to help them. It was entirely possible he was here to wipe them out, or deliberately muddy the waters even further.
"How scary…"
"One of the Four Emperors of the New World, a monster among monsters. Why would he run all the way here?"
At some point, Borsalino appeared beside Kuzan. With both hands in his pockets, he looked at the massive pirate ship before him and smiled.
"Tch."
"Two Admirals…"
Marco looked at the two Admirals blocking the way, then at the group of Vice Admirals and officers closing in behind them. The pressure on him multiplied.
"Luffy, it'll be fine. No matter what, I'll make sure you leave this place safely!"
Ace kept Luffy protected at his side. His eyes kept sweeping between the front and the rear. He had already prepared himself for everything. Even if he had to throw away his own life, he would make sure Luffy left Marine Headquarters alive.
"Red Hair…"
Sengoku stood beneath the execution platform, his eyes narrowing slightly. He was also thinking about why Red Hair had come here.
"Shanks. That bastard who led Luffy down the wrong path and made him a pirate?"
The bones and tendons in Garp's body cracked. He did not care about the Four Emperors of the New World, whether it was Whitebeard Edward Newgate, Big Mom Charlotte Linlin, or Kaido of the Beasts. The only one he could not let go was Red Hair, the apprentice from Roger's ship, because it was that bastard Red Hair who had set Luffy on the wrong path. Luffy should have become an outstanding Marine, a future Admiral, maybe even Fleet Admiral.
"Garp, get ready to move. Two Emperor crews have already arrived. We cannot predict whether a third or even a fourth might suddenly appear. The World Government's intelligence, and even the information from our own eyes, may not be accurate."
Sengoku once again threw aside the coat he had been wearing over his shoulders. He was already prepared for Marineford to be sunk.
"Seriously…"
Garp's expression was lonely as he looked at his iron fists and sighed.
"Can't any of them stop making trouble?"
"Ace, Luffy, and even those Four Emperors of the New World?"
After Garp finished speaking, his gaze gradually sharpened.
"That Red Hair brat came, huh? How nostalgic…"
Edward Newgate, Whitebeard, glanced out of the corner of his eye at that red pirate ship, and memories began to surface in his mind again. He remembered the times when he had fought fiercely against the Roger Pirates.
As soon as Newgate thought of Roger, scenes flashed before his eyes like his life passing by.
"Gurararara…"
Edward Newgate laughed loudly.
"This isn't a bad funeral."
The strongest man in the world gripped his naginata. At this moment, he decided to die in battle at Marineford. He was Whitebeard. He was the strongest man in the world. Why would he need someone else to rescue him? What a joke. Who did these brats think he was?
Jovian's heat vision pierced through Edward Newgate's chest, but even that terrifying temperature could not stop Whitebeard's steps.
A fist powerful enough to destroy islands, overturn the heavens, and shatter the earth came blasting toward Jovian.
"Hm?"
Jovian used his body to take Whitebeard's quake punch head-on, a blow that could trigger tsunamis, destroy islands and even nations, and unleash energy beyond an 8.0-magnitude earthquake.
Jovian only felt his organs vibrating.
"This body is way too fragile."
Jovian felt rather helpless. This body of his was really too weak.
"Move!"
Sakazuki flashed in front of Jovian, his body turning into surging magma.
"Meigo!"
A brutally violent Meigo directly destroyed half of Whitebeard's head.
Jovian had no time to admire the famous scene before him. His eyes immediately released heat vision, piercing straight through Whitebeard's heart.
"Ugh…"
"Gurararara…"
"Gurarararara…"
Blood flowed from Whitebeard's mouth. Yet there was no trace of pain on his face. He was laughing.
The strongest man in the world was laughing wildly.
"Hey, your heart's already been destroyed and you still want to fight? That five-billion-berry head really is hard to handle."
Jovian frowned as he looked at Whitebeard, whose heart had been destroyed, yet who was still laughing wildly.
"Brats! Aren't you looking down on me a little too much?"
"I am a remnant of the old era. There is no longer any ship in the New World that can carry me. Before I step off, let me teach you one final lesson!"
At that moment, Whitebeard released his life force through his entire body. It was as if he had returned to his peak. No, he was even stronger than he had been at his peak. At the final moment of his life, between life and death, Whitebeard broke through once again.
The terrifying quake energy radiating from his whole body had already soared past magnitude 9.0. The current Whitebeard truly seemed capable of destroying the world.
"This is bad!"
Sengoku looked at the endless tsunamis and at Marineford, which had begun swaying and breaking apart, and panicked. If they were sunk to the bottom of the sea by Whitebeard in this way, then the Marines would truly lose all face.
"How could I let you do that?"
At this moment, Sakazuki erupted with all his potential. Even though just getting close to Whitebeard caused blood to flow from his nose because of Whitebeard's endless Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki, he still stood at the very front.
"Step off the ship, Whitebeard!"
Sakazuki used every ounce of his strength. This was the greatest volcanic eruption he had ever unleashed in his life, and its power could no longer be measured.
At the same time, fierce lasers burst from Jovian's eyes, shooting toward both Sakazuki and Whitebeard.
When quake and magma collided, they briefly reached a stalemate. But Whitebeard's enemy was not only magma. There was also the terrifying heat vision.
Whitebeard, no longer able to block the heat vision, could only allow that terrifying heat to burn through his organs.
In the end, in this clash between the two great natural disasters of quake and magma, Whitebeard still lost by one step because of his injuries and his aged body.
The price of losing by one step was that Sakazuki's fist pierced straight through Whitebeard's chest.
Terrifying magma opened a huge hole in Whitebeard's chest, then shot into the sky.
"Get out of my way, magma brat!"
Yet even like this, Whitebeard still had one breath left. He shoved Sakazuki away, while his own body kept swaying as if it might collapse at any moment.
With a dull thud, Whitebeard gripped his naginata and steadied himself.
"Hah, hah, hah…"
Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world, gasped heavily. Yet no matter how hard he breathed, the air only escaped through the hole in his chest.
"It's over, Whitebeard…"
Sakazuki staggered to his feet from the ground. His forehead was covered in blood as he looked at Whitebeard, who still stood firmly in place, and spoke through gritted teeth.
"Over?"
"Gurarararara…"
"Only my journey is over…"
Edward Newgate laughed loudly. He was very happy. The last time he had laughed this freely had been more than twenty years ago, when he drank happily with Roger and Oden.
"This is bad! Don't broadcast it! Don't broadcast it!"
When Sengoku saw Edward Newgate laughing, he seemed to think of something. He thought of another man who had laughed just before his death.
Realizing this, Sengoku roared at the people around him. However, the cameraman holding the Transponder Snail clearly failed to react in time. Or more accurately, those people did not want to miss the final moment in the life of a "hero" of the sea, the strongest man in the world.
"No one can stop the arrival of the new era! It will come!"
"Everyone! One Piece really exists!"
Edward Newgate's voice was deafening. It echoed between heaven and earth, and with the help of Buggy's and the Marines' cameras, it spread across the entire world.
"Roger, Oden, I'm coming to find you…"
Whitebeard thought silently, then closed his eyes forever.
"Ohhh!"
For a time, wind and clouds howled. Countless hot-blooded young people stood up. One adventurer after another boarded small boats and left their hometowns. Their target was the whole world.
"Damn it…"
Sengoku looked into the distance at Whitebeard, who had already stopped breathing and now stood with his eyes closed. His brows tightened.
"Even dead, you won't give me peace."
Sengoku could already foresee that with Whitebeard's death, the era would lose its final reins and begin to charge forward wildly.
"This credit is hard to calculate."
Jovian rubbed his chin as he looked at the already dead Whitebeard and frowned.
"It all counts as yours…"
Sakazuki casually wiped away the blood that kept flowing from his nose and walked step by step toward the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates, and toward…
The Red Hair Pirates, who were confronting Kuzan and Borsalino.
"You said it, not me…"
Jovian had not expected Sakazuki to be so generous. No wonder Borsalino was willing to follow Sakazuki's lead.
"Shanks, what are you here for?"
Sengoku, Garp, the Vice Admirals, and the Marines who could still stand all walked toward the inner bay.
The Fleet Admiral, the legendary Vice Admiral, the three current Marine Admirals, and the many Vice Admirals, commanders, and officers who had suffered different injuries all looked seriously at Red-Haired Shanks. This legendary man was currently the youngest Emperor on the sea, a man praised as one of the freest people on the ocean.
"I came to end the war. Enough people have died. There's no need for more sacrifices."
"Please give me some face and let this world-shaking war end here."
Shanks looked at the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates, then at the Marines, and spoke coldly.
"Hah?"
Sakazuki was clearly angry. They were Marines, and they were supposed to give face to a pirate? What kind of joke was that?
"Mihawk, where are you going?"
At the same time, the summoned Warlords began to scatter. The first to leave was Dracule Mihawk, Hawkeye, the publicly recognized world's greatest swordsman.
"My agreement was to fight Whitebeard. Red Hair was not part of it."
Mihawk spoke coldly. At the same time, he gave Red Hair a slight nod as a greeting.
"Fuffuffuffu…"
"Continuing this fight no longer serves my interests. The death of one Emperor of the Sea is not a big deal, but if another Emperor disappears, the balance will be broken."
Doflamingo also decided he would no longer interfere in the struggle between the Marines and an Emperor of the Sea.
"Hmph."
The Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock, had never intended to help the Marines in the first place, so naturally, she adopted an attitude of indifference.
"Damn Warlords. They really can't be relied on…"
Vice Admiral Doberman of Marine Headquarters, known as the Fighting Dog, frowned as he looked at the Seven Warlords preparing to leave and spoke in displeasure.
"At the end of the day, they're pirates too."
"Crocodile and Jinbe from the Seven Warlords are standing on the other side right now."
Vice Admiral Momonga saw things clearly. He had never trusted the Seven Warlords, so naturally, he would not feel particularly angry over such a small matter.
"Man…"
A fierce cold erupted from Kuzan's body, as if he had entered battle mode.
"Gurgle, gurgle…"
The magma on Sakazuki's body had never calmed down.
"Hmm…"
Borsalino's finger finally stretched out from his pocket, shining with blinding light.
"You want to fight?"
Shanks placed one hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Huff…"
Benn Beckman pulled out the pistol from his coat.
The rest of the officers also prepared for battle. At the same time, under Marco's lead, the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates prepared to fight the Marines to the death.
Dracule Mihawk, Hawkeye, the world's greatest swordsman who had been preparing to leave, also stopped moving. His fingers lightly gripped the hilt of the Black Blade Yoru on his back, as if he too had prepared for battle. But judging by Mihawk's position, no matter how one looked at it, it seemed like the person he was going to help was Red-Haired Shanks.
Meanwhile, Doflamingo and the others also prepared to stir up trouble.
"Forget it! Stand down! The war is over…"
Sengoku looked at the current situation and finally shook his head. If the Marines truly fought the Red Hair Pirates now, both sides would definitely suffer heavy losses. On top of that, Marineford was already on the verge of collapse and could no longer support further fighting.
"But…"
The Marines beside Sengoku were somewhat unwilling to accept it. Even Akainu, Sakazuki, was displeased. After all, Ace, the man the Marines had set out to execute, was still alive.
"The war is over. The Whitebeard Pirates have been destroyed. The Marines have won. Now focus all efforts on treating the wounded. As for what comes after, I will personally bear all responsibility!"
Sengoku ignored everyone else and made the announcement on his own.
Sengoku had his own considerations. Right now, the Seven Warlords could not be relied on and might even betray them. In the worst-case scenario, while fighting the Red Hair Pirates, the Marines would also have to deal with a rebellious Seven Warlords force and the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates. In that case, although the Marines could still win in the end, their strength would be greatly reduced, possibly to the point that they would no longer be able to deter pirates. That was something Sengoku could not allow. The world was about to fall into chaos. He had to preserve enough military power to keep the world from becoming too unstable and to ensure that the World Government's member nations would not be ravaged by pirates.
As Sengoku gave the order, the pirates and Marines put away their weapons one after another.
On the other side…
While all the strong fighters were gathered at the docks, a black shadow crept toward Whitebeard's corpse.
"Zehahahahaha…"
"The strongest Devil Fruit in the world is mine!"
The dark figure laughed loudly and prepared to put his hands on Whitebeard's body.
"What exactly did you say was yours, Teach?"
Just as that figure was about to act, a strong, powerful hand pressed down directly on his wrist.
"Hm?"
The dark figure, who was none other than Marshall D. Teach, Blackbeard, a Warlord who had not come to participate in the Summit War and had instead just caused a massive disturbance in Impel Down, releasing countless criminals from Level 6, first froze when he heard the voice beside his ear. Then he turned and looked to his side. There stood Jovian, his whole body covered in the blood of his enemies, a stolen cigar clenched between his teeth as he exhaled clouds of smoke, staring at him coldly.
"Pirate Hunter?"
"Why are you here?!"
Marshall D. Teach, Blackbeard, stared at Jovian, who was covered in blood and looked like a demon from hell. He froze at first, then his face changed dramatically as he cried out in shock.
"I go wherever the hell I want."
With the cigar in his mouth, Jovian spoke coldly.
"Don't waste words on him. Just kill him!"
Around Marshall D. Teach, Blackbeard, a group of criminals wearing Impel Down prison uniforms gathered, looking at Jovian with cold smiles.
"Hah?"
Jovian looked at the people around him and frowned. There was no trace of anxiety on his face, only calm.
"Hahahaha…"
"Scared, are you?"
"After all, surrounded by a bunch of villains like us, even Sengoku would piss himself, right?"
The Corrupt King, Avalo Pizarro, laughed loudly, as though Jovian was already meat on his chopping block.
"Hahahahaha…"
As Avalo Pizarro's words fell, the pirates who had come out of Impel Down Level 6 all burst into laughter.
"You seem to have misunderstood something…"
Jovian listened to the noisy laughter around him and calmly puffed on his cigar. He blew out white smoke, as if he did not take these people seriously at all.
"Hm?"
Seeing Jovian act so arrogantly, the Blackbeard crew's expressions immediately changed.
"Piss myself? I was just calculating your bounties."
"As for being surrounded by trash like you? Hahahaha…"
"That's the funniest joke under the sun. I'm the one who has surrounded all of you by myself, not the other way around."
"Congratulations. Your good days are over. You just got out of Impel Down, and now you're about to be thrown right back into that sunless hell."
A savage smile appeared on Jovian's face. Yes, the Blackbeard Pirates had not surrounded Jovian. Jovian had surrounded the Blackbeard Pirates.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 10 extra free chapters //[email protected]/Razeil0810