Renji had already escaped Impel Down.
Traveling through the waters beyond the Gates of Justice, it would take at most half an hour to reach Marineford.
Meanwhile, the war at Marineford had already entered its fiercest stage.
"Kill!!"
With fifty thousand elite fighters from the Whitebeard Allied Fleet charging in, the Whitebeard Pirates who had begun to show signs of being pushed back—suddenly surged forward like men injected with adrenaline.
They tore through Marine defensive lines one after another.
In only a short time, they had already landed on Marineford itself.
"Kizaru, no matter how I look at it, you don't seem suited to be a Marine."
During battle, Marco looked at Kizaru.
Though Marco was not Kizaru's equal in direct combat, with the power of the Phoenix Fruit, stalling him was no problem at all.
"Why not use this chance and betray the Marines instead?"
"Betray the Marines?"
Kizaru looked as though he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
"And then get hunted across the seas like dogs, the way you pirates are?"
A beam of light instantly pierced through Marco's body.
Even infused with Armament Haki, it still took Marco time to regenerate.
During this exchange alone, Kizaru had pierced Marco's heart more than twenty times and blown apart his head over ten times.
But the Phoenix Fruit was simply absurd.
Even Kizaru could not inflict decisive damage.
"Tch. Troublesome."
"What a headache of an opponent."
"Aokiji!"
On another battlefield, Jozu tore up a massive chunk of ice more than ten meters wide from the frozen sea.
He hurled it straight at Aokiji.
"You're using ice against an ice man?"
"You're overthinking this."
Aokiji raised his hand.
A sharp ice spear shot out and instantly shattered the incoming block.
Then he rushed directly toward Jozu.
Ice formations surged wildly around him.
"Heh!"
Jozu roared.
Armament Haki spun around his body as he punched through wave after wave of ice.
At the same time, the power of his Diamond Fruit activated.
For a while, Jozu and Aokiji fought evenly.
"Mihawk!"
Not far away, battles were raging everywhere.
The Fifth Division Commander, Vista, directly challenged Dracule Mihawk.
"Now this is interesting."
Dracule Mihawk drew the black blade Yoru and met the attack.
Among swordsmen of the New World, Vista was one of the few Mihawk acknowledged.
But Vista alone was still not enough to force him to use his full strength.
Elsewhere across the battlefield, division commanders, vice-commanders, and elite fighters from the forty-three pirate crews, kingdoms, islands, and allied forces all stepped forward to block the Marines.
For a time, the Whitebeard Allied Fleet actually managed to suppress the Marines.
Step by step, they pushed deeper into the interior of Marineford.
"Do you see that?!"
"This is the power of the Whitebeard Allied Fleet!"
Their success sent every member of the alliance into a frenzy of excitement.
"Do you see now, Squard?"
Aboard the Moby Dick, Whitebeard pulled out the blade Squard had stabbed into him.
There was not the slightest trace of blame in his eyes.
"See... see what?"
Squard looked at Whitebeard in confusion.
By now, regret had already filled his heart.
"If I were truly using all of you," Whitebeard said with a faint smile, "then why are all the ones standing on the front lines members of my own crew?"
He calmly explained further.
"Huh?"
Squard forced himself to steady his emotions and looked toward the battlefield.
Marco and Jozu were fighting the Admirals.
The division commanders and vice-commanders were battling the Seven Warlords and elite vice admirals.
Even the ordinary pirates of the Whitebeard Pirates were doing everything they could to stay at the front.
Meanwhile, the other members of the Allied Fleet had been assigned to comparatively safer positions.
"This..."
Squard wavered.
Or rather, he had never truly believed Whitebeard would betray them.
It was only the pressure of going to war against the entire Marine force that had driven him into wild suspicion.
And at that moment, Akainu's words had become the final straw.
Now the battle had begun, and that pressure was gone.
After seeing the reality of the battlefield with his own eyes, how could Squard fail to understand?
"Old..."
Squard looked at Whitebeard, tears streaming down his face.
Every inch of him was filled with remorse.
"Old man... I'm sorry."
"...Hmph."
Whitebeard glared at him, then spread his arms and pulled him into a hug.
"You don't need to apologize."
"But..."
Feeling the warmth of Whitebeard's body, Squard completely broke down.
"But I hurt you!"
"Aren't you angry with me?"
"Gurararara!"
Whitebeard's trademark grin spread across his face.
"You may be a bit foolish."
"But even a foolish son is still a son I love."
Hidden in the shadows, Akainu looked toward Whitebeard and showed a speechless expression.
"What a troublesome old man."
"Whitebeard's charisma is just too great."
Muttering to himself, Akainu began walking toward the battlefield.
"Akainu?!"
"How did he come out from the rear?!"
"When did Akainu get behind us?!"
This time, Akainu made no effort to hide his movements.
He was quickly spotted by the pirates of the Whitebeard Allied Fleet.
Several of them immediately charged at him.
"The chance to kill an Admiral is right in front of us!"
"Brothers, attack!"
At the very rear of the Marines, Sengoku observed the battle before him.
Even though the Marines were at a disadvantage, nearly being pressed back by the pirates, he showed not the slightest panic.
Instead, there was even a trace of satisfaction in his eyes.
"Although there were many unexpected turns..."
"And Whitebeard even bypassed the first line of defense I prepared..."
"My plan has still not failed."
What was Sengoku's goal?
Naturally, it was the complete destruction of the Whitebeard Pirates.
And how could that be achieved?
By luring every member of Whitebeard's forces into a place they could never escape.
He picked up a Den Den Mushi and contacted Kizaru.
"Kizaru, the plan is proceeding smoothly."
"Break away from Marco and let someone else take over."
"As for your next task... keep Whitebeard occupied."
"Make sure he has no chance to pay attention to the battlefield."
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