At that moment, Kizaru had just finished another exchange with Marco, and the two had pulled apart.
Hearing the message coming from the Den Den Mushi, Kizaru immediately nodded.
Without saying a word, he turned and left Marco's side.
"Stop right there!"
Seeing Kizaru leave, Marco instantly grew anxious.
His main mission was to hold back one Admiral.
Now that Kizaru was leaving, Marco was momentarily stunned and immediately gave chase.
But halfway there, three elite vice admirals used Geppo to intercept him.
"No need to rush."
Marco narrowed his eyes at the three of them.
At the same time, the corner of his eye remained fixed on the direction Kizaru was heading.
"Fine then. If you want to play... let's play."
As he spoke, the flames around Marco suddenly surged violently.
Kizaru was heading straight toward Whitebeard.
At this moment, Marco intended to quickly deal with these three vice admirals and rush to support Whitebeard.
At Sengoku's position, after ordering Kizaru to harass Whitebeard, Sengoku did not stop.
Whitebeard was one of the Four Emperors, and publicly acknowledged as the strongest man on the sea.
One Admiral alone was clearly not enough.
He dialed another Den Den Mushi.
This time, he contacted Akainu.
"You did well."
Sengoku naturally knew of Akainu's earlier actions.
After all, this was total war.
Even though the Marines' overall strength surpassed the Whitebeard Allied Fleet, perhaps by more than double, absolute victory could never be guaranteed in a war of this scale.
Even a small variable could change the course of the battle.
Akainu's behavior had been tacitly approved by Sengoku from the start.
"Next, coordinate with Kizaru and hold Whitebeard in place."
Already positioned behind the Whitebeard Pirates, Akainu nodded after hearing the order.
"Understood."
Then he immediately charged toward Whitebeard's location.
However, he did not possess Kizaru's speed.
It would still take some time before he could complete the pincer attack.
"Now pass down the next order."
After contacting Kizaru and Akainu, Sengoku wasted no time calling the communications department again.
Kizaru and Akainu were only tools to divide Whitebeard's attention.
Within the entire Whitebeard Allied Fleet, the only person Sengoku truly feared was Whitebeard himself.
As long as Whitebeard was occupied, even if only enough to prevent him from thinking clearly, that would be sufficient.
The next step was the true key to victory.
"Mobilize the troops."
"Split the Whitebeard Allied Fleet apart as much as possible... then destroy them in sections."
"Glint-Glint..."
Kizaru had already arrived in front of Whitebeard.
However, he did not move in for close combat immediately.
He crossed both hands near his shoulders, forming an "OK" gesture.
The power of the Pika Pika no Mi surged through his entire body.
Blinding flashes of light gathered between his hands.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
As the technique's name was spoken, countless beams of light burst from his hands.
They spread out in a pattern meant to completely cover Whitebeard.
In the blink of an eye, nearly a thousand lasers had already reached Whitebeard's position.
"Another brat has come?"
Squard had already been sent by Whitebeard to the front lines.
At this moment, Whitebeard stood alone on the deck of the Moby Dick.
Facing the incoming barrage, he showed not the slightest panic.
Boundless power radiated from his body.
An Admiral stood at the peak of the world's combat strength.
Yet in Whitebeard's eyes, he was still only a youngster.
Whether in strength or in age.
"Quake-Quake..."
The power of the Gura Gura no Mi erupted outward.
Cracks spread through the air itself, as if separating Whitebeard from Kizaru's lasers.
"Barrier."
BOOM!
The first beam slammed into the invisible wall.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Then countless lasers rained down like a storm.
"Tch."
After finishing the attack, Kizaru clicked his tongue.
"What a troublesome old man."
When the smoke cleared, Whitebeard was revealed standing there unharmed.
Kizaru's Yasakani no Magatama had not even managed to touch him.
"Hahaha!"
Seeing this, the previously worried pirates burst into laughter.
"You think you can beat the old man? Dream on!"
"Didn't Aokiji's earlier defeat teach you anything? Your Admirals can't handle the old man!"
Kizaru naturally ignored the pirates' mockery.
But the Marines were not pleased.
"What a joke! If he's so invincible, why did he defend?"
"If he's afraid of getting hurt, just admit it!"
Beyond the clash of blades and the blood-soaked fighting, the pirates and Marines had opened a second battlefield.
A war of words.
One moment, the pirates were loudly boasting of Whitebeard's countless achievements.
The next, the Marines fired back by listing all the powerful enemies their Admirals had captured.
For a time, because of the shouting match between both sides, this brutal battlefield became strangely lively.
"Ama no Murakumo Sword."
Seeing that long-range attacks had failed, Kizaru chose close combat instead.
The moment he moved, he used his strongest condensed weapon.
Light gathered into a massive broadsword in his hands, radiating brilliant beams in every direction.
Kizaru swung it straight at Whitebeard.
"Good!"
Seeing Kizaru attack, Whitebeard's eyes lit up.
An opponent at Admiral level was not something he had faced in a long time.
Although Aokiji had gone all out earlier, they had only exchanged one move.
It had not been satisfying.
Now Kizaru had stirred Whitebeard's fighting spirit.
Whitebeard immediately struck back.
His Bisento slashed downward, aiming directly for Kizaru's head.
"Come and die!"
CLANG!
A sharp metallic crash rang out.
Kizaru's Ama no Murakumo Sword was cut clean in half by Whitebeard.
And the bisento continued onward without losing momentum, heading straight for Kizaru himself.
WHOOSH!
Kizaru instantly transformed into light and escaped the range of Whitebeard's strike.
"Trying to run?"
As if he had already predicted Kizaru's movement, a white point of light had somehow appeared at the tip of Whitebeard's blade.
That light exploded outward.
Cracks spread through the air itself, instantly chasing after Kizaru.
"Scary."
Watching those fractures rush toward him, Kizaru gave a rare, uneasy evaluation.
Boundless light energy erupted from his body.
Using light itself as both shield and defense, he barely blocked Whitebeard's follow-up attack.
"Great!"
Seeing Kizaru hold the line, the Marines quickly burst into cheers.
"Admiral Kizaru is incredible!"
----------
Advance 30 Chapters: patreon .com/StrawFic