The heartbreaking sight before him left Portgas D. Ace sobbing uncontrollably.
It seemed even his tears were close to running dry.
"Heh."
Sengoku let out a cold laugh.
In a calm, indifferent tone, he spoke again.
"Look at you."
"Do you realize how much trouble you've caused them?"
"The war isn't even over yet, and the pirate side has already suffered thousands of casualties."
"When this war ends, how many more people will have died because of you?"
"Even if you don't care about the Whitebeard Allied Fleet..."
"The dead also include members of the Whitebeard Pirates themselves."
Sengoku pointed toward the battlefield ahead.
"That one there seems to be your Third Division vice commander, doesn't it?"
"And the one who just fell should be the Seventh Division vice commander, right?"
He named several figures of considerable status within Whitebeard's crew.
Then he turned back to Ace.
"If it weren't for you, how could so many of them have died?"
"If it weren't for you, none of those people would have had to die."
"That's enough!"
Ace roared.
His eyes were filled with despair.
At this point, he had lost all will to resist.
He understood clearly.
Sengoku's purpose was to crush any remaining spirit within him and make him accept death willingly.
He knew it.
But knowing did not make it easier to endure.
His lips trembled slightly.
Then Ace spoke in a hollow voice.
"Kill me."
"Even if the time hasn't come yet... execute me early."
Ace's thoughts were simple.
They had all come here to save him.
If he died, then Whitebeard would naturally retreat with everyone else.
"Heh..."
Sengoku glanced toward Monkey D. Garp.
Others might not understand.
But Sengoku understood Garp very well.
That calm appearance concealed restlessness, helplessness, and deep turmoil.
All of it betrayed by the subtle trembling of Garp's right leg.
"Impossible."
"You'll stay alive and watch the Whitebeard Pirates be destroyed."
Despair.
Loss.
For a moment, Ace seemed like a living corpse as he stared blankly at the sky.
Memories of everything he had done in these twenty years flashed through his mind.
"Access denied!"
At that very moment...In front of Little Oars Jr., seven figures had appeared.
All seven were elite vice admirals.
Using Geppo, they had leapt directly into his path.
Behind them, massive iron walls were continuing to rise.
If this continued until the barriers fully closed...
Then the Whitebeard Allied Fleet would truly become trapped prey in a cage.
There would be no chance left to rescue Portgas D. Ace.
And not only that.
They themselves would be sealed inside as well.
"Move!"
Little Oars Jr. cared nothing for any of it.
He swung the enormous blade in his hand with terrifying force.
"Don't get in my way!"
"I'm going to save Ace!"
"So what if you're a giant?"
"One like you isn't the first I've killed."
One elite vice admiral charged forward, sword in hand.
He had already slain several giant warriors before.
In his eyes, Oars was nothing more than a larger giant.
CLANG!
Steel met steel with an explosive crash.
THUD!
The next instant, that vice admiral was blasted backward.
He slammed directly into the newly rising iron wall.
Blood burst from his mouth.
Then he collapsed to the ground unconscious, his fate unknown.
"Attack together!"
The remaining six vice admirals instantly spread apart.
Since a frontal assault would not work, they switched to swarming tactics.
Little Oars Jr. had shown overwhelming might, defeating one vice admiral in a single strike.
Seeing this, the pirates behind him rushed forward to support him.
But just as they reached the area near the iron walls...
Oars's body suddenly began to sway.
He had already been struck by thousands of cannon shells.
"AAAAAAH!"
A cry of agony burst from Oars's mouth.
The pirates behind him looked up in shock.
The six vice admirals had already broken through his defenses.
The fact that he had endured this long was already a miracle.
"No!"
The pirates roared in fury.
But...Little Oars Jr. was finished.
His massive body collapsed.
The giant frame crashed directly across one of the iron walls.
Slowly, he raised a hand.
Tilting his head upward, he looked toward Portgas D. Ace.
"A...ce..."
THUD!
It was clear what he wanted.
He wanted to touch Ace one last time.
But he could no longer do it.
"No!!!!"
The death of Little Oars Jr. stabbed once more into the heart of the already despairing Ace.
A furious scream tore from his throat.
He struggled wildly against his chains, trying to reach Oars.
But the next moment, two ordinary executioners dragged him back.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Kizaru and Akainu had proven just how terrifying they were.
They had already forced Whitebeard into a desperate position.
Even Whitebeard's iconic crescent mustache had been shattered in half.
"Old man!"
Seeing this, Marco, Jozu, and the others panicked.
They immediately tried to rush back and support Whitebeard.
"You two."
At that moment, Aokiji blocked their path.
A massive wall of ice rose instantly before them.
"Whitebeard is difficult to deal with."
"Originally, we planned for all three Admirals to attack together and make sure he died."
"But can you guess why the final plan only sent Kizaru and Akainu?"
Marco and Jozu said nothing.
There was no need to answer.
It was obvious.
The third Admiral had been left free to stop them from interfering.
"Leader of the old era... die!"
Akainu was about to personally finish Whitebeard.
His voice rang out once more.
Looking over, Whitebeard was clearly out of strength.
Though Akainu and Kizaru were battered as well, blood covering their faces, they were still in far better condition than him.
Akainu raised his right fist.
Magma surged around it with murderous heat.
If that punch landed...
Whitebeard would die without question.
"No!"
Marco, Jozu, and the others roared in fury.
They wanted to rush back and save him.
But enemies on every side had them tied down.
"Don't!"
"Old man!!!"
Fear.
Despair.
At that moment, every member of the Whitebeard Allied Fleet looked toward Whitebeard with nearly the same expression.
Disbelief.
Incomprehension.
And overwhelming grief.
The invincible father figure in their hearts...was truly about to die before their eyes.
"Quake!"
At that very instant, cracks spread across the ground between Akainu and Whitebeard.
Then a streak of golden light tore across the sky.
"Earthquake!"
A furious shout thundered out.
The golden radiance faded.
A figure slowly emerged.
It was Renji.
With a fist wrapped in quake-force energy, Renji drove his punch directly into Akainu's face.
THUD!
After a heavy impact, the completely unguarded Akainu took the blow head-on.
He was launched backward instantly.
His head snapped to the side, and he lost consciousness on the spot.
Seeing that, Renji quickly turned toward Whitebeard.
He let out a relieved breath.
"Good."
"I made it in time."
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