Everyone on the battlefield was stunned. It all happened too fast!
Akainu's face was dark with murderous intent. He prepared to launch himself upward to intercept, but a massive fist met him head-on. Whitebeard's punch, carry the weight of infinite vibrations, slammed directly into the "Red Dog's" face.
CRACK! The sound of space shattering rang out, vibrating through the souls of everyone nearby.
But no one felt it more than Akainu. The full force of the Quake-Quake fruit's power slammed into his jaw, nearly twisting his face out of shape. Along with the impact came a force that shook the entire island. Starting from Akainu's feet, a massive fissure spider-webbed across the plaza, as if the very earth were being split in two.
RUMBLE...
High above, a Giant Squad Vice Admiral moved to block Luffy. Just as they were about to collide, a silhouette fast as a gale slammed into the giant's chest, sending the titan flying backward.
"What!?" the Marines cried in shock.
"It's the Third Division Commander, 'Diamond' Jozu!"
No one expected the Whitebeard Pirates to reach the platform so effectively. Jozu landed heavily, silent and immovable. Luffy finally reached the execution platform—unimpeded. However, the final obstacle stood before him.
The Marine Hero, Monkey D. Garp!
Watching Luffy actually reach the platform, Ivankov gasped in shock. But this final hurdle was the highest of them all. Garp stood up slowly, his expression heavy as he watched his grandson fly toward him.
"Gramps! Move!" Luffy screamed.
Garp remained silent, his face grim. "I am a Marine! I cannot step aside for pirates! This is the path you chose for yourselves, Luffy!"
"Ugh..." Luffy's eyes filled with horror. Memories of his childhood with Garp flashed before him—the countless times his grandfather had lectured them: "Luffy, Ace, you must both become great Marines..."
In this moment, he finally understood the weight of those words. When grandson and grandfather meet, they meet as enemies! This was the path of a pirate!
Garp was a Marine Hero. But Ace could not die!
Luffy steeled his resolve. Garp leaped into the air, raising a fist to deliver a crushing blow. Suddenly, a whistle of wind cut through the air. Before Garp could react, a lead pipe slammed into the side of his face with a dull thud.
BOOM!
The Hero of the Marines was sent crashing back down to the ground.
"Sorry, Old Man," Sabo said, hovering in mid-air with a faint, sad smile. He turned his gaze toward Ace.
Garp: "!!!"
"Vice Admiral Garp!!" the Marines screamed in disbelief.
Meanwhile, two new executioners had stepped up onto the platform. Ace opened his mouth, but no sound came out. "Luffy... Sabo..."
"Luffy, open the locks, quick!" Sabo stood in front of them as a shield.
"Right!" Luffy frantically pulled out the key.
The Marines were aghast. How does Straw Hat have a key!?
"Fall back," Sengoku commanded, waving the executioners aside. His body began to hum with power. "I will do this myself."
Just as Sengoku prepared to strike, a laser beam shot through the air, snapping the key in Luffy's hand into two pieces. Even Sengoku paused in surprise.
Drake, watching from afar, let out a mental twitch. Kizaru really was a master of the "performance." He had let the brothers get this far, only to precisely snipe the key at the last second. Drake wondered what Sengoku was thinking: was he happy the key was gone, or in despair that the Admiral had only aimed for the key?
The "Acting Admiral" is a professional after all.
But Drake had foreseen this. Sengoku, get ready for a surprise.
"AHHHH!" Luffy stared at the broken key in despair. "The key is broken!?"
"Did you really think I would let you succeed so easily?" Sengoku's body began to swell. A massive, golden Buddha manifested before them, radiating a holy light.
[The Daibutsu Form of the Hito Hito no Mi!]
[Name]: Sengoku the Buddha [Cultivation]: Sword Saint (Powerhouse Type) [Haki]: Mid-Level Conqueror's, High-Level Armament, Mid-Level Observation [Comprehensive Combat Power]: 9,000
Sengoku raised a massive golden palm to crush the platform.
"God of Lightning's Wrath: Lightning Pillar!" a voice roared from behind.
A massive beam of blue electricity slammed into Sengoku's back, blasting the Fleet Admiral clean off the execution platform.
"Straw Hat! Save your brother!" one of the executioners suddenly shouted. He tossed a key made of wax toward Luffy.
It was Mr. 3, Galdino—the Wax-Wax Fruit user. Once Luffy's enemy, now his vital ally.
"3!" Luffy shouted in joy. "You're a lifesaver!"
He snatched the wax key and clicked it into the Sea Prism Stone shackles.
"Dammit!" Sengoku could only watch helplessly from below as the locks turned.
[Ding! Mission Complete: Rescue Big Brother Ace. Rewards have been sent to the System Space!]
Drake was too focused on the platform to notice the notification.
"That's Mr. 3!" Buggy's followers cheered.
"Ah..." Buggy stood there, jaw-dropped. "3! What is he doing up there? Has he lost his mind?"
"Captain Buggy, look! Mr. 3 is taking all the glory! We have to move, fast, fast, fast!" The prisoners were more excited than ever. Buggy could only offer a weak, tearful smile of "encouragement."
BOOM! A torrent of crimson magma erupted. Akainu, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, tore through the wreckage toward the platform. He was determined to end Ace's life personally.
Whitebeard coughed up a mouthful of blood, his mobility severely hampered. He couldn't catch up to the magma-man. Furthermore, Aokiji was still blocking his path, his expression uncharacteristically stern as he faced the wounded Emperor. Nearby, Marco had been encased in a pillar of ice.
"Die!" Akainu roared, swinging a gargantuan magma fist that threatened to swallow the entire platform.
"Ah!! It's over..." Mr. 3 collapsed, his legs giving out in terror.
WHOOSH!
Suddenly, the execution platform was engulfed in a roaring inferno. A flaming cross-symbol flickered into existence—the mark of the Whitebeard Pirates!
"You two..." Ace manifested as a pillar of fire, shielding Luffy.
Sabo stood back-to-back with Ace, a smirk playing on his lips. "Let's do it together!"
"Right!"
"FIRE FIST!!" Both brothers roared the name of the technique in unison.
Two massive fists of flame surged forward. Separately, they were smaller than Akainu's magma fist, but as they merged into one, they swelled to twice the size of the molten attack.
KABOOM!!
The two elemental attacks collided. A rain of sparks and magma droplets showered the battlefield like a volcanic storm. As the smoke cleared, Ace and his brothers were revealed, standing unscathed. Kenshin had used his lightning to help shield the others, and Mr. 3's wax room, though melting, had held firm.
The clash was a stalemate.
"Admiral Sakazuki's magma was blocked..." The Marines looked as if they had seen a ghost.
This sight stunned everyone—including Drake. He remembered the anime vividly. In the original duel, Akainu had mocked Ace, claiming magma was the natural superior of fire and that fire could never defeat it.
Well, that's a slap to the face, isn't it? Drake thought. You aren't so tough now, are you, Red Dog?
It turned out that if the fire was hot enough and the resolve strong enough, magma didn't mean a damn thing.
Heh, little puppy dog.
If he could, Drake would have recorded this moment just to play it on repeat for Akainu. See that? Still think you're so special? Drake allowed himself a satisfied, internal chuckle. Heh-heh-heh.
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