Whitebeard's shock and anger were not without reason.
In that sea area adjacent to their territory, as long as the Fourth Division was assembled, the Marines wouldn't have the guts to encircle them.
At that point, with a pincer attack from both sides, who would encircle whom would still be up for debate!
The purpose of the support was to make sure they had enough strength to handle enemy attacks, to advance or retreat, to attack or defend.
But if one member was missing, it was like a balloon with a hole - unable to maintain balance, and being surrounded and killed would be the only result.
"Father, Thatch's vivre card..."
Marco came back with a gloomy expression, spreading out his palm, showing the brownish-yellow Vivre Card sparking, on the verge of burning out.
"Bastards!"
His Haoshoku Haki surged and spread in all directions.
Dark clouds swirled in the sky, and the ocean waves howled. The entire world seemed to tremble under this world-defying Haoshoku Haki.
"Father, we have received news from the front. The marines are advancing, trying to form an encirclement. Commander Jozu has ordered a full retreat and has already been forced back to Macquarie Island!"
The enemy's intention was so clear. Jozu, fully aware of the consequences, decisively ordered a retreat without giving the Marines a chance to encircle them.
Macquarie Island was the farthest island in the area marked by Whitebeard's pirate flag! Once they retreated past that line, there would be no place to hide for a hundred miles.
So retreating to Macquarie Island was the bottom line for Jozu and the others.
They had to rely on the island to have a chance against a possible Marine attack.
Seeing the grim expressions on everyone's faces, the pirate who delivered the news swallowed hard and continued, "Commander Ace has set out alone in search of the missing Commander Thatch. Commander Jozu fears that the Marines might send troops in pursuit and has asked for support.
It wasn't support for them, but support for the lonely Ace who had left.
At first, Jozu had been afraid that the old man would blame him for letting Ace go alone, so he had delayed sending the message back until now.
But under the pressure of the marine army, they couldn't hesitate any longer and sent the messages back in quick succession.
"Those bastards!"
Marco couldn't tell if he was moved or angry.
Rationally, letting Ace go was absolutely not a wise decision. But emotionally, it was exactly the Whitebeard Pirates' style.
They would never abandon a mate.
From top to bottom, they were consistent!
"Gurararara, they really are my sons!"
But at that moment, the smile on Whitebeard's face was so obvious that Marco was momentarily lost.
Then Whitebeard's smile faded and he commanded, "Marco, take the Vivre card and go support Ace. The rest of you, come with me to the front!"
Even the sons understood the principle, and Whitebeard was no exception.
If they were going to make a statement for pirates, they might as well make a big one!
Whitebeard could not bear to see his troops suffer at the front!
...
At that moment, pieces of a shipwreck were drifting in an unknown part of the sea.
Ace stood on a small boat, his trembling hands lifting a floating corpse from the sea and painfully turning it over.
He recognized this person as a member of Thatch's Fourth Division.
"No!!!"
"What happened here?!"
Ace desperately paddled the small boat, pulling one companion after another from the water, but without exception, all had lost their lives.
Soon the small boat was piled high with bodies.
Bang!
Crash!
A wave hit and the fragile boat capsized, throwing the bodies into the sea.
He tried to reach out, but the seawater's restraining effect on Devil Fruit users rendered him powerless, and he clung to the edge of the boat to keep from sinking.
Despair, helplessness, pain, and remorse.
These emotions flooded Ace like seawater, and a spark of flame began to burn in his heart.
"Thatch... Yes, Thatch!"
"He's so strong, he must still be alive!"
The flame died, and Ace regained his composure, he climbed back onto the small boat, and began to examine each floating corpse. This time, Ace suppressed his grief and did not move the bodies onto the boat.
As pirates, their final resting place was the sea.
He didn't know how much time had passed when a soft sound woke Ace.
"Cough... cough cough..."
"There's someone alive!"
Ace woke up and carefully lifted the pirate and placed him gently on the small boat.
"Don't talk, I'll bandage you right up."
The pirate had a splintered piece of wood piercing his abdomen, the wound pale and bluish from soaking, no more blood flowing.
Holding a bandage, Ace didn't even know if he should remove the wood first, feeling utterly helpless.
Knowing he was doomed, the pirate, summoning some unknown strength, grabbed Ace's hand and shook his head.
"Teach... Teach..."
The pirate gasped with each word, and Ace covered his mouth, speaking in a hoarse voice on the verge of tears, "Don't talk, let me say it."
"Teach... it was Teach who attacked you, wasn't it?"
The pirate nodded weakly, so weak that Ace had to concentrate to notice it.
"Why?"
Shaking with fear, Ace searched for an answer.
"..."
The pirate opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
He was too weak, almost drained of blood, surviving on sheer willpower.
But from the movement of his mouth, Ace understood.
The pirate said: "Dark!"
"For the Dark-Dark Fruit, Teach attacked you?"
The pirate nodded weakly again, his eyes suddenly glowing. He grabbed Ace's sleeve and shouted, "Save Commander Thatch! He's been knocked out, but he shouldn't be dead yet!"
With that, the pirate's expression froze, his eyes wide open, staring at the sky, his chest no longer rising and falling.
Everyone knew the meaning of a last burst of strength before death.
Ace silently held him, slowly laid him back on the boat, and gently closed his unseeing eyes. Then he looked up.
Bang!
The flames rekindled and an invisible force began to vibrate the air, turning the white clouds of the sky into fiery red mist. The heat waves rose, churning the sea.
Boom… Crack!
Purple-black lightning burst out of the void, instantly vaporizing the seawater-soaked wooden planks on the sea's surface and igniting them into orange-yellow flames, turning the sea into a sea of fire.
"Teach!!!"
Ace felt his blood boiling, his eyes icy cold in the searing heat.
Then he stepped into the void, his lower body exploding in an elemental burst, using the shockwave to soar into the sky.
"I'll find Thatch first!"
Looking down at the burning small boat as he ascended, Ace pulled his hat down.
"I swear I'll find him!"
Nearby, in a submarine under the sea.
Chaton watched the black screen of the surveillance Den Den Mushi signal cut off, clicking his tongue in awe, "Getting stronger through emotional shock? As expected from Vice Admiral Garp's grandson!"
This kind of flame, burning the entire Space without contact, was undoubtedly the power that only Logia users could control after Awakening.
And the invisible pressure that cut off the Den Mushi signal was unmistakably Haoshoku Haki.
Such an unreasonable growth rate left Chaton feeling deeply affected.
It felt like his entire life had been wasted compared to that one moment of enlightenment.
After a moment of astonishment, Chaton dialed the Den Den Mushi.
"Hello, Vice Admiral Rowen... this is the situation. What should we do next?"
"Do nothing and retreat."
Watching Ace's transformation through the Den Den Mushi, Rowen, sitting in an underground room, tapped his desk and spoke slowly, "Have someone closely monitor Teach's movements. If necessary, reveal his location to Ace. Otherwise, don't interfere."
"We've just received word that with Thatch missing, the balance of the front line has been disrupted, and Whitebeard has decided to take the field himself."
"He's actually coming out?"
Chaton's pupils suddenly shrank as he understood Rowen's reason for leaving this side. As the "strongest man in the world," Whitebeard deserved the Marines' full attention.
Otherwise, allowing him to appear on the front lines would pose a real danger to Akainu and Kizaru!
"World's Strongest," a title earned through countless victories and bloodshed!
Even the other three Yonko had to step aside from an enraged Whitebeard.
"Understood!"
Receiving Chaton's reply, Rowen hung up and silently rubbed his temples.
"All right, Tokikaze, you better come out and take your beating..."
Rowen never expected the fate of the world to be so unyielding!
Even after changing so much of the story, Thatch still obtained the Dark Dark Fruit.
Unfortunately, his destiny brought him face to face with Teach. After a confrontation and the revelation of the Dark-Dark Fruit, Teach attacked.
Powered by the Sacrifice-Sacrifice Fruit, Teach was now so formidable that no one in Whitebeard's crew could stand against him except Whitebeard himself.
As a result, just as Ace had heard.
Teach was defeated, and the entire Fourth Division was destroyed!
...
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