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The sudden ambush was unexpected, but the end was even more abrupt.
On board [Moby Dick], after Marco's startled cry, the pirates who were about to act looked at each other for several seconds before someone cautiously shouted,
"Long live... Long live!"
This cry instantly ignited the passion of the Whitebeard pirates.
"Long live Oyaji!!"
"Long live the Whitebeard Pirates!"
Hearing the resounding cheers that echoed through the sky, "Diamond" Jozu and Vista exchanged glances on McKinley Island, both showing a relieved smile.
Even if the Marines set up an ambush and the Admiral appears?
This is Whitebeard, the strongest in the world!
As long as he is here, we are invincible!
"Gūlālālālālālālā!"
On the bow deck, Whitebeard seemed to have done something trivial, banging his naginata heavily and waving his hand casually.
"Why are you still standing there, little ones?"
"Cut the nets and bring Vista and Jozu home!"
"Yes!"
"You, get the hook blades from the storeroom!"
The pirates immediately understood and jumped into action.
In ship-to-ship combat, the use of gangplanks to board an enemy ship was common, but not the only method. At the forefront were crescent-shaped metal sharp weapons, followed by long wooden poles with hook blades, which were used to board small ships in various situations.
Especially now that [Moby Dick] was caught in a large net, it was impossible to break free from the Navy's underwater submarines, which anchored the corners with their weight. Destroying the nets was the best solution.
Soon...
Boom!
Boom!
Each sturdy twine was ripped apart by the blades, sending out crisp vibrations. [The Moby Dick] tore a hole and plunged heavily back into the sea, creating huge white waves.
Hiss!
Transparent air blades shot up, instantly tearing apart large sections of fishing nets hundreds of meters in front of them.
With his naginata in hand, Whitebeard smiled heartily and ordered, "Hoist the sails, set sail!"
"Yes!!!"
Huā Lā La...
On a submarine, Akainu, who had fallen into the sea, was rescued and brought up. His face was extremely gloomy.
"Unbelievable!!"
The flowing magma dripped onto the steel hull, and the terrifyingly high temperature quickly evaporated the traces of water, turning the metal armor crimson and melting it. Inside the submarine, alarms blared incessantly.
After calming down, Akainu took out a Den Den Mushi and said,
"Plan A has failed. Prepare for battle!"
Just because the sneak attack failed didn't mean that Akainu was afraid of Whitebeard.
Assassination attempts were inherently fraught with risk and crisis. When your opponent exposes an opportunity in front of you, your own vulnerabilities are exposed as well. Therefore, the failure of a single opportunistic attempt hardly mattered.
However, Akainu couldn't accept that the Whitebeard Pirates' morale had skyrocketed as a result.
If that's the case, then he would use the strength of the military to crush the opponent!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
When the order was given, the huge naval battleships opened fierce fire from their pre-positioned positions. At this distance, beyond the reach of the pirate cannons, they bombarded the battlefield with pure fire.
Skyquake!
"The cannonball rain that came down like a deluge covered the sky, disregarding the stars and the sun. Each cannonball that hit its target shattered the pirates to pieces.
The ruthless and bloody nature of war was on full display at that moment, forcing Whitebeard to act once again.
KāChā... KāChā... KāChā!
Once again, cracks spread across the sky as cannonballs resembling city walls froze in the air. Then, with a clenched fist and a quick pull, Whitebeard's repeated Tremor directly detonated these steel cannonballs on the spot.
"Marco, take your men and charge over, disrupt their positions!"
With the two sides too far apart and the front line too thin, relying on Whitebeard alone was inevitably insufficient. In this kind of battle, it was also unwise to use full force every time because of the cannon fire.
No one's endurance was limitless.
Marco understood this as well. When he received the order, he didn't hesitate after returning to the deck and gestured quickly.
"First Division, follow me!"
"The rest, cover with cannon fire!"
On the coast of McKinley Island, Jozu and Vista led the remaining forces in a counterattack against the Marine frontline to relieve the pressure on Whitebeard and the others.
At that moment, almost all of the marines were engaged in direct combat with Whitebeard's massive force, which unexpectedly gave them an opportunity to secure a defensible position.
But when he saw the First Division, led by Marco, venturing deep to disrupt the front lines, Jozu's pupils contracted and his expression suddenly changed.
"Not good, they've been tricked!"
"What's going on?"
Vista struggled vigorously and turned to ask when she heard this.
"The Air Force hasn't shown up yet. It's too dangerous to attack now!"
On the vast open sea, the lone advance of the First Division was more conspicuous than the brightest stars in the night sky.
In the battles with the Marines, the most significant casualties were caused by the saturated barrage of the Air Force's bang attacks. Everything else took a back seat!
The Marines would never miss such an opportunity!
Sure enough, shortly after Jozu's words, Blue Whales appeared from behind the clouds.
Buzz!
The huge bodies moved, shaking the air, tearing the clouds apart, and emitting a suffocating buzz!
Down below, with only this fleet, precision aiming was hardly necessary; quantity was the key.
"Fire!"
In the dictation room, behind his sunglasses, Kizaru's gaze was ice-cold, his lips twitching slightly as he gave the order.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Flawlessly fluid plasma blasts tore through the air, enveloped in searing heat, and slammed into the sea's surface.
The bursting plasma balls instantly disintegrated into thousands of smaller electromagnetic cannonball fragments. Perhaps they couldn't match the destructive power of equivalent modern cannons, but in terms of lethality, one shot was worth two!
"Aaaahhhhh!!!"
"My leg, I can't feel it!"
"Don't panic, scatter! Scatter quickly!"
The First Division, subjected to the saturated bombardment, quickly rearranged their formations and tried to reduce their losses by scattering. However, facing the overwhelming numerical advantage of the Air Force, this measure was like a drop in the bucket.
"Keep attacking, I'll take care of them!"
As one of the few non-Logia Ability users with the ability to fly, Marco had to shoulder the pressure of the Air Force. Now trapped in the middle of the battlefield, a retreat was impossible.
Pushed to the brink, there might be a slim chance of survival.
Chirp!
The bird's call echoed through the sky. With the speed of lightning, the immortal blue flames tore through the sky like a streak of light, piercing through the plane and causing it to explode.
But that was the extent of Marco's accomplishment. When Kizaru, who had remained in the Dictation Room after being dispersed, noticed him joining the battle in the sky, he pushed open the hatch and rushed into the battlefield.
Lightspeed Kick!
"Boom!
This strike didn't have the expected effect; Marco who was hit, only stepped back a few meters before steadying himself.
As the smoke cleared, Kizaru raised an eyebrow, observing the metallic armor smoke emanating from Marco's front, his mouth curling into a mischievous grin.
"So that's how it is, using the armor from the plane to withstand the attack?"
"But... how many times can you block it?"
As the overall Dictate of the Scientific Force, overseeing the entire process of armor plate manufacturing, Kizaru could responsibly tell Marco the answer.
Three times at the most!
And then...
Lightspeed Kick!
Laser!
Speedy lasers!
Under the burst, Kizaru at that moment looked like the incarnation of Battery Fort, with his hands and feet together, he instantly unleashed hundreds of densely packed laser blasts towards Marco.
The armor plate that could only withstand three blasts was almost pierced in an instant, and the sky-covering laser pierced Marco and then exploded, flooding a large space.
Not being a true Logia means not being able to completely ignore physical damage. Under this barrage, Kizaru was confident that Marco, even the Undying, would be left in ruins!
"Marco!!!"
Below, Whitebeard, noticing this scene, was uncontrollably angry and raised his fist to intervene.
But suddenly, a terrifying killing intent appeared behind him. Accompanied by rolling lava, Akainu landed and cut down one pirate after another who tried to stop him, stepping through the sea of fire and heading straight for Whitebeard.
"Meigo - Nether Hound!!!"
"Akainu!!"
Whitebeard angrily turned around, the white light accumulating on his fist rapidly shrinking from the size of a human head to a point that collided directly with Akainu's Meigo Nether Hound lava.
Akainu, who was three meters tall, and Whitebeard, who was seven meters tall, were like adults facing children in terms of the difference.
The reality was not much different.
As the power of that concentrated Tremor erupted from his hand, Akainu couldn't help but grunt and voluntarily dispersed his arm into Elementalization, obviously not daring to directly resist the attack!
After that, the Tremor's impact was fleeting, dissipating half of his shoulder.
But that was enough!
"Whitebeard, today is your day to die!!!"
Akainu's face revealed a grim smile, that mad grin that reminded Whitebeard of years past.
Akainu, also known as Mad Dog.
But he was a very thoughtful Mad Dog, so his extreme personality matched his wisdom, which was worthy of the title of Admiral.
Suddenly, Whitebeard realized that the world had slowed down.
The droplets of water splashed by the waves froze in mid-air, and Akainu's trembling facial skin stagnated.
A shadowy figure emerged from the void, holding a cigarette in his mouth and grinning mischievously, making Whitebeard want to furrow his brow.
"This guy..."
"Assassin Shadow Dragon!"
Chi!
(End of this chapter)