This figure was none other than Ace.
In that split second, he exerted all his strength and rushed in front of Luffy, shielding him from the incoming lava fist.
The rolling lava fist directly pierced through his chest from behind, with raging flames engulfing his body.
As a natural user of the Flame-Flame Fruit, Ace could have intentionally avoided the attack by transforming the affected area into a void beforehand. Even if the lava fist was infused with Armament Haki, it wouldn't have been able to hit him.
However, that would have meant Akainu's fist would pass through Ace and directly strike Luffy in front of him.
So Ace chose to take Akainu's punch head-on, using his body as a barrier. The lava directly pierced through his body.
Even as a Logia user, if the physical form is hit, there's no way to recover.
Akainu withdrew his fist from Ace's chest, leaving behind a massive hole. However, this time, he didn't instantly regenerate his body like before.
Everyone present stood frozen, witnessing this scene.
The members of the Whitebeard Pirates exclaimed in shock, "Ace is injured!"
Garp's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.
Even Whitebeard couldn't believe his eyes as he looked on.
However, Akainu, having landed one blow, aimed to strike Ace again, attempting to kill him for good.
Some tried to use cannons to disrupt him, but their attacks only penetrated the lava, and Akainu quickly returned to his original form.
In this critical moment, Garp stepped forward. He submerged Akainu's body in seawater, shielding Ace alone in front of him.
And at that moment, the captains of the Whitebeard Pirates also rushed over and launched an assault on Akainu, forcing his attacks to be interrupted.
Seeing Ace suffer a fatal injury, Garp's suppressed rage couldn't be contained any longer. Just then, Sengoku restrained his head and smashed him into the ground.
Garp's body trembled, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Huff... Sengoku! You keep holding me back like this!...
Otherwise, I would kill Akainu!"
Everyone could feel Garp's overwhelming anger towards Akainu from his words. If Sengoku hadn't stopped him, he might have actually done it.
However, even at this moment, he still remembered that he was a Marine.
This man commanded respect, but also caused heartache.
In the footage, Garp looked at Akainu. His hands were already covered in veins. When he saw Akainu's punch piercing through Ace's chest, anger burned within his heart. He even entertained the idea of taking out Akainu in advance to prevent this from happening.
But that thought was quickly extinguished.
He tightly restrained his fury, just like the Garp being held down in the footage by Sengoku.
In the footage, Ace, with his chest pierced, seemed to lose all his strength and fell directly onto Luffy's body.
Luffy hurriedly held onto Ace, and blood flowed uncontrollably from the wound on his back.
"Sorry, Luffy..." Ace whispered softly.
"Ace! Let me bandage it quickly!" Luffy said anxiously.
"I'm afraid I can't allow you to save me as you wish... I'm deeply sorry..."
"What nonsense are you talking about? Hurry up and find someone to help bandage Ace!" Luffy shouted.
"It's no use. I know I'm dying... Listen to me, Luffy. If Sabo's incident hadn't happened, and if you weren't my troublemaking little brother... I wouldn't have wanted to live on..."
Perhaps it was truly the end, as memories of the past flashed before Ace's eyes like a carousel.
"Oh, right. If you see Dadan, give her my regards... When I realized I was going to die... I really missed that guy..."
Luffy foolishly held onto Ace, listening to his final words.
"But the one thing I still regret is not being able to see the other side of your dream... But you... will definitely make it, because you're my brother!"
"I can't speak anymore... Luffy... Please tell everyone what I'm about to say...
And all of you...
You've always cared for me, who was beyond saving,
For me, who inherited the blood of demons...
Thank you!!!"
After saying that, a beautiful smile appeared on Ace's lips. Then, the hand he had wrapped around Luffy's neck suddenly lost strength, and his entire body slipped from Luffy's grasp, falling to the ground without a sound.
Only his face remained tilted, displaying a peaceful smile.
Ace was dead.
In an instant, countless cries of grief echoed through the air at Marine Headquarters.
At the moment Ace fell, Luffy's eyes lost their expression. He knelt before Ace's lifeless body like a soulless puppet, his mouth agape, gazing up at the sky.
However, at that moment, the man who killed Ace, Admiral Akainu, charged forward again. Half of his body transformed into magma, dense smoke swirling around him. He raised his lava-covered fist, the same one that had just killed Ace, and aimed it at the unconscious Luffy.
"Straw Hat, you're next!"
As Akainu's words rang out, the scene abruptly stopped, freezing at the moment when Akainu raised his fist to strike Luffy.
________
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