Kizaru didn't consider this backing down, nor was it fear of Whitebeard; he was simply following the Fleet Admiral's orders.
As a Marine admiral, it was only logical to obey Fleet Admiral Sengoku's commands, right?
Especially after seeing Akainu pass out, Kizaru's will to fight had plummeted.
Battling Whitebeard with Akainu was already proving to be a struggle; adding the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates to the mix, Kizaru worried it might be a one-way trip.
So, using the light clone to distract and confuse the Whitebeard Pirates, he immediately took Akainu and fled the scene of conflict.
Kizaru transformed into a streak of golden light and vanished into the distance, so fast that not even Marco and Ace could catch him.
Marco quickly turned back, glaring at the blinding flash behind him, grinding his teeth: "This guy's Devil Fruit powers are so cheap!"
Without a high level of Observation Haki, it's indeed difficult to combat an admiral with speed like Kizaru's.
Not to mention when Kizaru is set on escaping...
It becomes even harder to stop him.
"Gurararara!" Whitebeard squinted at the golden flash trying to flee, "Do you think you can leave without a scratch?? that's not going to be easy! Little flash brat!"
Whitebeard's arms, wrapped in bulging veins and muscles, were now enveloped in a vibrating light wave around the blade of Murakumogiri.
His entire aura peaked, giving Marco and Ace a bad premonition.
"Move out of the way, you fools!"
As Whitebeard shouted, Marco and Ace's faces turned pale, and they frantically flew to either side to avoid.
In that instant, Whitebeard's tremendously powerful slash was already bearing down on Kizaru's retreating figure!
In just a moment, the vibrating force had spread for dozens of nautical miles.
A dense network of atmospheric fissures blanketed the sky and earth in the blink of an eye!
The sky and sea were continuously spinning and capsizing, the constantly twisting and vibrating atmosphere made even light struggle to escape.
Kizaru's figure seemed to freeze in place.
His forehead was drenched in sweat, and his sunglasses shattered under the relentless force of the vibration.
The endless, powerful tremors poured out towards Kizaru, making him grunt on the spot.
"It's really exaggerated... Whitebeard..."
Kizaru clenched his teeth.
This was the most solemn expression he had shown all day, with a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
Clearly, he was injured by the vibrational force.
This was because he was a Marine admiral, whose physical condition was naturally strong. Had it been anyone else, they would have likely been shaken into a bloody froth!
But he was well aware that the entire Whitebeard crew was behind him.
If they didn't run now, both of them might be left behind!
Kizaru could only grit his teeth, ignoring the damage the vibrational force was doing to his body, and forcibly sped away with Akainu once again.
"It looks like... he's running away!!"
The crew aboard the Moby Dick realized at once that the two Marine admirals were probably trying to flee the scene.
As they watched a golden streak of light about to sweep over the Moby Dick, Kakashi suddenly had a bold idea.
Covering one Sharingan, he murmured seriously, "If that Marine admiral is going to fly over from this direction, can I predict his position... and then use the power of Kamui to keep him here?!"
Kakashi acted on his thought immediately.
He took a deep breath, pushing the dynamic visual prowess of his Mangekyou Sharingan to the extreme.
Even though he still couldn't clearly see the fleeting golden flash, Kakashi wasn't trying to directly see the other's trajectory; he just wanted to make a prediction.
Even a glimpse was enough.
"Kamui!!!"
Kakashi's Kamui in each eye had different functions.
One eye's Kamui could make his body intangible and absorb any object his limbs touched into the Kamui dimension.
The other eye's Kamui could suck any object into the Kamui space from a distance.
Naturally, Kakashi used the latter this time!
A spiral-shaped spatial ripple appeared in the sky above the Moby Dick.
And that golden flash just happened to pass through at that moment.
It also happened to touch the spiral-shaped air ripple!
Kakashi, with blood seeping from his eyes, watched as the golden flash was "Kamui'd" away, cutting off a small section!
Feeling the weakness in his body, Kakashi smiled for the first time in a while, "Ha, it seems that even time-space ocular powers are effective against elementalization."
In this battle against the Marines, the new Whitebeard crew had not held back.
It was then that Kakashi noticed a severed arm in the Kamui space!
It had been torn off by Kamui!
He also noticed that the sleeve of the severed arm seemed to be a yellow-striped suit.
"It's indeed that flashy person..."
Kakashi murmured.
...
A sudden intense pain made Kizaru's face twitch, and no one knew better than him what had happened to his body.
Kizaru was shocked to find that his left arm, from the forearm to the palm, had completely disappeared!
As if it had been sliced off by an invisible blade!
In haste, Kizaru quickly looked down at the Moby Dick, his gaze seemingly meeting Kakashi's in mid-air.
Even if it was just a fleeting intersection, Kizaru realized he seemed to have been attacked.
It was an attack from a member of the Whitebeard crew!
The key was that he couldn't recognize who Kakashi was.
Since when did the Whitebeard crew have such a character?
Someone who could silently cut off one of his arms...
What kind of bizarre Devil Fruit power is this?
"Bad luck strikes..." Kizaru, enduring the intense pain, awkwardly fled with the unharmed Akainu in his right hand.
Who would have thought that two Marine Admirals would end up fleeing from the Whitebeard Pirates!
And to think, one admiral with a broken leg, and another with a broken arm.
Kizaru wondered, if word of this got out, how would the world view the Marines?
"Sakazuki, you've done a terrible job this time..."
Kizaru didn't dare to stop for even a second, not even to fire a laser at Moby Dick in retaliation.
Because that would slow down his escape, and Whitebeard was hot on his heels!
Whoosh—
The blinding golden streak finally left the area.
No one could stop his escape.
...
Meanwhile, on the Moby Dick.
Katakuri looked down at Kakashi curiously: "What did you just do?!"
Kakashi replied calmly: "I cut off the hand of that guy called Kizaru."
Katakuri: "???"
Not long after, Whitebeard, Marco, and Ace returned.
As soon as Whitebeard got back on board, he saw Kakashi pulling a severed hand out of the Kamui space.
Recognizing the familiar fabric on the sleeve of the hand, Whitebeard guessed what had happened, his face breaking into a broad, hearty smile: "Gurararararara! You foolish son, it seems you've done something remarkable behind my back!"
Kakashi apologized: "Sorry Pops, I acted on my own."
"Gurararararara, what are you apologizing for!"
Whitebeard gave Kakashi a playful thump on the head, nearly sending him flying: "Isn't it natural for pirates to beat up the Marines?!"
"It's that flashy brat's own fault for not dodging; his Observation Haki isn't up to par! Gurara!"
Seeing his son stand his ground even against a Marine Admiral filled Whitebeard with joy.
Marco also laughed: "Those are some impressive eyes, Kakashi, stronger than many Devil Fruit powers out at sea."
Just as Kakashi was getting a bit embarrassed from the praise, Naruto came running up, holding a rather odd-looking seagull.
"Pops! Everyone! I caught this weird bird on the ship! This guy was sneaking around with something like a snail!"
Naruto held up the News Coo by its neck, like he was holding a large goose.
The News Coo stuck out its tongue, beak foaming at the mouth.
It looked dazed and confused.
Clearly, it had suffered quite a bit in Naruto's hands.
"Oh? This bird..." Ace came over and bent down to look, stroking his chin: "Isn't this a News Coo? These birds deliver newspapers at sea. They're quite intelligent; each one can understand human speech."
Izo walked over and added: "But if it's holding a Den Den Mushi, that's unusual. If I'm not mistaken, it must be a journalist from the World Economic News Agency."
"A journalist?!" Temari was surprised, coming from a world with journalists too: "This weird bird is a journalist?!"
"Indeed!" Izo responded, "The president of the World Economic News Agency is named Morgans, and under him, besides human reporters, he also keeps a flock of news bird reporters."
"Some photo angles are impossible for humans to capture, and are typically taken by these news birds. After all, who would care about a bird flying overhead?"
Konan bent down to pick up a snail.
She mused to herself, "Is this the Den Den Mushi used for photography? It looks somewhat like a camera, quite a magical creature. Perhaps each member of the Akatsuki could be equipped with one."
Konan noticed that on the back of this photography Den Den Mushi, there was a very small LCD screen.
Next to the screen were several control buttons.
She pressed one casually, and a photo appeared on the small screen, clearly taken from a sneaky angle.
And Konan realized, the photo was of her!
The angle was unflattering, to say the least.
It even feels a bit like a black history photo.
Konan's pretty face darkened, and she suggested, "Let's stew it!"
Beside her, after listening to Izo's explanation, Naruto had an epiphany, "So, this strange bird was here to spy on us!?"
Jozu bared his teeth in a big laugh, "I think it's not just here to spy on us, but also to gather intel on our 'new Whitebeard Pirates'! Hahaha! Naruto, it won't be long before you rookies have bounties on your heads!"
"Bounties? For real?"
Naruto's eyes lit up instantly. After all, as a pirate for so long, he only had a bounty in the ninja world, and it wasn't high.
"Of course, it's real! Hahaha!" Jozu laughed heartily, "Knowing these reporters, they'll definitely publish everything they've captured in the newspapers, and then the Marines will know you exist."
"If the Marines find out that our Whitebeard Pirates have a bunch of powerful newcomers, they'll surely be scared into setting high bounties for you! Hahaha!"
Hearing this, Naruto quickly released the news bird in his hand, lest he accidentally strangle it.
After all, this news bird was key to whether he, Uzumaki Naruto, could make a name for himself on the high seas!
For a chance to stand out, Naruto naturally wouldn't refuse, and he even wished for more.
Naruto gently woke the dazed news bird.
He grinned, introducing himself boldly, "Hello! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm the man who will become the Hokage of Konohagakure! Remember my name, okay? Don't forget!"
"Gah gah gah—"
The awakened news bird frantically looked around, and upon realizing it was surrounded by pirates, it nearly fainted from fright.
"Don't be scared, don't be scared! We won't hurt you, hehehe..."
Thinking about the bounty soon to be his own.
Naruto couldn't stop his goofy grin.
...
Elsewhere, on a Marine warship.
"Rear Admiral, sir, the commotion over there seems to have stopped, huh?" A Marine soldier, holding a telescope and peering into the dark night, asked, "Has the battle ended? Did Admiral Sakazuki and Admiral Borsalino defeat Whitebeard together?"
The Marine Rear Admiral aboard the warship didn't respond, as he had a bad premonition.
Logically speaking, couldn't two admirals take down Whitebeard?
From the Marines' standpoint, this Rear Admiral believed that the two admirals could definitely capture Whitebeard.
But for some reason, he couldn't shake off the ominous feeling in his heart, causing his palms to sweat.
Could it be that Admirals Sakazuki and Borsalino, even when combined, were no match for Whitebeard?
The question that suddenly popped into his mind startled the Marine Rear Admiral.
He shook his head hastily, trying to discard the negative thought.
Just then, someone exclaimed, "Look over there! Such a blinding light! Could that be Admiral Borsalino?"
The people on the warship hurriedly looked and indeed saw a beam of golden light speeding from afar.
"It must be Admiral Borsalino!"
"Why is the admiral coming back now? Has he really defeated Whitebeard?"
"Of course! Who can withstand the combined force of two admirals? That's the highest combat power of the World Government!"
"Although we didn't catch Blackbeard, capturing Whitebeard seems even better!"
"..."
The group of Marine soldiers on the ship burst into joyous celebration.
They all wore relieved smiles on their faces.
Only the Marine Rear Admiral had a grave expression.
Because the ominous premonition in his heart grew stronger, even causing palpitations!
Under the watchful eyes of the Marines, Kizaru, covered in blood, returned to the warship with Akainu and immediately placed him on the deck with one hand.
The Marines: "..."
Silence!
A deathly silence!
The Marines on the ship had only guessed half right.
Their Admirals Sakazuki and Borsalino had indeed returned.
However, the two admirals didn't look like they had won a victory.
The smiles on everyone's faces froze.
They saw their respected and revered Admiral Sakazuki lying on the deck like a dead dog, with blood continuously flowing from his body.
His body was covered with ghastly wounds and bruises.
Especially several wounds were bone-deep, even revealing the damaged organs inside!
They could also see that Admiral Sakazuki's leg was missing below the knee!
Admiral Borsalino on the other side wasn't faring much better.
Although he could still stand upright, his empty palm told everyone that Admiral Borsalino was also seriously injured!
A whole hand and half a forearm were gone...
Isn't that a serious injury?
"Ad... Admiral Bo....?"
The Marine Rear Admiral on the ship felt a chill run down his spine as he trembled and asked Kizaru, "You... What happened to you...?"
Kizaru glanced at him, raised his hand to indicate his own bleeding arm, and said, "I believe you should immediately call the ship's doctor to treat Sakazuki and me."
The Marine Rear Admiral quickly came to his senses.
He shivered, suppressing the panic and fear rising in his heart, and urgently shouted, "Medic! Where's the medic? Quickly take Admirals Sakazuki and Borsalino to the infirmary! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
The medics on the warship, clad in white coats, rushed over in a frenzy, suppressing their shock and disbelief as they hurriedly lifted the severely injured Akainu onto a stretcher.
Then, more medics quickly brought medical equipment to treat Kizaru's wounded hand.
The atmosphere aboard the entire warship turned eerie at that moment, with the morale of the Marines plummeting to rock bottom.
Many faces showed confusion and helplessness.
While being treated on the spot by the medics, Kizaru said to the Marine Rear Admiral, "Give me the Den Den Mushi to contact headquarters. I need to report our situation here to Sengoku."
"Ah? Oh! Yes! Yes!" The somewhat dazed Marine Rear Admiral snapped to attention and hastily handed the Den Den Mushi to Kizaru.
...
"Brulu brulu brulu—"
Sengoku, looking somewhat weary, immediately answered the Den Den Mushi. He had been waiting a long time and finally received a call from the Marines in the New World.
"Moshi moshi, this is Sengoku!"
Sengoku, with a stern face, spoke into the Den Den Mushi in a very serious tone, "How are things over there? Is Sakazuki still fighting Whitebeard? Has Borsalino arrived yet?"
"It's me" Kizaru's voice, tinged with complexity, rang out, causing Sengoku to pause.
Before Sengoku could speak, Kizaru explained the current situation.
Kizaru didn't say much, just briefly spoke for less than half a minute, but he made everything clear.
And what he said left Sengoku completely stunned.
It took several seconds for him to react in disbelief, shouting, "What did you say? Sakazuki is seriously injured and unconscious? You've had an arm severed? All done by the Whitebeard Pirates?!"
Kizaru nodded, glancing at his bandaged wrist, "Yes, Sengoku, the current Whitebeard Pirates are terrifyingly strong!"
"During the fight, Whitebeard asked me to pass on a message to you. He said if you want to deal with the Whitebeard Pirates, you'll need to send three admirals."
Sengoku fell silent, his face darkening as if it could drip water, his eyes filled with rage.
Listening to Whitebeard's arrogant behavior, he wished he could rush to the New World right now and personally take on Whitebeard.
But in the end, reason overcame anger, and Sengoku took a deep breath, apologizing, "I'm sorry, Borsalino, I didn't expect this operation to cost you an arm. But thank you for saving Sakazuki. We can't afford to lose any admirals in the New World."
Kizaru shrugged, not blaming Sengoku for the loss of his arm.
Despite his laid-back demeanor, Kizaru was always serious about Marine missions.
He wasn't afraid of getting hurt.
Having chosen to be a Marine, how could he expect to go through life unscathed?
Kizaru looked up into the distance, still finding the humor to joke, "I wonder if Teacher Zephyr will soften his attitude towards me now that I've also lost an arm."
Then, Kizaru reminded, "Sengoku, the Whitebeard Pirates have added a group of people I've never seen before. My arm was severed by one of them, a young man with white hair."
"I don't know what kind of technique it was, it seemed like a spatial ability. I guess it's probably a special Devil Fruit. Hmm... maybe something like the Ope-Ope Fruit?!"
The report from Kizaru made Sengoku's expression grave: "A group of new crew members... even capable of severing your arm?"
Does this mean that, after the brutal Summit War, the Whitebeard Pirates' overall strength has not only remained intact but has become even stronger than before?
Sengoku found this hard to accept, considering the heavy casualties suffered by the Marines.
Why is it that the Whitebeard Pirates are unscathed?
"Huff! Borsalino, you and Sakazuki come back immediately. Do not linger in the New World, lest other pirates take the opportunity to attack!"
Sengoku forced himself to calm down and issued an order.
...
Time quickly moved to the next day.
Whitebeard was unclear about the Marines' reaction, but all the members of the Whitebeard Pirates were quite happy.
In less than two days, they not only killed the traitor Blackbeard and destroyed his pirate crew.
They also thwarted two Marine admirals, delivering a crushing blow to the Marines.
What could be more gratifying than this?
This allowed the interrupted banquet of the Whitebeard Pirates to resume, and this celebration lasted for several days!
It ended only when all the food and drink on the ship were consumed.
But the ripples caused by the actions of the Whitebeard Pirates were far from over.
Because a news bird, specially "entertained" by the Whitebeard Pirates, had now flown back to the headquarters of the World Economic News Agency!
Yes, the Whitebeard Pirates had released the news bird.
They even allowed it to gather some information about the Whitebeard Pirates.
They also permitted the news bird to take some photos on the ship.
According to Whitebeard, it was time for the whole world to meet the all-new Whitebeard Pirates!
Coincidentally, Morgans had just returned to the headquarters of the World Economic News Agency from the Reverie.
Even he did not expect to come back to such earth-shattering news!
Looking at the photos before him, listening to the news bird "cawing" incessantly in his ear...
Morgans was so excited that his face flushed red.
He held a photo, his hands trembling, his voice quivering: "Big news... big news! The Whitebeard Pirates reborn from the ashes? No... this should be called the fully upgraded Whitebeard Pirates! And... they actually destroyed the Blackbeard Pirates, even defeating two Marine admirals!"
"The most important thing is that all the photos have been taken!"
Morgans was so excited he was nearly losing his sanity.
He hugged the "cawing" news bird that was reporting to him and gave it a big kiss.
"Ahahaha! Good bird! Good bird! You truly are Morgans' good bird!" Morgans laughed with tears in his eyes: "Those human reporters are not even as good as you, a news bird! I'm going to promote you! Give you a raise! Hahahaha!"
"This is another world-shaking big news! I'm going to make a fortune!"
Morgans couldn't wait any longer; he immediately began writing the news himself.
And he ordered all branches of the World Economic News Agency to work overtime printing newspapers.
They must let the whole world know what happened in the New World a few days ago.
And so, two days later...
Copies of the newspaper spread across the entire ocean, igniting the whole world!
...
In the New World, the Kingdom of Dressrosa.
Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, held a newspaper in his hands.
He sat arrogantly in his chair, a wicked smile splitting his face, almost reaching his ears.
"Fufufu... A new form of the Whitebeard Pirates? Quite remarkable indeed. An old man, one foot in the grave, yet still stirring up such a storm in the world."
Doflamingo was full of emotion, yet also seemed to take pleasure in the misfortune: "Fufufu, the Marines must be furious, right? This news has practically torn off the face of the Marines."
Beside him... "Trebol," one of the top executives of the Donquixote Family, asked after sniffling his thick mucus, "Young master, should we cut off the recently established business ties with the Blackbeard Pirates?"
Doflamingo responded, "Fufufu, let's cut them off. To have the Quake-Quake Fruit and still suffer such a quick defeat at sea, that's incompetent man. Doing business with the incompetent is contagious."
Trebol nodded, "Understood!"
...
The Red Hair Pirates.
"Captain Shanks! Captain!"
A member of the Red Hair Pirates ran over in a hurry. Seeing Shanks drunk and fast asleep, the anxious crew member shouted directly into Shanks' ear, "Captain, something big has happened! Wake up!!!"
But even that didn't wake Shanks.
Until Benn Beckman, came over.
Beckman, with a cigarette in his mouth, smiled and said, "Our foolish captain won't wake up until he's sober. Tell me what's going on."
The crew member immediately handed the newspaper to Beckman. "Look at the headlines on the newspaper! This time there are two front-page headlines, and both are related to the Whitebeard Pirates!"
Beckman was surprised, "The Whitebeard Pirates again? That old man really knows how to cause a stir..."
He then took the newspaper and glanced at the content.
Instantly, Beckman's eyes widened, and the cigarette in his mouth was bitten in half.
It was clear his mood was anything but calm, and the content of the newspaper was explosive.
"What a joke..."
Beckman's forehead broke out in a cold sweat as he muttered, "The Blackbeard Pirates... annihilated by the Whitebeard Pirates? Even Blackbeard himself was killed by Whitebeard?!"
Despite Beckman's quiet voice, it was enough to instantly open the eyes of the sleeping Shanks.
The drunken look on Shanks' face vanished as he sprang up and snatched the newspaper.
Shanks' face was serious and stern, his brows furrowed as he stared at every line on the paper.
The shock in his heart was no less than Beckman's.
"Blackbeard is dead?"
Shanks was shocked.
The man who had once left three scars on his eye was now dead at sea?
Beckman took out another cigarette, lighting it as he said, "If the news isn't fake, then it's as the newspaper says."
Shanks took a deep breath, taking several seconds to accept this fact.
A serious and solemn expression on his face, Shanks also revealed a smile, "It seems that such a traitor indeed does not meet a good end. His actions finally made Whitebeard unable to refrain from righteous annihilation!"
Then, he noticed the other front-page headline: the Whitebeard Pirates had repelled two Marine admirals.
The article also detailed the new members of the Whitebeard Pirates, even publishing photos of these newcomers!
"Defeated two admirals..." Shanks said calmly, "Why would the Marine admirals clash with Whitebeard? Could it be... the Marines want to stage another Summit War?"
"And these new members of the Whitebeard Pirates... Hatake Kakashi? Hoshigaki Kisame? Uzumaki Naruto?"
Shanks paused, these names were completely unfamiliar to him!
Yet, according to the newspaper report, these newcomers seemed to hold significant positions within the Whitebeard Pirates.
What was going on?
"Wait a minute! These two..." Shanks was shocked, "Aren't they two of the commanders from the Big Mom Pirates? They've joined the Whitebeard Pirates?"
Shanks was baffled.
...
...
(End of Chapter)
一 一 一 一 一
You can read advanced chapters on
pat reon.com/GMadman
一 一 一 一 一
Give me your power stone,
Add this novel to your Library,
And Give me your review of this novel