Whitebeard swung Murakumogiri, the Supreme Grade Sword in his hand, and vanished from where he stood in an instant.
"He's so fast!"
The magma on Akainu's body had only just turned into armor of scorching lava when he sensed a figure behind him whose gaze alone made his skin sting. A razor-sharp blade swung down at him.
His survival instinct made his body react faster than his mind, and Akainu leaped away. But in that hesitation of less than a second, Whitebeard had cut off one of his arms.
"Pops!"
The Whitebeard Pirates cried out in delight. They didn't know what had happened, but Whitebeard's body had suddenly returned to normal, and his speed had surpassed anything they were used to seeing.
They had never even seen Whitebeard attack so swiftly before.
"Akainu, I don't want to kill you. I only need to take my people away."
A quake force field spread for three li around Whitebeard.
Everyone within its reach felt unable to breathe, as though a thousand-jin boulder were pressing down on them.
"Stop dreaming! You think you're worthy of killing me?"
Naturally, Akainu refused. Scorching magma poured from all over his body, replacing the arm that had been cut off and covering him completely, turning him into a man of fiery magma.
"Then all that's left is to fight!"
Whitebeard let out a cold shout, and the space around him trembled with his voice, even showing faint signs of cracking.
The battle between the two was blindingly fast. Whitebeard in particular pushed the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power to its limit. Everywhere his blade swept, even space showed faint traces of fracture.
"What's going on? His lamp should already have run dry. How could he still have this kind of power? No, if this goes on, we'll lose!"
Sengoku could see that Akainu was actually on the losing side. A thought flashed through his mind, and he decided to step forward and help him.
He had barely taken one step when white mist rose between the two sides. A snow-white, ancient-looking long sword stood sheathed in the ground, an aura as powerful as Conqueror's Haki surging from its blade.
The blade had yet to leave its sheath, but its sword domain had already formed. The fierce sword aura coming from it scraped painfully against people's faces. Just how powerful was this divine blade?
Among the Marines, only those on the level of Sengoku, Garp, and Kizaru could withstand that aura. The rest were unable to move under its pressure.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Let the two of them settle things themselves. Don't interfere."
Han Yu smiled as he spoke to Garp and Sengoku. The snow-white, ancient-looking sword was naturally Hyorinmaru. It gave off an aura of extreme cold, separating the place where Whitebeard and Akainu were fighting from everyone else.
A Marine soldier who refused to believe it tried to charge in. But as soon as he stepped one leg inside, he saw it rapidly freezing at a speed visible to the naked eye, a piercing chill stabbing through his thigh.
The people beside him hurried over to examine it. His leg had frozen solid from the inside out. It was ruined.
"Should we go in?"
Garp stood beside Sengoku, looking at the crystalline ice barrier that could freeze a person in an instant, his expression extremely grave.
They both had sharp eyes. If they sent ordinary Marines in, no matter how many went, they would only be cannon fodder.
"The problem lies with that young man. I'll test what he's capable of first!"
Sengoku gave a low shout, and golden light emerged from his body, forming a protective golden layer over him, as though he had been gilded.
This was the Buddha Form of the Mythical Zoan Human-Human Fruit!
A sharp sound split the air, and Sengoku vanished from where he stood.
In the blink of an eye, Sengoku appeared not far in front of Han Yu and drove his glowing golden fist straight at him without any flourish.
The wind from the punch stung Han Yu's face, but his expression hardly changed. Instead, the woman in red beside him raised both hands, scarlet light pouring from her palms to meet Sengoku's fist head-on.
When the two forces collided, Sengoku was the one who came off worse!
Wanda's Chaos Magic sent him flying backward for hundreds of meters.
"Didn't he say he didn't want anyone disturbing them? Could you please cooperate?"
Wanda gently tucked back her hair and giggled. Her smile was beautiful, so enchanting it seemed like a dream.
If the setting hadn't been wrong, some people might even have rushed up to propose to her on the spot.
"Sengoku!"
Iron Fist Garp flashed behind Sengoku and braced both hands against him, finally stopping his backward flight after he had smashed through several walls, each a good five or six meters thick.
"That kind of power... how is it possible? Who is that woman?!"
Iron Fist Garp spoke with a look of disbelief. He had just helped Sengoku bleed off the force of the blow, and even after passing through Sengoku, the power that reached him was no weaker than one of his own serious punches!
Yet Wanda's lovely face looked as though that strike hadn't cost her much strength at all.
Whether Marine or pirate, everyone around them looked shocked. Sengoku was one of the strongest fighters among them.
The fact that Wanda had sent him flying so far, and that it had taken Iron Fist Garp to stop him, was enough to show how powerful she was.
"Wanda, I'll heal this guy. Help me block their attacks. Pietro, you join in too. Be careful, they're no weaklings."
Han Yu pointed at Ace, whose chest had been pierced, and spoke to Wanda and her brother.
"Hehe, don't worry! I definitely won't let their attacks reach you!"
Quicksilver grinned. After watching his sister fight, he could hardly wait. The moment Han Yu gave him permission to join in, he took off running.
On the battlefield of tens of thousands, some Marines were about to open fire on Han Yu and the others. But before their fingers even reached their triggers, they suddenly found themselves grasping at nothing.
It wasn't just them—the guns in their companions' hands had vanished too!
"What's going on? Where's my gun?!"
"My sword's gone too!"
"Who took off my pants?!"
Quicksilver dropped an enormous armful of weapons onto the ground. There was indeed a pair of pants among them...
"Haha, my hands were too fast. Don't mind me!"
Quicksilver laughed happily, but there wasn't a trace of apology in his smile.
Watching Quicksilver enjoy himself, Han Yu and Wanda exchanged a glance, each seeing the helpless look in the other's eyes.
Han Yu cautioned her, "Wanda, be careful."
"Don't worry. No one will get near you!"
Wanda simply stood there, and few dared attack her recklessly. Her earlier attack on Sengoku had shocked everyone.
"This guy's hurt so badly, simply giving him a Senzu Bean definitely won't work. Looks like I'll have to help it along."
Han Yu examined Ace's injuries. His chest had been pierced clean through, and his internal organs had all been burned.
In any world, injuries like these would be fatal.
"Good thing I refined these Senzu Beans again so they can heal injuries too. Otherwise, Ace really would have died here today."
Han Yu took out a small bag, untied it, and poured a dozen or twenty Senzu Beans into his hand. He covered them with his other hand and pressed down lightly, crushing the little pile into powder.
"Rise!"
Han Yu gave a soft shout, and Green Lantern Energy controlled the Senzu Bean powder, turning it into a green stream that floated toward the hole in Ace's chest.
The moment the green stream touched the wound, it began repairing his body tissue. The hole in Ace's chest gradually closed at a speed visible to the naked eye!
"Have one too. It'll restore your stamina and heal your injuries."
Han Yu used his mental power to pass one to Luffy. After eating it, Luffy was instantly full of energy!
No one dared attack Ace recklessly anymore. With a woman who could easily suppress even Sengoku there, anyone else, no matter how many, would be nothing more than cannon fodder.
Seeing Ace's breathing gradually return to normal, Garp opened his mouth but said nothing. Only Sengoku, who stood closest to him, noticed the subtle change in his expression.
Had he just... breathed a sigh of relief?
Sengoku looked at Ace, whose breathing had already steadied, then turned to look at Garp. Garp said nothing. Sengoku sighed softly, then his tone sharpened.
"The two of us will go together. We can't let that guy save Ace so easily!"
With that, Sengoku flew out first. In that instant, the Buddha Form of the Mythical Zoan Human-Human Fruit enveloped him like a descending god. He grew several meters taller, turning into a small golden giant.
Garp paused for a moment, but the word "Justice" on his back still compelled him to step forward.