The Ultimate Clash: The Meaning of Life
"Get out of my way!"
"I'll save Ace— "
Luffy fearlessly charged at the two Admiral, but Roman, inside his White Knight armor, thought differently:
As long as you don't get killed, you've succeeded...
Second Gear!
Third Gear!
Facing Admiral, Luffy went all out, unleashing the incredible speed from Second Gear! Third Gear, which should have expanded his body and significantly reduced his speed, was firmly restrained by Roman's armor, increasing his power without sacrificing speed despite the increased size.
"Gear Fourth - Fake!"
"Paper Dance - Gum-Gum Pistol!"
With a punch, the wind howled, carrying the thunderous force of a roaring dragon and a meteor shower, slamming fiercely towards the two Admiral! At the same time, Roman and Luffy's Haki swirled around their fists, perfectly round and unified.
"Good teamwork, but—"
Akainu stepped forward and threw a punch to counter the attack, intending to use his top-level Armament Haki to bully the weak!
Even if Roman and Luffy combined their Haki, it wouldn't be enough against Admiral! However, when their fists collided, Luffy's 'fist' exploded into a shower of paper scraps with a deafening roar, and his entire 'aura' vanished instantly, as if diving into water. This Akainu stunned!
Aokiji, however, saw it clearly: in that split second, a large amount of paper moved onto Luffy's fist, temporarily blocking Akainu's attack. Then, the remaining paper, wrapped around Luffy's figure, rapidly faded, even concealing his aura!
Taking advantage of the explosion, he lunged to the ground and slipped away from the two Admiral. If Aokiji hadn't already mastered Observation Haki to its peak, he might have been momentarily stunned.
This kind of skill is definitely not something that Garp's son, who only knows how to charge and fight, possesses. Therefore:
"One is extremely brave, the other is extremely cautious."
Aokiji immediately noticed the contrasting emotional fluctuations in Luffy as he quietly bypassed him and Akainu. These two seemingly incompatible individuals were actually cooperating so perfectly... Could this be what they call complementarity?
"Hmph, a mere trick!"
Although he was momentarily deceived, Akainu Luffy, a top-tier fighter skilled in Haki, physical combat, Devil Fruit, glanced behind him and noticed Akainu beneath the 'transparent pages.' Just as he was about to turn and intercept him—
Boom--
Amidst the deafening roar, a black dot, accompanied by a long, piercing whistle, approached from afar, growing larger and larger, its target directly at Akainu! Immediately following was a resounding, metallic crash like a meteor striking the ground, creating a massive crater!
Immediately afterwards, ripples spread from the giant crater, causing the ground of Marineford to undulate like a violently undulating drumhead, tossing everyone high into the air.
The islands are tilting, the sea is being torn apart! Groups of naval personnel are dancing wildly in the air, as if the whole world has become absurd.
Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, a tall figure strode out, exuding an intense and domineering aura.
"Gurararar~~ Lava brat, stop bullying the younger ones!"
Amidst a wild and domineering laugh, the tall figure's fist was enveloped in a dazzling sphere of light, carrying immense power. It stirred up the sand and dust along its path, moving with a seemingly slow yet rapid pace. In the blink of an eye, the sphere of light rushed towards Akainu! A violent surge of vibrations, occurring hundreds of millions of times per second, blasted the air with his fist, creating glass-like cracks and shattering everything in its path.
"Whitebeard!!"
Amidst Akainu's furious roar, his Haki Magma Fist, imbued with Haki, met Whitebeard's vibrating attack without hesitation.
"Hellhound's Crimson Lotus!"
Rumble—
With a single punch from the two, the unstoppable, immense, and violent force instantly shattered the ground within a radius of dozens of meters. The shockwave also created enormous, visible waves, and the violent air fluctuations were like a massive, heavy hammer, enough to crush the bodies of elite naval personnel within dozens of meters as if they had been brutally crushed by a giant dinosaur—their internal organs compressed, muscles collapsed, and bones shattered, resulting in instant death!
Immediately afterwards, an extremely compressed energy storm spread out instantly from the two of them. All the rubble and dust, driven by the intense energy, spread wildly in all directions, expanding the area of the originally sunken pit several times over.
The power of a single punch can shatter mountains and break peaks!
"On your marks, the World's Strongest Man is about to unleash his power!"
Unfortunately, Sengoku's warning came a bit too late, because everyone around—most of them marines—scrambled to escape in all directions! When top-tier combatants clash, the aftershocks alone can kill them.
Splash,
A pair of pure white wings carried Luffy out of the shockwave's range, but when he looked up, he saw nothing but ice everywhere!
"This stage is a bit too early for you. Get back here—"
With a calm gesture, Aokiji raised his hand, and an ice spear radiating intense cold spun like a wheel, Luffy towards Luffy like a tsunami.
As the ice spear hurtled towards him, the surrounding air swirled rapidly around it, forming a massive vortex. The air affected by the ice had instantly liquefied and solidified, and the low pressure of the vacuum quickly created a huge whirlwind. These countless swirling Luffy of wind enveloped Luffy, leaving him nowhere to escape!
"Ice Block 'Ice-Time: Two Spikes'!"
With a casual move, he unleashed the power to destroy cities and armies! Although Aokiji hadn't actually targeted Luffy, the icy whirlwind alone was enough to Luffy and his White Knight at bay.
"Shining Impact!"
Accompanied by a rough sound, a figure as dazzling as a diamond rushed in from behind! He flew forward with unparalleled speed, leaving a trail of afterimages. Judging from the force of his movements, it was lightning—not just one bolt, but hundreds upon hundreds of bolts converging into one, charging towards Luffy with a ruthless, all-crushing momentum!
Click click click click click—
Amidst the continuous cracking of ice, the burly man covered in diamonds not only smashed Aokiji's 'Ice-Time: Two Spikes' into a shower of ice shards, but also sent Aokiji flying with unparalleled force.
"Go, Ace's brother!"
"Oh!!"
With the two Admiral held back, Luffy had loudly agreed, charged towards the execution platform in an arc, but the next second:
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!
A dense beam of light suddenly shot out, instantly piercing the White Knight's wings, causing Luffy, who was about to reach Ace, Luffy fall headlong into the Navy's encirclement once again.
"Damn it, Roman! Roman?!"
However, there was no answer to Luffy, for the papers on his person had been completely used up in the fighting! And on the high platform:
"Saint Roman, you're bleeding!"
"Fine."
Wiping the blood from his mouth, Roman calmly waved his hand, dismissing it as nothing more than a nosebleed caused by excessive mental exertion. Compared to Luffy, who was constantly pushing his physical limits, it was nothing.
However... I didn't expect it to be used up so quickly...
Thump!
Ace, kneeling on the execution platform, slammed his head against it.
"I'm so stupid, so stupid!! Why did it take me so long to realize this..."
Roman, standing nearby, gave Ace a strange look as he wept bitterly.
"The King of the Pirates 'Roger'? What does that guy have to do with me?"
Ace's forehead rested on the execution platform.
'That's a heinous monster, scum, dog shit!!'
'Because of him, this world suffers greatly from pirates! Someone like him deserves to be torn to pieces—'
'I heard everyone related to him by blood has been executed? Damn it, if I ever encounter Roger's blood relatives, I'll drink their blood and eat their flesh...'
His own birth caused his mother's death, while his father was the object of everyone's deepest hatred! So:
What is the meaning of my existence in this world...?
"Ace, I will definitely save you!!"
From below came Luffy's defiant shouts as he was surrounded by elite marines.
"Those who aren't afraid to die, charge with me!!"
Behind them, Whitebeard led his wounded captains in a desperate charge toward the Execution Platform.
The meaning of coming into this world—
With a brother like this, a father like this, and friends like this, why worry about anything else?!
"It's too distorted..."
Ace, with tears streaming down his face, was filled with mixed emotions of sorrow and joy.
"My brother, my father, my comrades, all covered in blood, fell one by one..."
"But I was so happy that I couldn't stop crying!"
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Ace kept banging his forehead against the Execution Platform, leaving drops of crimson blood, which made Roman, who was standing next to him, raise his eyelids.
Yes, I was wrong.
I always thought Ace was just stubborn, but now it seems:
Ace is a psychopath.
This isn't an insult; it refers to Ace as a genuine 'mentally ill person.' In other words, because of Roger, Ace lacked self-identity, leading to latent suicidal tendencies.
Well, whether it's a mental illness or a psychotic disorder, the most important thing right now is:
"Saint Roman!"
With a glance, Sengoku made Roman, who was about to make some 'small moves', take back the papers at his feet.
Luffy, the rest of your journey is up to you.