Blackbeard Appears

"Pops!"

Ace was visibly agitated. After Azure Spirit dropped him off, he charged straight toward Whitebeard. Whitebeard was deeply moved as well. The father and son were finally reunited, and both were overjoyed.

"Retreat!!!"

Gu Sheng slapped Azure Spirit's body. The enormous Azure Dragon swiftly plunged beneath the ice. Countless pirates on the ice were swept up by the gale and tossed onto the pirate ships. Then, a series of cracking sounds rang out as the ice canopy covering the sky began to melt rapidly.

"They're trying to leave. We can't just let them get away."

Akainu clenched his fists and looked toward Aokiji. Aokiji narrowed his eyes and frowned, but in the next moment, he too rushed forward.

"Ice Age!!!"

Aokiji landed at one corner of the bay and continuously unleashed the freezing powers of his Awakened Devil Fruit, maintaining and creating more ice in preparation to freeze the pirate crews and prevent Whitebeard's forces from leaving.

"Do you think this is over already?"

A ball of golden light suddenly flashed into existence from behind. Kizaru Borsalino stared fixedly at Gu Sheng with his simian eyes. "Heh heh heh. Marco the Phoenix, the Whitebeard Pirates, and that divine dragon too. How terrifying!"

One "Tyrant Kuma" after another burst out of the ground and surrounded them from both sides of the bay. The "Pacifista" were mass-produced robotic weapons created by the World Government scientist Vegapunk, modeled after Bartholomew Kuma the Tyrant.

A single Pacifista cost as much as a battleship. The Pacifistas possessed attacks that fired laser beams like those of Admiral Kizaru. To claim that Kizaru had nothing to do with this would be utter nonsense.

The Marines' original plan had been to lure the enemy into a trap. Once the entire Whitebeard Pirates entered the bay plaza, they