A rumbling sound came from in front of Marine Headquarters. On the other side of the trench, a large bird wrapped in blue flames took flight. It was Marco.
"Marco!"
Whitebeard's roar made Marco stop flying. After deactivating his Devil Fruit ability, tears streamed down his cheeks.
"Everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates, retreat!"
Marco shouted those words as if he had exhausted all his strength, involuntarily taking several steps back.
"Don't let down Pops for what he did for us. Get on the ship as soon as possible."
Izo turned and charged toward the harbor. By now, everyone knew that Whitebeard had no chance of leaving.
"Are we really... abandoning Pops just like this?"
The fish-man Namur spoke in a trembling voice, but no one answered him. When he saw Su Xiao approaching from ahead, he hesitated for a moment before speaking:
"Doctor Byakuya, you must have a way, right? Pops should still be able to recover. He can come back. That's right, isn't it?"
Namur looked at Su Xiao with eyes full of hope.
"Given his current condition, he's probably doomed."
"..."
Namur took half a step back, his gaze searching the surroundings as if he wanted to find another hope.
On the other side of the trench, blood dripped from Blackbeard's hand. Whitebeard, already on the verge of death, stood before him.
"He still hasn't died. What a monster."
Blackbeard drew the Flintlock from his waist and fired straight at Whitebeard's head.
Bang!
Blood sprayed everywhere, but Whitebeard stood there without moving.
"He should... be dead, right?"
Rain Shiryu wiped the blood from his blade. He had slashed Whitebeard dozens of times, yet his opponent still had not fallen.
"No, he's still alive."
Tyler, whose muscles bulged across his entire body, spoke up. He was a Contractor, so