Bang!
A fist slammed into flesh. But unlike in the anime, Akainu's fist hadn't punched through Ace. Before that could happen, Chen Qiang, who was in Luffy's hands, had woken up at the critical moment.
The moment Chen Qiang woke, he saw Akainu's fist coming toward them. He also saw Ace suddenly appear beneath it. Chen Qiang knew this scene all too well. When he'd watched One Piece, he'd rewound this moment dozens of times. Every time he saw it, he'd been furious and wanted to send the author a knife. Unfortunately, none of that could change the fact that Ace had died.
So when it all happened right before his eyes, Chen Qiang barely thought. He broke free of Luffy's grasp and slammed into Ace, knocking him away.
And so Chen Qiang was the one who took the punch through the chest. Ace was knocked aside by Chen Qiang's sudden arrival, but one of his arms was still broken clean off by the blow.
"Ace! Chen Qiang!"
Seeing this, Luffy ignored his own injuries and caught Chen Qiang, whose chest had been punched through, along with Ace, who had lost an arm. He cried out in anguish.
"I'm fine! See how Ace is doing!"
Chen Qiang broke free of Luffy's grasp and staggered to his feet. Then he spoke to Luffy, spitting out a mouthful of blood as he did.
Chen Qiang looked awful, but he knew his own condition. His injuries looked severe, but they would heal in just a few breaths.
The most important thing now was Ace. Chen Qiang had seen that although he'd blocked Akainu's attack, Ace had still been hit because he was so close. At least he hadn't been punched through the chest like in the original story, but his arm had been broken off right at the shoulder.
An injury like that was far from minor. And with the magma on Akainu's fist burning so fiercely, it might have scorched Ace's internal organs through the wound where his arm had been severed.
After all, Akainu had broken Ace's arm with a single punch. That alone showed the blow had been strengthened with Haki. Even Ace, who could turn his body into an element, couldn't withstand a punch like that. At that moment, Chen Qiang was even more worried about Ace than Luffy was.
"Cough... I-I'm fine!"
At Chen Qiang's words, Luffy began examining Ace's injuries, but Ace stopped him with his remaining hand.
Hellhound!
Seeing that his first punch hadn't finished Ace off, Akainu threw another magma-coated fist, aiming at Ace and Luffy.
Tiger Roar!
Boom!
Seeing Akainu attack again, Chen Qiang didn't waste time. He gripped his long saber and flashed in front of Ace and Luffy. A blood-red tiger's head appeared on the blade and collided with Akainu's fist.
Chen Qiang wasn't strong enough to stop Akainu yet. Fortunately, just as Chen Qiang was about to be sent flying, Jinbe arrived. He'd heard Luffy's anguished cries and rushed over, taking Chen Qiang's place and blocking Akainu's fist. That saved the two badly injured brothers from death.
Tiger Leap!
Akainu's attack had been blocked, and Chen Qiang, who had just been sent flying, quickly recovered. He leapt straight up from the ground. A gigantic blood-red tiger appeared in the air, poised to pounce down from the mountain. It sailed over Jinbe's head and lunged at Akainu.
As expected, Akainu blocked Chen Qiang's attack once again.
"Jinbe, get Luffy and Ace out of here and take them somewhere behind the lines for treatment!"
Chen Qiang wasn't surprised that Akainu had blocked his attack. But it had kept Akainu from launching another one right away. Taking advantage of the opening, Chen Qiang quickly shouted to Jinbe. Without waiting for a reply, he raised his saber and charged at Akainu again.
"Got it!"
Jinbe wasn't one to waste time. As soon as Chen Qiang spoke, he turned around, tucked Ace and Luffy under his arms, one on each side, and hurried toward the ships in the distance.
"You won't get away!"
Seeing Jinbe carry Luffy and Ace away while he was being held up by Chen Qiang, the man who just wouldn't stay down, Akainu turned his whole body into magma and charged straight at him.
"Damn! That's just cheating!"
Chen Qiang could only get that one complaint out as the huge mass of magma rushed toward him. He covered his whole body in a red glow, then was swallowed up.
After swallowing Chen Qiang, the magma didn't stop. It continued straight toward Ace and Jinbe.
But this time, Akainu didn't catch up with Jinbe. Just as he was about to reach him, a gigantic fist suddenly appeared overhead and punched Akainu out of his elemental form.
"I won't let you hurt my son again!"
The one who'd knocked Akainu out of his elemental form was Whitebeard, who had noticed what was happening. He'd shaken off Sengoku and the others and arrived in time to stop Akainu before he could catch up with Ace and the others.
Whitebeard didn't stop there. After punching Akainu out of his elemental form, he clapped his enormous hand over Akainu's face and hoisted him up like a doll.
Slap!
Then Whitebeard slammed Akainu's head into the ground. At the same time, a huge white glow of trembling energy appeared in his hand, and the earth split apart from the point where Akainu's head struck it.
Garp was the first to arrive after Whitebeard. But he saw Ace's severed arm, so he didn't intervene as Whitebeard beat Akainu. He only frowned, clearly torn up inside.
Buddha Shockwave!
Sengoku, who had arrived behind Garp, wasn't nearly as conflicted. Seeing Whitebeard hold Akainu down with one hand, he immediately intervened. A gigantic shock wave formed in his hand and shot toward Whitebeard.
Whitebeard didn't block it this time. He simply lifted Akainu and hurled him at the shock wave.
Bang!
Already gravely wounded by Whitebeard's blow, Akainu was hit by Sengoku's shock wave. He had no strength to resist and was driven deep beneath the plaza, to who knew how far underground.
At that very moment, Whitebeard swung the Guan Dao in his hand again, slashing toward the spot where Akainu had landed.
Crack!
Whitebeard's blow split the entire island down the middle, blocking some of the pursuing Marines.
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