The pirates, whose morale had been shaken after they were trapped, saw the sudden arrival of fresh reinforcements and felt hope kindle in their hearts.
All the division commanders and crew members boarded the outer ships and followed Whitebeard from inside the bay toward the plaza.
At Oris Plaza, the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines began their decisive battle.
Blades clashed, guns roared, and cries of battle mingled with screams of pain. Lives were lost with every passing second.
Whitebeard charged at the front, naginata in hand, like a god of war. Every swing sent a crowd of pirates flying. He was virtually unstoppable.
However, at this crucial moment in their full-scale counterattack, Whitebeard, who had been charging ahead fearlessly, suddenly shuddered.
"Ugh~"
He abruptly stopped in his tracks and clutched his chest, a flicker of shock crossing his face.
The next moment, he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of dark red blood!
"Pops!"
Marco and the others were horrified.
Had Squard's knife finally taken its toll?
Had his old injuries flared up?
Or was his aging body simply unable to endure such strenuous activity?
A powerful sense of foreboding gripped Whitebeard's heart. He could feel himself growing weaker by the moment, and even his thoughts were starting to blur.
Just as Whitebeard's old wounds flared up and his mind reeled, Akainu Sakazuki appeared.
"Looks like time spares no one, Whitebeard," Akainu said coldly. "Your era has passed. In the end, you've grown old."
Before his words had even faded, Akainu's right fist transformed into an enormous magma hound's head. Seizing the opening created by Whitebeard's pause after coughing up blood, he struck without holding back, aiming straight for Whitebeard's abdomen.
"Great Eruption!"
Boom!
The magma exploded against Whitebeard's chest, blasting a terrifying hole straight through it.
Whitebeard let out a muffled groan. For the first time, a direct attack sent his massive body stumbling backward.
"How could this happen? Does this mean Ace really can't be saved?"
Blood welled from the corner of Whitebeard's mouth. He prepared to force his body beyond its limits and summon the strength to keep going.
Just as Akainu was about to throw his next punch, a figure appeared in front of Whitebeard's towering form.
Akainu's movement faltered for a moment before he said coldly, "Get out of my way."
Still spitting blood, Whitebeard tried to dissuade him too. "Kid, move aside. The man across from you is a Marine Admiral. You really will die."
Luffy also saw Du Yang standing in front of Whitebeard, and his face tightened with worry.
He vaguely remembered that this pirate had escaped from Impel Down with them, and immediately warned him, "Get out of there! You're no match for a Marine Admiral!"
The next moment, a dark red shockwave, like a storm of lightning, swept out in every direction, carrying an oppressive force that made it hard to breathe.
The force surged straight into the sky. It was as if an invisible pair of hands had torn it apart, sending the thick clouds rolling back to either side and revealing the blue heavens above.
The earth trembled. No—the whole of Marineford trembled.
Akainu and the strong fighters on the Marine side realized it at once.
Conqueror's Haki!
Someone was unleashing Conqueror's Haki, and in an instant it engulfed the entire battlefield, making everyone tremble to their very core.
Wherever the shockwave passed, ranks of elite soldiers—and even some officers—fell like harvested wheat, eyes rolling back and foam spilling from their mouths.
In a single instant, more than half the Marine formations surrounding the plaza had collapsed.
The dense roar of gunfire abruptly dwindled.
On the Whitebeard Pirates' side, plenty of weaker pirates also fell, but most remained frozen in place, staring in shock at the center of the eruption.
They had never felt Conqueror's Haki this powerful.
It felt as if Red-Haired had boarded their ship again, making them fall one by one.
The few Shichibukai were, of course, not knocked down by the Conqueror's Haki, but each reacted differently.
Doflamingo's lips twitched. "Fufufufu! Conqueror's Haki this powerful... Could he be one of the Four Emperors, Red-Haired, in disguise?"
"You never told me I'd be fighting two Emperors at once."
A gleam unlike any before flashed in Dracule Mihawk's sharp, hawk-like eyes. He murmured, "Red-Haired... No, it isn't him. A fighter of this caliber has only appeared now?"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku's pupils contracted, and his face turned ashen. "He can wield Conqueror's Haki to this extent? Just who is he?"
His Conqueror's Haki was so powerful, and its release so masterful, that it was already practically second nature.
That meant he had to know Advanced Conqueror's Haki.
Someone who had mastered Conqueror's Haki to such an extent would be an extremely troublesome opponent.
Akainu, the one being targeted, stopped his punch dead in midair. Magma churned along his arm as if he were trying to make sense of what had just happened.
Aokiji stood amid the biting cold, his expression grave.
Kizaru's crooked mouth slowly straightened. His eyes shifted beneath his sunglasses, but in the end, he didn't say his usual "How scary."
The entire battlefield of the Summit War fell silent for a moment beneath the Conqueror's Haki that had torn the sky apart.
Everyone's eyes—Marine Admirals, the Shichibukai, Whitebeard, and Marco alike—turned toward Du Yang.
Du Yang walked forward one step at a time. With every step, the dark red arcs of lightning coiling around him grew more intense.
Then he turned and met Whitebeard's eyes. Whitebeard was in terrible shape.
Somehow, Du Yang's appearance made Whitebeard feel a weight lift from his shoulders.
In truth, Whitebeard's health was already in a terrible state. He wasn't quite on death's door, but he was close.
He knew he didn't have much time left and couldn't keep going much longer, yet he had still dragged his ailing body to Marine Headquarters.
Whitebeard had actually had a premonition: he probably wouldn't make it back alive.
The Marines had Sengoku, Garp, and the Three Admirals, while he was the only one holding the line on his side.
Whitebeard was bearing almost all the pressure himself.
Now he knew perfectly well that this young man who had suddenly appeared possessed strength on the level of a Four Emperor or an Admiral.
Then Du Yang stepped in front of Akainu, blocking his view of Whitebeard.
He had no interest in wasting words. He simply said, "Akainu, I'm your opponent."
At his words, dark red Conqueror's Haki roared around Du Yang, its intensity distorting the very air.
Akainu didn't recognize Du Yang at all. He spoke with grave seriousness:
"Kid, I don't know where you came from, but I advise you not to stand up for the Whitebeard Pirates. Otherwise, Whitebeard won't be the only one left behind by the times."
"Move aside, or die!"
Before you continue