Du Yang's Sky-Tearing Dominance

The pirates, whose morale had been crushed by their entrapment, felt hope reignite in their hearts at the sight of these sudden reinforcements.

Every commander and every crew member boarded the paddle steamers, following Whitebeard from the interior of the harbor toward the plaza.

At Oris Plaza, the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marine forces engaged in an all-out decisive battle.

The clash of blades and the roar of cannons mingled with shouts and screams; lives were being extinguished with every passing second.

Whitebeard, wielding his naginata, charged at the forefront like a god of war, sending groups of pirates flying with every swing—he was simply unstoppable.

Yet, at this critical moment of the full-scale counterattack, the indomitable Whitebeard's massive frame suddenly shuddered.

"Ugh~"

He abruptly halted his charge, clutching his chest with one hand, a flash of shock crossing his face.

The next moment, he could not stop himself from opening his mouth and spewing a stream of dark red blood!

"Pops!"

Marco and the others were filled with terror.

Was it the effect of that blade from Squard?

Had an old illness flared up?

Or was it... that his aged body could no longer support such intense exertion?

A strong sense of foreboding gripped Whitebeard's heart; he felt his condition worsening, his very consciousness beginning to blur.

Just as Whitebeard suffered this relapse and mental shock, Akainu Sakazuki appeared.

"It seems time spares no one, Whitebeard," Akainu said coldly. "The era that belonged to you has passed; you are old after all."

Before the words had even faded, Akainu's right fist had already transformed into a massive magma dog head, seizing the opening created by Whitebeard's blood-spitting hesitation to strike his abdomen without reservation.

"Great Eruption!"

BOOM!

The magma explosion detonated against Whitebeard's chest, punching a terrifying hole straight through him.

Whitebeard let out a muffled groan, his massive body staggering backward for the first time due to a direct frontal attack.

How could this be? Does this mean Ace truly cannot be saved?

Blood welled from the corners of Whitebeard's mouth as he prepared to force himself, to forcibly summon his spirit.

Just as Akainu was about to unleash his next punch, a figure appeared before Whitebeard's towering frame.

Akainu's movements stalled for a fraction of a second, and he said coldly once more, "Get out of my way."

Whitebeard, still coughing up blood, also urged, "Kid, get out of the way quickly. The person opposite you is a Marine Admiral; you will truly die."

At this moment, Luffy also saw Du Yang standing before Whitebeard and immediately grew anxious.

He vaguely remembered this as a pirate who had escaped from Impel Down with him, and he warned, "Leave quickly! You are no match for a Marine Admiral."

The next moment, a wave of air like dark red thunder, carrying a suffocating pressure, spread crazily in a ring toward all directions.

This aura surged directly toward the heavens; the sky seemed to be torn apart by an invisible giant hand, and the thick clouds rolled back to the sides, revealing the deep blue firmament high above.

The earth trembled—no, all of Marineford was trembling.

Akainu and the powerhouses on the Marine side realized it instantly.

Conqueror's Haki!

Someone was unleashing Conqueror's Haki, and it had enveloped the entire battlefield in an instant, causing everyone to tremble to their very core.

Wherever the shockwave passed, rows upon rows of elite soldiers, and even some officers at the rank of captain, fell to the ground like harvested wheat, their eyes rolling back and foam bubbling from their mouths as they collapsed without a sound.

In a single instant, more than half of the Marine phalanxes surrounding the plaza had fallen.

The previously dense sound of gunfire and cannons suddenly thinned.

On the side of the Whitebeard Pirates, quite a few weaker pirates also collapsed, but more stood frozen in place, staring in horror at the center of the outburst.

These people had never felt such powerful Conqueror's Haki.

The sensation was just like when Red-Haired had boarded the ship, causing them to drop one by one.

The Shichibukai, of course, could not be knocked out by Conqueror's Haki, but they reacted in different ways.

Doflamingo's mouth twitched slightly: "Fufufufu, this level of Conqueror's Haki—could he be the Four Emperor Red-Haired in disguise?"

"I wasn't told I would be making enemies of two Four Emperors at once."

Dracule Mihawk's sharp, hawk-like eyes erupted with unprecedented brilliance as he whispered: "Red-Haired... it is not him... a powerhouse of this caliber, and he only appears now?"

Fleet Admiral Sengoku's pupils constricted, his face turning deathly pale: "To be able to use Conqueror's Haki to this extent—who exactly is he?"

Such powerful Haki; his mastery of its release could truly be called perfection.

Then, he must have mastered Advanced Conqueror's Haki.

To have mastered Conqueror's Haki to such a degree, he would be an incredibly troublesome opponent.

As the target of this power, Akainu's fist stopped dead in mid-air, magma churning restlessly across his arm as he seemed to contemplate exactly what had just happened.

Aokiji was surrounded by overflowing cold air, his expression grave.

Kizaru's crooked mouth slowly straightened, his eyes flickering behind his sunglasses, yet he ultimately refrained from uttering his usual "how scary."

The entire battlefield of the Summit War fell into a momentary, deathly silence due to this Conqueror's Haki that had torn the sky asunder.

Every gaze—whether Marine Admiral, Shichibukai, or Whitebeard and Marco—was focused on Du Yang.

Du Yang walked forward step by step, and with every stride, the dark red arcs of lightning coiling around his body grew more intense.

Suddenly, he turned his head and locked eyes with the severely weakened Whitebeard.

For some reason, Du Yang's appearance gave Whitebeard a sense of relief.

In truth, Whitebeard's physical condition was already dire; if not terminally ill, he was not far from it.

He knew his time was short and that he could not hold on for much longer, yet he had still dragged his ailing body to Marine Headquarters.

In fact, Whitebeard had a premonition that he likely would not make it out alive.

On the Marine side, there were Sengoku, Garp, and the three Admirals, while on his side, he was the only one holding the line.

Almost all the pressure was being borne by Whitebeard alone.

Now, he knew very clearly that this young man who had suddenly appeared possessed combat power on the level of a Yonko or Admiral.

Then, Du Yang stood before Akainu, blocking his line of sight toward Whitebeard.

He did not want to waste words, simply stating bluntly: "Akainu, your opponent is me."

As these words left his lips, dark red Conqueror's Haki roared around Du Yang, its intensity causing the very air around them to distort.

Akainu did not recognize Du Yang at all, and he said solemnly:

"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 this era."

"Either move aside, or die!"