Summit War 4

Marco's reaction was equally astonishingly fast.

Instead of taking the blows head-on, he used the Phoenix's regenerative abilities to maneuver around Aokiji, his body constantly flipping and dodging in the air. Every wound cut by the ice blade was filled and healed by blue flames in the next second.

He knew very well that he was no match for Aokiji, but he didn't need to defeat Aokiji; he just needed to stall him.

The battle between Whitebeard and Akainu continued in the plaza.

Each time their fists collided, the ground cracked, and the aftershocks of lava and shockwaves devastated the surrounding buildings beyond recognition.

Akainu grew increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed—the old man's punching speed, power, and reaction time were all on par with his own.

He thought he was there to clean up the mess, to bury the remnants of an old era with lava.

But now he discovered that the remnants of the old era were not lying in coffins waiting to die, but standing in front of him, telling him with their rough fists—I'm not old yet.

The two sides clashed repeatedly in the center of the square. The sounds of clashing blades, booming guns, screams of the wounded, and the roars of commanders mingled together, making the land of Marineford tremble slightly.

The Whitebeard Pirates ' Division Commander, leading the elite of their respective fleets, plunged into the breached defenses like red-hot iron pincers stabbing into the Navy's abdomen.

The captain of the 13th Division, using Geppo, engaged in a fierce battle with two Rear Admiral from headquarters in mid-air; sparks from the clashing blades flickered uncertainly amidst the smoke.

Vista's twin blades swung into an impenetrable silver net, and even with three colonels attacking simultaneously, they couldn't gain the slightest advantage.

Jozu's Diamond body pressed forward through a hail of bullets, each step leaving a deep crater in the stone pavement. He crashed through the stone wall of a fortress, pulled out a cannon being loaded from behind it, and threw it into the sea, cannon and base together.

The navy, on the other hand, did not back down an inch.

Headquarters Vice Admiral such as Momonga, Hōshō, Onigumo, Doberman held their ground at their respective defensive positions, while their officers formed wall after wall of men, using their flesh and blood to withstand the pirates' onslaught.

A captain, his left arm severed, gritted his teeth, picked up a longsword from the ground with his right hand, and continued to hold the front line.

After several seriously wounded marines were dragged to the bunker, the medics frantically tore off the bandages. Before they could even stop the bleeding, the wounded struggled to their feet and tried to rush back.

No one held back, no one retreated.

Everyone knew the significance of this battle, and also knew that the other side would not show them any mercy.

In the center of the plaza, the battle between Akainu and Whitebeard had entered its most dangerous close-quarters combat phase.

Each collision between the Magma Fist and the shockwave cracked the ground, and the stone slabs beneath their feet were long since torn away, leaving only a scorched, deep pit.

Sakazuki's hat brim was shattered at one corner, revealing a pair of extremely gloomy eyes beneath;

Whitebeard's cloak was riddled with charred holes from the lava, but his punches didn't slow down in the slightest. Each punch carried enough force to shatter mountains, forcing Akainu to repeatedly weigh his offense against defense.

High in the sky, Marco's battle with Aokiji continued.

The Phoenix's blue flames and Aokiji's ice spears intertwined in mid-air, creating a bizarre yet dazzling scene. The flames melted the ice spears, and the ice water was frozen into new weapons in the next second. The two fought from the east side of the square to the west side, and from the bay to the top of the fortress, with ice shards and fire feathers flying everywhere they went.

Aokiji's expression remained indifferent, but his attack frequency was nearly twice as fast as usual;

Marco's wings were frozen and shattered three times, each time regenerating in the blue flames.

He knew very well that he was no match for Aokiji — Aokiji wanted a quick victory, while he only wanted to stall.

Execution Platform, the ranks of the Shichibukai resembled a gray boundary marker stretching across the edge of the battlefield. Compared to the deafening battle raging in the plaza, this area was eerily quiet.

Jinbe, is not here—he refused to answer the Navy's call-up and has been imprisoned in Impel Down.

Of the remaining six, Bartholomew Kuma had his hands clasped on the Bible, his massive body motionless like a stone sculpture, not even moving a single eyeball since the start of the battle.

Gecko Moria leaned against the shadows, a smug, cold smile playing on his lips, as if the carnage before him, involving 100,000 people, was nothing more than a circus performance to amuse him.

Boa Hancock stood at the very edge, her beautiful face filled with undisguised disgust. Her gaze wasn't even on the battlefield, but rather occasionally drifted towards the kneeling black-haired youth on the Execution Platform —no one knew what she was thinking.

Jora Mihawk stood with his arms crossed, the Supreme Grade Blade "Yoru" still unsheathed on his back. He was only here because of his duty as Shichibukai; this war held no appeal for him.

As for Donquixote Doflamingo, he took it very seriously.

His pink feather coat swayed gently in the wind whipped up by the gunpowder smoke. His sunglasses concealed his eyes, but they couldn't hide the ever-deepening smile at the corners of his mouth.

He kept watching and waiting.

Wait until that person's figure appears on this battlefield.

Doflamingo mentally went through the ledger again and again.

He was one of the most well-informed people on this sea. When Uchiha Natsu publicly crushed the Celestial Dragons's head in the Sabaody Archipelago, he was holding a meeting in Mary Geoise.

Kizaru was twice slipped away right under that brat's nose; the Marine Intelligence Department couldn't even figure out the principles behind the brat's abilities.

Today's battle saw the Three Admirals assembled, along with 100,000 elite troops. If he were Uchiha Natsu, what would he do?

If it were him, he would never have let go of this golden opportunity to humiliate the navy.

But did that madman come just to humiliate the navy?

wrong.

Having staked Kaido for so many years, he knows all too well the weight of the word "trade."

It's unlikely that Uchiha Natsu went to the New World to find Whitebeard just to reminisce.

What are they talking about?

Doflamingo's sunglasses reflected the towering figure in the center of the plaza, locked in a head-on confrontation with Akainu.

Whitebeard Newgate, the Newgate.

A month ago, his physical assessment report stated that he was "expected to lose his front-line combat capability within the next three years," but now he can withstand the onslaught of lava without taking a single step back.

This incredible recovery of physical condition could not possibly be accomplished by Marco's medical skills.

That leaves only one possibility—that madman possesses something powerful enough to bring a dying man back to his peak.

A slow smile crept across his lips, and he let out a few low laughs from deep in his throat, which sounded particularly abrupt in the surrounding silence.

A madman who can turn seventy- or eighty-year-old remnants back into peak monsters has willingly placed himself at the table in today's ultimate clash between the Navy and the Four Emperors —what he wants is definitely not just face.