Shipwreck

As the saying went, if you wanted to make an easy target of someone, pick the softest persimmon. If you wanted to show off while slacking off, then you went looking for Kizaru.

But that was a lie.

The clash of light-based abilities did not last long.

After all, Su Lin was not proficient with his power yet and could not compare to Kizaru.

Kizaru appeared lazy, but he had mastered his ability to an extremely high level long ago.

In just a few exchanges, Kizaru caught an opening and sent Su Lin flying with a kick.

He had even used Armament Haki.

Fortunately, Su Lin had an automatically defensive magical artifact that blocked most of the force. Even so, he still felt rather uncomfortable.

Han Li had only recently reached the Golden Core Realm and could not provide him with particularly good magical artifacts yet, especially ones ordinary people could use.

The same was true for Ye Fan. He had powerful items, but unless they were specially refined, ordinary people could not use them.

If he was only engaging Kizaru in close combat, then stacking all his existing items together was barely enough...

"I'm a newbie," Su Lin said helplessly, pulling back and barely dodging a Light-Speed Kick.

"How terrifying~, newbies these days," Kizaru said unhurriedly, casually firing several beams of light. "To think you possess an ability so similar to mine. Why is that?"

"That's not easy to explain."

Su Lin counterattacked occasionally, but Kizaru blocked every attempt with ease.

The situation now was that Su Lin used the speed of his light ability to keep Kizaru at bay. His technique was too poor to inflict damage, but Kizaru could not deal Su Lin any substantial harm either.

Whenever Kizaru occasionally seized an opportunity, strange objects would block his attacks for Su Lin.

"Come to think of it, I really want you to teach me how to use this ability. Your power is pretty useful," Su Lin said, wiping his mouth. After downing the medicinal liquid Ye Fan had given him, he swept his right hand out, sending several blades of light flying.

"Oh, you want to learn?" Kizaru remained where he was, casually blocking the attack with one hand. Stroking his chin, he seemed thoughtful. "Now that you mention it, I don't remember you either. You must not be an important pirate."

"Why not join the Marines? I'd like to try taking on a disciple myself."

"Heh, you rotten old man are up to no good," Su Lin said, completely unconvinced.

Streams of light arced toward Su Lin from every direction, while Su Lin occasionally threw talismans and concealed weapons at Kizaru.

Thunderfire Pellets, Ice Thorn Talismans, Obscuring Powder.

These underhanded items caused some trouble for Kizaru, who had never seen such things before.

"You have quite a few strange things."

Kizaru became even more interested in Su Lin. "Are you really not considering joining the Marines?"

"The pay is too low." Su Lin ducked his head and avoided a kick as Kizaru transformed into light and intercepted him from ahead.

"I think they should raise our salaries too. Otherwise, I'll soon have no motivation left."

After this battle, this fellow's bounty probably would not be low.

Of course, that was no longer Kizaru's concern.

In truth, although they were talking nonsense, neither of them relaxed their attacks for even a moment.

Kizaru noticed that Su Lin's movements and reactions had become faster than before. Was it related to what he had just drunk?

If he had been slacking off against Straw Hat Kid earlier, then against Su Lin, Kizaru was working seriously.

This young man carried some secrets. It would be better to capture him.

But Kizaru had not expected an ability identical to his own to be this troublesome.

Kizaru glanced behind him.

The battle on Luffy's side was nearing its end. Using Sengoku's fist, they had flown some distance away.

After meeting up with the rescued Ace, the group did not linger and began retreating.

There was no point continuing to tangle with this fellow. He clearly had no intention of fighting Kizaru to the death; he was merely holding him back.

If Fire Fist Ace got away, the Marines would lose all face.

Kizaru did not continue the entanglement. After casually tossing out a lame remark, he turned back to provide support.

"Young man~, come report to Marine Headquarters when you have time."

Seeing this, Su Lin also chose to leave while he could.

"That old fox."

The commotion caused by his chase with Kizaru had been considerable even on this battlefield.

Marine Admiral Kizaru did not pursue him. Instead, he instantly appeared before Ace and Luffy's group of three, blocking their retreat, while Akainu and Aokiji closed in from both sides.

At this moment, all three admirals—Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru—had turned their gazes toward Luffy's group.

No matter how much they had held back before, they understood that they had to give it their all now.

Straw Hat Kid could leave, but Fire Fist Ace could not.

The Marines' reputation was at stake.

A chill flashed through Akainu's eyes as countless torrents of magma fell from the sky.

His target was not the pirates on the battlefield.

"Our ships!"

"These are ships that have carried us for decades!"

"Damn you, Akainu!"

This scene still unfolded as it had in the original history. Akainu chose to cut off the pirates' retreat, determined to wipe them out today. Even a few unexpected variables would not affect the ending he had planned!

Apart from a handful of ships, most were destroyed in an instant.

Although part of the plan had gone wrong and they had failed to injure Whitebeard beforehand, you pirates no longer had any route of escape!

"All of you pirates will be put to death!" Akainu declared ruthlessly.

"You damned magma brat."

Even Whitebeard's usually calm face showed a trace of pressure.

Akainu's long-hidden large-scale attack forced Whitebeard to consider how they would retreat next.

It was not that he feared these Marines. If he did, he would not be called Whitebeard.

The key was how his sons would leave this battlefield.

Whitebeard had already resolved to remain on this battlefield. He wanted to carve out a path to the new era for his sons—not just Ace.

Though he did not believe in any new or old era, the appearance of Straw Hat Kid and his group made him somewhat look forward to the new era Red-Hair had spoken of.

At this moment, the man hailed as the strongest on the seas.

Gripping Murakumogiri, he began walking toward the three admirals.

Right now, his only choice was to buy the pirates a chance to escape.

Meanwhile, the Marines had begun adjusting their strategy.

The escaped Ace was no longer a target that their many ordinary forces needed to focus on.

The admirals could handle the situation over there.

All the vice admirals, rear admirals, and elite Marines turned their attention toward Whitebeard and the other commanders.

Their mission now was to stop the Whitebeard Pirates.

Gecko Moria gathered a pile of shadows and stuffed them into his body, enhancing his physical abilities.

After defeating Flower Sword, Hawkeye Mihawk turned his gaze toward the Whitebeard Pirates.

He did not care much for the Shichibukai title granted by the Marines. It merely kept the Marines from harassing him.

Though he had no intention of selling his life to the Marines, he did look forward to using this opportunity to fight Whitebeard.

Everyone on the battlefield had different goals. They had all stepped onto this battlefield with resolve, for their own interests and purposes.

The Marines fought for the order and justice they upheld. The Whitebeard Pirates fought for their sons and the bond between brothers. Some Criminals from Impel Down were here to cause havoc, while others came for pirate loyalty. Every Shichibukai had their own reason for coming.

Su Lin was no exception. He only wanted to farm points and earn back Ben and the interest on it.

(Ben's chapter complete)