Akainu's Defeat, Kaido Arrives

Molten lava surged. It seemed Akainu's Devil Fruit Awakening had turned the ground around Zhou into magma and scorched earth, as a volcano spewed lava.

On the other side, Straw Hat Kid had white cloud bands wrapped around his body, the smile on his face undiminished.

Garp clenched his fist. Sengoku reached out to stop him, and as he observed the battlefield, he noticed something strange.

At the same time, he shouted, "Sakazuki! Watch out!"

Before Sengoku could finish speaking—

The ground became soft like liquid, and the ice shattered.

The fallen giant Luffy launched himself upward in a handstand-like motion, moving at a speed that his massive size should not have allowed, and flew above Akainu, Sakazuki.

The injuries inflicted by the other two Admirals were rapidly healing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"Gum-Gum Giant Pistol."

"Crimson Lotus!"

Red splashes burst forth.

This strike contained all the anger Luffy had accumulated over the past few years. The power of Gear Fifth was unleashed without reservation.

Then—

Rumble!

Akainu was punched into the ground by Luffy.

Two seconds later, Luffy returned to his normal size and casually grabbed the fleeing Mr. 3, landing on the other side.

The smoke cleared.

Amid the constant sounds of people swallowing, Akainu lay in the crater with his mouth hanging open and several teeth knocked out. Blood flowed from him, but he was still alive.

"Medics!" Sengoku's voice jolted the crowd surrounding Zhou awake.

"Mr. Sakazuki!"

"Admiral Akainu has been defeated!"

Some Impel Down prisoners who had grudges against Akainu and wanted to finish him off were stopped by Marines who reacted in time.

Kizaru flashed to the edge of the crater near Zhou and kicked through several prisoners who had approached first.

"How terrifying." Cold sweat covered Kizaru's forehead. "Should I be thankful he didn't use that move on me first?"

"Stop, Sakazuki." Aokiji froze a group of Pirates who had charged in. "His Devil Fruit has probably undergone a Devil Fruit Awakening, but the abilities it gained afterward are truly unbelievable. That recovery ability is far too strong."

Akainu wanted to say something. His rage toward Pirates and his own sense of justice drove him to stand up. He could feel that he was still able to fight.

"If Straw Hat Kid isn't killed today, he'll become an endless threat in the future!" Sakazuki wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"If the two of us hadn't tied him down, you wouldn't have had much chance in a one-on-one fight."

"Though we also want to keep Straw Hat Kid here, it isn't realistic. Kaido's imitator is no weakling, and he's hiding in the shadows now. Whitebeard is over there too."

Sengoku returned to human form, his eyes filled with fury.

"Garp, he's your grandson. You stop him. The Marines' honor cannot be lost."

"No problem, leave it to me~." Garp looked delighted. It was unclear whether he was happy that Ace had been rescued or that he could finally teach his grandson a proper lesson with all his strength. "They can't be allowed to leave so easily—not with Jane here."

So you do know that.

Aokiji shook his head.

They could not leave as easily as Jane, which still meant they could leave.

Inspired by Straw Hat Kid Luffy's achievements, the Pirates erupted with unprecedented morale.

The Marines, meanwhile, retreated one after another, their morale in tatters.

"An Admiral lost."

"Even though there are still two Admirals, Whitebeard is over there, along with another guy who can fight an Admiral."

After the Marine elites painfully accepted reality, every one of them looked despondent.

"Everyone, retreat! Ace has been rescued!" Whitebeard announced loudly, swinging Murakumogiri. "Crowd onto whatever ships are still usable."

At the same time, he looked toward Luffy.

"Well done, brat! Come drink on my ship later."

"Luffy..." Ace silently resolved to train harder. His little brother had already left him far, far behind.

Just as the Pirates retreated in excitement and the Marines' fighting spirit waned—

A figure dropped into the center between the two forces.

"What is it this time...?"

"Whatever it is, I don't care anymore. I'm numb."

The Pirates in the tavern no longer wanted to speak.

After all, the situation was now almost completely one-sided. The Whitebeard Pirates' only problem was what to do if their ships could not hold everyone.

Akainu's move of destroying the ships had truly been brilliant.

Now the Whitebeard Pirates' retreat had also been restricted.

And they still had to guard against their remaining few ships being destroyed.

Unless Garp stepped in to stop Straw Hat Kid, but Straw Hat Kid was his grandson. Would he really attack?

Oh, he attacked. He wouldn't hold back this time, right?

Sengoku had also made a move. Now this was getting interesting.

The remaining two Admirals had joined the battle as well.

"Is it Kaido again?"

"That transforming ability user is back."

"Come to think of it, what exactly is his ability? He can transform, and he has something like light powers too."

Kaido, who climbed out of the crater, did not cause any further commotion.

He merely assumed that the ability user had joined the battlefield again to help Straw Hat Kid escape.

"Where is he?" Kaido looked around Zhou.

"Where is that bastard?!!!"

Unable to find Su Lin, Kaido turned his gaze toward Luffy.

"That guy is with you, isn't he?!"

His spiked club was wrapped in astonishing Haki as Kaido transformed into his fish-Dragon form.

"Ara ara." Aokiji raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Sengoku, this time it seems to be the real Kaido."

"Wait. Let's watch for now."

Garp, who had been pursuing Luffy, also stopped.

"Su Lin, you—Wah!"

Thinking Su Lin had arrived, Luffy actually leaped up to greet him.

"He got sent flying by a hammer?!"

"He's coughing up blood, that Straw Hat."

"Aren't they on the same side?"

Luffy said, "Su Lin! Why did you hit me?!"

Su Lin said, "That's Kaido."

Luffy said, "What?!??"

Luffy was sent flying to the right by that strike, smashing through numerous icebergs before crashing into a wall a thousand meters away.

"Hey, Whitebeard." After that strike, Kaido looked at Whitebeard irritably. "Where's that brat who impersonated me and put on that ridiculous farce?"

"Kaido." A faint smile appeared at the corner of Whitebeard's mouth. "So Ben himself has come too."

"Forget it. If I really can't find that guy..." After scanning the area around Zhou again, Kaido said, "Then I'll fight you instead. Or Sengoku and Garp."

"That might make me a little happier."

Kaido was deeply annoyed. He had left his crew of Pirates behind and rushed here early just to drag out that brat with the imitation ability, beat him up, and throw him into the mines to dig ore. If the brat performed well, he would let him join the Beast Pirates.

Perhaps the imitation ability was simply too powerful, because Kaido had not found that guy at all.

Still, fighting Whitebeard would not be bad either.

Ben had originally thought he would never get the chance to fight Whitebeard. After all, the Marines were no pushovers, and even he believed Whitebeard had no chance of winning.

Yet unexpectedly, even after being delayed by Red-Hair for so long—

Whitebeard did not even have many new wounds.

Had the Marines all become vegetarians now?

Then Kaido looked at Sengoku and Garp, as well as Akainu lying on the ground.

Kaido felt as though his stomach would hurt from laughing.

They could not even defeat Whitebeard in that condition, and they had even allowed the person being executed to be rescued.

Jane might as well go dig ore.

As for Straw Hat Kid, that guy had been going back and forth with the Marines in the livestream.

Who would have thought he would be knocked over by a single blow? What a fraud. Then again, perhaps the Marines were simply too weak.

(End of Ben's Chapter)