At Marineford Square, Whitebeard's division commanders led a host of pirates deep into the battlefield. With Luffy and Sabo spearheading the charge, they made swift progress.
If the Giant Vice Admirals had not entered the fight, the front line might already have reached the Execution Platform. Meanwhile, the Admirals on whom the Marines had pinned their hopes had yet to accomplish anything.
The Shichibukai were no better. One had been teleported away, while the others were tied up by their respective opponents. The battle had become a stalemate.
Buggy was busy plotting when he heard someone call his name from the middle of the battlefield. Worse, the bastard had called him Red Nose!
Rubick shouted at Buggy, "Buggy, this is how you use the power of the Chop-Chop Fruit!"
The fists closed in on Akainu. His whole body turned to magma, making him look like a Magma Demon God. He unleashed a barrage of Hell Hounds, sending a vast spread of magma hurtling toward them.
Rubick thought highly of the fruit's power to split its user apart. Forget splitting himself into cells—even being able to fight without putting his body on the front line was an excellent tactic.
Right now, for instance, Rubick was shouting "Ora ora!" from the Whale Ship, while Akainu could only struggle to fight back. The reason was simple: all Akainu could hit were the fists Rubick had grown with the Flower-Flower Fruit. Granted, Rubick could feel it when they were injured.
But with Haki coating them, it did not hurt nearly as much.
On top of that, by controlling the fists with the power of the Chop-Chop Fruit, Rubick did not have to worry about dodging or whether his body was in position. He could just throw punches without a second thought.
Nor did they