Marineford.
Meikyō was naturally unaware that the signal here had been cut off by the World Government, nor did he know that the Holy Knights had been mobilized.
After such a fierce battle, everyone involved had sustained numerous injuries, even Meikyō and Whitebeard.
If it weren't for Rayleigh's addition as a top-tier fighter, if it weren't for the fact that Meikyō and Whitebeard were a cut above the Marine Admiral, and if Luffy's presence hadn't impacted Garp, a crucial member of the Marines...
I fear that their fate will be even more severe at this moment.
"Everyone, prepare to evacuate! Whitebeard!"
Meikyō gave Whitebeard a look.
"Men, retreat! I and Meikyō will cover the rear!"
Whitebeard Murakumogiri and shouted loudly.
"Pirates! You can't escape!"
At this moment, the navy also became ruthless.
Especially Akainu.
"Great Eruption!"
The Magma Fist was smashed by Whitebeard's punch, but it turned into countless magma projectiles that fell towards the earth.
To make himself appear less like he was just slacking off, Kizaru also took this opportunity to make his move.
"The Yasakani no Magatama!"
An endless stream of yellow light bullets poured out at that moment.
At that moment, Susanoo also raised the Sun Wheel Mirror in its hand.
Susanoo ninety-nine!
Countless golden Chakra beams shot from the Sun Wheel Mirror, perfectly colliding with and annihilating Kizaru's yellow beam thanks to the Meikyō's Observation Haki allows it to foresee the Future Sight, the dynamic vision of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and its superior Chakra control.
"That's a terrifying Observation Haki."
Kizaru's tone remained the same, but his expression didn't seem very relaxed.
This was the first time he had ever seen someone use this method to block all of his moves.
"Perfect timing, I also have a move with a similar name to yours."
The Meikyō stood atop Susanoo, controlling it Susanoo open its arms.
"Eight Branches Sacred Gem!"
A torrent of golden Tomoe poured out, frantically attacking Kizaru and Sengoku on the opposite side.
On another occasion, Aokiji and Rayleigh clashed, and were subsequently blasted away by each other's attacks.
"Tsk tsk, I never expected you could still fight. Whitebeard, after fighting that ice-cold brat for a while, I feel like my back is no longer my own."
Rayleigh, sword in hand and rubbing his aching back, stood beside Whitebeard.
"I'm an old man with Whitebeard, how could I Fudō to fight him?"
Whitebeard grinned and, together with Rayleigh, unleashed shockwaves and sword energy to block all of Akainu and Aokiji's attacks.
With the interception of three top-tier fighters— Meikyō, Whitebeard, and Rayleigh —most members of the Whitebeard Pirates and the Fan Pirates successfully escaped through the passage created by Whitebeard's punch.
The Grim Reaper had already landed on the sea, picked up all the members of the Fan Pirates, and started a new round of cannon fire to block the Navy.
"Whitebeard, Uchiha Meikyō, and Dark King Rayleigh..."
Sengoku stood before the Three Admirals, his face grim.
With the opposing force's lineup, the Navy probably won't achieve any major results today.
Even so, the Navy must go all out!
"All Marines, give chase! For justice!"
Sengoku took the lead and charged forward.
Not far from him were three Admiral of the Navy, as well as Vice Admiral Garp.
He couldn't bring himself to Luffy and Ace, but Uchiha Meikyō, Whitebeard, and Rayleigh were all fully capable of withstanding his Iron Fist.
What are you planning to do?
Rayleigh asked the Whitebeard beside him.
"We can't win if we keep fighting, but we should at least ask the navy for some more interest."
The Whitebeard said in a deep voice.
A giant golden hand reached out and placed Whitebeard and Rayleigh onto the shoulder of Susanoo.
"Old man Rayleigh, do you know Conqueror's Haki?"
"If I could do that, I would be the Pirate King, not Roger."
"Then just use any move you like."
As Meikyō spoke, he manipulated Susanoo raise the Totsuka Blade.
Upon hearing this, Rayleigh sheathed his longsword and then swiftly drew it.
Rayleigh unleashed a magnificent Flying Slash, but Garp, with all his might, smashed it apart with his Iron Fists.
"It's starting, you little Meikyō!"
Whitebeard shouted, twisted his body, and unleashed the full power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, swinging forward.
The enormous golden Susanoo also unleashed the Totsuka Blade at this moment.
"Uchiha Style: Sun Breathing: Nineteenth Sword Form: Amaterasu Dragon Dance!"
This move is the strongest attack that Meikyō can currently unleash.
After practicing the cultivation techniques, the power of this move was somewhat beyond Meikyō's expectations.
With Whitebeard's power amplified, this move became even more terrifying.
At this moment, the sky was shrouded in endless dark clouds, and a huge fire dragon wrapped in Amaterasu Black Flame, enhanced by Whitebeard's shockwave and Conqueror's Haki, possessed the power to destroy almost everything.
Even several Marine Admiral were shocked by what they saw.
In Setsuna, the world lost its color, and all sounds ceased to be heard.
Until a terrifying shockwave arrived, followed by a deafening roar that nearly deafened everyone.
Not far away in the sea, Shanks and Kaido, who were facing off, both turned their heads and looked towards the horizon.
In another direction, on an incredibly luxurious ship, Saint Garling put away his binoculars and looked at the scene before him.
The seawater surged back, the wind raged, and the ships rocked up and down in the giant waves. Countless drops of seawater fell like raindrops, accompanied by dead fish, as if a magnitude 12 earthquake had occurred on the seabed.
The sky in the distance, which had been covered with dark clouds not long ago because of the Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki, now appeared so clear.
The clouds above Marineford had been dispersed by the terrifying shockwave, leaving behind a huge circular vacuum zone.
Meanwhile, Marineford below was almost completely destroyed.
All the buildings have disappeared. One side of the island has vanished, and the other half has been torn apart. Perhaps in a few years, it will become a new archipelago.
It can be said that the Marine Headquarters, which symbolized justice, has now disappeared.
Further away, Blackbeard saw the scene before him and decisively ordered the ship to stop. He frowned, looked at the sky, and stood Fudō.
"Lafitte, use Den Den Mushi to contact the people watching the live stream elsewhere. I need to know exactly what happened at Marine Headquarters before making any decisions."
A bad feeling rose in Blackbeard's heart.
His plan seems to be failing.
Marineford.
"Ugh!!!"
A scream came from Akainu's mouth.
He thought that his Magma-Magma Fruit ability would be able to counter the black flames, but he didn't expect that he would be the one countered.
No matter how high the temperature of the magma is, it will still burn under the Amaterasu.
If Akainu could have transformed into his elemental form beforehand and discarded the parts that would be burned after coming into contact with Amaterasu, that would have been fine. However, Akainu only realized the danger and entered his elemental form after being burned.
As a result, one of his hands was burned by Amaterasu.
So at this moment, a magma arm wrapped in Amaterasu Black Flame lay quietly on the ground.
Sengoku Garp and Garp exchanged a glance, both seeing the apprehension in each other's eyes.
They can't become elemental like Logia- type Devil Fruit users; if they get hit by Amaterasu, they can only rely on Armament Haki to withstand it.
As for whether Armament Haki could withstand the strange black flames, Garp and Sengoku were also unsure.
Fortunately, the Three Admirals were the ones who directly confronted the Amaterasu Flame Dragon.
Garp had previously blocked Rayleigh's full-force Flying Slash, successfully breaking it, but his body was also pushed back a bit by the reaction force.
Sengoku, on the other hand, used the shockwave from his Buddha Form to counteract Whitebeard's shockwave.
Akainu, panting heavily, stared at his missing arm with a crazed look in his eyes.
"What are you all standing there for! Come with me and kill all those pirates!"
"Sakazuki, I'm afraid... we can't do it."
Aokiji spoke, his voice strained.
"What nonsense are you spouting, Kuzan!"
Akainu grabbed Aokiji by the tie and shouted.
"No, no, no, Sakazuki, Kuzan is right. It seems like two more formidable figures have arrived: Shanks and Kaido of the Beasts. They seem to be monsters as terrifying as Whitebeard!"
Kizaru pointed to the distant horizon.
What appeared there were Shanks and Kaido's pirate crew.
You can tell who it is just by looking at the flag on the ship.
"Hooray! Whitebeard! Looks like you're not too old to fight after Fudō! I thought you were going to die this time and I was even thinking of coming over to help you, but unfortunately Shanks stopped me!"
Kaido, gripping his spiked club, stood at the bow of the ship and laughed loudly.
"Tch, Kaido brat, I'm Whitebeard! I'm not going to die so easily!"
Despite being covered in wounds, the Whitebeard remained in high spirits and laughed heartily.
On the Red Force, Shanks paused.
"Kaido, I thought you were here to cause trouble... Besides, the scale of this war is already too large to be expanded any further. If you join in, it might turn into a full-scale war between pirates and the World Government."
Shanks said helplessly.
"Who knows what you're thinking? I'm a pirate, why would I help the Navy? After all, Whitebeard was on the same ship as me back then. But your suggestion just now was good: a full-scale war between pirates and the World Government!"
Kaido's eyes lit up.
"Hey! Whitebeard, Tsugikuni Yoriichi! Are you guys interested in this proposal? Instead of becoming the Pirate King, why not become the King of the World!"
Kaido was clearly thinking of the great achievements of his former captain Rocks, when he was young.
He was aware of Whitebeard's power and had also fought against Meikyō.
The combined strength of the three pirate crews was even greater than that of the former Rocks Pirates.
"Well, Yoriichi Tsugikuni Yoriichi my alias. You can call me Uchiha Meikyō from now on. As for the all-out war you mentioned, I don't know if the combined power of all the pirates can defeat the World Government. However, if we join forces and form an alliance, we are more than capable of confronting all the Marines. Even the World Government can't do anything to us. After that, we can develop our power, contend with the World Government, and finally dominate the world!"
Meikyō stood on the hull of the Grim Reaper and tempted Kaido.
The three Sea Emperors, even when united, certainly cannot match the full strength of the World Government, but they are certainly qualified to challenge the World Government.
Moreover, it can attract most of the World Government's attention. At that time, the Pirate Alliance will be in the open, and the Revolutionary Army will be in the dark. There might actually be a chance to make things happen.
"Dominate the world?"
Kaido somewhat tempted, but also had some doubts, and decided to listen to his subordinates' thoughts.
"I suggest you agree, Whitebeard."
Rayleigh, wearing floral shorts, stood next to Whitebeard, adjusted his Glasses, and whispered:
"The Fan Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates were allies, but their alliance has moved from underground to the open. You had no conflicts in the past, and you had Ace and Sabo as a bond. After this incident, no matter what happens in the future, you will definitely become each other's most reliable and steadfast allies."
The Whitebeard nodded in agreement.
The Whitebeard Pirates have received a great favor from the Fan Pirates this time. If the Fan Pirates ever encounter any trouble in the future, the Whitebeard Pirates will definitely go out in full force to help them.
"Now, the Whitebeard Pirates are being targeted by the World Government with all their might. As Roger's son, Ace is someone the World Government will definitely try to eliminate. Uchiha Meikyō is another story altogether, as he is the Godslayer who killed the Celestial Dragon. You will have to join forces to deal with the World Government, and Kaido will be your strongest ally."
"And what about you, Rayleigh?"
Whitebeard asked Rayleigh.
"Ace is already on your ship, what can I do? However, I will not join your pirate crew, but will exist as a member of the alliance."
Rayleigh was very clear-headed.
If the alliance is formed, will conflict break out between the three great pirates?
Rayleigh didn't know, but Kaido himself was a troublemaker, and the other two's ships were definitely not lacking in people with strong personalities, so conflicts were inevitable.
If the conflict escalates and the alliance collapses on its own, that would be ridiculous.
Rayleigh hoped that his presence could act as a mediator to ease any potential conflicts between the three parties.
He is qualified to be the middleman.
"Gurarara, I agree, but Kaido, after that, Uchiha Meikyō and I will definitely be targeted by the Navy. Are you sure you want to join us?"
"Whoosh, Whitebeard, don't use such childish provocations. Let's see how to deal with this next! It seems some formidable old rivals have arrived from the Navy!"
Following Kaido's gaze, the Navy's warships escorted a luxurious ship, chasing it to the opposite sea area.
"Unbelievable, this is absolutely unbelievable! A standoff between the Navy and four Sea Emperors! The Pirate King's right arm has appeared! Every single one of these is Big News Morgans! And who exactly is that red-haired mystery man on that ship?"
In the distance, a bird with a camera phone hanging around its neck soars through the sky.
In some corner of the New World, Morgans looked at the photos on the fax machine with excitement.
As News King, this guy's ability to obtain news is beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Not only does he have a huge paparazzi team under his command, but he can also tame birds through his Devil Fruit ability.
That's how those News Bird were born.
News Bird are actually quite intelligent; if Morgans could breed News Bird, he could certainly breed photography birds as well.
Because they fly high in the sky, the horned Den Den Den Mushi used by the Cipher Pol to block signals cannot reach them, so Morgans can use aerial photography of these birds to get a more direct understanding of what is happening on site.
Unfortunately, most of the birds near Marineford were affected by the previous battle, leaving only a few bird pirates to continuously transmit the footage they captured back.
But this was enough for Morgans to know what had happened, and the remaining unknowns were precisely the territory where he could exert his influence.
If we fabricate some topics that can generate traffic, controversy, and momentum, the sales of this issue of the newspaper will definitely explode!
"Shanks, now, what are you going to do?"
Meikyō looked at the man standing on the deck of the Fledis.
The person who came seems to be Shanks' Pops...
"It's time to end this war."
Shanks will not choose to side with the World Government.
He was, after all, a pirate, and so were his crewmates; he couldn't abandon them.
Otherwise, given Saint Garling's status among the Celestial Dragon and Shanks' current achievements, he would certainly succeed if he chose to return to the Celestial Dragon.
Shanks asked himself if what he truly wanted to do was to be a free and unfettered pirate on the high seas.
"Gentlemen, I hope you can give me the honor of letting me talk to you on the other side."
Shanks, with one hand on his sword, asked the group.
Whitebeard looked at the heavily wounded members of the Whitebeard Pirates behind him and nodded, saying:
"Can."
"Can."
Meikyō nodded in agreement.
It's not impossible to start a full-scale war with the World Government now, but the longer it drags on, the more advantageous it will be for them.
Shanks sailed to the opposite side of the World Government's forces.
Akainu tried to make a move, but was stopped by Saint Garling.
Subsequently, Saint Garling chose to disembark and travel alone to the Fledis to have a father-son discussion with Shanks.
The Fleet Admiral Sengoku stood on the warship and sighed deeply.
He had originally planned to do his utmost to cripple the pirate forces before retiring, but this was the consequence he suffered.
Now, he must take responsibility for the failure of this operation and resign.
Both were retired Fleet Admiral, but the process was vastly different from what he had imagined.
After Saint Garling arrived in Marineford, the World Government issued an order requiring everyone to obey the commands of Saint Garling, the supreme commander of the Holy Knights.
Everyone, including Marine Admiral and Sengoku no Fleet Admiral Sengoku, had to obey Saint Garling's orders.
Saint Garling and Shanks talked for a long time on the Fledis, for more than twenty minutes.
Finally, the two clashed using Conqueror's Haki, and the aftershocks of their battle tore the sky apart once again.
Just when the navy thought the negotiations had broken down and were about to take action, Saint Garling returned from the Fledis.
"Go back!"
Saint Garling said with a gloomy expression, seemingly indicating that his conversation with Shanks was not very pleasant, yet he still gave the order to retreat.
He wanted to persuade his son to return to the Celestial Dragon, believing that Shanks' abilities would definitely allow him to succeed him as the next leader of the Holy Knights.
Keep in mind that Shanks is already 37 years old, and Saint Garling is over 60.
However, Shanks refused, stating that he would not return to the Celestial Dragon and that he would do everything in his power to prevent a war from breaking out if Saint Garling led the Holy Knights and the Marines into a major conflict with the pirates.
Saint Garling immediately tried to take Shanks back, and the two exchanged a blow.
The result was a draw. Saint Garling knew that once the war started, facing the combination of four Sea Emperors and the Dark King Rayleigh, even if his side could win, they would pay a more painful price than in the God Valley War forty years ago.
They will pay a price, and so will Shanks.
Therefore, faced with his son, the proud and domineering Saint Garling chose to back down.
But Akainu was not having it.
"Why did you let those pirates go! We still have the ability to continue fighting..."
"Shut up!"
Saint Garling glared fiercely at Akainu.
"This is an order from the World Government!"
After saying this, Saint Garling flicked his robe, turned around, and walked back to the cabin.
Akainu stood there for a long time with a gloomy face, clenching his only remaining fist, before reluctantly snorting and returning to his ship.
He is an absolute soldier, and the Navy is a subordinate agency of the World Government. No matter how dissatisfied he is, Akainu will carry out orders.
"Sigh... let's go back."
"Sengoku," he sighed helplessly.
"The problem is, where do we go now? Marine Headquarters... has been completely destroyed."
Vice Admiral Tsuru glanced at Marineford's location and sighed.
The destruction of Marineford, where they had lived for decades, in a single day, and the disappearance of this symbol of "justice," deeply affected these veteran naval personnel.
As the ship passed Marineford, the seventy-seven-year-old Sengoku gazed at the ruins before him, as if he saw the once-prosperous Marine Headquarters, his own spirited self when he ascended to the rank of Admiral, and the scene of him, full of pride, appointing a new generation of Admiral as Fleet Admiral.
The image in his mind suddenly vanished, and what appeared before Sengoku's eyes was a cruel reality.
The Marine Headquarters is gone.
Garp stood silently beside Sengoku, leaning on the railing and closing his eyes.
In this battle, the navy's main high-end combat forces did not suffer significant losses, but in terms of the outcome, they failed.
The Whitebeard Pirates achieved their goal and rescued Ace. Both Ace, who was originally to be executed, and Whitebeard, their true target, walked out of Marine Headquarters alive.
The navy not only failed to achieve its strategic objectives, but also suffered a major loss of face, dealing a heavy blow to "justice."
Garp believes he actually bears a great deal of responsibility.
"Alright, stop thinking too much. Let's think about what to do next, Sengoku."
Vice Admiral Tsuru patted Garp on the shoulder and said to Sengoku.
"Let's go to G-1 Branch. It's big enough to become the new Marine Headquarters."
"Sengoku," he sighed.