Somewhere on the battlefield.
A series of tremendous noises echoed throughout the area, with earth-shattering attacks erupting every now and then.
All of this is because there are fourteen top-tier experts fighting here.
"Certainly!"
Xia Chen's lips parted slightly, and the figure in front of him instantly became unable to move. Although the immobilization effect was broken in an instant, it was enough!
Xia Chen punched Sengoku hard in the face, knocking him down from the air.
The punch was incredibly powerful; it distorted Sengoku's enormous golden face before slamming it heavily onto the ice with a deafening roar.
After the commotion subsided, Sengoku was found lying peacefully in the ice pit, his Buddha Form no longer able to be maintained, and he had reverted to his original appearance.
Naked, with disheveled hair and eyes rolled back, it was clear he had lost consciousness.
"Phew~"
Xia Chen let out a long breath. To be honest, he was actually a little tired!
With his current strength, it's still a bit difficult for him to hold back so many top-tier experts at the same time!
Xia Chen looked at the other Clone and found that, except for the one on Garp's side, all his Clone were at a disadvantage. It was clear that they wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer.
Xia Chen was not surprised by this result. Just as he said, his Clone could not recover its stamina, so it was definitely at a disadvantage in a prolonged battle.
Moreover, these Clone only possess three-quarters of his strength, making them inherently weaker than the Five Elders. If it weren't for their various extraordinary abilities, they might have already given up.
But it's already good enough that we've managed to hold on this long!
Xia Chen didn't immediately go to support these Clone. Instead, he scanned the entire battlefield, took a deep breath, and shouted:
"Listen up, all pirates..."
"We rescued the person. We accomplished the mission!"
"Therefore, we have no reason to remain on this battlefield and continue making pointless sacrifices!"
Xia Chen's voice resounded throughout the entire battlefield, causing both pirates and marines to pause in surprise for a moment.
Upon hearing this, the pirates whom Xia Chen had lured from Impel Down all moved away from the marines in front of them.
"Since the leader who brought us here has said so, I'll let you off this time!"
"Although I haven't had enough killing yet, let's stop here for today. Anyway, we're out of that hellhole Impel Down now, and the world is our oyster!"
"..."
One after another, some well-known pirates gave their parting remarks, most of which were harsh words.
I don't know if everyone in the One Piece world is like this, but no matter whether they win or lose, as long as they're not dead, they always have to say something threatening.
It's clear that people are very accustomed to covering their mouths with Armament Haki, making them as hard as iron!
They're not really ready to leave yet; they just came out and haven't had their fill of killing yet!
But... we have to leave!
It wasn't because they were afraid of disobeying Xia Chen's orders; they had already fulfilled their agreement with Xia Chen, and whether they left or not was entirely their own business.
The problem is that if they don't leave now, they might not be able to escape later.
They knew that Xia Chen was currently holding back most of the Navy's and the World Government's top combat forces.
If Xia Chen tells them to leave and they don't, and then he runs away, freeing up the navy's top combat forces.
Wouldn't that mean they're doomed?
So, for their own safety and for their own freedom, they'd better just run away!
Then the pirates turned and walked away, and no navy personnel came to stop them.
Just kidding, these pirates are all ruthless and vicious pirates, okay? Even if they went up there, they would just be throwing their lives away!
They're in the navy, that's true, but they're not idiots!
Of course, only the pirates on the sixth level of Infinite Hell received such treatment; the other pirates from the higher levels who arrived later were being chased and were running away with their heads in their hands.
Even though they were being chased, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
They're pirates; escaping is second nature to them!
Putting aside other factors, most of them had no problem with their stamina; otherwise, they would have been dead long ago if they hadn't been fast enough.
To be honest, they had wanted to run away a long time ago, because they were no match for these naval forces, but they didn't dare to run away.
They may not be able to defeat these naval forces, but they are not afraid; what they fear is...
Xia Chen, who just smashed the entire island to pieces with a single blow, had a deal with them when they were released.
Even if they can't defeat the navy, their chances of survival are quite high. But what if they try to escape and Xia Chen discovers it...?
They felt they should first check which ice cave would be a suitable burial site.
In an instant, a vast army of fleeing soldiers formed on the battlefield, but those fleeing were all prisoners brought from Impel Down; not a single pirate from the Whitebeard Pirates escaped.
However, they couldn't help but turn their gaze to Whitebeard.
Whitebeard, who was fighting Akainu on the other side, also heard Xia Chen's words. After repelling Akainu with a single strike, he turned to look at his pirate crew.
"You should retreat quickly too; there's no point in continuing this war!"
In fact, their goal was achieved the moment Xia Chen rescued Ace, but Xia Chen was still fighting and showed no intention of retreating.
He couldn't possibly abandon Xia Chen, since Xia Chen had saved his son; Xia Chen was his benefactor, the one with the Whitebeard.
Whitebeard could never abandon his benefactor and run away! That's why he chose to continue fighting!
But now that Xia Chen has said he wants to retreat, they have no reason to stay here any longer!
Upon hearing Whitebeard's words, his pirate crew began running towards their ship outside.
Whitebeard continued, "Just run! I'll cover your retreat!"
Having said that, Whitebeard had a thought, and a transparent bubble appeared on the tip of his naginata. He then slashed it towards the pursuing marines.
With each strike, Whitebeard displayed the full power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!
He single-handedly held off almost the entire pursuing navy.
After doing all this, Whitebeard planted his sword in the ground, braced himself slightly against it, and took a few deep breaths.
Just then, a chilling voice came from behind Whitebeard, making him instantly shudder.
" Whitebeard, you've shown a weakness!"
" Hell Hound!"
Whitebeard quickly turned his head, only to see Magma Fist already in front of him.
"Boom!"
Whitebeard couldn't dodge in time and was sent flying by the punch, a hissing sound coming from his chest.
"Cough cough!"
Whitebeard's body flew through the air for more than ten meters before landing, then he knelt on one knee and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Looking down, he saw a bloody hole in his chest, melted by lava, but no blood was flowing out. The high temperature of the lava had cooked the flesh in that area.
" Pops!"
Several members of the Whitebeard Pirates who were watching from the battlefield shouted loudly.
These shouts also drew the attention of Marco and the other captains who were engaged in battle. When they saw Whitebeard kneeling on the ground, their eyes widened in fury. They, too, shouted loudly:
" Pops!!!"