" Garp, it's him? Even he's joining the wire-laying operation?"
"No, no way! How are we supposed to rescue Ace like this?!"
When the pirates saw Garp sitting on the Execution Platform, they panicked and began to chatter restlessly below.
"Hmm... Don't be intimidated by his reputation. He's just an old soldier from the past; there's nothing to be afraid of!"
Whitebeard's gaze swept across the crowd, and seeing that all his subordinates were intimidated by Garp's name, he knew that if this continued, their morale would suffer a great blow. Although he was extremely wary of Garp, Whitebeard did not show it on his face and shouted to his men in a deep voice.
"Yeah, yeah, there's nothing to be afraid of. As long as we follow our Pops, no enemy is invincible. Our Pops has Whitebeard! Charge, brothers! Don't be afraid, with our Pops here..."
"Charge!"
"Go! Kill all these marines and rescue Ace..."
Ta-da-ta-da...
Reminded by Whitebeard, the pirates instantly snapped out of their Whitebeard, realizing that with the world's strongest man standing behind them, they abandoned their fear and charged towards the Marines once more.
Tear...
"Ah!!"
"Shooting..."
Bang bang bang...
boom...
Ah~
Explosions and screams once again filled the battlefield.
" Whitebeard... You say Vice Admiral Garp is a veteran of the old era, but little do you know that you yourself are a remnant of that era. You'd better watch out for your current enemy... Hell Hound!!"
roar...
Akainu calmly walked over, his right arm transforming into a gigantic beast's head from magma, lunging to devour Akainu's chest.
"..."
Faced with this attack, Whitebeard grinned and swung his fist to smash it down hard.
boom...
Click click... bang!!
The magma Colossal Beast was instantly blasted back to its original form, with extremely hot magma droplets flying everywhere, and the resulting Impact completely destroyed the surrounding houses.
"How dare you destroy everything here time and time again! Unforgivable, Whitebeard..."
Akainu's expression darkened further upon seeing this, and he stared coldly at Whitebeard opposite him, speaking each word clearly.
"Gurarararar... So, didn't I tell you to guard it well?"
Whitebeard was not intimidated by Akainu's threat; instead, he burst into laughter before speaking again.
Bang...
"Kill!... fight your way out and rescue Ace..."
Bang bang bang...
"Go!! Let me show you the power of the New World pirates!!"
Several powerful pirate captains gathered together and instantly defeated a Pacifista, then said smugly.
Just as the battle was going on, Whitebeard, who was fighting Akainu, suddenly clutched his chest and knelt down on one knee.
"Cough cough..."
A mouthful of blood gushed from his mouth, a sight that terrified the pirates fighting nearby. They caught a glimpse of this and immediately turned to look.
" Pops... what's wrong...?"
Seeing their Pops suddenly collapse, their hearts sank to the bottom of the sea, and they loudly asked him with concern.
clatter...
"What's wrong, Whitebeard? Even you can't escape the ravages of time? You look terrible like this. Let me help you get rid of this stigma..."
Seeing that Whitebeard was suddenly unable to hold on due to old age and illness, Akainu saw this as a good opportunity. He slowly walked towards Whitebeard, his right hand flowing with scalding magma, and attacked him with a sinister aura.
"Oh no, Pops... Damn it, my worst fears have come true..."
Ta-da-ta-da...
Here, Marco, who was entangled with Kizaru, saw that his Pops had collapsed due to illness. He was very concerned about his safety and immediately abandoned his opponent, Kizaru, and Swift Dash towards him.
"La la~ A moment's distraction can often decide the outcome of a battle..."
Whoosh...
Kizaru had no intention of letting his opponent off the hook. Seeing that Marco was distracted by Whitebeard's matter, he immediately unleashed a powerful attack, with several strong laser beams piercing through Marco from behind.
Ah~
Even with the Phoenix's healing abilities, this sudden attack could still cause him great harm.
It was Marco's distraction that triggered the subsequent series of disastrous defeats.
" Marco..."
Jozu, who was facing off against Aokiji, yelled at him.
"Oh dear... you got distracted too, Diamond Jozu..."
Click click...
As he spoke, Aokiji's figure flashed directly in front of him. Before he could react, Aokiji's palm was already on his diamond arm, and the cold air instantly invaded his body, freezing Jozu's right arm.
"Not good..."
Jozu tried to struggle again, but it was too late. The chill from Aokiji's hand spread along his arm in an instant, engulfing his entire body.
"Die, Whitebeard... Great Eruption..."
Bang...
Here, taking advantage of Whitebeard's relapse of his injuries, Akainu gathered magma power in his palm and thrust it forcefully into Whitebeard's chest.
boom...
The magma instantly pierced through Whitebeard's body, gushing out from his back and burning some of his internal organs.
"Cough cough..."
Whitebeard did not take any action against Akainu's surprise attack, or rather, he was too incapable of doing anything else.
" Pops..."
All the pirates panicked at that moment, anxiously trying to rush over to protect their beloved Pops.
"Don't come any closer..."
At this moment, Whitebeard finally spoke, his deep voice silencing his men who were about to rush over.
"I'm not so old that I need your help..."
Whitebeard stood up, along with Akainu, whose fist, still embedded in his body and continuing to destroy him.
"Um..."
Akainu wasn't going to be held captive like that. He tried to break free of his fist, but he was stuck by the muscles in Whitebeard's chest and couldn't move.
"Damn it... Whitebeard, you..."
Akainu struggled desperately, but it was too late. At that moment, Whitebeard's large hand grabbed his collar and lifted him up from his chest, staring directly at him, meeting Akainu's furious gaze head-on.
"Oh no, Admiral Akainu, we're in danger..."
"Shoot at Whitebeard! Get Akainu and the others out of this predicament!"
Click click...
The Navy became alarmed when they saw Akainu being held captive by Whitebeard. They immediately surrounded him and aimed their guns at his body, ready to fire.
"... If you want to protect this place, then do your best to protect it... Air Quake!!"
Whitebeard lifted him up, said this, and then flung him into the air. As he hit the ground, Whitebeard slammed his fist down hard from the side.
boom...
The atmosphere above Akainu's abdomen was instantly shattered, and extremely terrifying shockwaves twisted and spread out from his side, almost entirely affecting him.
Click click...
A tremendous roar exploded, Akainu was crushed head-on, and the ground gradually cracked. Having withstood all the force of the attack, he was powerless to fall and slid down the sloping, cracked ravine.
"Quickly, make your move! Whitebeard is too weak to resist now..."
At this moment, some naval officers of admiral rank and above had seen through Whitebeard's true intentions and immediately shouted for the others to join them in charging towards Whitebeard.
laugh...
Bang...
Clang...
The sounds of artillery fire, sword thrusts, and punches rang out as more than a dozen officers of Rear Admiral or higher rushed in front of Whitebeard, stabbing him with knives or bombarding him with Whitebeard fire, inflicting the most severe damage on him.