The Ark Maxim transformed into a golden light and vanished into the horizon.
On the icy plain, Sengoku stared intently in that direction, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
" Roy..."
He gritted his teeth and forced out those two words, his tone suggesting he wanted to tear the man apart.
But what can we do?
They've already run away; we can't catch them.
Sengoku took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He turned around, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield—
Corpses littered the ice surface, their blood staining patches of white ice red.
The bodies of naval soldiers and pirates lay scattered about, some still twitching.
Among the survivors, some were wounded, some were maimed, and screams and groans filled the air.
Three Vice Admiral action, and five were seriously wounded. More than 8,000 elite soldiers were killed in action. Twelve warships were sunk.
The losses are enough to make his hands cramp from writing reports.
But what he found most unbearable was the Pure Gold.
After all that work and so many deaths, what was the result?
Roy, that kid, ran off with the biggest piece!
Sengoku felt a tightness in his chest, a surge of anger with nowhere to vent.
Then, his gaze fell on the three battle groups still locked in a standoff in the center of the ice field.
Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Big Mom.
The three old men each occupied a corner, with their remaining troops standing behind them.
Each person held a glittering golden fragment in their hand.
"The entire army must turn!"
With a wave of his hand, Sengoku could only direct his anger at the three of them.
"Surround them! If you can't get Roy's Pure Gold, leave them behind!"
The naval soldiers were taken aback for a moment, then responded in unison.
They were seething with anger and needed an outlet.
The warships changed direction and formation, quickly surrounding the three emperors.
In the center of the icy plains, Whitebeard looked at the approaching marines and chuckled.
"That old bastard from the Sengoku, he's going to take his anger out on us."
Marco landed beside him, covered in blood and panting heavily. " Pops, should we retreat too? The brothers have suffered too many casualties."
Whitebeard shook his head. "It can't be removed. Look over there."
Marco followed his gaze— the Golden Lion's side was also surrounded by the navy;
On Big Mom's side, three Sweet Commander have already been targeted by Garp and Sengoku.
None of the three forces can easily extricate themselves from this situation.
"Gurararara..." Whitebeard gripped his naginata tightly. "Since we can't escape, let's fight."
"Perfect timing! I'd like to test whether this piece of Pure Gold is worth so many lives."
He stuffed the fragments into his robes, swung his naginata, and pointed the tip directly at Akainu.
"Come on, lava imp! We weren't finished yet, let's continue!"
Akainu's face was ashen, and his body was writhing in molten lava.
He was thoroughly humiliated by Whitebeard's attack and was now eager to get his revenge.
Whitebeard! Today is your death day!
He kicked off with both legs, and his whole body shot towards the Whitebeard man like a lava cannonball!
Aokiji sighed, put his hands in his pockets, and slowly followed.
There was no other way; Akainu couldn't defeat Whitebeard alone, so he had to go help.
On the other side, Kizaru has already faced off against Golden Lion again.
"Oh my, Senior Golden Lion, you're so old, yet you're still so energetic!"
The Golden Lion chuckled, "Stop being so sarcastic, you little brat! I'm in a bad mood today, so I'll take it out on you!"
With a wave of his hands, the two swords, Oto and Kogarashi, flew out and rained down on Kizaru like a storm of blows!
Kizaru's figure flickered, transforming into streaks of light that weaved through the slashes.
"How terrifying! It's so troublesome to dodge Golden Lion's slashes!"
The worst off is Big Mom's side.
Garp and Sengoku, together with a group of Vice Admiral, surrounded her completely.
" Linlin!" Garp grinned, his fists covered in jet-black Armament Haki. "Hand over the Pure Gold obediently, and I might consider going easy on you!"
Big Mom's face twisted with rage. " Garp! Do you think I'm easily scared?!"
She brandished Napoleon's greatsword and slashed fiercely at Garp!
Garp neither dodged nor evaded, but punched the sword!
boom--!!!
The clash of their Conqueror's Haki unleashed a terrifying shockwave!
Big Mom's expression changed, and she was so shocked that she took half a step back.
Before she could regain her footing, Sengoku's Buddha's palm struck from the side!
" Buddha Form - Shockwave!"
boom--!!!
With a slap, Big Mom was sent flying, her obese body smashing through several huge blocks of ice!
"Mother!"
Katakuri's expression changed drastically. He activated the Mochi-Mochi Fruit to its fullest extent, and countless mochi arms behind him reached out to grab Garp and Sengoku!
"Don't get in my way!"
Garp shattered those arms with one punch, then swung another punch, this time landing squarely on Katakuri's chest!
Katakuri spat out a mouthful of blood, flew backward, crashed onto the ice, and slid dozens of meters away.
" Katakuri- san!"
Smoothie and Cracker wanted to go to the rescue, but they were tied up by the other Vice Admiral and couldn't get away.
Big Mom crawled out of the ice pile, covered in blood, her face contorted in a terrifying grimace.
She stared at Garp and Sengoku, her eyes filled with resentment.
But she also knew that she had failed today.
Their children were either wounded or crippled, and most of their men were dead. If the fighting continued, everyone would die here.
She looked down at the Pure Gold fragment in her hand; its golden light was still dazzling.
But no matter how dazzling you are, nothing is more important than your life.
"Mama mama mama!!!"
Big Mom let out a scream of resentment and suddenly flung her hand away.
The Pure Gold fragment transformed into a golden light and slammed fiercely towards the Sengoku!
"Want some? Here you go!"
Sengoku's expression changed, and he instinctively reached out to catch it.
Garp was also stunned.
In that brief moment of hesitation, Big Mom had already leaped onto Zeus the Thundercloud, grabbed the heavily injured Katakuri, and screamed, "Retreat!"
Smoothie and Cracker reacted quickly, desperately forcing their opponents back before leaping onto Zeus.
Thundercloud rapidly ascended into the sky, carrying the remaining members of the Big Mom Pirates as they fled in panic.
Sengoku caught the Pure Gold fragment, watched Big Mom's departing figure, and was momentarily speechless.
They... ran away?
Garp scratched his head and chuckled, "That old woman, Linlin, is quite decisive."
Sengoku ignored him, put the fragment into his pocket, and turned to look at the other two battle groups.
The situation is equally pessimistic for the Golden Lion side.
Although Kizaru couldn't defeat him alone, his speed and ability to dodge were undeniable. Nine times out of ten, Golden Lion's slashes missed their mark.
Meanwhile, a naval force was already heading this way in the distance.
The Golden Lion's face was grim as he glanced at the battlefield.
Big Mom has escaped, Whitebeard is entangled with Akainu and Aokiji, and the Navy's encirclement is tightening.
If the fighting continues, he'll be stuck here too.
"Oh shit!"
Golden Lion cursed, then decisively activated the Float-Float Fruit at full power!
The floating Sky Island beneath their feet suddenly shuddered and began to rise rapidly into the air!
The remaining floating islands also rose up!
"Trying to run?!" Kizaru transformed into a streak of light, attempting to give chase.
The Golden Lion turned its head and waved its hands—
"Lion - Thousand-Cut Valley!"
Hundreds of slashes rained down like a storm!
Kizaru's expression changed, and he had no choice but to stop and dodge.
After those strikes were completed, the Golden Lion had already led the floating islands into the clouds.
"Wow... he runs really fast." Kizaru muttered, and didn't give chase.
Since we can't catch up anyway, why bother?
He turned around and looked at the last battle group.
There, Whitebeard was still engaged in a fierce battle with Akainu and Aokiji.