Akainu's face turned ashen. " Hachinosu..."
Aokiji frowned deeply. "This is troublesome."
Kizaru gave a wry smile, "This is going to be difficult."
Zephyr remained silent.
His right arm was still hanging down at his side and he couldn't lift it. He could barely muster a little bit of Armament Haki in his left hand, but even he knew that this amount of power was far from enough.
Garp surveyed the entire battlefield.
The seven from Hachinosu had formed an encirclement, and together with the original four emperors, there were eleven top-tier combatants against five half-crippled marines.
It's too late to fight.
If the fighting continues, at least three of the five navy personnel will be left here.
Garp clenched his teeth so tightly that they cracked, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
He was unwilling to accept it.
Pluton was right in front of him, just a hair's breadth away.
If the reinforcements from Hachinosu had arrived half a day later, no, even two hours later, they could have pushed the battle line into Pluton's firing range.
Akainu's Magma Fist could blast Pluton through in one shot.
But it was just a little bit short.
Garp took a deep breath and roared out a single word with all his might—
"Withdraw--!!!"
The sound exploded in the air above the ice field, causing the ice shards to vibrate.
Kizaru reacted the fastest.
The instant Garp shouted "Retreat!", he had already transformed into a beam of light.
Golden light swept up Aokiji and Zephyr, and the three of them were taken away from the battlefield at the speed of light.
Akainu glanced one last time in the direction of Pluton, unwilling to give up.
His fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and lava dripped from between his fingers, burning several holes in the ice.
His lips moved a few times, as if he were cursing something, but ultimately no sound came out.
Then he turned around, shattered the ice beneath his feet, and shot out like a lava projectile.
Garp was the last to leave.
Without using Geppo, they simply walked back step by step on the ice.
It's not that he can't walk fast, it's that he doesn't want to run.
His fists were still clenched, blood was still on his hands, and his naval uniform was tattered.
But he kept his back very straight and his steps were very steady.
When Garp paused for a moment.
He turned around, his gaze sweeping across the entire ice field, meeting Roy's across the distance.
"Kid,"
Garp's voice wasn't loud, but everyone present could hear it clearly.
"It won't happen again next time."
Roy stood in the center of the icy plain, Shusui already sheathed.
There was still blood at the corner of his mouth, and blood was still seeping from the gash between his thumb and forefinger. The red light in his eyes had just faded.
But he stood very straight.
"I'll be waiting anytime." Roy smiled slightly.
Garp said nothing more, turned and disappeared into the distance at the edge of the icy plain.
After the five naval personnel disappeared from the ice field, a brief silence fell over the battlefield.
The silence was strange.
It wasn't that there was no sound; the wind was still blowing, the ice was still crunching, and seabirds were calling in the distance.
But it just felt like the whole world had become quiet.
Perhaps it was because the roaring sound that had been going on for a whole day and night suddenly stopped, and my ears weren't used to it yet.
Then--
The Beasts Pirates erupted in thunderous cheers.
Queen jumped up from the gun emplacement, his obese body bouncing several times on the ice, shouting, "We won! We won! The navy got away!" His fat face was jiggling.
Jack plunged his twin scythes into the ice and roared to the sky.
His body was covered in wounds, with a deep, bone-revealing knife wound on his left arm, but he acted as if nothing had happened, shouting louder than anyone else.
The members of the Tobiroppo were also cheering.
Sasaki plopped down on the ice, panting heavily.
Ulti hugged Page One and jumped around, muttering curses, though it was unclear who she was cursing at.
Black Maria leaned against the ice, looking at the clouds in the sky, a smile on her lips.
Who's-Who stood alone at the stern, offering no cheers.
His mask concealed his expression, but his posture revealed that he was not entirely at ease.
Jin stood on the Pluton deck, silently sheathing his longsword. The last flicker of firelight on the distant horizon was still reflected in his glasses, and a rare, slight smile appeared on his lips.
From the start of the war until now, he has stayed by Pluton' side without ever leaving his side.
Katakuri held him back for most of the day, but he never allowed anyone to break through his defenses.
Roy stood in the center of the ice field, looking in the direction where the navy had disappeared, and let out a long breath.
The intense battle that lasted a day and a night had exhausted his mental strength, causing his hand to split open and his internal organs to suffer some shock damage.
Overall, it's alright.
Bullet walked over and patted Roy on the shoulder with his large, fan-like hand.
"I'm not too late, am I?" Bullet grinned.
"If we had arrived an hour later, Pluton might have been gone," Roy said truthfully.
"Then it's still not too late." Bullet laughed even louder.
Hawk Eyes walked over, and Black Blade Yoru had already been sheathed.
He glanced at Roy, then at the devastation on the distant ice field, said nothing, and simply nodded.
Crocodile walked over, a cigar dangling from his lips. "That was a pretty brutal fight."
"It's alright," Roy said.
"Is Pluton alright?" Crocodile asked.
"Fine."
"That's fine."
Crocodile didn't say anything more, and turned to walk back towards the direction of the Ark Zhenyin.
His back looked relaxed, but Roy knew that the guy's fingers hadn't left the tip of the Golden Hook until the navy retreated.
The Kuma silently walked past Roy, the air cannon in its paws already dissipated.
He nodded slightly to Roy, then walked to the edge of the ice field, gazing at the remaining ice on the distant sea, lost in thought.
Kyros returned from the edge of the battlefield, the bloodstains on his greatsword gleaming a dark red in the sunlight.
He shook the blood off his sword, sheathed it, and gave Roy a swordsman's salute.
Moria was running around on the ice, the Shadow Bat still not back in its place.
He muttered to himself, "What a pity, what a pity! I should have taken the opportunity to grab a Marine Admiral as a shadow."
Lucci stood beside the gangway of the Ark Zhenyin, arms crossed, staring expressionlessly at the devastation on the ice plains.
His Five Finger Armband had been retracted, and his human-beast form had been dispelled.
But the way he looked in the direction the navy was retreating suggested he was thinking about something.
The cheers still echoed across the ice field.
The Beasts Pirates were celebrating, the people of Hachinosu were regrouping, the wounded were being carried away from the ice, and the Totto Land Island fleet was slowly breaking free from the frozen sea in the distance.
Roy stood in the middle of the ice field, surrounded by sunlight, cheers, and sea breeze.
The corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
Pluton, I've got him.
As the cheers still echoed across the ice field, Roy turned around.
His gaze swept over the cheering Beasts Pirates members, and over the wreckage on the icy plains.
It swept past the Totto Land fleet that was breaking away from the frozen sea in the distance, and finally landed on the other side of the ice field.
The Golden Lion and Big Mom are still standing there.
The Golden Lion stood on his last dilapidated floating Sky Island, holding Oto and the Kogarashi in his hands, his one eye squinting, lost in thought.
Linlin rides Zeus, Napoleon is in her hand, and Prometheus burns above her head.
Her breathing hadn't completely calmed down, and her hand holding the knife was still trembling slightly, but her eyes had regained their wariness.
Neither of them retreated with the navy.
It's not that I didn't want to leave, it's that I didn't have time.
The navy withdrew too quickly.
Kizaru escaped at near-light speed, carrying Aokiji and Zephyr away; Akainu transformed into a magma projectile and fled.
Garp may walk slowly, but that's because he doesn't want to run, not because he can't.
Golden Lion and Linlin won't be so quick.
No matter how fast a floating Sky Island moves, it can't outrun the speed of light; and no matter how fast Zeus's Inazuma, it can't outrun Kizaru's golden light.
Moreover— Roy's Observation Haki had been locking onto them the whole time.