The war drums of the allied forces thundered, Beasts Pirates, the Giant Tribe, the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, and the Revolutionary Army pressed forward simultaneously from three directions.
The Army has completely collapsed.
Meanwhile, on the Sabaody Archipelago, the battle had reached its final moments.
Ace and Akainu had been fighting for who knows how long.
The two men were covered in wounds, and the ground beneath their feet had been melted into a hard, glassy shell by the lava and flames, making a creaking sound when stepped on.
Akainu had a charred fist mark on his right cheek, left by Ace's Fire Fist that grazed his face.
Ace's left arm was covered with a hard shell of solidified magma, which was burned out by Akainu's punch to his arm.
Both of them were panting, and neither of them spoke first.
" Akainu."
Ace wiped the blood from his face, his voice hoarse and barely audible.
"Hmm?" Akainu panted heavily, magma surging in and out of his chest.
There was a charred fist mark on his left arm, which was from Ace's Fire Fist.
"You killed Pops Paramount War," Ace said.
"It's time to pay it back today."
Akainu sneered, "You? A mere brat."
Ace didn't say anything more.
He took a deep breath, and the flames around him began to change color.
It was originally crimson, but now it's gradually turning incandescent white, the temperature so high that even the surrounding air is distorting.
He braced his left fist on the ground, raised his right fist to his chest, and the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit and the Tremor-Tremor Fruit swirled wildly in his palm.
The pebbles on the ground were sucked up by that force and swirled around his fist.
The fist-sized fireball grew brighter and brighter until it shone like a small sun hanging in front of him.
Several nearby naval soldiers were forced to retreat by the heatwave.
" Fire Fist-- "
Ace's voice came from behind the flames.
" The Flame Emperor's Wrath!"
The white fireball slammed out with a loud bang.
When the fireball left Ace's palm, the reaction force pressed a large crater into the ground beneath his feet.
The surrounding air was distorted and warped by the heatwave, and even the leaves of the mangrove trees hundreds of meters away were scorched.
Akainu's smile froze for a moment, then he roared, and all the magma on his body converged above his head, solidifying into a giant lava dog head that opened its mouth and charged forward.
The white fireball collided with the lava dog's head.
In that instant, the entire Sabaody Archipelago was engulfed by white light.
Nearby naval soldiers were thrown away by the blast wave, while those further away felt a sharp pain in their eyes and could see nothing at all.
The mangroves on the ground were uprooted and broken like chopsticks.
When the light faded, the lava dog was gone.
The white fireball pierced through the magma and slammed solidly into Akainu's chest.
Akainu was sent flying like a meteorite, crashing through three buildings before finally embedding himself in a mountain wall.
A large chunk of his chest caved in, and lava gushed out from the crack. He struggled for a moment, but couldn't stand up again.
He wanted to become an elemental being, but the white flame in his chest was still burning, completely sealing off his abilities.
" Fleet Admiral--!"
Several Vice Admiral nearby tried to rush over to save him, but were stopped by the Whitebeard Pirates ' captains.
Vista his twin swords horizontally, blocking the two Vice Admiral in their path.
On the other side, Marco, Jozu, and Vista were completely dominating Aokiji.
Aokiji's ice armor had been shattered into pieces, and one of his arms was hanging limply at his side.
He sighed, leaning on his ice skates as he tried to stand up, but Jozu delivered a powerful diamond punch, slamming him and the ice skates into the ground.
"Puff!"
Aokiji was severely injured and captured on the spot.
Garp stood on the edge of the battlefield, watching Akainu fall and Aokiji be captured, his expression extremely complex.
The dragon stood opposite him; the storm had subsided.
Neither of them made another move.
In that battle just now, Garp held back three-tenths of his strength, and so did Dragon.
In the end, everyone knew that the father and son were evenly matched.
" Akainu has been defeated," Dragon said calmly. " Aokiji has also been captured. Old man, do you still want to fight?"
Garp remained silent for a long time.
He glanced at the Akainu, embedded in the mountainside in the distance, and then at the dragon.
Finally, his clenched fist slowly loosened.
"Where's the crane?" Garp asked.
"He's injured, but he's still alive," the dragon said.
Garp nodded.
He turned and walked to the crane, helped the old woman up from the rubble, and then glanced back at the battlefield.
"The rest of you, follow me and retreat."
The remaining naval soldiers, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, followed Garp and began an orderly evacuation from the Sabaody Archipelago.
No one is shouting "justice" anymore, no one is shouting "defend to the death" anymore.
They simply kept their heads down, carrying the wounded, and walked step by step toward the port.
Ace stood atop the highest point of the ruins, looking in the direction Akainu had fallen, his chest heaving violently.
On the Paramount War, he watched his Pops fall in front of him.
For the past few years, he has thought about this scene every day and practiced boxing every day, all for this day.
Now, it's finally over.
" Ace."
Marco walked over and patted him on the shoulder.
"It's over."
Ace nodded without saying anything.
The huge weight that has been pressing on my heart for so many years has finally been lifted.
With the Navy's defeat, the Whitebeard Pirates quickly took over the Sabaody Archipelago.
Leaving a small squad to guard the wounded and prisoners, Ace led the main fleet around and headed at full speed toward the Red Line.
Marco stood beside him, looking at his brother who had grown up with him, hesitant to speak.
Ace's face was still covered in Akainu's magma ash, but the light in his eyes was brighter than ever.
"Hurry." Ace stood at the bow of the ship, his fiery cloak fluttering in the sea breeze.
"The real main battlefield is over there with Roy and his team."
·····················
The entire process of annihilating the five men in black robes was witnessed by Kong.
He fought his entire life, rising from Fleet Admiral to Commander-in-Chief of the World Government's armed forces. What kind of situation hadn't he seen?
But today he was truly afraid.
The young man named Roy on the other side acted with unbelievable decisiveness. The World Government's trump card, which had been hidden for decades, was completely gone in less than ten minutes.
"Commander! The defense is about to collapse!"
A messenger came running over, stumbling and crawling.
"The left flank has been torn open by the Beasts Pirates, and the giant warriors in the middle are pressing in this direction!"
Kong threw away the sword in his hand.
The dark Armament Haki converged on his fists.
An unprecedented resolve appeared on his face.
He strode forward and charged alone toward the Red Count.
Allied soldiers who blocked his way were sent flying by his punches, their armor and all, crashing into the ground.
A squad leader thrust forward with Seastone spear, but Kong didn't even look at it. He grabbed the spear shaft, pulled it back, and the squad leader and spear were thrown more than ten meters away.
Another soldier, gun at the ready, launched a sneak attack from the side. Kong, but instead elbowed him in the chest, denting the soldier's breastplate.
"Old man."
Red Count stood on the ruins, watching Kong charge towards him, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Is he going to fight to the death!?"
"Vampire."
Kong stopped in his tracks, clapping his fists together with a muffled thunderous sound.
Even if I die today, I will drag you down to hell with me!