At this moment, blood kept dripping down Akainu's face as his right arm transformed into molten lava, smashing forward at terrifying speed toward Whitebeard's head from behind!
The sight shocked everyone.
No one had expected Akainu, who was supposed to be fighting Barrett, to suddenly appear here!
"Hmph! Melted through the ground and crawled out underground. As expected of a dog. Only knows how to dig through dog holes!"
Barrett looked over from afar, his face full of disdain.
But such contempt meant nothing to Akainu.
Compared to personal pride or humiliation, the only things Akainu cared about were Marine justice and their ultimate objective!
This Summit War had been launched to exterminate the Whitebeard Pirates.
Because of Barrett and the others interfering, victory had nearly slipped out of the Marines' grasp.
Yet Squard's betrayal had given them a sliver of hope.
Akainu knew this might be their one and only chance, and he absolutely could not let it slip away!
So even while injured, he forcibly disengaged from his fight with Barrett.
At this moment, Whitebeard had just unleashed an extremely powerful quake attack. His stamina consumption was at its peak.
Akainu's sneak attack had struck at the perfect moment!
"Damn you, Akainu brat!"
Whitebeard tried to dodge, but his heavy body failed to respond in time.
Compared to the original timeline, Whitebeard had entered the war earlier this time, and his opponent had been Sengoku himself.
His physical condition was only worse than before!
Boom!
The magma fist slammed straight into Whitebeard's head.
Horrifying burn wounds instantly spread across his face.
Even his iconic white mustache was destroyed by half.
"Whitebeard… you've grown old."
Seeing his attack land, Akainu finally let out a breath of relief.
But in the very next instant, Whitebeard moved.
His left arm whipped around and smashed heavily into Akainu's abdomen.
A violent shockwave exploded outward.
Akainu spat out a mouthful of blood, his entire body feeling like it was about to fall apart.
However, after this counterattack, Whitebeard staggered, nearly collapsing on the spot.
"Pops!"
Seeing this, Ace and the others immediately tried to rush back to help, only to be stopped by Whitebeard's furious roar.
"Get moving! This is a captain's order! What, you brats can't even follow my orders now?"
Everyone froze in place.
Ace stepped forward and shouted, "Pops, let us help you! We still have to go back to the New World together!"
Whitebeard grinned and spoke that legendary line.
"I'm a remnant of the old era! There's no ship in the New World that can carry me!"
"Ace, didn't you want to surpass that man? Then carry my name and go raise hell across the seas! Create a new era of your own!"
"As for this old man… all I can do now is send you off a little farther!"
"Pops!"
Tears streamed down the faces of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Ace took several steps forward, trying to fight alongside Whitebeard, only to be grabbed by Jozu.
"Ace, Pops is right! The best thing we can do now is leave as quickly as possible. We can't let Pops' sacrifice be wasted!"
At this moment, the Marines swarmed toward Whitebeard like hyenas that had caught the scent of blood.
Whitebeard merely looked down at them calmly, his eyes filled with pure contempt.
"Pops!"
Ace fell to his knees with a thud, sobbing uncontrollably.
"For all these years… thank you for taking care of me!"
Blood covered Whitebeard's aged face. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and in the end, all his countless thoughts became a single sentence.
"Go now… my foolish son!"
This parting was eternal.
The Whitebeard Pirates began their full retreat.
Even Rayleigh, who had been casually stalling Kizaru, couldn't help but sigh.
"Whitebeard… another legend is coming to an end."
Just then, an extremely contemptuous voice rang out.
"So this is the so-called strongest man in the world. Just a loser left behind by the old era!"
Akainu climbed out of the crater, blood at the corner of his mouth, his gaze locked firmly onto the retreating Ace as he mocked him loudly.
"Run! Run as much as you like! End up like Whitebeard, a useless failure who accomplished nothing!"
"What the hell did you say?!"
Ace turned around in fury, glaring at Akainu.
Akainu's heart leapt with joy, but his face showed no trace of it.
"Am I wrong? He was called the strongest, yet never became king, never conquered the Grand Line!"
"As a pirate, his greatest achievement was collecting a bunch of sons. If that's not a failure, what is?"
Even though these had all been Whitebeard's own choices, having them mocked so blatantly sent Ace's anger skyrocketing.
"Bastard! I'll kill you!"
Jozu and the other captains immediately realized something was wrong and shouted.
"Ace! Don't listen to him! It's provocation!"
But Ace could no longer hear anything.
He hurled a furious punch at Akainu.
"Fire Fist!"
A massive flaming fist roared toward Akainu.
A sneer appeared on Akainu's face.
"Great Eruption!"
An enormous magma fist instantly shattered the Fire Fist. The remaining lava splashed directly onto Ace's body, igniting him on the spot!
"Ahhh!"
Ace screamed and collapsed to the ground, severe burn wounds appearing across his body.
"How is this possible? Isn't Ace a fire man? How can he be burned?" a pirate cried out in shock.
Hearing this, Akainu spoke smugly.
"My Magma-Magma Fruit produces magma that burns even fire itself. It's the superior fruit to the Flame-Flame Fruit!"
Heh.
So this is Roger's bloodline? Just a hotheaded brat with no composure whatsoever.
Perfect. I'll end you right here!
Half of Akainu's body turned into blazing magma as he shot toward Ace like an arrow released from a bow.
"This is bad!"
Barrett's expression changed drastically in the distance.
He truly hadn't expected Akainu to be this shameless.
If Ace died here, what was the point of him even coming?
But the distance between them was too great. Even if Barrett wanted to help, he couldn't make it in time.
Rayleigh also sensed the danger and tried to rush over, only for Kizaru to suddenly increase his offensive pressure and block him completely.
"Yare yare. Old man, just stay here with me. Why stick your nose into someone else's business?"
"Damn it!"
Rayleigh missed his best chance and could only watch helplessly as Ace faced death.
"Roger's bloodline, Whitebeard… all you criminals who poison the seas will stay right here today!"
The massive magma fist smashed down toward Ace lying on the ground!
Had history… ultimately remained unchanged?
Boom!
The deafening explosion made everyone's hearts leap into their throats.
Whitebeard stared in Ace's direction, his eyes splitting with rage.
"Tsk tsk tsk. They say a dog's mouth can't produce ivory. You really live up to that saying, Akainu."
As the smoke and dust cleared, three figures stood quietly between Akainu and Ace.
Akainu's magma fist was firmly blocked by a blade coated in Armament Haki.
When he saw who had spoken, Akainu's expression darkened instantly.
"What are you doing here, Sith Ouguro?"
***
Read 20 Chapters early on P-atreon.com/Redestro666