Straw Hat Luffy had achieved the impossible, accomplishing what no one thought could be done. He had successfully rescued Fire Fist Ace from certain death.
It was a catastrophic blow for the marines, shaking the very foundation of their authority, yet for the pirates, it was a moment of unrestrained jubilation, a victory that set hearts ablaze with hope and relief.
Among all those who raged in fury, none burned with such consuming wrath as the Fleet Admiral himself. Witnessing criminals slipping through his iron grip, right under his vigilant gaze, was nothing short of humiliating. Despite wielding unimaginable power, he had failed to stop them. The bitter taste of defeat gnawed at him, disgraceful and intolerable for a man who had long stood at the pinnacle of the Navy's might.
Yet, perhaps even more infuriating than the failure itself was the undeniable truth that Vice Admiral Garp, of all people, had clearly held back. Anyone with functioning eyes could see it, that he had allowed his grandson, the Straw Hat, to charge forward and punch him aside with alarming ease. He had not even bothered to make it look convincing. In doing so, Garp had cleared the path for the rookie pirate to reach the prisoner.
As the two brothers now stood side by side, pushing back against the relentless onslaught, an even greater shock rippled across the battlefield.
Suddenly, one of the pirate ships surged forward uncontrollably, its course seemingly suicidal, commanded by none other than Squardo, the same man who had once betrayed Whitebeard after foolishly believing the enemy's lies.
Wracked with guilt over his grievous mistake, Squardo seemed convinced that throwing himself into the jaws of death was the only way to atone. No amount of pleading, shouting, or reasoning could sway him. His mind was resolute, and his fate seemingly sealed.
Fortune, however, intervened, in the form of Whitebeard himself.
With a display of godlike strength, Whitebeard halted the massive ship's momentum effortlessly using nothing but his bare hands. The sheer sight left everyone, friend and foe alike, utterly speechless, as if they had witnessed a living legend reshaping the very laws of physics.
"We are here to accomplish our mission, and that we have done. There is no longer any reason for us to linger," Whitebeard said, his voice steady yet heavy with authority, carrying across the battlefield like an unbreakable wave.
Standing close to his little brother, Ace felt a gnawing sense of dread creep into his chest, cold and heavy, whispering that something catastrophic was imminent.
And he was far from alone in that feeling.
Every ear across the battlefield strained to catch the next words from the old titan.
"I will give an order now, and it shall be my last as your captain," he declared, his voice unwavering.
The statement struck like lightning, shattering any remaining semblance of calm.
"Oyaji?"
"LISTEN TO ME, WHITEBEARD PIRATES!" His voice thundered, reverberating across the battlefield, leaving no room for hesitation or doubt. Even the strongest hearts felt the weight of his presence. Breathing deeply, Whitebeard continued with unshakable resolve, "Here is where our paths must diverge! Without me, you must survive! Return to the New World alive, no matter the cost!"
"OYAJI!" The anguished cries of his crew echoed across the battlefield, their hearts pierced as the full meaning sank in.
Leave him behind? Abandon their captain, their father figure, in the middle of the chaos?
They would never allow it.
"What trick is he playing now?" muttered Sengoku suspiciously, his tactical mind always alert to deception. Garp, in contrast, remained silent, a storm of unreadable thoughts swirling in his weary old eyes.
Panic rippled through the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Oyaji, you cannot be serious!"
"Please, tell us this is not real!"
"Wait! Kitsune and her team are on their way! You must hold on a little longer!" one desperate voice cried.
At the mention of that name, a flicker of hope sparked among the crew. They clung to it like sailors grasping a lifeline amid a storm, begging Whitebeard to reconsider.
Whitebeard shook his head slowly, finality etched into every movement.
"Enough," he said, and his words crushed every remaining spark of hope. Even if Kitsune and her team arrived, nothing would change the course of fate he had chosen.
He saw himself as a relic of a bygone era, one whose time aboard the seas had reached its natural conclusion. "Like Roger before me, my journey comes to an end. The new era belongs to you, the next generation. Carry the will of the Pirate King and claim the future."
Whitebeard's declaration was immediately followed by a display of raw, terrifying power. His Devil Fruit awakened, sending colossal quakes roaring through Marineford. Buildings splintered and cracked under the force, the ground torn apart beneath him like fragile paper.
Amid the chaos, Whitebeard's mind drifted to his past, to the days when he had been a rookie aboard another captain's ship, dreaming dreams that no one seemed to understand. Unlike other pirates, who sought gold and glory, he had craved something far more precious.
A family.
He had been mocked, ridiculed, and scorned for that desire.
None of it mattered now.
For in the end, he had attained the greatest treasure of all, beyond what the world considered the ultimate prize. His children were more valuable than gold, jewels, or fame. Priceless even in comparison to his own life.
Thinking of each of them, his resolve solidified further. Glaring at the ruined Marine HQ, he bellowed with unstoppable fury, "My journey ends here! LET'S FINISH THIS, MARINE HQ!"
While unleashing devastation, the Whitebeard Pirates wept openly, begging their captain to stop. Their cries cut through him sharper than any enemy blade.
"My children," he whispered, his voice trembling with love and sorrow, "my time has come."
Ace, Marco, and the rest of the crew felt as though a blade had pierced their hearts. Their Oyaji, their unshakable father figure, was bidding farewell, truly and irrevocably.
The marines, oblivious to the depth of his words, could only stare in confusion.
With broken hearts, the Whitebeard Pirates began to retreat, carrying those too stubborn to abandon hope. The marines attempted to intercept them, only to be met with Whitebeard's overwhelming fury, each strike buying precious time for his children to escape.
He became a living earthquake, dismantling Marineford as he moved.
"He intends to bury Marineford with himself inside," Sengoku muttered through clenched teeth, eyes wide in disbelief.
Garp simply observed, muttering under his breath about the end of an era brought forth by Whitebeard's own hands and sacrifice.
From the Sabaody Archipelago, the Den Den Mushi transmitting the battle sputtered back to life, showing viewers the devastation unfolding at Marineford.
Amidst the chaos, Emporio Ivankov tried urgently to get Luffy moving. The boy remained frozen, eyes fixed on Ace, who had not moved since Whitebeard gave the order to retreat. Luffy understood his brother's determination but refused to allow him to waste the old man's efforts.
"Ace! Let's go! If we stay, we'll just waste the old man's sacrifice!"
Ace's face twisted with internal conflict, his expression shadowed with emotion. He clenched his fists tightly, nails digging into his palms.
"...I know," he finally muttered, voice low and pained.
In the whirlwind of chaos, Ace dropped to his knees, lowering his forehead to the ground in a deep bow before Whitebeard. His heart overflowed with gratitude, sorrow, and respect, yet the words remained stuck in his throat. His chest heaved as his vision blurred with tears, unable to properly convey the depth of his emotions.
Whitebeard, looking at the broken young man, felt a warmth penetrate the walls of pain surrounding his heart.
"Tell me," he asked hoarsely, voice trembling, "was I a good father?"
Ace's tears finally broke free, spilling down his cheeks as his heart tightened painfully.
"Of course!" he shouted through his tears, voice breaking yet full of conviction.
Whitebeard laughed, a booming, heartfelt sound that carried across the battlefield, full of pride, joy, and bittersweet contentment. That single affirmation freed him from all regrets tethering him to the world.
"Ace! Hurry!" Luffy's shout pulled him back to reality.
Wiping his tears roughly, Ace rose to his feet. He gave Whitebeard one last, aching glance, a silent farewell, before finally turning away and rushing back to Luffy's side. Together, along with the others, they prepared to flee aboard a warship seized from the marines.
However, Akainu, who had been silently observing from afar, like a vulture waiting for the perfect moment to strike, finally decided to make his move. His body surged with heat as he launched a massive fist of molten magma straight toward the retreating pirates.
"Running away the moment you freed Ace... How utterly pathetic," the Admiral sneered, his voice cutting through the battlefield like a blade. "Both the captain and his so-called sons... Nothing but a bunch of cowards! It's no wonder, that Whitebeard himself is nothing more than a failure of the past era!"
His words were thick with poison, deliberately aimed to ignite fury. The pirates, knowing full well it was a trap designed to provoke them, clenched their jaws and kept moving. They could not afford to waste time or energy on pride right now, because survival was the priority.
Yet, despite their better judgment, the venom in Akainu's words dug deep into their hearts. His scorn for Whitebeard, their father figure, stoked a furious storm within them. Their hands trembled not with fear, but with restrained rage.
"Take it back!" Ace snapped, coming to an abrupt halt, his face twisted into a dark snarl. He knew it was a trap, he knew betterm but he simply could not turn a blind eye to an insult against the man he loved and respected.
Since childhood, Ace had always struggled with his anger, and his older sister had tirelessly taught him to control his impulses, to think before striking. But now? After the horrors of Impel Down, the crushing exhaustion of battle, and the looming loss of the man who had given him another home... all that discipline unraveled in an instant.
The insult to Whitebeard was the final straw.
With a roar fueled by heartbreak and rage, Ace hurled himself toward Akainu, ignoring the frantic shouts of Marco and the others. His fiery aura blazed as he surged forward, consumed by fury.
"THIS ERA'S NAME IS WHITEBEARD!"
"Ace! No! STOP!" Luffy and the others cried out in horror.
The audience watching from the Sabaody Archipelago held their breath, eyes wide and hearts pounding, as they witnessed Portgas D Ace recklessly charge straight at Akainu with his flaming fist.
The clash was brutal. Ace's fire met Akainu's magma head-on, and neither holding back.
But the result was devastating.
Akainu's magma, far denser and overwhelmingly more powerful, effortlessly consumed Ace's flames. In a single, brutal instant, Ace's arm was swallowed by the searing heat, and his body was hurled backward with tremendous force, crashing violently into the ground. A collective gasp tore through the pirates and the watching world alike. How could a Logia user, someone believed to be immune to physical harm, suffer such devastating damage?
Akainu stared down at the fallen young man with eyes full of icy contempt. His lips curled into a cold, mocking sneer.
"Pathetic," the Admiral scoffed, his voice steeped in disdain. "Did you truly believe that your feeble flames could ever contend with my magma? My power burns far hotter and stronger than your pitiful sparks!"
A fire couldn't possibly beat a lava.
"ACE!" Luffy's voice cracked as he screamed, ready to run to his brother's side. But just as he prepared to move, something fluttered at the edge of his vision. A small piece of paper drifted from his pocket.
It was Ace's Vivre Card.
Automatically, he bent down to pick it up, but the moment he did, his body decided that it was then the perfect time to give up on him. He collapsed to the ground, earning worried looks from those nearby.
"It seems your body has reached its limit, Luffy-Kun. You must not fight anymore," Jinbei urged, trying to reason with him.
At that same moment, Akainu's deep, gravelly voice rose once more, laced with venom and arrogance as he continued to provoke Ace.
"Pirate King Roger and Revolutionary Dragon... who would have thought their sons would swear brotherhood? What a terrifying, twisted combination!"
Hearing those words, Ace, despite the pain wracking his body, could not help but let a strange smirk tug at the corner of his lips. He thought, if this bastard knew about the existence of his big sister too, he'd probably cough up blood from shock.
Akainu, mistaking Ace's smirk for mockery, snapped, his rage flaring.
"Your blood alone is a curse! Your very existence is a stain upon this world! Even if I allow the others to flee, I will never let abominations like you two walk free!"
Suddenly, a dreadful realization dawned on Ace as he saw Akainu's gaze darkened, his attention now locked onto the weakened, vulnerable Luffy lying behind him.
"No...!"
Panic shot through Ace like a lightning bolt.
In the blink of an eye, Akainu vanished, his form flickering as he used Soru to instantly close the distance to his next target. Ace spun around just in time to see the Admiral materialize directly in front of Luffy, magma fist raised high and burning with lethal intent.
Fueled by pure instinct and desperate love, Ace pushed his battered body beyond its limits, lunging forward with everything he had left. Every nerve screamed in pain, but he did not care.
He would reach Luffy.
He had to reach him!
Yet no matter how much strength he summoned, no matter how fiercely his will burned, Akainu was still faster by a few agonizing seconds.
Time itself seemed to slow as horror filled Ace's chest. He watched helplessly while Akainu's blazing fist descended toward his little brother, who was still frozen in shock, kneeling on the ground with wide, terrified eyes.
"LUFFY!" Ace screamed, his voice cracking with sheer desperation. Even Garp, who had been closely monitoring the movements of his two grandsons, found himself unable to sit still any longer and jerked in reaction.
Akainu's resolve did not waver. If he could not claim both brothers, then he would make sure at least one of them perished before the day ended.
But fate, it seemed, had other plans.