Chapter 185: Shocked, huh? This old man can fly!
Chapter 185: Shocked, huh? This old man can fly!
"It's... gone!"
"We're saved!"
"That was terrifying!"
Some pirates collapsed in fear as the terrifying sea surge that felt like the sky was collapsing finally vanished.
"Shanks!"
Just then, Marco suddenly burst from the ship, slamming his hand onto Shanks' head and smashing him onto the deck.
"How dare you! How could you do this?!"
Marco's veins bulged as he roared with fury.
After resting to recover his strength, when he stepped out to find this heartbreaking scene, he couldn't control his anger. How could Shanks, as Whitebeard's son, actually stab his own father?
He was worse than Marshall D. Teach!
"Back off!"
Shanks swung his blade at Marco, but Marco dodged, saying, "You forced me to do this! Stop pretending! Whitebeard, you've colluded with the Navy to sacrifice us for your own survival and Ace's protection!"
"Ace is the son of One Piece Roger! You made a deal with the Navy to protect Ace, and we were the bargaining chips! Letting us die would let you survive! Now who's the Navy's target? It's us!"
Shanks pointed at the battlefield where many affiliated pirate crews had been felled by Pacifista while Whitebeard's elite crew remained mostly unscathed. Seeing this, the pirates' morale plummeted.
The facts were undeniable.
Kuro, puffing on a cigar, smirked at the dispirited pirates, "Pirates are chaotic creatures. A small incident like this can shake them."
Many of these crews had followed Whitebeard for over a decade, yet they wavered at this moment. Whether from foolishness or malice, it was pitiful.
"What a disgrace, Whitebeard!"
Crocodile's voice darkened as he yelled at Whitebeard, "I refuse to lose to a coward like you!"
His tone wasn't disappointment at Whitebeard's injury but contempt for the legendary figure's betrayal.
Crocodile, too, believed it.
"A coward, huh?"
Whitebeard shook his head, his gaze sweeping over Marco, Jozu, Bissta, and the other early followers, then to the ambitious Crocodile, the panting Luffy on the execution platform, and finally the young floating figure on the ice.
Those who enter the Grand Line, like the Grand Line itself, will experience tides of fortune. I'm old, I should return with the receding tide, but after the tide falls comes the rise. If I entrust a young life to the future, when the tide rises, a new era will emerge!
"You're such a fool", Whitebeard looked at Shanks without a trace of killing intent, instead with paternal pity. Embracing Shanks, he said, "Even if you're a fool, you're still my beloved son. Shanks, as a father, I don't hate you."
He patted Shanks' head, used his blade to support himself, and suddenly punched the air.
Boom!!!
The ice walls shattered, creating an escape path.
Sengoku muttered, "Opening an escape route? What a sly old fox."
Kuro chuckled, "Truly magnificent."
"Betray my son? Gura gura gura!"
Whitebeard stood on the deck, laughing heartily, then roared, "As pirates, you decide your own beliefs! Your choices define you! Choose to retreat or fight, all of you have the freedom! Those who dare to die, follow me!!!"
The opening path reassured the pirates that Whitebeard didn't betray them, boosting morale higher than before.
Boom!
With a mighty leap, Whitebeard descended onto the ice.
The old man was joining the fight!
"Oh~ Whitebeard himself is here? Scary indeed", Lucius Kro widened his eyes slightly.
Kuro clicked his tongue, "Where's the encircling wall?"
A nearby Marine reported, "The ice layer is too thick. The wall is activating, just needs a moment!"
"How fast is 'a moment' damn it!"
Kuro turned to see Whitebeard gripping his 'Murakumogiri,' raising his blade to attack, a shockwave forming.
Target: Marineford!
Bang!
Instantly, a black shadow surged, but Kuro drew Autumn Water, releasing a golden lightning slash to intercept the dual-blade strike. The blades collided with a dull clang.
Crack!
The ice beneath Whitebeard's feet cracked.
Boom!!!
The shockwave extended from both sides toward Marineford, shattering the edges where many unlucky Marines stood.
Whitebeard snarled, "Floating brat, your defense angle's incomplete!"
"Just don't hit most Marines!"
Kuro's body trembled as he activated Armament Haki, but the shockwave still shook his insides.
"Get back, brat!"
Whitebeard pushed harder, sending Kuro flying backward. Kuro halted mid-air, landing at the square's front, ceasing combat.
He heard the ice cracking below.
"Charge! Rescue Ace!"
Some pirates reached the square's base, but suddenly the shore rose, revealing iron walls forming a ring around the Whitebeard Pirates.
The encircling wall activated!
Now surrounded by Pacifista, only the front remained open.
"What's this encircling wall?!"
A captain fired a rocket at the wall, but it barely left a mark. The Iron Wall stood unscathed, extending massive cannons.
"Damn it, surrounded! This wall's too thick!"
"Unforgivable! Can't even scratch it!"
Pirates pounded the wall in vain.
"Hey, Navy! You're trapped too! Sacrificing yourself to destroy us?!" a pirate yelled at Kuro.
"Damn it! Facing such a Navy!"
Pirates rallied, but Whitebeard focused on the only opening blocked by Oz's giant body.
"Report! Sengoku Fleet Admiral, Oz's position has power loss due to blood infiltration. Can't close the gap", a Marine reported.
"Can't close it? Fine then, Sakazuki", Sengoku said.
Akainu stepped forward, his body radiating lava, and roared, "Meteor Volcano!"
Massive lava fists launched from his arms, raining down like a volcanic eruption.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
The lava bombs exploded, melting the ice, drowning pirates in sea water.
"Burning! So hot!"
"Damn that heat!"
Lava bombs kept falling, unlike Kuro's sea surge, even Whitebeard couldn't block all.
Several bombs hit Whitebeard's ship, the Moby Dick, destroying it.
Ace on the execution platform watched helplessly as Whitebeard's flag burned, his body restrained by guards.
A symbolic blow to both Navy and pirates.
"Open fire! Annihilate Whitebeard Pirates within the wall!"
The Marine Admiral ordered, launching heavy cannons from the Iron Wall.
Cannonballs struck drowning pirates, further destroying the ice.
Lava and cannonballs combined left only a small ice patch where Kuro stood.
Whitebeard's affiliated captain Tarakaji landed there.
"Unforgivable! At least take down this Navy!"
Tarakaji charged at Kuro, but cannonballs exploded beneath them.
Tarakaji fell into the sea, coughing up hot water.
"He's a Devil Fruit user! He'll drown!"
Tarakaji floated on the surface, not a Devil Fruit user himself, but noticed Kuro floating effortlessly above the water, smirking.
"Shocked, huh? This old man can fly."
(End of Chapter)
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