Hearing the voice behind him, the smug grin on Blackbeard's face instantly froze.
"Who's there?!"
He spun around at once.
The moment he saw who it was, his pupils shrank—then he let out a quiet breath of relief.
As long as it wasn't that man.
Right now, he truly feared encountering Luo Xing.
Blackbeard's tone turned hostile.
"Gecko Moria… so it's you. You've got some nerve calling me 'little black brat.'"
Moria let out a bat-like laugh.
"Kishishishi! That's what Lord Luo Xing calls you. I think it suits you perfectly—don't you agree?"
Blackbeard's expression darkened instantly.
Back in Impel Down, Luo Xing had called him that as well—infuriating him to no end, yet leaving him powerless to do anything about it.
"Moria… I didn't expect you to secretly join the Beasts Pirates and become that man's subordinate!"
The way Moria addressed Luo Xing as "Lord" made it obvious.
And the fact that Moria seemed to have been waiting here for him—
Sent a chill through Blackbeard.
Could it be…
His movements had all been predicted by that man?
Impossible!
Luo Xing wasn't some all-knowing god!
Yet how else could this situation be explained?
Blackbeard's mind wavered with uncertainty, a sense of unease creeping in.
The more he thought about it—
The more he felt Luo Xing was an unfathomably terrifying existence.
Fortunately—
Luo Xing himself wasn't here.
He was far away at the Sabaody Archipelago.
Blackbeard had already seen Morgans' newspapers on the way here, reporting that Luo Xing had taken control of Sabaody.
And if it was only Moria here…
A killing intent slowly surfaced in Blackbeard's eyes.
Moria might be a Warlord—
But Blackbeard had five people on his side.
With the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit, there was a high chance he could eliminate Moria.
Moria noticed the killing intent and sneered.
"You want to kill me? Still dreaming in broad daylight, huh?"
"I'd like to test you myself too… but Lord Luo Xing's order is just to keep an eye on you."
"So I'll let you stay free a little longer."
With that—
Moria leapt away, instantly appearing hundreds of meters away.
He simply watched from a distance, making no further moves.
Jesus Burgess cracked his knuckles, his expression fierce.
"Captain, let me kill that bat freak!"
Blackbeard wanted to kill Moria too.
Being watched like this felt like a thorn in his back.
For someone like him—who preferred lurking in the shadows and observing others—
This was deeply uncomfortable.
But recalling Moria's speed just now, and his no-longer-bloated physique—
Blackbeard guessed Moria had likely consumed Luo Xing's monster cells, greatly increasing his strength.
Killing him wouldn't be as easy as he had thought.
Right now—
The most important thing was to obtain Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Wasting time fighting Moria here would be unwise.
Blackbeard said:
"Burgess, now's not the time to kill him. Your job is to keep an eye on him—don't let him ruin my plans!"
After assigning the task—
Blackbeard moved toward the Marineford plaza, all while keeping a wary eye on Moria.
Soon—
He saw the battlefield.
Ace was dead.
Whitebeard had a massive hole in his chest.
He was clearly gravely wounded.
Yet Whitebeard ignored his injuries completely.
With overwhelming rage and killing intent surging from him—
He appeared behind Akainu.
Without regard for his own life—
Whitebeard unleashed everything.
A terrifying quake force gathered in his fist—
And slammed into Akainu's head.
Akainu's face was driven into the ground, his body twisting unnaturally.
If not for his Logia nature—
His spine might have snapped.
BOOM!
The ground collapsed.
Akainu used the cracks to roll away—
Then charged back again without fear, shouting:
"The evil blood of the Pirate King has been eradicated! And you, failure of this era—should go to hell as well!"
The two clashed once more.
This battle was even more ferocious than before.
Quakes and magma tore through Marineford, reducing half the island to ruins.
Seizing an opening—
Akainu unleashed another Meigō, piercing Whitebeard's chest once again.
But Whitebeard truly was a monster.
He still didn't fall.
Instead—
He grabbed Akainu by the collar and hurled him into the air.
Then his right arm bulged with power—
And he smashed it down on Akainu's waist.
CRACK!
The air shattered.
Akainu's body nearly broke apart as he coughed up blood, crashing down—
And falling into a deep fissure in the ground.
Throughout it all—
Aokiji, Kizaru, Garp, and Sengoku—
None of them moved to assist Akainu.
If Luo Xing had been in Akainu's place—
He would've destroyed Marineford himself.
A Marine force full of "actors" like this—
Wasn't worth staying in.
With Akainu driven underground—
Whitebeard's fury was finally vented.
But what followed—
Was overwhelming grief.
No matter how much he raged—
Ace was dead.
Gone forever.
And because Ace was gone—
He could not allow his remaining sons to die as well.
Whitebeard took a deep breath—
Then roared:
"All members of the Whitebeard Pirates, listen!"
"I have one final order as your captain!"
"You are to leave immediately—every last one of you!"
"Return safely to the New World!!"
As he spoke—
He assumed the stance of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
"I am a remnant of the old era…"
"There is no ship in the new era that can carry me!!"
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The air shattered like glass.
A massive chasm—like a cliff—split the battlefield—
Separating Whitebeard from his sons.
This—
Was his farewell.
At the same time—
Baltigo, the Revolutionary Army's headquarters.
Ivankov, who had escaped from Impel Down, finally arrived—panting heavily.
Beside him was Inazuma, the Scissor-Scissor Fruit user.
"Finally here… I'm exhausted!"
Ivankov gasped, hands on his hips.
He hadn't stopped even once since leaving Impel Down—
Even injecting himself with multiple doses of tension hormones.
Inazuma said:
"Let's go see Dragon and report what happened."
The two made their way to Dragon's office.
As well-known commanders, they passed through without obstruction.
The moment they entered—
Ivankov burst into laughter.
"Dragon! Sabo! Little Koala! I escaped from Impel Down—surprised?!"
Inside the room—
Dragon, Sabo, and Koala showed no surprise at all.
Koala raised the newspaper in her hand.
"We already learned about Impel Down's destruction from the news. With your strength, Ivankov, escaping was only natural."
"Eh?!"
Ivankov was dumbfounded—
Then immediately annoyed.
Damn Morgans!
Was his news delivery really that fast?!
Did that mean all his desperate rushing was for nothing?!
Unwilling to accept that, Ivankov clenched his teeth.
He had to say something shocking!
He shouted:
"There's something else you definitely don't know—Fire Fist Ace has already been executed!!"
The moment those words fell—
Two cries rang out at once.
"What?!"
One came from Sabo.
Having regained his memories, he remembered his bond with Ace.
The other—
Came from Luffy, lying on the hospital bed.
"Ace… was executed? He died? No… how could this…?!"
Luffy screamed in disbelief—
Then, unable to bear the shock—
Fainted once more.
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