"Everyone, retreat! Return to the New World! This is my final order as your Captain!"
Whitebeard slammed his fist into the air, activating his tremors one last time. The plaza of Marineford buckled and groaned as a massive fissure, nearly eight meters wide, tore through the earth. The jagged canyon effectively cut the battlefield in two, separating the fleeing pirates from the pursuing Marines.
Whitebeard stood alone on the front line, panting heavily. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his body was a map of burns and frostbite. His iconic white greatcoat hung in scorched tatters. For a man in his seventies, it was a miracle he had held off the Marines' highest combat powers for this long. Plagued by illness and old age, this high-intensity combat had drained his life force at a terrifying rate. He wasn't just fighting a war; he was burning his very soul.
"You truly are a legend, Whitebeard," Aokiji said, cold mist rolling off his frozen skin. He looked relatively unharmed compared to the Yonko. "To pin both of us down here is an incredible feat... but you're reaching your limit, aren't you?"
Akainu stood beside him, magma dripping from his fists and hissing against the frozen ground. Thick black smoke billowed from his shoulders. Though he was bloodied from the exchange, his eyes remained full of murderous intent.
"I'm far from finished!" Whitebeard roared, his laughter echoing across the shattered plaza. Even at death's door, his momentum didn't falter. He swung Murakumogiri in a wide arc, the supreme-grade blade still singing with lethal power.
"You stay here and finish off this old fossil," Akainu said to Aokiji, his voice cold and calculating. "I'm going after the others."
He knew Whitebeard was at the end of his rope and saw no point in a prolonged struggle. His true targets—the future of the pirate era—were escaping.
"What do you plan to do?" Aokiji asked. He knew exactly what Akainu intended: he wanted to hunt down Ace and Luffy. Personally, Aokiji felt the war was already won. As long as Whitebeard fell here, the objective was achieved. Relentless pursuit felt unnecessary.
"Don't worry about it," Akainu replied icily. "You never had the stomach for the hard choices anyway. I'll handle it myself!"
He transformed into a surging wave of molten rock, intending to bypass the old man and give chase to the brothers.
"Magma brat, you've got a lot of nerve!" Whitebeard's eyes flashed with a terrifying light. "I'm not dead yet!"
The idea of Akainu hunting his sons right in front of him filled the old pirate with a final, explosive rage. In a blur of movement that defied his age, Whitebeard's tall figure lunged forward, appearing behind the Admiral in an instant.
"Sakazuki, watch out!" Aokiji shouted. He hadn't expected the old man to have such a burst of speed left in his failing body.
Akainu sensed the danger, but he was a fraction of a second too slow. He tried to swing a magma-coated fist behind him, but Whitebeard's punch landed first. The shockwave rattled Akainu's teeth and slammed him deep into the broken pavement of the plaza.
"Sakazuki!" Aokiji rushed forward to prevent Whitebeard from delivering a follow-up blow.
High above, Yamato and Kizaru watched the brutal exchange.
"I believe it is time for me to join the fray," Kizaru said. He didn't ask for permission; he simply stated his intent.
"Go ahead," Yamato replied, her voice soft. "This war is already over."
She knew that even with her presence, the fate of the "Strongest Man in the World" was sealed. Whitebeard had come here to die so that his "sons" could live. Today, the legend would end at Marineford.
"It is always a pleasure to speak with someone who understands the situation," Kizaru nodded. He dissolved into a beam of light and accelerated toward the center of the plaza.
The outcome was inevitable. The three strongest Admirals were now converging on a single, dying man. If that weren't enough, Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Garp the Hero were still waiting in the wings.
"Young Master," Haruko said quietly. "Once Whitebeard falls, the balance of the New World will shatter."
"Yeah," Yamato sighed. "The New World is going to become a slaughterhouse. With such a massive throne left empty, every ambitious pirate on the sea will be clawing for a spot among the Four Emperors."
"Do you think Blackbeard survived your attack?" Haruko asked.
"Probably. Scoundrels like him have a way of clinging to life like cockroaches," Yamato said with a wry smile. She had scoured the sea with her lightning, but men like Teach were hard to kill. "Let's go. It's time to wrap this up."
Yamato descended toward the battlefield as the final act began.
"Retreat! Get to the ship!" the pirates screamed, scrambling toward the backup vessel Whitebeard had stationed outside the bay.
"Pops!" Marco and the other commanders cried out from the far side of the fissure. Their eyes were wet as they watched their father stand as a lone sentry against the might of the Marines.
"My foolish sons, go!" Whitebeard bellowed, swinging his blade with reckless abandon. "In this life, having you as my family... I have no regrets!"
He didn't need to look back; he could feel them moving toward safety. That was all that mattered.
"Marco, get them out of here now," Yamato's voice boomed as she hovered over the commanders.
"I know!" Marco shouted back. "Jozu, Vista, Ace—go! Don't look back!"
"Pursue them! Don't let a single pirate leave this island alive!" a Marine officer screamed. A mob of soldiers surged toward the edge of the canyon, their eyes bloodshot with battle-lust.
"Let it end here," Yamato commanded. She unleashed a focused gust of wind that blew the front line of Marines back like autumn leaves. "No more unnecessary blood."
Sengoku watched Yamato from the platform, his expression unreadable.
"The war is over, Sengoku," Garp said. Seeing Ace reach the ships had finally lifted the suffocating weight from his chest. He was a Marine, but he was also a grandfather. "We have what we came for."
Sengoku nodded slowly. "I know. It ends now."
His objective had always been the head of the Whitebeard Pirates. With the Captain dead, the crew would scatter. One of the Four Emperors had been toppled. Compared to that, the escape of a few rookies was a minor footnote in the history of a Marine victory.
Whitebeard fought the three Admirals for ten more grueling minutes, but even a legend has its limits. The final blow came in the form of Aokiji's ice.
Edward Newgate, the strongest man in the world, died exactly as he had lived: standing tall, facing his enemies, and without a single wound on his back.
"Old fossil," Akainu spat, wiping blood from his chin. "Wasting our time until the very end." He felt a lingering irritation; it seemed as though Whitebeard had spent his final moments specifically trying to take Akainu down with him.
"Truly a monster," Kizaru mused, looking at the silent giant. "To fight all three of us at seventy years old... you have to admire the man."
"That's why he was a legend," Aokiji whispered, his eyes showing a rare flicker of respect. "What now? Do we chase the remnants?"
"I wouldn't advise it," Kizaru pointed toward Yamato. "There is still a monster in her prime watching us. We don't need a second war today."
"So what if she's a Yonko?" Akainu snorted. "One just died. Why not make it two?" He transformed into magma, intending to continue the slaughter.
"Sakazuki, stop!" Aokiji called out, but Akainu ignored him.
"There is no need," Sengoku's voice boomed over the loudspeakers. "Onihime is a fresh target and far more dangerous than a dying Whitebeard. Our priority is to secure the island and tend to the wounded. The war is over! This is a victory for the Marines!"
The announcement caused the soldiers to freeze. After a few seconds of silence, a deafening cheer erupted across the island. "We won! Justice prevails!"
On the shoreline, the last of the pirates boarded their ship.
"Captain Marco! We're ready!"
"Go ahead! I'll catch up!" Marco shouted back. He couldn't leave his father's body behind to be desecrated.
As the pirate ship sailed away, Akainu came to a halt, cursing under his breath. Without the support of the army, even he couldn't take on the entire fleet alone.
Yamato landed softly near the center of the plaza and looked at Whitebeard's remains. "Since the war is over, can I take the body?"
"What?" a Marine officer barked. "We're taking his head as a trophy! We need to show the world what happens to pirates!"
"That's right! His body belongs to the Marines now!" another yelled.
Yamato ignored the "Little Akainus" and looked directly at Sengoku. "A man like Whitebeard deserves a proper burial, even by his enemies. Am I wrong?"
"Shut up, Onihime!" a hawk-ish officer shouted. "If you hadn't interfered, our victory would be absolute! A pirate has no right to tell us anything!"
"Do these guys ever stop chirping?" Haruko asked coldly. "They look like thugs in Marine uniforms."
"I was wondering if Akainu could make clones," Yamato joked, not even glancing at the shouting officers. "They all sound exactly like him."
Akainu's face turned purple. "You brat... watch your mouth."
"Ignorance is terrifying," Yamato said, waving her hand as if shooing away a fly. "A bunch of meatheads with no respect. Scram."
"You looking for death, Onihime?" Akainu growled, the ground melting beneath his feet.
"Are you still talking?" Yamato asked, finally looking at him with disdain. "I wasn't even talking to you. I'm talking to your boss. After all, you don't actually make the decisions here."
Akainu looked like he was about to explode into a volcano of pure rage.
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