...
Seeing the warning issued by the light screen and feeling the soul-shaking intimidation from earlier, Saint Garling felt fortunate he hadn't acted.
This thing was so eerie—who knew what consequences there might be if it was truly provoked...
At this time, Dragon was gravely injured, but fortunately received treatment and quickly regained consciousness—though his body was now tightly bound.
Looking up at the warning on the light screen, Dragon felt a sliver of comfort in his heart. With so many powerhouses and the light screen's deterrence, Saint Garling likely wouldn't dare act rashly.
These two children were safe for now.
"Saint Garling, I couldn't find that kid! No idea where he ran off to—the two children weren't found either. They might already be dead. Looks like I don't need to take action..."
Saint Maffey, previously sent by Saint Garling to assassinate Dragon, now returned leisurely with a cigar in her mouth to report.
But this woman's brain truly wasn't sharp—she openly stated Saint Garling's orders right in front of everyone.
The others showed no particular reaction, but a flash of anger crossed Garp's face. Wasn't Saint Maffey talking about his own son!
Saint Garling, fearing his son would become their enemy, was already trying to strangle Dragon in the cradle...
Garp's fists clenched tightly. He seemed to be desperately holding something back, but a cold killing intent still flickered in his eyes.
"This idiot!"
Saint Garling definitely sensed Garp's rage and inwardly cursed Saint Maffey.
Though displeased with Garp's attitude, he was now outnumbered. If he lashed out at Garp here, the Marines who still respected him might harbor resentment.
Saint Maffey completely failed to notice Saint Garling's murderous glare and casually returned to the God's Knights' position.
Just as she arrived, Saint Sommers limped back from deep in the forest, clearly badly injured.
Saint Garling frowned and asked what he'd been doing. Saint Sommers broke out in a cold sweat, his mind racing before he hastily made up an excuse to brush it off.
Saint Sommers didn't dare defy Saint Garling openly. Though he disliked him, Saint Garling was still his superior—the commander of the God's Knights.
While Saint Garling stared at Saint Sommers, Linley's voice rang out again. The light screen's warning text vanished, returning to the original footage.
[Ace, after kneeling farewell to Whitebeard, followed Luffy and the pirate crew partners toward the coast under Whitebeard's urging!]
[The outcome seemed to be heading toward victory—Ace was rescued, but it ended as a tragic victory for the Whitebeard Pirates...]
[Jinbe rushed over from the side. He instructed Luffy and Ace to just charge ahead—the rest would cover their path. Right now, Luffy and Ace had been completely targeted!]
[Right after Jinbe finished speaking, Admiral Akainu looked at the fleeing Whitebeard Pirates and deliberately began belittling Whitebeard!]
Akainu's sharp, grating words stabbed like a poisoned sword straight into Ace's heart, cruelly twisting inside.
Ace, running at full speed, suddenly skidded to a halt.
He whirled around. Those eyes that always danced with flickering flames now bulged with rage, locking dead onto the Navy Admiral who was wantonly insulting his Pops.
His chest heaved violently, every breath carrying the scorching heat of flames.
"Take back what you just said, you bastard!"
Ace's voice trembled slightly from extreme fury, yet carried unshakable resolve.
He absolutely would not allow anyone, in any way, to defile before him the name he revered as Pops—the one who gave him meaning in life and a sense of belonging: Whitebeard.
This blatant provocation, like a trap laid out in plain sight, was obvious to the Whitebeard Pirates' crew.
"Ace! Don't listen to him!" "He's provoking you! Run!"
Several captains and crew members urgently stepped forward to stop him, trying to hold him back.
But Ace fiercely swung his arm, a wave of scorching heat pushing away their well-meaning hands. His gaze never left Akainu.
At this moment, the blazing flame in his heart—to protect his Pops' honor—had overwhelmed any consideration of tactics or reason.
Sakazuki watched Ace's wildly fluctuating emotions, the cold curve of his lips growing more pronounced.
He continued in that tone full of contempt and provocation, mercilessly piling on: "Your father Roger conquered the Grand Line, and in the end used his own life to usher in the so-called Great Pirate Era—he truly deserves to be called the Pirate King..."
Akainu deliberately paused, his gaze burning like molten lava onto Ace's face as he spat out an even more vicious comparison, word by word: "Now look at Whitebeard. He lacked the courage to stand against Roger.
He just lingered on, hiding in the sea as some so-called boss—truly laughable!"
Each word struck Ace's nerves like a whip—especially "Whitebeard will never surpass Roger," which lit the final fuse and made Ace completely explode!
Pops' broad back, the declaration "From today onward, you are my son," that love and tolerance as vast as the sea...
All these memory fragments detonated in his mind, turning into the fiercest desire to protect.
"Shut your mouth!"
Ace let out a deafening roar, his voice hoarse from ultimate rage.
"Whitebeard is the great pirate who created this era! I won't let you insult my lifesaver!!"
His blood seemed to boil and burn in this instant. Orange-red flames erupted from his body like a small sun suddenly rising on the battlefield.
Roaring flames wrapped around him, illuminating Ace like a flame deity. Fire blazed in his eyes—the resolve to defend his loved one's honor at any cost.
"This era is named... Whitebeard!!"
Accompanying this war cry of faith and belonging, Ace poured every ounce of his strength, all his rage and conviction, into his right fist.
Blazing flames compressed, condensed—finally forming a massive torrent of fire capable of devouring everything.
Fire Fist!
The scorching fist shadow tore through the air with the momentum to incinerate all things, charging relentlessly toward the unmoving Navy Admiral.
Sakazuki watched the roaring flame giant fist approach—and behind it, Ace's face twisted slightly from full exertion—his cold smirk finally turning into one of triumphant scheming.
His right arm instantly magma-ized, boiling, churning—dark red magma billowing black smoke rapidly covered and swelled his arm!
It radiated energy fluctuations more violent and destructive than flames.
Without excessive buildup, Sakazuki simply and directly punched out.
This was no mere counter—it was highly compressed, extreme penetration and destructive magma attack.
The dark red magma giant fist, carrying suffocating heat and sulfurous breath, met the orange-red sea of fire head-on.
The next moment—extreme heat collided with extreme heat!
"Boom!!!"
The explosion of flames intertwined with the roar of magma, forming a deafening blast.
Orange-red and dark red colors clashed wildly in the air, eroding each other, exploding fiercely.
At the collision's center erupted a terrifying energy shockwave— instantly ripping up, melting, vaporizing the surrounding ground, forming an ever-expanding charred crater.
Steaming heat waves distorted vision; scorching air currents spread madly outward, forcing nearby battling pirates and Marines to retreat repeatedly!
Everyone watched in horror this heaven-shaking clash of similar attributes but representing different beliefs and power.
Ace clenched his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, pushing the Mera Mera no Mi to its absolute limit.
His flames roared like his will, surging endlessly in an attempt to push back the magma representing absolute justice—or rather absolute destruction.
Ace could feel his flames' furious roar—and also the heavier, more scorching presence in the opponent's magma, as if it would melt everything.
Yet reality was cruel.
In terms of attributes, magma was superior—it could burn flames.
After a brief stalemate, the dark red magma giant fist began—slowly but unstoppable—to push back the orange-red torrent inch by inch.
Magma's greater mass and destructiveness acted like a red-hot iron pressing paper, beginning to erode and devour Ace's flames.
"Ugh!"
Ace let out a pained grunt, staring in disbelief as his flames were forced back by the opponent's magma.
That dark red destructive energy not only shattered his Fire Fist—it pierced through the flame defense, directly scorching his physical arm!
A piercing pain—as if even his soul would be burned through—surged. He was the embodiment of flame, supposed to be immune to ordinary fire.
Yet now he was scalded by this higher level of "flame power"!
Akainu's magma ultimately proved superior.
For the first time, flames appeared so powerless before magma.
...