Dense, searing steam rose, solidifying around his body as his stature grew several inches. He grinned, causing the markings on his face to twist and distort, unleashing a wave of ferocious killing intent that hit onlookers like a physical force!
BOOM—!
The air behind him suddenly detonated with an overwhelming, overburdened roar, instantly creating a vacuum in his wake. For a split second, it looked as if there were two figures in the sky.
One was still standing in the original spot, while the other was...
Right in front of Whitebeard!
What incredible speed!
Whitebeard's pupils constricted violently. Instinctively, he raised his fist, his quake power surging.
This guy's speed had momentarily surpassed the concept of space; even light itself was deceived!
"Secret Art: Special Beam Cannon (Makankosappo)!!!"
A fist that seemed to have absorbed all the light in the world smashed ruthlessly into Whitebeard's chest.
Internal destruction of Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki infusion, Dragon Flame explosion...
The two forces poured entirely into Whitebeard's body, breaching his physical defences. A sensation of warmth wrapped around the hard fist.
Blood sprayed wildly, and a small stream of crimson trickled from the corner of Whitebeard's mouth.
His eyes widened, and a roar of laughter echoed across the entire battlefield:
"Gurararara! Brat, you're still a bit too green!"
HUM—!
Before Atlas could make his next move, Whitebeard's fist had already slammed into his back. The immense force and vibration smashed him directly into the ice, burying him deep into the water below.
"Pops?!!"
The pirates' faces changed drastically.
Their father was injured!
Previously, although he had fought back and forth with that Marine brat, he hadn't taken any significant damage.
But this time...
Seeing the gaping puncture wound on Whitebeard's chest, their hearts sank.
That Marine—
Was he really that terrifying?
That was a feat not even the other two Emperors of the Sea could achieve!
"Gurararara! Don't worry, my sons. It's just a mere brat!"
Whitebeard spat blood, yet his expression remained clear, showing no sign of decline.
"HAA—!!"
"Charge! Rescue brother, Teach!"
"Pops is the strongest man in the world; this injury is nothing!!"
"Cut down all these Marine bastards!!"
Seeing that Whitebeard's condition was still robust, the Whitebeard Pirates finally relaxed.
However, this was only the mindset of the small fry.
The other Division Commanders were being suppressed to death, with no chance even to catch their breath. One careless move meant defeat and death.
Thud! Thud!
Whitebeard strode forward, closing the distance to the execution platform once again.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku! A warship has suddenly broken through the Gates of Justice! It appears to be one of the battleships stationed at Impel Down!"
An urgent report arrived, causing Sengoku to narrow his eyes.
The Gates of Justice... the personnel in the control room must have been taken out by that old man, Rayleigh.
Recalling Rayleigh's earlier appearance, Sengoku guessed the situation with near certainty.
As for Impel Down—
Something must have gone wrong there!
However, Sengoku's expression remained unchanged. Even if a major incident had occurred at Impel Down, the Marines were currently too stretched to help. The Whitebeard Pirates, before them, were the immediate priority.
Just then...
A gust of wind blew, and vast amounts of yellow sand surged. A massive sand tornado appeared eerily on the bare ice.
Swish—!
A figure flashed past. A glint of cold light suddenly appeared behind Whitebeard—a golden hook reflecting on the smooth ice, dripping with purple poison.
"Pops! Behind you!"
"It's that bastard Crocodile! Pops shouldn't have spared his life back then!"
The pirates watched helplessly as Crocodile appeared, burning with anxiety.
That... despicable guy!
"Hehe~ Long time no see, Whitebeard!"
Crocodile didn't care what others thought; a look of pure satisfaction appeared on his gloomy face.
He seemed to have already foreseen Whitebeard falling to his deadly poison.
Even Whitebeard is, after all, just a human!
But before Crocodile could gloat for long, the flat side of a blade wrapped in black Haki suddenly appeared in front of him, accompanied by a whistling wind.
SMACK—!
Without using the cutting edge, the speed was so fast that Crocodile didn't even have time to elementalize. The powerful force instantly swatted him away, sending him sliding across the ice for a long distance before he finally stopped.
"Gurararara—!!!"
"Playing with sand? You haven't improved much in all these years, brat!"
"Whitebeard..."
Crocodile slowly climbed up from the ground, feeling the pain on the side of his face, his expression so gloomy it looked like water might drip from it.
Bang!! Bang!!
Ignoring Crocodile, Whitebeard moved forward again. Marines and pirates alike scrambled out of his path.
After all, not everyone was Atlas, daring to face the strongest man in the world head-on!
HUM—.
Gripping his bisento tightly with both hands, a white quake bubble formed on the blade as he slashed horizontally!
The blade light flashed, the ice shattered, and the sea overturned. Towering waves broke through the ice's constraints, rising once more.
The powerful vibration force travelled through the air, rapidly spreading to Marineford, including the execution platform.
Rumble—!
Marineford, already teetering, began to crumble rapidly. The towering execution platform collapsed instantly. Blackbeard, kneeling on the high platform, lost his footing and fell, pulled down by gravity.
"Zehahaha! I've escaped! Pops..."
BOOM—!
Before Blackbeard could finish speaking, a blinding golden light erupted. A majestic giant Buddha appeared on the ruins of the execution platform, palm extended—
[Buddha Shockwave]!
"Wah!!!"
The terrifying shockwave hit Blackbeard squarely. He spat a massive mouthful of blood.
Even with Blackbeard's immense durability, his aura withered instantly, and his body felt as if it had fallen apart.
In the original timeline, even though Blackbeard possessed the Dark-Dark Fruit, which allowed him to absorb damage (at the cost of amplified pain), taking a [Buddha Shockwave] from Sengoku was gruelling.
And for the current Blackbeard, it was even worse—half his life was gone in an instant as his stiff body plummeted toward the ice below.
"Hmph?!"
Akainu, who was in the heat of battle with Rayleigh, looked on with eyes about to burst with fury.
That guy absolutely cannot leave Marineford alive, or he will become the Marines' greatest joke!
BOOM!!!
Abandoning Rayleigh, Akainu's feet erupted like a volcano. The powerful explosive force propelled him rapidly toward where Blackbeard was falling!
Opposite him, Rayleigh's eyes flickered, but he did not move to stop him.
Since that sand crocodile is out, Shanks has probably made his move, too, right?
"Great Eruption!!!"
A massive magma fist instantly pierced Blackbeard's chest. The intense pain shocked Blackbeard, whose consciousness had been fading, back to full wakefulness. His eyes bulged wide.
"Urgh— Urgh—"
Blood gushed from his mouth; he couldn't utter a single word. The magma in his chest burned his internal organs and bones, the smell of sulfur filling his nose.
His ambition...
"Humph! The moment you knelt on that execution platform, your fate was sealed!"
Akainu raised his leg and kicked the lifeless body of Blackbeard aside, his expression cold and ruthless.
"——!!!"
With Akainu's action, the entire battlefield erupted in an uproar. The members of the Whitebeard Pirates turned pale.
Marshall D. Teach... was dead?
They had toiled so hard, even going so far as to assault the world's greatest fortress of war—Marineford.
Their only goal was to rescue Teach from the Marines, upholding the philosophy of 'Family First' that Whitebeard's crew always adhered to.
But now, that sole purpose was gone.
So, what was the point of continuing this war?
"Hey, hey... no way, brother Teach is..."
"Damn, Akainu! What do we do now?"
"Hahahaha! Admiral Akainu, well done!"
"Now the Whitebeard Pirates are dumbfounded! Hahaha!!"
The pirates' despair contrasted sharply with the Marines' excitement. Blades rose and fell, and several more pirates were cut down in the chaos.
The pirates under the Whitebeard banner were... rapidly dwindling in number.
Glug, glug~~
Amidst the drifting ice shards on the sea surface, a violent bubbling sound emerged unnoticed. Suddenly, the water parted violently, churning and rolling.
"There is nothing I cannot cut, nothing that remains unbroken..."
A soft chant echoed, followed by a surge of intense killing intent that covered everyone on the battlefield like a dark cloud. Hair stood on end, and cold sweat poured down backs, as if countless sharp knives were sliding across their skin.
"One Sword Style Secret Art: Overlord · Crimson Skyline!!!"
A figure burst from the water, soaring into the sky. The nearby ice was instantly pulverised, and a flash of blood-red light streaked by.
"Hm?!"
Whitebeard, clearly still reeling from the sudden death of Blackbeard, was momentarily distracted. Atlas seized this exact opening.
Squelch—.
The blade cut into flesh. Violent Haki rampaged through bones and fascia. A large spray of blood splashed onto the ice, instantly coagulating into mottled crimson stains.
Atlas had mastered the technique of Conqueror's Haki infusion to perfection; wrapping his entire body in it was now as easy as a thought.
If [Heart] represents belief and Haki, [Body] represents physical strength, and [Technique] represents combat skill...
Then he could now be called the ultimate being who had reached the pinnacle of Heart, Body, and Technique!
CLANG—!
Whitebeard's face twitched slightly from the severe pain. Enduring the agony, he spun around, his massive bisento flipping to clash against the blade Futsu-no-Mitama with a crisp sound.
——!!
The two figures, vastly different in size, were locked in a silent, ferocious struggle of strength.
"Whitebeard, you've grown old after all!"
Atlas grinned brightly. The muscles all over his body writhed and twisted, his broad back flexing as if wings were sprouting from it, steam rising from his form.
Thud!! Thud-thud!!
Thud-thud-thud!!!
Unsurprisingly, Whitebeard lost the contest of strength once again to this young Marine brat.
"Gurararara! Whitebeard Pirates, retreat with full force!"
Forcing down the grief of Blackbeard's death, Whitebeard roared. The invisible sound waves spread rapidly, reaching every corner of the battlefield.
BANG—!
Before Whitebeard could make another move, a giant warship fell from the sky, smashing hard onto the floating ice. It kicked up waves several meters high, and fine cracks appeared on the ship's hull.
The quality of Marine warships was quite impressive.
However...
What kind of monsters had arrived this time?
The Marines and pirates present turned their confused gazes toward the warship.
"Oh my, Crocodile, was there a need to be in such a rush?"
A young man holding a straw hat walked out with relaxed steps. A standard Marine longsword hung at his waist, and his slightly open chest revealed massive muscle groups. The brim of his hat obscured his face somewhat, but strands of red hair spilt out.
"Heh~ Uncle Whitebeard, long time no see!"
The straw-hat youth grinned, flashing a brilliant smile at Whitebeard.
Impel Down, Level 3.
—Starvation Hell.
Magellan sat slumped on the ground, looking blankly at the corpses scattered around him, with a lingering fear in his heart.
Fortunately, whether it was Starvation Hell, Blazing Hell, or Freezing Hell, prisoners kept there for more than three months basically lost most of their combat ability.
Even if they wanted to take advantage of the chaos to escape, most of the jailers could likely take them down.
The only real trouble was those who had been imprisoned recently, and...
The prisoners in Level 6, Eternal Hell.
However, thanks to the prison's enclosed space, most of the pirates attempting to escape amid the chaos had died miserably under the effects of his Venom-Venom Fruit.
After all, the Venom-Venom Fruit, despite its terrible side effects, granted him terrifying power.
Clack— Clack— Clack—!
Steady footsteps approached from behind Magellan.
"How did it go? Are the other escaped prisoners dealt with?"
Magellan asked without turning his head.
His expression was somewhat ugly. One reason was that Impel Down had suffered such a massive riot; if Hannyabal hadn't warned him via Vivre Card, he might not have reacted in time, and a large number of prisoners would have returned to the sea to wreak havoc.
The other reason was...
He looked down at his stomach, which was making loud noises, and forcibly held it in.
"Tch!"
The newcomer's face was obscured, but he let out a disdainful sneer, shaking the blood off his longsword.
"I told you long ago, it's better to kill that scum than keep them. If you had listened, this wouldn't have happened."
As the footsteps drew closer, a face with a broad chin, streaked with blood, was illuminated by the dim light.
Shiryu of the Rain!
"Hmph! This is the most fun I've had since coming to Impel Down."
Shiryu pulled out a piece of high-quality silk and began to carefully wipe the blood-stained Raimu (Thunderstorm) in his hand, acting as if no one else was there.
This was his only sword, and as a qualified swordsman, he naturally cherished it dearly.
"Now is not the time for that. You should be very clear about what this turmoil means for the balance of the sea," Magellan said, his voice somewhat low.
As the successor to the position of Impel Down Warden, he knew exactly what kind of upheaval the escape of those Level 6 criminals would cause.
"Hmph! Regardless, I've killed every prisoner on the other levels clean."
A look of pleasure appeared on Shiryu's face, and a flash of crimson bloodlust flickered in his eyes.