"Great Eruption!!!"
A massive fist of molten magma descended from the sky. Scattered drops of lava splashed into the seawater, sending wisps of white steam rising into the air.
Swish—!!!
A slash imbued with Haki leaped up instantly, cleanly splitting the giant magma fist in two with incredible smoothness.
Boom!!
The halved fist crashed into the sea, kicking up waves several meters high. The extreme heat reacted rapidly with the freezing ice, shrouding the area in a dense white fog.
"Shanks, you guys, hurry up and escape through the water! Forget about the Red Force!!"
Rayleigh appeared beside the Red Hair Pirates, his expression grave.
His entire body was scorched, emitting the tantalising scent of roasted meat; clearly, he hadn't fared well against Akainu.
"Rayleigh, you..."
Shanks was stunned.
"Say no more. You go first; Gaban and I will cover the rear!!"
A red light flickered faintly in Rayleigh's eyes. Although the white fog greatly reduced visibility, his Observation Haki clearly sensed Gaban's life signature approaching rapidly.
"Boss, staying here won't do any good. We'll only drag Rayleigh-san and the others down."
Beckman's face was serious as he tried his best to persuade the hesitant Shanks.
"Rayleigh, Sunbell and I will stay behind. At least we can support you in the water later," Seagull said in a muffled voice.
"You guys..."
"Do you think you can leave after coming here? Remnants of the Roger Pirates!"
A voice devoid of emotion cut into their conversation. The hazy white fog did nothing to hinder the rapid movement of the approaching figure.
"Hound Blaze!!!"
An immensely huge dog head made of magma extended inward, its giant mouth filled with fangs, biting ruthlessly toward Rayleigh and the others.
"Go quickly! I'll hold him off!!"
Rayleigh suddenly shouted, his longsword wrapped in extremely high-level Armament Haki.
"Alright, take care of yourself, Rayleigh!"
Shanks made a prompt decision, issuing orders to his officers one by one:
"Escape into the sea now! Don't look back!!"
Splash—!! Splash!! Splash!!
The surviving members of the Red Hair Pirates dove into the sea one after another, barely making a splash.
"Uncle Rayleigh, you... take care. You must come back alive!"
Shanks gave Rayleigh a deep look before jumping into the sea without hesitation.
"You two..."
Slashing apart Akainu's "Hound Blaze" once more, Rayleigh's gaze fell on Sunbell and Seagull again.
"Sorry, you probably can't leave."
A light, airy voice came from above. A giant black-and-red blade slashed down toward the two, arriving instantly with the whistling sound of breaking air.
Thud—!!
Sunbell and Seagull's hearts skipped a beat. Their pupils constricted violently, and alarm bells rang frantically in their minds, but their bodies couldn't react in time.
Even as veteran pirates who had experienced the Battle of Edd War alongside Roger, they were ultimately defenseless against such absolute speed.
CLANG—!!!
The anticipated bisection didn't happen. A sharp, massive axe blocked the blade horizontally, the crisp sound of impact seemingly piercing their eardrums.
The two men, who had been awaiting death, were instantly pulled back to reality, cold sweat beading on their wrinkled foreheads.
Just now... they had almost died!!
"Isn't living good?"
Atlas frowned as he scrutinised the man with round sunglasses before him.
—Roger's left hand, Gaban!!
"Heh, couldn't be helped. Who told you Marines to be so restless?"
Gaban grinned.
"Hah?! Restless? Is that something a pirate like you should be saying?"
Atlas raised an eyebrow in surprise, finding it somewhat laughable.
It seems this old guy still doesn't understand...
Their era has passed!!
I can't hold on much longer. My stamina is about to bottom out, isn't it? This guy is truly a monster. Where did the Marines suddenly find him?
However...
Marco looked at Whitebeard's corpse with grief. Although riddled with holes, it still stood proudly, Murakumogiri tightly gripped in hand.
Pops, rest in peace!!
Marco mourned silently in his heart before refocusing his attention on the crisis before him.
Clang—!!
Sheathing his sword, an invisible force field crushed down. The surrounding scenery seemed to distort, twist, and writhe rapidly; even the light bent involuntarily.
[Hell's Journey]!!!
Boom—!
Like the final straw that broke the camel's back, Marco was instantly crushed to the ground. The blue Flames of Resurrection on his body dimmed, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted completely.
"Since Whitebeard is dead, our battle should end as well."
Issho spoke slowly, unhurriedly.
The 1st Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, [Phoenix] Marco, arrested!!
Sizzle—!!
Violent sparks flew, and a large amount of diamond fragments splashed out.
If diamonds weren't relatively worthless in this world, women seeing this scene would likely scream in madness.
What a waste of precious things!!!
This guy is tough to deal with...
Jozu looked at the panting "ugly man" (Tokikake/Chaton) in front of him. He cracked his wrist joints, and a large amount of diamond emerged again to cover half his body.
Fighting until now, his stamina made it difficult to maintain high-intensity diamond transformation.
"Whitebeard is already dead. Even if you keep fighting, you can't escape Marineford!"
Chaton wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead and spoke coldly.
"Surrendering is something..."
Before he could finish, a tall shadow suddenly enveloped him, and blinding golden light squeezed out from behind.
"Buddha Shockwave!!"
A thick shockwave descended directly on his head, instantly shattering the hard diamond armor. Jozu spat out a large mouthful of blood.
He lost consciousness immediately, his body collapsing weakly backward!!
The 3rd Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, [Diamond] Jozu, arrested!!
Roar—!!
Just as the Marines were clearing out the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates one by one, a painful howl resounded through the sky.
Everyone looked up toward mid-air.
They saw a massive azure dragon crashing rapidly toward the port position as if drunk!!!
"Hahahahaha! Kaido, why are you running?"
Garp's hearty voice followed.
"It's Kaido!!"
"Everyone, dodge quickly! This guy is a complete lunatic!"
A Marine who had served in the New World shouted sternly.
They had witnessed this man's madness firsthand!
"Since that old man Whitebeard is dead, I'm not playing with you Marines anymore!"
The azure dragon spoke in human language, glancing down slightly at the panicked Marines, and opened its massive maw full of fangs.
Scorching Dragon Breath spewed out, sweeping toward the scattering Marines in pursuit!!
"Kaido!! It seems my fists of love haven't hurt you enough yet!!"
Garp stepped on the air using Moonwalk (Geppo), running rapidly toward Kaido, his fist the size of a clay pot cracking as he clenched it.
"Hm?!!" Hearing this, Kaido instinctively retracted his head. His massive dragon body stepped on flame clouds and flew away from Marineford, his deep voice echoing across the entire island:
"Garp, I'll let you Marines off this time, but that was truly enjoyable!! Hahahaha!!"
Bang—!!
Garp landed heavily beside Sengoku, raising a finger to pick his nose.
"Kaido, that guy really has thick skin. He takes a beating better than my grandson."
"...Forget it. Clean up the battlefield. Kaido's fruit ability is too troublesome; I reckon no one on the Marine side except that brat Atlas can catch up to him."
Sengoku didn't move, speaking calmly.
On the battlefield at this moment, aside from Atlas and Akainu besieging the remnants of the Roger Pirates, a large number of Marines were chasing down the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates.
After all, the war was drawing to a close, and these surviving Whitebeard crew members were walking military merits!!
Sabaody Archipelago, inside an evacuation ship.
Luffy, Sabo, and Ace stared blankly at the huge screen, shock and... lingering fear remaining on their young faces.
After a long while.
"So... this is war?"
Sabo reached out to rub his stiff face, his voice somewhat strained.
"So that uncle is now the World's Strongest Man?"
Luffy tilted his head, asking somewhat naively.
"He should be. After all, Whitebeard was defeated by him. But..." Ace swallowed, his expression somewhat excited, "This is a battle between the true powerhouses of the sea!!"
He had never thought before that human strength could reach such a level.
Stirring the celestial phenomena, manipulating the wind and clouds, even summoning clouds and rain, and destroying an island with a single strike—it was all possible!!!
Such powerhouses, such battles!!
Then how strong must that bastard Roger have been?!
"Sugoi! World's Strongest Man—sounds so majestic!!"
Hearing this, stars appeared in Luffy's eyes; his admiration for Atlas was already overflowing.
At the bottom of the screen, Zephyr's face was grave, showing none of the joy of a won war.
"Teacher Zephyr, you are..."
Ain looked somewhat reverently at the figure slaughtering everyone in Marineford, then turned to see the gloomy Zephyr, her curiosity piqued.
The war was over. The Marines were undoubtedly the biggest beneficiaries, having bared their incredibly sharp fangs to the pirates of the sea. They would likely maintain a certain level of peace for a long time.
"...Do not underestimate Whitebeard's dying words."
Zephyr knew exactly what Ain was thinking and shook his head slowly.
If only the situation would proceed as they envisioned. Unfortunately...
Whitebeard, that bastard!!
He was slightly annoyed. Truly a bastard just like Roger!!
"With two legendary pirates of the old era endorsing it, countless people who originally doubted the existence of the Great Treasure have now gone completely mad."
"It is foreseeable that after this war, countless people will set sail. Regardless of whether they want to find the so-called One Piece, it will still have a huge impact on the order of the sea."
"The so-called dream of pursuing adventure is just an excuse for a group of people whose ambitions do not match their abilities!"
A few days later, big news instantly spread across the entire world.
The Whitebeard Pirates failed to rescue crew member Marshall D. Teach. Whitebeard was killed on the spot at Marine Headquarters by Admiral Candidate White Roar. The remaining members of the Whitebeard Pirates were all arrested.
Additionally, the bounties of all members of the Red Hair Pirates who participated in this war skyrocketed, doubling instantly, making them the hottest great pirates in the New World.
As for the remnants of the Roger Pirates, aside from [Dark King] Rayleigh escaping with a severed arm, none of the other two participating members survived.
Oh, right. Pirate King Roger's left hand, Gaban, fell into the sea heavily injured, and his whereabouts are unknown.
And this war.
The World Economy News Paper named it—[The Summit War]!!!
And the people who witnessed this war, which had far-reaching consequences, were dumbfounded and... uncontrollably fanatical!
Slap—!!
Shakky slammed the freshly printed newspaper down in front of Rayleigh, her expression grave.
"It seems... the price this time was a bit high."
"Yeah. I don't know if Gaban is dead or alive. And Sunbell and Seagull."
"Moreover, I've let down the brothers on the ship..."
Rayleigh shook his head with a bitter smile.
The Marines had reactivated the wanted posters for the Roger Pirates.
Next, they would face endless pursuit from the Marines!
"Also, we can't stay in the Sabaody Archipelago anymore. I've implicated you, Shakky. Sorry."
"What nonsense are you talking about? We've known each other for so many years. Besides, where can't I do business?"
"At worst, we'll run to the Four Blues together. The sea is so big; the Marines can't possibly find us."
Shakky lit a lady's cigarette leisurely, slowly exhaling a puff of secondhand smoke, and spoke indifferently.
"Finding a needle in a haystack" wasn't just a saying.
No matter how powerful the Marine intelligence network was, finding someone determined to hide in the vast ocean was ultimately unrealistic.
"Besides..."
Rustle—!!!
Shakky held the cigarette in her mouth, flipping the newspaper in her hands, frowning:
"The World Economy News Paper doesn't seem to have reported the trouble caused by Beckman and the others in Impel Down?"
"That's normal. After all, they just defeated the Whitebeard Pirates; naturally, news of Impel Down being breached can't be released."
"Also, regarding Morgans of the World Economy News Paper... don't overestimate his bottom line. Offending the World Government comes in degrees of severity."
Rayleigh shook his head; he was used to it.
Despite Morgans appearing to dare report anything, he also assessed the situation when it touched the World Government's bottom line.
Although the World Economy News Paper's base hadn't been discovered by the World Government's intelligence agencies yet...
If the officials were determined to crackdown on the World Economy News Paper, their sales would definitely plummet!!
Whether Morgans, the King of the Underworld, could retain his influence then remained unknown.
"However, the Marines exposed a lot of hidden strength this time. Although they don't hold the rank of Admiral, in terms of power, they are already sufficient to serve as the Marines' highest combat force—Issho and... White Roar."
Shakky exhaled a cloud of thick smoke slowly, her expression inscrutable.
"White Roar? Indeed, a troublesome guy."
Rayleigh's face froze, and he subconsciously touched his empty right sleeve.
That sword... was truly sharp!!