As he spoke, after seeing their gazes turn back to him, his expression hardened, and his tone became cold. "I can't let you continue like this any longer. Marshall D. Teach, your existence is far too dangerous for the sea. No matter what, I will take you back. Even if you're a corpse, I'll still take you back!"
Everyone: "...?!"
The moment his words fell, just as everyone heard him and their expressions changed, Borsalino instantly transformed into a beam of light, leaving behind a cold, indifferent voice.
"All of you, stop them! Absolutely do not let them escape!"
"Damn it, your opponent is us!"
Ace charged forward angrily, also transforming into flames, seemingly trying to catch up to the light.
After letting out a loud cry, Marco transformed into a flaming bird and followed closely behind.
He also shouted toward the Straw Hat crew on Enies Lobby, whose faces were filled with panic: "You find a way to leave first! Ace and I will hold him back!"
These sudden words snapped the Straw Hat crew back to their senses, their faces showing conflict and hesitation.
But at this moment, Luffy took a deep breath, pulled his hat down low, and, as if using all his strength, shouted loudly: "We're going to retreat!!!"
Right now, they were not qualified to take part in this battle. But one day…
"We will definitely become stronger, strong enough that we won't have to run away like this anymore!"
As these words fell, the expressions of the Straw Hat crew also became firm. The corners of their mouths lifted slightly with smiles as they shouted in unison: "Retreat!"
Immediately after, without any hesitation, they all turned their heads, intending to bypass the battlefield ahead and rush toward the harbor.
However, the moment they turned around, they saw Teach, who had already run ahead and opened up some distance.
Aside from Luffy, whose face remained serious, everyone else had black lines across their faces.
Sure enough, this guy... really isn't a good person!
And Teach seemed to sense the dissatisfied gazes behind him. After knocking back a marine, he let out a bold laugh. "Luffy, everyone, let's charge out of here together!"
As his words fell, the Straw Hat crew no longer hesitated, charging toward the marines and agents blocking their path.
They had to break out of here. They had to survive!
Only…
"Zoro, where did you run off to? Over here! You directionless idiot!"
...
"Bang!"
The three clashed once again. With Borsalino being tightly engaged, he had no choice but to stop his offensive and deal with the two behind him, while glancing at the Straw Hat crew and Teach as they slowly approached the harbor under the encirclement of marines and agents.
"This is really troublesome!"
Borsalino rubbed his forehead with a headache while opening that strange mouth of his.
"Looks like when I get back, I'll get scolded again. I really should've stopped CP9's plan earlier. If I had, things wouldn't have turned out this bad."
The Whitebeard Pirates, the Umbrella Corporation... Two Yonko-level forces had gotten involved.
If Teach were allowed to escape, the Marine Headquarters and the World Government would truly lose face this time.
"Fine, since things have come to this."
After letting out a long sigh, Borsalino's aura condensed, and he stared coldly at the two in front of him. "Then I'll just have to take care of both of you!"
As soon as his words fell, a fierce aura exploded from his body, instantly crushing outward in all directions.
Borsalino's entire body burst forth with dazzling light.
Enies Lobby, which had been dim and relied only on lamps and scattered flames for illumination, became as bright as day in that instant.
This sudden change made Marco and Ace's expressions turn grave. They exchanged a glance and, without any hesitation, charged straight forward.
Borsalino, however, seemed to ignore their attacks. He flew into the air, as if looking down upon everything below. With his arms crossed in front of his chest, his fingers formed a unique hand gesture.
In the blink of an eye, countless particles of light gathered at his fingertips.
In the blink of an eye, they transformed into innumerable dazzling light bullets that shot toward the direction of the Straw Hat crew.
Yasakani no Magatama!
This sudden, wide-area attack caused Marco and Ace's expressions to change drastically.
Without hesitation, the two of them frantically squeezed the power within their bodies.
Blue flames of life and scorching fire suddenly burst forth from within their bodies. Dense flames seemed to want to envelop the sky, which was filled with light bullets.
Marco's expression was solemn as he shaped the flames of life into a gigantic circular shield.
As for Ace, his approach was far simpler and more brutal. The flames surged skyward, forming a towering wall of fire that firmly protected the Straw Hat crew.
However, the two of them, who were frantically overexerting their abilities, were also beginning to run low on stamina.
Especially since Ace had entered this state and his stamina was being continuously drained, even his breathing had become somewhat rapid.
At the instant when light and flames collided, a powerful shock wave surged outward in all directions, as if to destroy everything. Even the entire Enies Lobby began to tremble.
But this was not enough.
Gazing at Borsalino, whose entire body was radiating light, Ace did not hesitate any longer. Letting out a roar, he once again forced his ability to its limits.
As Ace's roar fell, an indescribable flame filled with a destructive aura burst forth from his body, continuously compressing and converging. He seemed to truly become the embodiment of fire; no, he was the embodiment of fire.
Even Marco at the side was filled with shock in his eyes. Looking at Ace, who had gathered the flames into a gigantic fireball like the sun, he could not help but let out a sigh of amazement at the strength of the Umbrella Corporation and at this young Ace.
Only to see Ace, holding a massive ball of blazing flames, not stopping at all. With a roar that resounded across the entire sea, he charged toward Borsalino and unleashed his attack.
"Your light isn't as dazzling as Mr. Ian's. It's full of confusion and chaos. That kind of light can't kill me!"