"The ship fell from the sky. Is that your Captain, Straw Hat?"
In the spacious lounge, Hathaway, Stella, and Robin sat on the sofa, watching the global broadcast.
"He really seems like a lively child!" Stella covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
Robin nodded with a faint smile, then stared intently at Luffy in the broadcast.
"Is that Buggy? Her Majesty has been thinking about him for a long time. I didn't expect his first appearance to be such a grand scene."
Seeing the familiar figure, Hathaway was momentarily stunned. Nero was right; Buggy had been waiting for an opportunity.
"And Crocodile, he's tougher than I imagined. Even after being captured, he didn't seek Her Majesty's help."
"I've heard of Crocodile too. He's a Shichibukai, right? It's really impressive that Robin-chan's Captain could defeat him!"
Stella also curiously stared at the domineering man, with his cloak and cigar. Despite looking like a group of people who had just escaped from prison, he was truly a man who paid attention to details.
"Haha… it's nothing, let's keep watching the broadcast." Robin chuckled, unconsciously touching the den den mushi in her arms with one hand.
"Rosinante, you should come sit with us and watch too. The heart of the palace is very safe."
Stella waved to Rosinante, who was standing guard by the door, inviting him to watch together.
Rosinante quickly waved his hand in refusal: "No, thank you, Queen. I can see very clearly from here."
Stella didn't insist too much. It would indeed be inconvenient if Rosinante sat with them.
"Besides, I also need to resist Her Majesty's Haki. Standing keeps me more alert."
Rosinante flicked his lighter. He was no longer the rookie he once was; Nicuss's resources had been heavily directed towards him.
Now, even an Admiral, he had the power to fight. However, he was still very worried about Sengoku in this battle, as Whitebeard's strength had long been deeply ingrained in people's minds.
The lighter ignited, and half his body caught fire. Rosinante stopped thinking and rolled on the ground.
Robin's face was filled with black lines. Was such a guy really a strong individual?
…Nero was alone at the top of the Sky City, not watching the broadcast with the others.
However, her extremely powerful Observation Haki extended all the way from Nicuss to Marineford.
The atmosphere was heating up… As a war broke out, Nero's Haki involuntarily leaked, and people in Nicuss were occasionally affected.
She saw Monkey D. Luffy charging towards Ace in this war. His skill level could barely be called mediocre, yet countless experts cleared a path for him.
Jinbe, Crocodile, Whitebeard's Division Commanders… Even Mihawk's probing attack was intercepted by others. It was unclear whether it was his own charm or Nika's characteristic.
But he wasn't the main character today. From beginning to end, the Marine's unspoken agreement was to leave Whitebeard. Ace was merely a fuse.
"Let me also see what 'fate' entails. Nika, the Sun God, combined with the Captain's son—can they truly bring about a miracle in such an disadvantageous situation?"
But the next moment, Nero suddenly cursed: "Stupid idiot!"
Far away in Marineford, Whitebeard was ambushed. A long blade pierced him from behind… Marineford.
Everyone in the world watched this scene in disbelief. That monstrously powerful Whitebeard was actually injured.
And he hadn't even truly entered the battle yet.
Piercing Whitebeard's chest was none other than Squard, the commander of a branch of his pirate crew, the Great Whirlpool Spider.
Whitebeard showed no defense against Squard, who exhibited clear abnormalities, and was so easily ambushed from behind.
That's why Nero called him foolish. These disappointing children were both Whitebeard's dream and his weakness.
In his youth, he had enough strength to cover this up, but now, it was a fatal flaw.
After Squard revealed his reason for ambushing Whitebeard—that Whitebeard wanted to exchange the lives of his pirate crew for Ace's life—
In Whitebeard's embrace, given without a hint of resentment, Squard finally understood that it was all a Marine conspiracy.
Realizing what he had done, Squard knelt despairingly on the Moby Dick, crying helplessly and apologizing tearfully to Whitebeard, Ace, and everyone else.
The Marine's treacherous plot thoroughly enraged Whitebeard. Gripping his naginata, Murakumogiri, he leaped off the Moby Dick. As his feet touched the ice created by Kuzan, a twisted gleam flashed from the pure gold on his wrist.
The man hailed as the world's strongest had entered the fray.
Clenching his hands in the air, Whitebeard's fingers left streaks in space, followed by an upheaval of heaven and earth.
The sea split, islands tilted, the world itself twisted, and the Marine's formation was shattered by this single blow.
Even the Giant Vice Admiral who tried to stop Whitebeard was sent flying, but he didn't lose consciousness. He raised his tens of meters long greatsword and continued to slash at Whitebeard.
"You're in the way!"
Whitebeard's figure vanished from his original spot. When he reappeared, he had leaped high, parallel to the Giant Vice Admiral's face.
His massive fist left cracks in the air, then transformed into a shockwave that sent the Giant Vice Admiral flying, continuing its trajectory unchecked towards the execution platform.
Unfortunately, this attack was blocked by the combined efforts of the three Marine Admirals.
The Whitebeard Pirates also seized the opportunity to launch a new wave of assault.
In just two moves, significant results were achieved, but Nero, watching from afar, furrowed her brow.
Newgate's body might be in worse condition than she had imagined.
Just as all members of the Whitebeard Pirates moved out, thick steel gates rose from beneath the ice, surrounding everyone.
It wasn't that the gates were made of steel; the special metal was impervious to both cannon fire and swords.
"Meteor Volcano!"
Akainu Sakazuki made his move at this moment, his scorching magma fists precisely landing inside the gates from the sky.
The ice Kuzan had created for them to stand on melted, and the seawater heated to an unbearable temperature.
The members of the Whitebeard Pirates desperately searched for various footholds, and Whitebeard himself struck again, punching one of the gates.
"Nani? Old Man's attack didn't work?"
"Masaka!"
"Damn it, is there no way out?"
Cannons emerged from the walls, aiming at everyone. Akainu's attack also covered the Moby Dick behind them.
When the pirate ship was engulfed in flames, Whitebeard's pupils trembled violently, and his robust body seemed to hunch slightly.
It was only then that everyone realized the main gates weren't completely sealed. One gate was pressed down by the fallen Demon Oars Jr., and his blood had seeped into the gate's mechanism, causing it to malfunction.
"My sons! Attack through Oars!" Whitebeard roared.
At this moment, Monkey D. Luffy single-handedly managed to hold off the three Marine Admirals… Old Garp watched from the platform. Ace was raised by Garp, which was no secret among the Marine high command.
Now, his last biological grandson was here. If he were killed, the Monkey family line would end.
The three Admirals were also unsure of Garp's reaction if they were to act now.
If Garp were to cause trouble at this moment, there would be no extra combat power to stop him, and the big boss, Whitebeard, hadn't been dealt with yet!
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