After finishing off Teach, Allen left the battlefield and headed to the rear of the plaza. He found an empty spot to sit and looked down at Marineford, which was engulfed in artillery fire and smoke.
This war, capable of altering the global landscape, no longer had anything to do with him. No matter how it ultimately concluded, he had no need to intervene.
Now, it was merely about witnessing the outcome. Allen did not even have much interest in that; after all, there was truly nothing to look forward to in a predetermined ending.
The only ones on the entire battlefield who could warrant a second glance from him were those two brothers.
At this moment, under the full cover of the Whitebeard Pirates, Luffy and Ace had already broken through the Marine encirclement.
The pursuing Sengoku was intercepted by Jinbe and Ivankov, while Aokiji was stalled by Marco and Jozu.
A phoenix who could rapidly recover from any injury, and a Twinkle-Twinkle Fruit user whose entire body was as hard as diamond—this combination boasted an essentially flawless defense.
In the short term, it was virtually impossible for Aokiji to break past Marco and Jozu.
However, even having broken through the Marine encirclement, as long as they had not left Marineford, Luffy and Ace were far from safe.
Even though Whitebeard had single-handedly split a massive section of the battlefield, rendering the majority of the Marines incapable of crossing the giant chasm to pursue them, he could not stop the elite officers from giving chase.
"Ace! Straw Hat kid, the escape ship is ready! Hurry over here!"
Just as the two leaped from the plaza down to the frozen bay, a pirate immediately shouted to guide them. At the same time, the various division commanders under Whitebeard's banner rushed forward to receive them.
"Hurry and go, Ace! Leave this place to us!"
"As long as you escape successfully, this war is over!"
"You guys go first! We'll retreat right after!"
Doma, Thunder Lord McGuy, Whitey Bay the Ice Witch, and others shouted one after another, rushing past the two to intercept the pursuing Marine Rear Admirals and Vice Admirals.
"Everyone... Wait, where's Pops?!"
Moved by their actions, Ace suddenly realized something and hurriedly asked the nearby pirates.
They had been constantly breaking through the lines just now. With nothing but a sea of white Marine uniforms around them, his attention had been entirely focused on the battle directly in front of him, leaving him unable to pay attention to the rest of the battlefield.
Now that they had broken out, the first person Ace thought of was Whitebeard.
However, faced with his question, the surrounding pirates clenched their fists, looking as though they wanted to speak but could not bring themselves to do so.
Seeing their reactions, Ace's expression grew increasingly grim. A bad premonition had already taken root in his heart.
Realizing what this meant, he did not ask any further. Instead, he decisively turned around, intending to head back to the battlefield.
"Where are you going, Ace?!"
Luffy hurriedly shouted, reaching out to block Ace. Seeing this, the nearby pirates also immediately rushed forward to pin down the retreating Ace.
"Don't be reckless, Ace!"
"The Marines used you to force Pops to come here! If you don't leave, it'll be even more impossible for Pops to leave!"
"Pops only has a chance to retreat if you escape first! Calm down, Ace!"
"Are you kidding me?! Pops is risking his life for me! You want me to pretend I don't see that and just run away by myself?! How could I possibly do that?!"
Ace roared hoarsely, struggling desperately as he was pinned to the ground. Even with Luffy wrapping his arms around him several times, he could barely hold him down.
"Let me go! I have to go back and help Pops!"
"You can't, Ace! Don't you understand?! Pops never planned on making it back alive from the very beginning!"
"We've already paid too high a price in this war! We can't lose you too, Ace!"
The pirates cried and shouted, tears and snot streaming down their faces as they held Ace down with a death grip. No matter what, they could not let Ace return to the battlefield.
"Bring the Seastone handcuffs!"
"Even if we have to knock him out, we're getting him out of here!"
Soon, someone ran up from behind with Seastone cuffs, preparing to shackle Ace and drag him away by force.
However, right at that moment, a beam of golden light descended from the sky, accompanied by a resonant, mocking voice.
"Yare yare, how truly touching."
Hearing this familiar voice, Luffy's expression changed drastically. He whipped his head around, and Kizaru's wretched face—which had cast a massive shadow over him not long ago—immediately filled his vision.
"Ki... Kizaru...!"
Luffy's pupils trembled in terror. The image of his crewmates falling one by one at this man's hands on the Sabaody Archipelago just days ago now seemed poised to repeat itself with Ace.
"Long time no see, Straw Hat kid. You always manage to stir up such headache-inducing trouble."
Kizaru complained, raising his hand. A golden light bloomed from his fingertip, gradually brightening as if charging up.
In the distance, Allen, who had been watching to see if the two could successfully escape, frowned at this sight. His expression involuntarily turned peculiar.
'Kizaru, the Glint-Glint Fruit user. Wasn't firing a laser supposed to be instantaneous?'
'What is he charging up for?'
'Slowly adjusting the brightness of his glowing finger, pretending to charge up to make the laser more powerful?'
'Is he intentionally holding back, or is this just a bad habit born from his naturally lazy personality...'
Allen truly wasn't sure. Although the latter seemed bizarre, there really were many people in this world who were just that bizarre—some even more so.
However.
If Kizaru didn't finish off Ace soon, he might not get the chance later.
Allen slowly raised his head, his gaze looking out toward the misty surface of the sea.
From within the white fog, a massive sailing ship slowly emerged. Aside from the natural color of the wood, its hull bore a reddish hue. At the top of the mast, a Jolly Roger with claw marks over its left eye fluttered wildly in the wind.
The pirate crew slowly sailed into the bay. The Marines near the artillery batteries noticed the approaching vessel and hurriedly turned to look.
"On guard! Pirates have entered the bay!"
"Quickly confirm the enemy's identity!"
"Could that be...! The Red Force!"
"This is bad! The Red Hair Pirates are here!"
Upon recognizing the newcomers, all the Marines in the bay shouted in panic.
Word spread like wildfire, and the commotion at the port quickly reached the inner bay and the plaza.
Sengoku, transformed into a giant golden Buddha, narrowed his eyes and glared coldly toward the port.
Red-Haired Shanks stood expressionless at the bow of the ship. Benn Beckman, Yasopp, Lucky Roux, and the other top officers lined up behind him.
"Red-Haired Shanks... Arriving at Marineford at a time like this. What exactly is this guy planning?!"
Sengoku stared at Shanks with icy eyes.
On the other side, the Golden Lion, hovering in midair, also noticed the arrival of Red Hair and his crew. The corner of his mouth, clamping down on a cigar, curled up in amusement.
"Isn't this the brat from Roger's ship back in the day? Quite the imposing presence. You've really made something of yourself, Ji-hahahaha."
"So, is he here to help Whitebeard, or is he taking this opportunity to claim Whitebeard's head?"
The Golden Lion half-closed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing within them.
Today, he would be the only one to send Whitebeard to his grave. No one else was worthy!