A figure stepped out from the corner of Marineford.
Behind him followed several infamous criminals whose names alone could shock the world.
Besides familiar faces like Jesus Burgess, Van Augur, and Doc Q.
There were also monsters from Level Six of Impel Down.
Avalo Pizarro, the "Corrupt King."
Laffitte, the "Demon Sheriff."
Catarina Devon, the "Crescent Moon Hunter."
Sanjuan Wolf, the "Colossal Battleship."
Vasco Shot, the "Heavy Drinker."
And most importantly the former Chief Jailer of Impel Down, Shiryu.
Every one of them was a Level Six monster.
It was obvious now.
Marshall D. Teach had gone to Impel Down.
And while Renji was causing chaos there, Blackbeard had taken the opportunity to release the Level Six prisoners and recruit them.
The reason Renji hadn't brought those monsters out wasn't because they lacked strength.
Anyone imprisoned on Level Six was at least Warlord level.
The real issue was that they were impossible to control.
They would never cooperate with Renji.
Blackbeard looked at Renji, who was being surrounded by the three Admirals and over a dozen elite Vice Admirals.
A sinister grin spread across his face.
"You think I'd let you escape that easily?"
"If the old man doesn't die, how can I establish myself in the New World?"
"And if I can't establish myself there, how am I supposed to become Pirate King?"
As he spoke, Blackbeard glanced at the criminals behind him.
"You lot go prepare a ship for escape."
"Now that I've released you, the Marines will never let me go, even with my Warlord title."
"For now, it's better if you don't show yourselves."
He paused briefly.
"As for me…"
"I'll go make things difficult for the Whitebeard alliance."
Dark mist erupted around him.
At this point, Blackbeard's mastery over the Dark-Dark Fruit had already reached a terrifying level.
After all this was the Devil Fruit he had obsessed over for decades.
"Leave Ace behind!!"
With a furious roar, Aokiji attacked first.
Countless ice spears materialized around Renji.
Under Aokiji's control, they shot toward him from every direction.
"You must be dreaming."
Renji looked at Aokiji like he was an idiot.
The entire purpose of this war was to rescue Ace.
Thousands had already died for it.
Vice Captains.
Powerful allies from Whitebeard's territories.
All sacrificed.
And now Aokiji expected him to stop just because he said so?
"Quake…"
Cracks spread around Renji's body.
The quake power remained restrained, ready to erupt at any moment.
It was as if he had created an invisible barrier made entirely from quake energy.
The incoming ice spears shattered instantly upon contact.
After the ice spears were completely shattered, a trace of pride flashed through Renji's eyes.
"Airquake!"
With a furious roar, endless quake energy exploded outward from his body.
Cracks spread through the air at incredible speed.
The overwhelming vibrations directly forced more than ten elite Vice Admirals backward.
At that exact moment Akainu arrived.
"Together! Use Armament Haki to block it!"
Hearing Akainu's command, Kizaru and Aokiji immediately nodded.
The three Admirals stood side by side with both hands raised forward.
Armament Haki surged from their bodies.
The combined power of the three Admirals forcefully suppressed Renji's quake shockwaves.
"Can I help?"
At this moment, Portgas D. Ace had mostly recovered.
He couldn't use Geppo, so aerial combat put him at a disadvantage.
For a while, he didn't even dare move too much, afraid of interfering with Renji.
"Not yet."
"Your top priority right now is getting back to the old man."
Renji directly refused Ace's request.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced toward Edward Newgate.
Whitebeard had already risen from his seat aboard the Moby Dick.
Clearly, after resting for a while, part of his strength had returned.
"Only once you're back beside the old man will you truly be safe."
"And then we can retreat quickly."
Ace scratched his head helplessly.
"But…"
"I still can't get over there."
"Throw him to me. I'll take him over."
At that moment, Marco's voice rang out from below.
It wasn't just Marco.
Jozu, several Division Commanders, and many captains allied with Whitebeard were already preparing themselves.
The only reason they hadn't moved earlier was because Renji and the others were fighting in the air.
"Good."
Renji nodded.
Golden light began flickering around his body.
"Not good!"
The moment Kizaru saw that glow, his expression changed.
As the user of the Glint-Glint Fruit, he instantly understood what Renji intended to do.
"Scatter immediately!"
"He's about to use Yasakani no Magatama!"
The Glint-Glint Fruit's indiscriminate attack technique.
Its attack power might seem low and the energy scattered, but thanks to the lasers' piercing ability, it could still deal considerable damage even to Vice Admiral-level fighters.
"Glint-Glint…"
Renji rapidly gathered the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit into both hands.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
The moment he called out the technique's name, countless golden lasers poured toward the three Admirals like an endless storm!
The elite Vice Admirals, who had just been forced back by the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, hadn't even had time to move forward again before retreating once more.
And it wasn't only the Vice Admirals.
Even Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru were forced to temporarily fall back.
"I'm here!"
"Zehahaha!"
An extremely irritating laugh echoed out.
The next second Marshall D. Teach appeared in midair.
He had hidden his abilities well. Somehow, he had already learned Geppo.
Now he stood directly in front of the three Admirals.
Endless black mist surged outward and formed a wall before him.
The lasers Renji fired were instantly swallowed by the darkness.
Seeing Blackbeard appear, Renji frowned.
It wasn't that he was surprised Blackbeard had shown up.
Nor was he unaware that Blackbeard had become one of the Seven Warlords.
After betraying Whitebeard, the safest path for Blackbeard was naturally to kill Whitebeard completely.
So joining forces with the Marines was entirely within Renji's expectations.
With a casual toss, Renji used the distance created between both sides to throw Portgas D. Ace toward Marco.
"Wait for me, Renji!"
"I'll take Ace back to Pops first, then I'll come help you!"
Renji nodded.
Then his gaze shifted toward Blackbeard.
"So this is the power you were chasing after?"
"Teach."
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