"What arrogant boasting!"
Marco's arms transformed into the wings of a phoenix as he prepared to charge at Teach. At the same time, Vista unsheathed his dual blades and dashed forward alongside him.
Izo raised both guns, aiming at Teach, who was laughing wildly. The other enemies—even Lafitte, who had taken to the skies—were completely obscured by the darkness Teach had unleashed, making them impossible to locate.
With their Observation Haki fully activated, the three division commanders sensed the hidden enemies within the darkness and launched their attack on Teach!
"This... something's wrong!"
Vista suddenly froze, his finely honed instincts as a great swordsman alerting him to an anomaly. Though his Observation Haki detected nothing amiss, he felt an eerie sensation—as if a blade was pressed against his throat!
But none of Teach's crew had swordsmen of this caliber!
"Marco! Fall back! It's an ambush!"
Too late!
Shing—
A sharp, resonant blade hum filled the air as a massive flying slash shot toward Marco!
"Damn it!"
Vista gritted his teeth and prepared to intervene, but at that moment, a calm voice rang out:
"Fixation: Heart!"
Thud!
Vista spat out a mouthful of blood—this was... cardiac arrest!
His heart felt as if it had been forcibly frozen in place, and as his body moved at high speed, the abrupt halt sent a jarring shock through his chest!
If not for Vista's formidable constitution as a great swordsman, he would have collapsed unconscious from the blow!
"Bastard!"
A furious shout echoed from behind. Vista, struggling to turn his head, felt dizzy from the damage to his heart.
"...Izo!"
At that moment, Izo was locked in battle with a figure clad in a justice coat patterned with distinctive yellow checkered squares.
"What a pity~ You should just stay right here, little brother~"
A lecherous voice followed. "Such a pretty face... what a shame you're not a lady~ Truly a waste~"
"You!"
Izo seethed with fury but was secretly alarmed. He had no choice but to focus all his efforts on dealing with his opponent.
The man before him was no ordinary marine—he was "Chaton" Tokikake, a candidate for the rank of admiral, possessing strength on par with an admiral himself!
"Marco, Vista!"
Vista's eyes burned with rage as he turned toward Marco, who had failed to evade the incoming slash. Given Marco's Observation Haki, how could he possibly fail to dodge a flying slash attack?
"That's..."
A stunning figure wielding a long blade stepped forward, a seductive smile gracing her lips.
"My dear guests~ What's the rush?"
"A great swordsman... A candidate for Admiral from Marine Headquarters... 'Momousagi' Gion!"
"You... The Navy! Teach, you bastard!"
Though Marco had been slashed, his regenerating flames blazed, rapidly healing his wounds and restoring his fiery wings in an instant.
"It's a trap!"
"Marco! Get out of here!"
Vista, kneeling on one knee, tried to rise again, but a voice behind him made his entire body stiffen:
"Vista... perhaps you should worry about yourself first!"
"Vice Admiral Rosinante of the Marine G-5 Branch!"
Vista felt a chill run down his spine. This recently prominent Vice Admiral, Rosinante, was one of Admiral Wright's most trusted subordinates, personally appointed to command G-5.
Unlike the former G-5 commander, Vice Admiral Smoker, Rosinante rarely engaged in direct combat. But every time he did, he defeated his opponents in bizarre ways, leaving even the Whitebeard Pirates—who frequently clashed with G-5—unable to discern his exact abilities!
Still, Vista rapidly recalled the few known details about Rosinante's combat style.
"So it's him... Damn it! I should have realized! A power that disrupts Observation Haki!"
"And these strange, unavoidable attacks..."
Vista took a deep, labored breath and forced himself to his feet.
"So, Teach, you colluded with the Navy to take all three of us down in one fell swoop?!"
"Zehahahaha!"
Thick darkness swirled around Teach like a monstrous beast baring its fangs.
"Finally figured it out? Not bad, Vista! Your keen senses as a great swordsman saved Marco's life!"
Teach swung both arms, sending a tide of darkness surging toward Marco.
"If you had hesitated even a second longer, Marco would have been far worse off once I got my hands on him!"
Marco flapped his wings, evading the encroaching darkness, only to find Teach vanishing into its depths. At the same time, the elegant female swordsman closed in swiftly, her long blade ready to strike.
"Damn it... The Navy actually deployed two Admiral candidates!"
"How is this any different from sending out two full Admirals?! And with three Vice Admirals of this caliber... The Navy... ugh!"
Marco suddenly felt an iron grip clamp around his ankle, yanking him down and throwing him off balance!
Shing—
A powerful flying slash narrowly missed his abdomen! In a desperate move, Marco forcefully flapped his wings, sacrificing one in the process to barely evade the precisely aimed attack!
"Marco, we're quite familiar with each other by now. You should know—beating me is one thing, but escaping from me? That's a tall order."
Rosinante stood nonchalantly, a cigarette between his lips, his hands casually tucked into his coat pockets. He looked even more relaxed than the two Admiral candidates beside him.
"Surrender now... and don't look at me like that. The Navy hasn't broken our agreement about not deploying Admirals first."
Rosinante cleared his throat and glanced at the three furious division commanders.
"I mean, we only sent three Vice Admirals. And Admiral candidates... are still Vice Admirals, aren't they?"
"Zehahahaha! I can vouch for that! Marco, none of you are getting away today!"
The overwhelming darkness surged forward, swallowing their last glimmers of hope.
"Pops... your sons have failed you..."
...
World Economy News Headquarters.
Newspapers flew off the presses at a record pace, and Morgans was ecstatic.
"Hahahaha! It hasn't even been long since Straw Hat took down a Warlord, and now the Navy has pulled off something massive!"
"Admiral Wright's plan is truly extraordinary!"
The world was once again shaken by groundbreaking news, and in an instant, the tides of the era grew more turbulent than ever before.
The Marine Headquarters had dispatched three formidable Vice Admirals, working in tandem with the newly appointed Warlord of the Sea, Marshall D. Teach, to launch a decisive strike against the Whitebeard Pirates—successfully capturing three of their division commanders in one fell swoop!
Among them was none other than Marco the Phoenix, the First Division Commander and Whitebeard's de facto right-hand man!
The Marines had executed their operation with ruthless efficiency, striking before the Whitebeard Pirates could even react. Before anyone could grasp the full extent of what had transpired, the three division commanders were already imprisoned in Impel Down. And as if everything had been meticulously planned long in advance, the next step of the Marine's strategy was immediately declared to the world—
A public execution of the three Whitebeard Pirates division commanders at Marineford!
This was a long-standing tradition of both the Marines and the World Government—to publicly execute powerful and influential pirates, sending a clear message to deter others from following in their footsteps.
But this time…
Wasn't the target of this so-called deterrence completely off the mark?!
After all—this was Whitebeard, a man who had ruled the seas as one of the Four Emperors for over two decades!
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