"You can hit harder, I can take it!"
Aeridar slowly raised his head, a malicious, evil grin on his face as he looked at Jinbe with mockery.
As he spoke, a terrifying killing intent surged out like a tide.
"You monster!"
Even Jinbe involuntarily held his breath and was forced to retreat several steps.
"If this is all the strength you have…" Brushing the dust off the boot-print on his chest, Aeridar grinned and said, "Then, you might die right here!"
"AHHH—"
Suddenly, a strong, powerful shout drew the attention of both men.
"Huh~ To still sound so robust, that's strange." Aeridar tilted his neck, looking with surprise at the recovering Luffy not far away. He muttered to himself, "The power of the Horm-Horm Fruit is quite something. Should I…"
"Luffy!"
Though he didn't understand how Luffy had recovered, Jinbe still let out a sigh of relief.
After clashing with Aeridar, he realized the man's power was astonishing, and he had been genuinely worried that Luffy might have been beaten to death.
"Straw Hat-boy, you go first. We'll hold this fellow back!" Ivankov rubbed his chest, instructing Luffy.
"Got it. Be extremely careful, both of you!" Luffy nodded emphatically.
"Relax. With Jinbe and I working together, plus the support of the people around us, we can at least buy you some time!" Ivankov waved his hand and commanded sharply, "Go now!"
Luffy remained silent and sprinted forward.
"Try and stop me if you can!"
Aeridar's body flashed, and he instantly vanished from the spot.
"Not a chance! Hee-haw!"
Newkama Kenpo, 44 Secret Spa Arts Ultimate Attack: Hair Removal Fist!
Ivankov suddenly intercepted Aeridar's path. His hands, shaped like blades, struck at a point in mid-air with incredible speed, creating afterimages.
BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM…
Aeridar's figure appeared like a phantom, his arms continually blocking and swiftly counterattacking, clashing with Ivankov in a fierce melee.
Seeing the ripple of air blasts and the countless dust and air currents kicked up in the air, Jinbe's expression turned solemn. He held his palm downward, and in a moment, a water sphere formed around his hand.
"Fish-Man Karate, Secret Technique: Buraikan!!"
Jinbe roared, sharply swinging his arm out. The water sphere shot forth like an arrow, so fast that it was barely visible to the naked eye, leaving only a distinct trace in the air.
WHOOSH!
"Get out of my way!"
Hearing the piercing sound, Aeridar leaped into the air, sweeping his leg out like lightning, striking Ivankov. At the same time, the muscles in his arm bulged, his veins popping, as he punched into the air to the side.
CLANG!
CRACK!
Ivankov was sent flying backward, his arms crossed in defense, while the air on the side was already showing rapidly spreading cracks. The invisible force of the tremor immediately expanded.
FWOOM—
The arrow-like water ball instantly halted in mid-air, bursting into a spray of water and completely neutralizing the invisible yet powerful tremor.
"Luffy, go on ahead!"
Ivankov adjusted his posture in the air and landed steadily. He yelled, "Jinbe, let's attack together! Hee-haw!"
"Jinbe! Iva-chan! You both be careful!"
Luffy shouted as he sprinted past, breaking through Aeridar's obstruction thanks to the cover of Ivankov and Jinbe.
"Boring!"
Watching Ivankov and Jinbe simultaneously attack him, Aeridar curled his lip and glanced dismissively at Luffy.
To speak arrogantly, if Aeridar had truly wanted to kill Luffy, with his instantaneous movement ability, even Whitebeard would have difficulty stopping him.
In reality, he was only putting on a show for the Marines. It was just that his flare-up of Bloodlust Syndrome had nearly caused him to genuinely kill Luffy.
"Face Spectrum!"
Ivankov, still running, suddenly thrust his face forward, moving at extreme speed. His giant head created afterimages, making it impossible to distinguish the real body.
Following this, a dozen or so afterimages of the huge face, their eyes bloodshot with long, dense eyelashes, stared at Aeridar and blinked at high speed.
"Galaxy Wink!!"
BEEP—
Nearly ten fierce, explosive winds rushed at him at once.
"Impact Wall!"
Aeridar remained calm, casually extending both palms. A powerful, invisible shockwave and Haki passed through his body, immediately forming a wall-like air pressure in front of him that was visible to the eye.
RUMBLE—
The fierce explosion created a turbulent blast of air that kicked up dust several meters high, instantly blanketing the area.
At this moment, using the smoke screen formed by the large cloud of dust, Jinbe had already broken through to Aeridar's front. He abruptly halted his feet, relying on inertia and the collective force of his body to punch out a true fist wrapped in sharp, powerful air currents.
"Shark Brick Fist!!"
BAM!
RUMBLE—
As the two fists collided, a wave of distorted ripples immediately swept out. The ground instantly cracked, covered in dense, spiderweb-like fissures.
"My, my~ You almost got me. That was close!" Aeridar lifted a playful, teasing smile, taunting Jinbe in front of him.
"Don't lie!" Jinbe's face darkened.
"Tch~ It failed. What a monster!" Ivankov was utterly helpless.
"I don't have time to play around here. My target is Whitebeard, after all." Seeing Jinbe retract his fist and retreat, Aeridar curled his lip and turned to look at Whitebeard, who was facing the two Marine Admirals, Sakazuki and Borsalino.
As for Aokiji Kuzan, he was temporarily held up by Jozu. In the sky, Marco, having seen the Navy's new executioner was in place, was constantly looking for a chance to rescue Ace, but his attempts were repeatedly blocked by Garp.
Unlike the original story, the fully healthy Whitebeard fighting two Admirals plus a swarm of elite Marines was locked in a brutal, even battle.
Of course, had it not been for Borsalino using the speed of his Glint-Glint Fruit ability to keep Whitebeard occupied, Sakazuki, who was confronting him head-on, might have been half-dead already. Even so, the Marine side was suffering heavy losses, with countless elite naval soldiers either dead or wounded.
Despite the situation, the battle remained fierce. Whitebeard had sustained multiple injuries, with his shoulders, abdomen, arms, and thighs all being pierced by Borsalino's 'Lasers' or badly burned by Sakazuki's magma.
Borsalino, relying on his speed, remained completely unscathed. However, Sakazuki, though fighting like a madman and inflicting numerous wounds on Whitebeard during their head-on clash, was himself bloodied and severely injured.
Had he not already tempered his body to a monstrous degree as an Admiral, he would likely have been dragged away for burial by now.
Considering the heavy casualties sustained by the Marine side, the fight could only be described as a mutually destructive battle.
———————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over here ——— pa-tre-on.c-om/AlexandrusTL [remove the hyphen for normal access]