"Pops!!!"
"Ahhh… Pops…"
"Wuuuu!!!"
Everyone was crying their eyes out. Even Ace, who had been immersed in the emotions of a father and son recognizing each other, was drawn away at this moment, wanting to rush back regardless of everything.
"No, Orin-san!!!"
But before he could run very far, a hand pressed him down.
"Let go of me, Sabo!!!"
Ace struggled madly, looking at the miserable, aging old man. Tears and snot mixed together as they streamed down uncontrollably.
"I know you're in pain, Ace, but have you forgotten what Whitebeard did this for?!"
Ace continued to struggle violently, his whole body turning into flames.
A trace of hesitation flashed across Sabo's face. Then he brought his fingers together.
"Zheng—"
Dense pitch-black Armament Haki instantly wrapped around his hand. He pressed it against Ace's head, which was about to elementalize, and slammed him straight into the ground, stopping him.
"Don't blame me, Ace."
"This isn't just for brotherly bonds—it's also Whitebeard's dying wish!!!"
Perhaps Sabo's words had an effect. Ace stopped moving, his head buried in the ground.
Only muffled sobbing could be faintly heard.
"My sons…"
Whitebeard forced his battered body to stand there, looking at his sons who were crying their hearts out, grief-stricken beyond measure. An indescribable expression filled his eyes.
"Thank you… you are my greatest treasure…Farewell, my sons."
"Bang—"
A bullet from the world's strongest added the final gunshot to Whitebeard's chest, already riddled with bullet holes and blade wounds.
Even without this shot, Whitebeard was moments from death.
Rather than dying at the hands of traitors, it was better to die at the hands of the strongest.
Roger bared his teeth in a grin, though his eyes were full of tears as well.
"So you're gone, Newgate."
He recalled the decades of memories since they first met in the Rocks Pirates.
"Wahahahahaha!!!"
"To have the king of an era see you off—you died even more extravagantly than I did. It really makes one jealous!!!"
The Marines were also silent.
Especially Sengoku and Garp—these old men felt far more emotion than joy at Whitebeard's death.
The entire Whitebeard crew wept bitterly.
Even Crocodile, who regarded Whitebeard as an enemy, had her face shrouded in shadow at this moment, without the slightest trace of a smile.
Among those present, perhaps only one person would be happy about Whitebeard's death.
That would be…
"Remnants of the old era should be thrown into a corner. Whitebeard's death will only become another merit in the Marines' victory!!!"
...
Rumble rumble…
Smoking magma surged. Taking advantage of everyone's moment of shock, it was about to unleash a long-range volcanic eruption straight at the three brothers.
But clearly, there was still someone blocking the way.
Crack crack crack…
The ice surface split apart.
Puchi—!!!
A sand blade like a gigantic sharp knife suddenly thrust upward from below, instantly splitting Sakazuki's body in two.
It then transformed into a gloomy figure draped in a black coat.
"Crocodile…!!!"
"Sandstorm!!!"
A sandstorm blasted the three brothers away.
"So even you have come to protect them too???"
"When did someone like you become so overflowing with sympathy, playing babysitter?"
Sakazuki spoke coldly, but Crocodile only darkened her face.
"Don't forget, Akainu—not only Whitebeard, you and I also have old grudges from back then…"
When she was first defeated and driven into Impel Down, Crocodile had fallen at Akainu's hands.
As for the sudden ambush now, it was hard to say exactly what her motive was.
...
In the distance, Buggy—who had originally wanted to look for Orin and Captain Roger but stayed on the outskirts out of fear of being caught in the nuclear explosion—happened to catch the three brothers.
"This battlefield is getting more and more dangerous. We have to hurry over to Orin and the others… Pwah. What the hell is this?! Something just got thrown over here!!!"
Taking a closer look, he immediately spotted Ace and Luffy.
"Ace?! Smelly Straw Hat!!!"
"I don't know who you are, but thank you for saving us."
Sabo thanked him politely.
Buggy immediately put on a courteous smile.
"N-no no, it's nothing at all, just a small favor—you're being too polite… Wait, that's not right!!!"
"Why did you guys suddenly come flying over here?!"
At first, the underlings who had been flying around the outskirts with Buggy were somewhat confused.
Some even suspected that Captain Buggy was afraid to approach that dangerous battlefield. But now, seeing this scene, they all understood.
Especially those who had thought Buggy was scared—some were even overcome with the urge to commit seppuku, crying their eyes out.
"I'm sorry, Captain Buggy! I shouldn't have doubted you!!!"
"To think you kept circling the battlefield all this time just to save your former captain's son—what incredible loyalty!!!"
"So great!!!"
The waves of crying made Buggy break into a cold sweat, feeling something was off.
Even though none of those blocking Akainu were true Yonko-level fighters, so many officers and commander-tier experts were enough to stall Sakazuki's advance.
...
Orin had been watching the battle, planning to say something to the people of the Blackbeard crew.
But the next moment, his Observation Haki seemed to catch something.
He could only shake his head helplessly.
"Those two guys really did come sniffing their way over."
With a light step, his figure instantly appeared in midair. He stretched both hands forward.
"Bang!!!!"
"Boom—!!!!"
A violent explosion resounded in front of Orin. Two figures, moving at extreme speed, collided there—muscles bulging, bodies massive, eyes fierce.
"Yo… long time no see, Bullet."
"It's you… Orin!!!"
That's right—the two high-speed figures Orin had sensed were the two muscle-bound monsters who had been fighting one-on-one: Kaido and Bullet.
Their excited charges were stopped dead by Orin.
"Move aside. I want to challenge Roger!!!"
Roger had become Bullet's inner demon. He was thrilled at the chance to challenge Roger again.
"I've got years of grudges with Roger!!!"
Kaido was the same. He yearned to fight stronger opponents—Bullet was still a bit lacking.
But unexpectedly, Orin shook his head.
"Captain Roger and Garp are fighting. At their age, they don't have the energy to deal with you two…"
As he spoke, he flipped the black gun into a reverse grip, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"If you don't understand the rules of a duel, then I also know a thing or two about marksmanship."