"The Phoenix fruit power... fully awakened?!"
Marco's voice trembled, the blue flames around his own body uncontrollably bowing toward Whitebeard, as if a subject paying homage to a king.
"This... this is true immortality!"
But that wasn't all.
Before anyone could recover from their shock, seven faint, ferocious faces suddenly materialized around Whitebeard's spectral aura—Rage, Sorrow, Joy, Calm, Madness, Wisdom, and Mercy.
The seven expressions rotated behind him like a halo.
Only the face representing "Fear" had dimmed completely, leaving a dark void in the cycle.
'Eight-Faced God Form?!'
Ron's eyes blazed with intensity, recognizing the true nature of the Mythical Zoan Snake-Snake Fruit, Model: Yamata no Orochi.
But the next instant, Whitebeard withdrew the manifestation.
Most people didn't even catch the fleeting vision, dismissing it as the special light effects of a Mythical Zoan awakening.
Akainu staggered back two steps, his magma-formed right arm trembling uncontrollably.
"Impossible... I incinerated all his internal organs. How can he still be alive...?"
This sight was beyond logic.
Whitebeard clenched his fist. Lightning crackled as ropes of Haki and vibrations coiled around the Murakumogiri, which flew back into his hand with a magnetic snap.
The white fire "phoenix" let out a clear cry, the Divine Halo blazing brilliantly.
"Now... it's my turn!"
CLANG—
A Naval Rear Admiral's sword clattered to the ground, the metallic ring piercing the dead silence of the battlefield.
His lips trembled uncontrollably, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks.
"No... impossible... I saw him burned to ashes with my own eyes..."
The entire Marine force fell into a collective stupor.
Soldiers stood frozen in place, their weapons clattering to the ground one after another.
Several young Marines with weaker mental fortitude collapsed onto the ground, their trousers unknowingly soaked through.
"Medics! Where are the medics?!" A Vice Admiral suddenly grabbed his adjutant by the collar, shaking him violently.
"Quick, check if I'm hallucinating! Tell me I'm crazy!"
Akainu's adjutant swallowed hard, his voice raspy like sandpaper grinding against stone.
"Admiral... our communications... seem to be restored..."
This news, which should have been encouraging, now felt like a cruel joke.
The visual Den Den Mushi's lens faithfully recorded the horrifying scene—Whitebeard, who should have been reduced to ashes, was now being reborn amidst holy white flames!
The world was watching the Navy's nightmare live.
"What's the damn use of restored communications?!" Vice Admiral Doberman tore his Justice coat to shreds in frustration.
"How are we supposed to fight a monster that refuses to die?!"
Momonga felt his scalp tingle. "He simply can't be killed!"
On the Marine Science Division's monitoring screens, various data points were going wild.
The technician watching the life detector's off-the-chart readings turned as pale as paper.
"This... this is beyond human scope... He is completely undead..."
The frontline Marine soldiers began retreating uncontrollably.
Some wept quietly, others kept crossing themselves, while most stared fixedly at the dazzling Divine Halo behind Whitebeard—the more holy the light appeared, the more terrifying it seemed in their eyes.
"Should we... run?" a soldier trembled as he asked, but was immediately silenced by his comrade.
"Shut up! If Akainu hears you, you're dead!"
Akainu's magma body churned violently, molten rock dripping to scorch black pits in the ground.
Staring fixedly at the resurrected Whitebeard, he finally squeezed out the order through gritted teeth.
"All units... bite the pills! Prepare for total war!"
...
Meanwhile.
Marco's Phoenix wings trembled violently, blue flames erupting uncontrollably.
His eyes were bloodshot, his lips trembling so badly he could barely form complete sentences.
"Pops... really... really came back to life?!"
CRACK.
Jozu's diamond body cracked audibly, fine fissures spreading across its surface—not from injury, but from his Devil Fruit ability going haywire due to overwhelming emotion.
He wiped his face roughly, diamond fragments mixing with tears as they fell.
"Damn it... I knew it... I knew Pops wouldn't die so easily!"
SHING!
Vista's twin swords rang as they left their sheaths, rose petals swirling wildly along the blades.
"Brothers! What are we waiting for?!" His voice grew hoarse with excitement. "Let the Marines see the price of offending the Whitebeard Pirates!"
"OOOOOOOHHH!!!"
The entire pirate crew erupted with earth-shaking roars.
The pirates who had been immersed in despair moments ago now seemed injected with a frenzy drug, charging toward the Marine ranks with bloodshot eyes.
But upon closer observation—their assault formation was more cautious than ever before.
"Groups of three!"
Marco soared into the air, blue flames tracing tactical markers in the sky.
"Avoid those Dark-Dark Fruit bastards! Fight smart!"
"Got it!"
Izo wielded his dual pistols, Haki-infused bullets precisely picking off Dark Water users attempting to approach.
"I may not have Pops' immortality, but I'm more than enough to slaughter a few Marines!"
The Marine officers were horrified to discover that the Pirates' assault was ten times more ferocious than before, yet insidiously cunning.
They deliberately targeted ordinary officers while employing long-range harassment against Dark Water users.
Whenever a Captain-level figure charged forward, comrades would invariably provide support from the flanks.
"These lunatics..." Onigumo's six swords vibrated with a buzzing hum. "They were crying like babies just moments ago..."
His words were answered by Jozu's Diamond Charge.
"Brilliant Punk!"
The three-meter-tall giant moved with the agility of a leopard, precisely dodging all Dark Water attacks amidst the hail of gunfire.
He headbutted three Navy Vice Admirals away simultaneously, shattering their formations.
"Hear that, Navy?!" Jozu's roar sent ripples across the sea surface. "This is what happens when you anger the Whitebeard Pirates!"
...
Whitebeard slowly opened his eyes, pure white flames burning within his pupils.
CRACK-POP.
He cracked his neck, his entire skeleton emitting popping sounds like bursting beans—this was a feeling of ease he hadn't experienced in decades. No tubes, no sickness, no age.
"Gurararara..."
His laughter carried a chilling delight.
"This body now... feels even better than when I was forty!"
He gripped Murakumogiri.
"My blade hasn't tasted blood in a long time!"
Before his words faded, his figure had already vanished from his original position.
BOOM!
The first victim was a Navy Captain organizing the defensive line.
Whitebeard's fist struck his chest without any fancy moves, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's white light flashing briefly.
The Captain's body swelled like an overinflated balloon, then—
SPLAT!!!
Flesh and blood showered like torrential rain upon the surrounding Navy soldiers.
Whitebeard bathed in the blood rain, his white flames hissing as they vaporized the liquid.
"First."
He swung his blade horizontally.
"Gekishin!"
A hundred-meter-long shockwave plowed through the battlefield.
Thirty elite Navy soldiers holding Seastone shields were pulverized along with their defenses, leaving a trench several meters deep in the ground where they once stood.
---------
Read 50 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator