Perhaps hearing Whitebeard's voice, Blenheim, who had been drifting in and out of consciousness, suddenly regained his spirit.
Lifting his head, he shouted, "Pops, get out of here! Don't worry about me!"
Blenheim knew the G5 Branch Marines had already contacted headquarters, and reinforcements would arrive soon.
The best course of action was to leave now.
But such a move didn't align with Whitebeard's character, which was why Blenheim shouted to warn him.
"Gurararara, foolish son, how could your old man abandon you?" Whitebeard gazed affectionately at the captured Blenheim as he spoke.
"POPSS!"
Tears of gratitude streamed down Blenheim's face.
This deeply moving scene failed to evoke any empathy in Sakazuki, who stared sternly at Whitebeard across the way.
Simultaneously, he asked his adjutant beside him, "How much longer until Admiral Sengoku arrives?"
The adjutant immediately opened a notebook, checking the time noted inside, and replied.
"According to information communicated with Admiral Sengoku an hour ago, he and Vice Admiral Borsalino will be able to provide support in another half hour. Vice Admiral Raleigh might arrive slightly later, needing one hour to get here."
Sakazuki nodded, then signaled his soldiers to gag Blenheim.
When Whitebeard saw the Marines treating his son so roughly, flames of anger naturally rose in his heart, but for his son's sake, he forcibly suppressed it.
"State your conditions, Navy. Whether it's wealth or resources, even Devil Fruits are acceptable—as long as I can get my disappointing son back."
Sakazuki chuckled; he never intended to make this deal with Whitebeard.
However, Whitebeard's arrival in the New World had been too swift, putting Sakazuki at a disadvantage in terms of timing.
But delaying for half an hour wouldn't be a problem.
"What use are the wealth and resources you can offer to us in the Marines? The wealth and resources we need are far beyond what a single pirate crew like yours can afford."
"Devil Fruits then," Whitebeard offered.
"Tell me, which Devil Fruits do you have that could be exchanged for this man?"
Hearing Sakazuki's words, Whitebeard felt a wave of relief—having room to negotiate was better than nothing.
"Currently, there are only a few Zoan-type Devil Fruits on the ship: the Rhino Fruit, the Cat-Cat Fruit, and a Paramecia. If you need them, I can also find some other Devil Fruits for you, as long as I can get my foolish son back."
Sakazuki showed no interest upon hearing this; these Devil Fruits weren't top-tier.
Although their value far exceeded Blenheim's bounty, he had no intention of making an exchange.
"Magma brat, you're not trying to stall for time, are you?" Whitebeard was no fool; he could see through Sakazuki's expression.
"Congratulations, you guessed right, but there's no reward."
Although Sengoku hadn't arrived yet, Sakazuki had no intention of continuing to deceive Whitebeard.
He reached out, grabbed Blenheim by the head, and lifted him up, facing him toward the Whitebeard Pirates.
At the same time, the prepared Marine soldiers raised the pirate captives beside them and placed them against the wall.
"No! Magma brat, I swear if you dare to act, not a single person in this base will survive!" the Whitebeard Pirates cursed in rage.
Seeing this scene, Sakazuki showed no fear; instead, his gaze grew even more resolute.
"Raleigh was right—how could we in the Marines be threatened by a bunch of scum from the sea? Kill them!"
With the command given, the marine soldiers' blades fell instantly.
One pirate head after another was cleanly severed, tumbling down the wall and onto the ground.
Among them was Whitebeard's target for this trip— Blenheim!
The atmosphere on the Moby Dick suddenly fell silent, all eyes focused on Whitebeard standing at the forefront of the deck.
The previously confident Whitebeard now had eyes filled with killing intent
. He would never allow Sakazuki, who had slaughtered his family, to remain alive.
"Magma brat, you've enraged me. You'll learn what price there is to pay. I will make every single person on your base pay with their lives for my son!"
Whitebeard's aura erupted violently, unleashing his Conqueror's Haki at full power.
The Marine soldiers felt immense pressure both physically and mentally.
However, Sakazuki had already stepped forward at this moment, raising both hands as he released his own imposing presence.
Whitebeard held a sword in his right hand while clenching his left into a fist.
A translucent white vibration sphere enveloped his left fist.
Without even looking, he threw a fierce punch directly at the air in front of him.
Crack!
The air seemed to shatter like glass under Whitebeard's casual strike.
From this crack emerged an extremely powerful and domineering shockwave, taking less than five seconds from its appearance to crash against the fortress's dozens-of-meters-high sturdy walls.
Boom!
Despite being constructed from massive stones, the wall suddenly developed several cracks.
The rocks directly hit terrifyingly dented inward.
The fortress shook violently at this moment, with Marine soldiers above tightly grasping anything they could hold onto to prevent themselves from being knocked down by the shockwave.
Sakazuki's figure remained completely unchanged—he was strong enough that Whitebeard's probing attack couldn't affect him.
But Sakazuki's expression wasn't particularly pleasant either.
He had to admit he had somewhat underestimated the power of a world-class top fighter.
Though confident he would eventually become a world-class top fighter himself, he wasn't one yet.
And the gap between him and Whitebeard was quite significant. Taking a deep breath, Sakazuki didn't show any panic.
Admiral Sengoku and Borsalino would arrive soon.
Even if they couldn't defeat Whitebeard, they could hold out for a few minutes.
Since the pirates didn't know about their reinforcements, they absolutely had to keep all members of the Whitebeard Pirates engaged.
This way they could achieve maximum results when Sengoku arrived.
The only gamble was whether the Marines at G5 Branch could withstand the Whitebeard Pirates' assault.
Just then, Sakazuki spoke.
"All soldiers! Before I came to G5 Branch, G5 was always called the worst Marine branch, but I say that's because they don't understand us. We at G5 Branch show no mercy to enemies, like the autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves, yet we remain deeply loyal to our comrades. So facing one of the New World's top pirate crews this time, don't hold back any means. Our only goal is to kill them all! Do you have the confidence?!"
"YES!!!"
Most Marine soldiers on the walls shouted madly in response, while the few who remained silent aimed their rifles and fired at the pirates.
They had forgotten how long they'd been misunderstood by the outside world.
Repeatedly slandered by outsiders, they couldn't be bothered to refute, only using increasingly brutal methods against pirates.
Until Sakazuki and Raleigh appeared.
Sakazuki's leading by example and mercilessness toward pirates earned their deep respect, which was why he could so quickly take control of the G5 Branch.
As for Raleigh, he was their spiritual mentor—many of his words were treated as Marine scripture.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Countless bullets flew toward the Whitebeard Pirates' members, while the pirates raised shields and brandished swords, closely following behind Whitebeard.
"Break open for me!" Whitebeard's left fist once again gathered shockwaves.
This time he intended to smash through the fortress gate with a single punch, allowing his pirate crew members to enter and slaughter.
"Don't even think about it!"
Having already suffered once before, Sakazuki wouldn't let Whitebeard launch his attack unchecked.
He instantly appeared before the fortress gate.
"Dark Hound!"
His right arm rapidly transformed into magma, elongating swiftly to strike at Whitebeard.
"Gurarara! Prepare to die, magma brat!"
...
Meanwhile, on a rapidly moving naval warship, Sengoku stared tensely into the distance.
Though he couldn't see anything, he had just sensed an unusual fluctuation—he determined it was the vibration from Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, meaning the Whitebeard Pirates had already engaged with the Marines at the G5 Branch.
Worried about Sakazuki and the G5 Branch Navy's safety, Sengoku quickly summoned Borsalino.
"Borsalino, Sakazuki has already engaged Whitebeard. You're fast—go assist Sakazuki first."
Borsalino nodded.
If it were anyone else, he might have waited a while.
But since it was Sakazuki, and they had quite a good relationship, he naturally would go help him.
"Sengoku-san, could you please throw a cannonball for me," Borsalino said.
His Glint-Glint Fruit actually couldn't enable true flight—he usually stood on cannonballs to rapidly advance to distant locations.
With Sengoku here, the cannonballs he threw were much faster than those fired from cannons.
"Hmm." Sengoku nodded, then picked up a cannonball.
The muscles in his arm bulged violently before he threw it with great force.
Watching Borsalino standing on the cannonball as he disappeared into the distance, Sengoku's heart temporarily relaxed slightly.
Two elite Vice Admirals approaching Admiral level, both top-tier Elemental Devil Fruit ability users—even if Whitebeard was powerful, he couldn't possibly kill both of them quickly.
'Hold on, Sakazuki!'
...
"For justice!"
Sakazuki exerted his utmost effort to block Whitebeard's attack this time.
Even the veins on his neck became clearly visible.
Boom!
Two powerful forces exploded in the air, sweeping away everything around them.
"Come on, magma brat!"
Though the attack wasn't successful, the distance between them grew increasingly closer.
Whitebeard's blade rose high overhead, the edge coated with Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki instantly appearing before Sakazuki.
Sakazuki's pupils suddenly dilated as both his arms transformed into magma.
The intensely burning black smoke continuously irritated Whitebeard's eyes and breathing, but it didn't affect Whitebeard's movements in the slightest.
"Great Eruption!!!"
An enormous magma fist, coated with Armament Haki, slammed into Whitebeard's blade.
Both sides' application of Armament Haki had reached its peak.
Though they appeared to collide directly, their attacks actually formed a vacuum space between them.
A semi-transparent sphere instantly appeared in the center and rapidly expanded.
"Raaaaaah! I'll kill you, Whitebeard!"
"Less talk, magma brat!"
Both sides simultaneously increased their power output.
The surrounding combatants subconsciously avoided the area where these two powerhouses were fighting.
BOOM!
Sakazuki and Whitebeard's figures instantly vanished from their original positions.
A blinding white light erupted from the battleground, followed by a powerful shockwave that swept out in all directions.
Even the Marine soldiers on the fortress walls were sent stumbling and reeling.
BOOM!!!
The explosion's roar, trailing only slightly behind the light's speed, echoed in everyone's ears, giving them a taste of temporary deafness.
A massive mushroom cloud rose from the epicenter.
Sakazuki wiped the blood from his lips. Facing Whitebeard, who remained completely unscathed, he silently activated his ability.
His skin transformed into a hardened magma form, with glimpses of flowing lava visible through the cracks.
This was a technique developed after his discussions with Raleigh—one Sakazuki called Hell Magma Form.
In this state, both his attack and defense capabilities were greatly enhanced, though at the cost of faster stamina consumption.
Thick black smoke rose from Sakazuki's body as his eyes remained locked on Whitebeard's movements.
Suddenly, Sakazuki's dark red skin instantly turned bright red.
BAM!
Sakazuki's speed increased by another fifty percent, catching Whitebeard off guard as he appeared behind the pirate.
"Dark Dog!"
CLANG!
Whitebeard reacted with exceptional agility, turning rapidly the moment Sakazuki moved and positioning his bisento horizontally across his chest.
The weapon's blade intercepted Sakazuki's attack perfectly.
"Magma brat, take this!"
With Sakazuki's attack thwarted, the battle-experienced Whitebeard instantly switched from defense to offense.
His left fist, once again coated with Tremor-Tremor Fruit power, shot toward Sakazuki.
Sakazuki's bright red skin instantly reverted to dark red.
CRASH!
Sakazuki took the blow head-on.
Fortunately, his Armament Haki and special form provided protection—otherwise, he would have certainly broken bones.
"RAAAAAAH! Whitebeard, taste my true power now!"
Sakazuki plunged both hands deep into the ground, connecting with the planetary magma core beneath the island.
Since arriving at the G5 Branch, he had spent most of his time channeling magma from other regions to accumulate beneath the base.
Not only did training in magma environments yield faster results, but it also served as a defensive measure against powerful invaders.
Now that Whitebeard had come, this became the perfect weapon against him.
CRACK! CRACK!
The ground fractured continuously, with meter-wide fissures appearing everywhere, revealing glimpses of flowing magma beneath.
"Earth Fire Pillar!"
Sakazuki channeled all his power into the underground magma, causing massive pillars of lava that seemed capable of piercing the heavens to erupt among the pirate ranks.
Black smoke-billowing magma filled the entire landscape.
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator