Whitebeard naturally recognized Borsalino.
He knew that once this Marine appeared, it meant Sengoku's presence was close at hand.
Rationally speaking, Whitebeard should take his crew and retreat immediately.
But emotionally, Whitebeard had come here to save his son.
Having witnessed his son's tragic death before his eyes was bad enough; if he couldn't even kill the one who murdered him then Whitebeard's convictions would be shattered.
This was extremely serious, as it would affect the very level of his Conqueror's Haki.
Therefore, Whitebeard had no other choice.
"Marco, follow your brothers and leave this island! Wait for me in a safe place!" Whitebeard roared toward the surviving members of the Whitebeard Pirates in the distance.
Upon hearing this, Borsalino showed a mocking expression.
"My, my, since you're here, why not stay?"
Suddenly, his figure appeared high in the air, his fingers interlaced.
"Yasakanino magatama!"
Countless dazzling and powerful light bullets rapidly shot toward the Whitebeard Pirates' position.
"Don't even think about it!" Whitebeard thrust his sword into the ground before him, spread his arms wide, and then swung them violently.
Crack!
The space around him shattered once again under the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Outside the island, the already turbulent sea became distorted under the attack.
Soon, two hundred-meter-high tsunamis swept toward the center of the island from both sides.
Borsalino's attacks all landed in the tsunamis, failing to reach the Whitebeard Pirates' ships behind them.
"How terrifying. Is this the power of the man known as the world's strongest? Truly frightening." Borsalino landed leisurely beside Sakazuki, not showing any actual fear.
"Let's take him down together," Sakazuki said, turning to Borsalino.
"Quite troublesome, isn't he? After all, he's the world's strongest man." Borsalino also showed an interested expression.
Though he always said 'how terrifying', he himself was actually eager for battle.
As a prodigious monster from headquarters, he had his own pride.
Even facing Whitebeard, one of the world's top-tier fighters, he was confident he wouldn't lose too badly.
"Don't get careless. Whitebeard excels in every aspect—he has no weaknesses," Sakazuki couldn't help but remind him, having deeply felt Whitebeard's pressure during their earlier confrontation.
Whether it was the three types of Haki or his fruit ability usage, even his swordsmanship—though not his specialty—was far above average.
More importantly, there was Whitebeard's stamina!
His battle with Sakazuki hadn't seemed to affect his energy reserves at all, showing absolutely no signs of depletion.
"Magma Dome."
Seeing the approaching tsunamis, Sakazuki naturally wouldn't let them destroy his battlefield.
Under his ability's control, magma erupted along the island's edge, forming a semi-circular dome.
BOOM!
The hundred-meter tsunamis crashed against the newly formed magma dome with terrifying force.
Sizzle—sizzle—sizzle!
As the seawater made contact with the scorching magma, vast amounts of water instantly vaporized.
The magma, its heat consumed, turned into solid rock that withstood the tsunami's impact.
Although the tsunami caused no harm to Sakazuki and Borsalino, the rising steam blurred their vision.
Suddenly, Whitebeard's figure appeared above them.
Gripping Murakumogiri tightly with both hands, he swung downward from the sky.
"Heaven-Cleaving Strike!"
Borsalino instantly condensed photons in his hands, forming a three-meter-long greatsword to desperately block Whitebeard's strike.
Whitebeard's eyes narrowed.
Sakazuki, who had just been burying his arms in the ground, now lifted his head, holding a magma longsword coated in Armament Haki.
"Whitebeard, prepare to die!" Sakazuki immediately raised the longsword high and fiercely swung it at Whitebeard, who was still locked in combat with Borsalino.
"Break through!"
The muscles in Whitebeard's arms bulged violently.
The sudden surge in strength overwhelmed Borsalino, forcing him to retreat repeatedly.
After repelling Borsalino, Whitebeard didn't fall back but instead engaged Sakazuki in another clash.
Sakazuki held his sword in his right hand while his left hand transformed into a dog-head shape, ready to unleash a point-blank Dark Dog at Whitebeard.
Whitebeard gripped Murakumogiri with his left hand, while his right fist was enveloped in a translucent spherical aura.
Clang!
Their weapons collided first, ending in a stalemate.
Then Sakazuki's left hand fully transformed into magma, aiming straight for Whitebeard's chest.
"MEIGO!"
Whitebeard responded in kind, slamming the spherical aura on his right fist onto Sakazuki's head.
Boom!
Sakazuki's Meigo, with its longer range, struck Whitebeard's chest first.
Yet the tremendous explosive force only made Whitebeard's body tremble slightly.
The scorching, penetrating magma failed to inflict serious damage against Whitebeard's monstrous physique.
Expressionless, Whitebeard continued unfazed, bringing his right fist's spherical aura down upon Sakazuki's skull.
An indescribable, irresistible force overwhelmed Sakazuki as his upper body twisted and deformed under the power of Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
The two entered another deadlock, testing who would break first.
"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light, Whitebeard?" A voice suddenly rang out.
Then, a leather shoe loomed larger and larger in Whitebeard's vision!
...
Unknowingly, the island housing the G5 Branch had become pockmarked with magma and explosion craters.
Sakazuki and Borsalino leaned on each other, panting heavily as they stared at Whitebeard across the battlefield.
Sengoku had arrived long ago, but Sakazuki and Borsalino had made it clear they didn't want his interference in their three-way battle.
"What a bunch of terrifying madmen," Sengoku remarked while surveying the thoroughly devastated island.
Half of the G5 island was now covered in magma and photon residue, while the other half lay fractured and fragmented.
Such was the nature of battles between powerhouses—they were capable of altering the very landscape around them.
Endless dust and toxic black smoke from the magma rose into the dark clouds, forming an impenetrable thick fog.
Amidst the smoke, Sakazuki and Borsalino continued their fierce battle against Whitebeard, relying on their powerful Observation Haki.
Every moment, their fists and feet clashed violently.
From the thunderclouds spreading nearby, continuous flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder echoed.
...
Not far from the island guarded by the G5 Branch, a distinctive Naval Warship appeared on the sea.
On the deck, a tall man watched the lightning-streaked clouds in the distance with keen interest as a shirtless marine approached him.
"Raleigh-sama, that must be where Vice Admiral Sakazuki is fighting Whitebeard, right?"
Although Raleigh and his group hadn't yet approached that sea area, both Raleigh's and Enel's Observation Haki domains could sense the terrifying power emanating from within those clouds. Such immense destructive force!
Raleigh nodded. "Without a doubt, that's the battlefield where Sakazuki is clashing with Whitebeard."
Enel felt a surge of excitement and asked, "Then why aren't we rushing to join the fight? Vice Admiral Sakazuki probably can't defeat Whitebeard."
Enel was in a phase of rapid strength growth, and his inflated power had made him increasingly arrogant, eager to test himself in any kind of battle.
Raleigh glanced sharply at Enel and dampened his enthusiasm.
"Enel, if you charge in now, you might not even qualify as cannon fodder. Never mind Whitebeard—even if Vice Admiral Sakazuki isn't paying attention, he might accidentally take you out in an instant."
Enel bristled at this.
He refused to believe he could be that weak, thinking Raleigh must be exaggerating.
"Impossible! Admiral Zephyr himself said my strength is improving by leaps and bounds. Besides, if I'd be instantly killed just by entering, does that mean Sakazuki has already reached the level of an Admiral?" Enel was clearly unconvinced.
Raleigh stroked his chin and replied based on the aura he sensed.
"In terms of haki intensity, Vice Admiral Sakazuki hasn't reached Admiral level yet, but with the two of them fighting together, they're on par with an Admiral."
That was right—Raleigh had already detected traces of Borsalino using the Glint-Glint Fruit.
"Then should we charge in now?"
Raleigh waved his hand dismissively. "Let them fight for a while longer. There's no need for us to rush."
Top-tier fighters wouldn't settle their battle so quickly.
Besides, since Borsalino had already arrived, it meant Admiral Sengoku must be there too.
This wasn't about whether Sakazuki and Borsalino could hold off Whitebeard—it was about whether Whitebeard could escape from the grasp of several powerful Marine fighters.