Blood splattered—
Izo collapsed heavily onto the ground.
His strength was rapidly draining away, and the light in his eyes gradually dimmed.
"We were outmaneuvered..."
"The ones who were truly careless... were us..."
His weakening eyelids slowly shut, concealing the last glimmer of life.
This man, born in Wano and a member of the Whitebeard Pirates for over twenty years, unwillingly took his final breath in this very moment.
Maude twirled his blade skillfully, flicking the blood off the blade and letting it splash onto Izo's body.
As Izo's life faded, the gains were immediately fed back to Maude.
His enhanced physique silently accelerated the healing of his wounds, restoring some of his stamina.
However, what surprised Maude the most was the growth in his Haki—his seventh star frame was beginning to take shape.
"Tsk, an unexpected windfall."
Maude glanced at Izo's lifeless body.
He hadn't anticipated that this man from Wano would provide such an abundant Haki boost.
With this level of Haki, if Izo had chosen the path of a swordsman instead, he could have easily become a great swordsman on par with Flower Sword Vista.
Unfortunately, he had chosen the path of a gunslinger...
A thought crossed Maude's mind, one that would surely earn him a beating from Sol—
With the same level of talent and physical aptitude, the path of a swordsman or a martial artist is still superior.
"The fourth one."
Counting Little Oars Jr., Whitebeard Pirates' 13th Division Commander Atmos, Grand Fleet Captain Delaqxi, and now the recently slain 16th Division Commander Izo—
That made four high-value targets, each contributing significant gains in both physique and Haki.
But it still wasn't enough.
Before the opportunity to take Whitebeard's head arrived, he had to accumulate as much experience from these division commanders as possible.
Most importantly—
He needed to seize every chance to battle these strong foes and fully integrate the power he had gained through the Hunter's Notebook.
Standing amid the ranks of the Whitebeard Pirates, Maude remained calm, already contemplating his next target.
"Captain Izo...!"
Nearby, many of the Whitebeard Pirates stared in shock at Izo's fallen body beside Maude.
They had no idea what had just transpired.
But they knew Izo's strength. He wasn't someone who could be taken down easily.
And yet...
What exactly happened just now?
How did a warrior as formidable as Captain Izo fall in an instant to Maude?
Surrounded by numerous hostile gazes, Maude remained unfazed. He swapped positions with his shadow, returning to where Fossa and the others were.
At this moment, Fossa, Blenheim, and even Squard—who was pressuring Hina—were all seething with shock and fury.
They had believed their victory was assured, yet the tide of battle had turned in an instant.
Not only had they failed to eliminate Maude, but they had also lost one of their own instead.
Smoker stared blankly at Maude, who had just executed Izo and then effortlessly returned to his position.
This guy... does he actually enjoy toying with his enemies like this?
Reflecting on how Maude had seemed half-dead just moments ago, then looking at Izo lying in a pool of blood, and finally at the enraged pirates standing before him—
Smoker was at a loss for words.
If Smoker's reaction was relatively mild, then Hina's was the complete opposite.
As she struggled to fend off Squard's attacks, she witnessed Maude emerging unscathed, and her face immediately fell.
She looked at Maude, her expression cold. "Just go die already."
"How heartless," Maude chuckled, then added, "But thanks to your 'assistance,' I was able to create the perfect bait for them to bite."
"Bastard!"
Before Hina or Smoker could respond, Fossa and Blenheim were already seething with rage, their expressions twisting with fury.
They had just moments ago proclaimed Maude's impending demise.
Now, they were the ones with egg on their faces.
Little Oars Jr., Atmos, Delacuaji, Izo—comrades they held dear—had all fallen to the hands of this man standing before them.
Hatred and murderous intent surged through Fossa and Blenheim's hearts.
"Kill him!"
Driven by rage, they lunged at Maude.
Although their anger hadn't completely clouded their judgment, it had undoubtedly dulled their Observation Haki.
In the right circumstances, sharp words—
Could cut deeper than any blade.
"As much as I'd love to claim your heads right here and now... someone else has finally had enough."
Maude smoothly retreated while keeping an eye on a towering figure in the distance.
At this very moment—
Whitebeard had finally spotted Izo's corpse.
A few minutes earlier, he had sensed Izo's predicament and had dispatched Squard and the others to aid him.
Yet, despite their reinforcement, Izo had still perished at Maude's hands.
Not because Izo lacked strength—but because Whitebeard's arrangement had been inadequate.
Whitebeard took full responsibility.
"..."
Silently, his gaze—brimming with murderous intent—pierced through the battlefield's chaos, locking onto Maude.
Before launching the assault on Marineford, Whitebeard never imagined that—
From the very start of the battle, the one making the biggest impact wouldn't be a Marine Admiral but rather this so-called Warlord of the Sea—Bacardi Maude.
Now that all his forces had entered the battlefield, Whitebeard finally turned his full attention to Maude.
With the deaths of Little Oars Jr., Izo, Atmos—his "sons"—
Whitebeard's killing intent toward Maude was absolute.
Sensing Whitebeard's deadly gaze, Maude decisively abandoned his attempt to kill Fossa and Blenheim.
Unless he was fully prepared, he wouldn't recklessly put himself in danger.
With Whitebeard's forces gradually converging on his position, and Whitebeard himself fixating on him with pure murderous intent—
Maude made his decision: retreat toward the execution platform.
That area was under Akainu's control.
Hopefully, Whitebeard's hatred for him was strong enough...
Maude mused.
However—
Fossa, Blenheim, and the surrounding Whitebeard Pirates weren't going to let him escape so easily.
"Restrain him before he recalls his shadow!"
Despite their overwhelming anger, Fossa and Blenheim remained clear-headed in their strategy against Maude.
They couldn't pinpoint his shadow's exact location, but they knew it had to be near Izo's corpse.
That area was densely packed with their allies.
This meant Maude was unlikely to swap places with his shadow before retrieving it.
And even if he did, their comrades—forewarned—would be ready to strike him the moment he appeared.
To prevent Maude from escaping, Squard abandoned his attack on Hina and joined Fossa and Blenheim in their assault.
"You think you can keep me here?"
Maude instantly grasped their intentions.
"With just you lot? Think again."
As he retreated swiftly, he flipped over one of his carefully laid trap cards.
Rumble—!
The ground beneath them cracked open, and pale hands erupted from the earth amidst a shower of dirt and debris.
Several pirates trying to encircle Maude were caught off guard and found their ankles snatched by the ghostly hands.
"What is this?!"
Even Fossa, Squard, and Blenheim weren't spared, staring in shock as the undead began to rise from the battlefield.
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