"Did you use Haki?"
As the wounds on his body, and his torn clothes, healed, Sakazuki turned around, staring intently at Marco and Vista behind him.
"How could this happen?"
Marco was startled, his expression turning grim. He had definitely used Haki, so why was the attack ineffective?
"Just a momentary lapse, and it almost led to an irreversible outcome!"
Vista's face was etched with fear, his voice filled with shock and anger.
"You guys... cough, cough—"
Before he could finish speaking, Sakazuki suddenly trembled all over and coughed up a large mouthful of blood, his face instantly turning pale.
"What?"
Marco and Vista looked on in surprise and confusion.
"D-damn it!"
Sakazuki looked at the blood he had spat onto the ground, realizing his injuries were acting up.
He had been fighting Whitebeard head-on moments ago, and though he had inflicted severe burns on the Yonko, he had also sustained grievous injuries himself.
He had been forcibly suppressing his pain with his naturally robust physique, but the recent attack, though not significantly damaging itself, had triggered a chain reaction, causing all the accumulated injuries he had sustained today to flare up at once.
"A perfect opportunity! Prepare to die!"
Realizing what was happening, Marco and Vista were overjoyed and naturally wouldn't let this chance slip away.
Marco flapped his blue flames wings and flew in with a kick.
Vista held his twin swords, naturally accompanied by a rose-like effect, and swept out with a horizontal slash.
"Hoo…"
"Ice Block: Partisan!"
With what sounded like a mere exhale, the surrounding temperature plummeted rapidly. Four ice spears instantly plummeted from the sky, aiming to pierce Marco and Vista.
"Watch out!"
The two felt a chilling cold at their backs.
Clang! Clang!
Vista turned and shifted his stance, meeting the two incoming ice spears with his twin swords, cleanly slicing them into six pieces that scattered on the ground.
Marco, however, didn't bother to block, allowing the two ice spears to pierce his body. He did not withdraw his flying kick, but rather increased its speed.
Snap!
However, the freezing spread quickly from the two ice spears, encasing Marco's body.
Thump!
Sakazuki was sent tumbling from the kick, rolling several times on the ground.
"Such a powerless kick!" Sakazuki flipped back onto his feet, looking at Marco, who had been turned into an ice statue.
"Arara~ You're really overdoing it." Kuzan stood not far away, facing off against Vista, a long ice saber already held in his hand.
"We must eliminate all evil; the prestige of the Navy is everything!" Sakazuki glanced at Kuzan.
Gurgle...
Sakazuki wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. A wisp of black smoke rose from his body, and his arm turned into flowing magma, large drops of which splashed onto the ground.
"You, Marco the Phoenix, will die now!"
He raised his magma arm, loaded with the destructive power of a volcanic eruption, and aggressively lunged toward Marco, the ice statue.
"Bastard! Firefly: Hothead!!!"
A furious shout erupted, and dozens of greenish-blue fireflies appeared around Sakazuki.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...
The fireflies exploded, generating intense heat that instantly diverted Sakazuki's line of attack.
"That was close!"
The ice melted in the flames. Marco immediately shattered the thin layer of ice on his body and retreated to the side.
If he had been hit by that attack, even the Phoenix would have become a dead bird.
"Tch."
Sakazuki spat, his face pale, but his gaze remained cold and fixed on Ace in the background.
"Get Luffy out of here first!"
Ace shouted toward Ivankov.
"Roger that!"
Ivankov didn't waste any time, grabbing the exhausted Luffy and turning to run.
"The trash managed by a bunch of trash commanders, all of you are staying here!" Sakazuki forced his severely injured body into action, transforming into a massive flow of high-temperature magma, and lunged directly at Ace.
"Shut up! You will not insult Pops!" Ace roared in fury, flames surging around him, turning him into a man of fire as he charged forward again.
"Ace, don't be reckless!"
Marco and Vista were shocked and quickly moved to support him, as they both knew that Ace, whose ability was countered, was no match for Akainu under any circumstances.
"Arara~ Please do me a favor, don't move!"
Kuzan intercepted Vista and Marco, a long ice saber still in his hand.
"Ace!"
"Quick! Support Ace!"
Seeing Marco and Vista blocked by Admiral Aokiji, Division Commanders like Blamenco, Curiel, and others from the Whitebeard Pirates rushed forward, joining Ace to confront Sakazuki together.
Clang, clang, clang...
Clang, clang, clang...
Borsalino, Aeridar, and Whitebeard were locked in a fierce exchange of blows. Shattered stone flew everywhere, explosions were incessant, and shockwaves mixed with dust spread outwards in concentric rings.
A flash of insight crossed Aeridar's mind. He abruptly tilted his body, narrowly dodging a strike from Whitebeard's naginata.
"Future Sight... a truly troublesome ability!"
Whitebeard frowned, using his naginata to parry Borsalino's light sword.
"He actually failed to kill Fire Fist Ace... has the trajectory of history shifted?!" Aeridar glanced at Ace, who was still active on the battlefield in the distance, fighting against Sakazuki alongside a group of Whitebeard Pirate Division Commanders.
In the original history, a fully fit Sakazuki would have easily killed Fire Fist Ace. But now, having been gravely injured in the massive battle against Whitebeard earlier, his strength was severely diminished during the pursuit, allowing a group of people to successfully block him.
"Oh~ What did you see?" Borsalino asked languidly.
Facing an Admiral and a man who was temporarily much stronger than an Admiral (Aeridar's combined use of the Impact-Impact Fruit and the Float-Float Fruit would double his stamina consumption, so he couldn't maintain it for long), the heavily injured Whitebeard was naturally unable to contend, giving Borsalino an easy time due to his speed advantage.
"I see that red dog still hasn't taken care of Fire Fist Ace!" Aeridar stepped on Whitebeard's naginata, intentionally mocking him.
"Now, now~ You should spare him the trouble. We can take it a little easier, since he's doing the main work for us!" Borsalino said with a pout.
"You two brats... you talk too big!" Whitebeard's face was filled with rage. He activated his ability, and his tremor-enhanced fist slammed toward Aeridar.
"That's because your era is coming to an end!" Aeridar was fearless. His fist, also encased in a tremor-enhanced energy bubble, met the attack in mid-air.
Crack—
Boom! Boom!! BOOM!
The air seemed to collapse, shattering instantly, with dozens of fissures spreading densely in all directions. The ground exploded violently, and a terrifying air current swept out like a hurricane, sending intense tremors through the surrounding land.
Whoosh!
A laser beam instantly sliced through the smoke, accurately piercing Whitebeard's right leg.
"Kizaru!"
Whitebeard stumbled, nearly dropping to one knee.
Immediately afterward, a dazzling light appeared, blinding to the eye, as countless light particles condensed right in front of Whitebeard.
"You're distracted, Whitebeard! I'm still here!"
Borsalino raised his light sword and slashed down toward Whitebeard's face.a
"Did you use Haki?"
As the wounds on his body, and his torn clothes, healed, Sakazuki turned around, staring intently at Marco and Vista behind him.
"How could this happen?"
Marco was startled, his expression turning grim. He had definitely used Haki, so why was the attack ineffective?
"Just a momentary lapse, and it almost led to an irreversible outcome!"
Vista's face was etched with fear, his voice filled with shock and anger.
"You guys... cough, cough—"
Before he could finish speaking, Sakazuki suddenly trembled all over and coughed up a large mouthful of blood, his face instantly turning pale.
"What?"
Marco and Vista looked on in surprise and confusion.
"D-damn it!"
Sakazuki looked at the blood he had spat onto the ground, realizing his injuries were acting up.
He had been fighting Whitebeard head-on moments ago, and though he had inflicted severe burns on the Yonko, he had also sustained grievous injuries himself.
He had been forcibly suppressing his pain with his naturally robust physique, but the recent attack, though not significantly damaging itself, had triggered a chain reaction, causing all the accumulated injuries he had sustained today to flare up at once.
"A perfect opportunity! Prepare to die!"
Realizing what was happening, Marco and Vista were overjoyed and naturally wouldn't let this chance slip away.
Marco flapped his blue flames wings and flew in with a kick.
Vista held his twin swords, naturally accompanied by a rose-like effect, and swept out with a horizontal slash.
"Hoo…"
"Ice Block: Partisan!"
With what sounded like a mere exhale, the surrounding temperature plummeted rapidly. Four ice spears instantly plummeted from the sky, aiming to pierce Marco and Vista.
"Watch out!"
The two felt a chilling cold at their backs.
Clang! Clang!
Vista turned and shifted his stance, meeting the two incoming ice spears with his twin swords, cleanly slicing them into six pieces that scattered on the ground.
Marco, however, didn't bother to block, allowing the two ice spears to pierce his body. He did not withdraw his flying kick, but rather increased its speed.
Snap!
However, the freezing spread quickly from the two ice spears, encasing Marco's body.
Thump!
Sakazuki was sent tumbling from the kick, rolling several times on the ground.
"Such a powerless kick!" Sakazuki flipped back onto his feet, looking at Marco, who had been turned into an ice statue.
"Arara~ You're really overdoing it." Kuzan stood not far away, facing off against Vista, a long ice saber already held in his hand.
"We must eliminate all evil; the prestige of the Navy is everything!" Sakazuki glanced at Kuzan.
Gurgle...
Sakazuki wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. A wisp of black smoke rose from his body, and his arm turned into flowing magma, large drops of which splashed onto the ground.
"You, Marco the Phoenix, will die now!"
He raised his magma arm, loaded with the destructive power of a volcanic eruption, and aggressively lunged toward Marco, the ice statue.
"Bastard! Firefly: Hothead!!!"
A furious shout erupted, and dozens of greenish-blue fireflies appeared around Sakazuki.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...
The fireflies exploded, generating intense heat that instantly diverted Sakazuki's line of attack.
"That was close!"
The ice melted in the flames. Marco immediately shattered the thin layer of ice on his body and retreated to the side.
If he had been hit by that attack, even the Phoenix would have become a dead bird.
"Tch."
Sakazuki spat, his face pale, but his gaze remained cold and fixed on Ace in the background.
"Get Luffy out of here first!"
Ace shouted toward Ivankov.
"Roger that!"
Ivankov didn't waste any time, grabbing the exhausted Luffy and turning to run.
"The trash managed by a bunch of trash commanders, all of you are staying here!" Sakazuki forced his severely injured body into action, transforming into a massive flow of high-temperature magma, and lunged directly at Ace.
"Shut up! You will not insult Pops!" Ace roared in fury, flames surging around him, turning him into a man of fire as he charged forward again.
"Ace, don't be reckless!"
Marco and Vista were shocked and quickly moved to support him, as they both knew that Ace, whose ability was countered, was no match for Akainu under any circumstances.
"Arara~ Please do me a favor, don't move!"
Kuzan intercepted Vista and Marco, a long ice saber still in his hand.
"Ace!"
"Quick! Support Ace!"
Seeing Marco and Vista blocked by Admiral Aokiji, Division Commanders like Blamenco, Curiel, and others from the Whitebeard Pirates rushed forward, joining Ace to confront Sakazuki together.
Clang, clang, clang...
Clang, clang, clang...
Borsalino, Aeridar, and Whitebeard were locked in a fierce exchange of blows. Shattered stone flew everywhere, explosions were incessant, and shockwaves mixed with dust spread outwards in concentric rings.
A flash of insight crossed Aeridar's mind. He abruptly tilted his body, narrowly dodging a strike from Whitebeard's naginata.
"Future Sight... a truly troublesome ability!"
Whitebeard frowned, using his naginata to parry Borsalino's light sword.
"He actually failed to kill Fire Fist Ace... has the trajectory of history shifted?!" Aeridar glanced at Ace, who was still active on the battlefield in the distance, fighting against Sakazuki alongside a group of Whitebeard Pirate Division Commanders.
In the original history, a fully fit Sakazuki would have easily killed Fire Fist Ace. But now, having been gravely injured in the massive battle against Whitebeard earlier, his strength was severely diminished during the pursuit, allowing a group of people to successfully block him.
"Oh~ What did you see?" Borsalino asked languidly.
Facing an Admiral and a man who was temporarily much stronger than an Admiral (Aeridar's combined use of the Impact-Impact Fruit and the Float-Float Fruit would double his stamina consumption, so he couldn't maintain it for long), the heavily injured Whitebeard was naturally unable to contend, giving Borsalino an easy time due to his speed advantage.
"I see that red dog still hasn't taken care of Fire Fist Ace!" Aeridar stepped on Whitebeard's naginata, intentionally mocking him.
"Now, now~ You should spare him the trouble. We can take it a little easier, since he's doing the main work for us!" Borsalino said with a pout.
"You two brats... you talk too big!" Whitebeard's face was filled with rage. He activated his ability, and his tremor-enhanced fist slammed toward Aeridar.
"That's because your era is coming to an end!" Aeridar was fearless. His fist, also encased in a tremor-enhanced energy bubble, met the attack in mid-air.
Crack—
Boom! Boom!! BOOM!
The air seemed to collapse, shattering instantly, with dozens of fissures spreading densely in all directions. The ground exploded violently, and a terrifying air current swept out like a hurricane, sending intense tremors through the surrounding land.
Whoosh!
A laser beam instantly sliced through the smoke, accurately piercing Whitebeard's right leg.
"Kizaru!"
Whitebeard stumbled, nearly dropping to one knee.
Immediately afterward, a dazzling light appeared, blinding to the eye, as countless light particles condensed right in front of Whitebeard.
"You're distracted, Whitebeard! I'm still here!"
Borsalino raised his light sword and slashed down toward Whitebeard's face.