Splatter—
Blood scattered, and a piece of Whitebeard's iconic white crescent mustache flew into the air.
"Oh~ I missed!"
Borsalino straightened up, looking at Whitebeard with a tone of regret.
At this moment, a long, narrow wound stretched across Whitebeard's face from his right cheek down to his chin, and only half of his upward-curving, crescent-shaped white mustache remained.
"What a shame," Whitebeard looked at Borsalino expressionlessly, his words bearing an obscure meaning.
"Oh~"
Borsalino's pupils suddenly constricted. Instinctively, his body glowed and dispersed into countless light particles.
The next second, a gigantic, gleaming naginata slammed down thunderously onto the spot where he had just stood.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground was cleaved open, air currents surged, and the earth shook relentlessly, the powerful tremor rapidly spreading outward.
"What?" Aeridar's eyes widened. He realized the direction of this quake attack was aimed right at him.
"Impact Wave!!!"
A white halo erupted, and a visible Impact Wave firmly resisted the powerful quake force.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground instantly collapsed and caved in. The earth shook violently, and countless shattered rocks and air currents spread outwards together, raising a sky full of dust and blowing away over a hundred elite Marines.
"What a formidable physique! He really is a monster!" Borsalino hovered in the air, his expression somewhat serious. "To still possess such immense power!"
"Huff... Huff..."
Aeridar gasped for breath, cursing solemnly, "Damn it! No wonder Kaido and Big Mom are so strong with bodies like that. And that freak Shanks, standing shoulder to shoulder with these monsters using just a regular human body; they're all freaks!"
The double stamina consumption was starting to make Aeridar short of breath. But seeing Whitebeard, despite his severe injuries, still able to unleash such astonishing and terrifying power like an old man throwing himself into a youthful rage, it made even him, who considered himself a monster, feel a little discouraged and alarmed.
"That was a close one," Borsalino's body reformed nearby, stating with a gasp, pointing to his chest.
"Die, Whitebeard!"
Aeridar casually grabbed the air. Though he was grabbing nothing but air, it was as if he had seized something tangible, and he hurled it toward Whitebeard.
Boom!
The space beside Whitebeard exploded like a cannonball. The resulting small-scale shockwave knocked him sideways, and a huge gust of air current swept through the surroundings, creating a violent windstorm.
Air Bomb!
Whitebeard spat blood from the corner of his mouth, struggling to stand straight.
Buzz…
The air trembled, emitting an unusual hum.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Immediately, a huge, pale-white, annular Impact Wave burst forth, rapidly extending along the ground. The earth instantly shattered and collapsed.
"Now then~ Yasakani no Magatama!"
Borsalino leaped high into the air, transforming into a massive, shining four-pointed star, scattering countless dense, dazzling light bullets like a torrential downpour.
"Hah, you little brats!"
Whitebeard roared in a deep voice. His thick arm was raised high, muscles bulging and veins throbbing, as he hammered a punch forward.
Shatter!
The atmosphere tore apart, covered in dense cracks. The terrifying quake force burst out visibly.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At this moment, earth-shattering explosions sounded non-stop, the roar was incessant, rocks flew everywhere, and as the ground shattered, deep cracks, like abysses, opened up one after another. The terrifying force formed a storm-like air current that swept across most of Marineford and stirred up dust everywhere, instantly shrouding the area in smoke.
The entire island of Marineford shook relentlessly, and the sea surrounding the area surged, creating massive waves dozens of meters high.
"Pops!"
Ace and the other pirates cried out in alarm.
"Instead of worrying about Whitebeard, you should worry about yourself first!" Sakazuki suddenly flashed forward. His magma arm formed the shape of a magma hound and lunged toward Ace.
"Don't you dare, Akainu!"
Blenheim, wearing a gray vest with Whitebeard's purple skull mark on both his deltoids, drew a cutlass. He flashed it out like lightning, instantly slicing Sakazuki in half and carving a deep gash into the ground.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle... Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...
The magma hound, halfway through its lunge, dissolved into molten lava, melting the ground below.
"You bastard!"
Sakazuki, split in two, merged back together as flowing magma. He threw a counter-punch, and the huge magma fist smashed directly into Blenheim's chest.
Thud!
Blenheim didn't even utter a sound, spitting blood as he was sent flying backward. A large, charred burn mark smoked on his chest, faintly smelling of scorched flesh.
"Blenheim!"
Ace exclaimed, then glared furiously at Sakazuki: "Akainu, I'll kill you!"
"That's what I should be saying!" Sakazuki's face was deathly pale, covered in blood and magma, radiating a murderous aura that made him look vicious.
Boom!
Scorching flames and high-temperature magma collided once more.
The sky-high flames dissipated into scattered sparks, while large quantities of magma splattered everywhere, injuring dozens of retreating pirates.
"Ahhh!"
Ace screamed, large areas of his body burned, emitting a smell of scorching flesh.
"Damn it, Ace is no match for Akainu!"
"Akainu's magma counters Ace's flames!"
"Quick, go support Ace!"
"Stop the Marines! We need to retreat!"
The Whitebeard Pirates cried out in continuous alarm, extremely worried. Naturally, many pirates swarmed to attack Sakazuki, attempting to support Fire Fist Ace.
"Insects! Get out of the way!"
Sakazuki was enraged, spraying large amounts of magma, clearing a path toward the pirates he considered utterly heinous.
Suddenly, a flicker crossed Sakazuki's vision. He felt a surge of high-temperature heat that didn't originate from his own body.
He saw circles of fire radiating outward from Ace, spreading rapidly. The soaring, high temperature of the flames far exceeded that of ordinary fire.
"Hmph. Die!"
Sakazuki scoffed, transforming entirely into magma and plunging into a fissure in the ground.
On the other side, all the fire circles merged. Ace rose, holding a giant fireball as dazzling as the sun in his hand, looking like a miniature fire god in a rage.
"Great Flame Commandment: Flame..."
Bang!
Sizzle... Sizzle...
A large quantity of magma surged out of the fissure behind Ace. The magma coalesced into a human shape, and a magma-transformed arm shot out like lightning, instantly plunging into Ace's back. The arm burned right through, with the fist emerging from his chest.
"Too slow!"
Sakazuki's face, formed from magma, whispered next to Ace's ear.
"Ugh..."
A look of complete disbelief appeared on Ace's face. He tried to speak, but a massive gush of blood surged up his throat, forcing him to gasp and vomit large amounts of crimson blood.
The gigantic fireball, which had shone as brightly as the sun, dimmed in the sight of countless onlookers, and its flames slowly dissipated.