"Oh no! Fire Fist Ace has been rescued!"
With cries of surprise, looks of terror appeared on the faces of countless Marine soldiers.
Ace was a powerful fighter; for the enemy to regain such a top-tier combatant was absolutely terrible news.
The morale of the Marine forces began to plummeted.
"It's over... Whitebeard already had the upper hand, and now with Ace back, our chances of victory are slim!"
"Will the Marines lose? Will the World Government no longer be able to protect us?"
"Everyone, run for your lives!"
In an instant, countless people watching the live broadcast were filled with terror.
To them, pirates were vicious criminals.
If the Marines lost this battle, pirates all over the world would riot, becoming more brutal and unrestrained than ever.
For ordinary civilians, it would be the dawn of a dark age.
"Hahaha!" Luffy who's still fighting Rob Lucci, couldn't help but laugh out loud when he saw his brother freed.
"Hey, Marines! Stop fighting! We are the victors of this battle!"
The entire Whitebeard Pirates alliance erupted in cheers.
In contrast, the faces of Sengoku and the other Marine leaders were extremely ugly.
"Damn it! They succeeded!" Sengoku gritted his teeth.
Not far away, Akainu's eyes practically burst into flames.
"You may have rescued him, but the war isn't over yet! It's still uncertain who will have the last laugh!" he roared, the power of his two Devil Fruits swirling around him as he prepared to charge.
"Hahaha! Newgate! Now that we have free him, let's take this chance to finish them!" Shiki laughed, his face full of ambition.
"Forget it, Shiki," Whitebeard said, shaking his head.
He had successfully rescued Ace, which was the only goal of this war.
There was no need to continue fighting and risk more of his sons' lives.
"Gurararara! My sons!" Whitebeard roared to the sky. "Our goal has been achieved! All hands, retreat!"
"YES!" the pirates responded with a massive cheer and began to fall back towards their ships.
"Damn it! Stop them!" Akainu roared, wanting to personally pursue them, but he was intercepted by Whitebeard.
The other commanders and their custom Seraphim also moved to cover the retreat, tying up the other top-tier Marine fighters.
"Damn it all!" Akainu was red with anger.
He wanted to break away and slaughter the fleeing pirates, but Whitebeard kept him entangled.
He was completely stuck.
....
What's going on? Kaido and Big Mom thought, watching the broadcast.
The Whitebeard Pirates are about to retreat.
Why hasn't that kid appeared yet?
...
Just then, a childish voice sounded across the battlefield.
"Whitebeard, Shiki, as top-tier powerhouses of the world, don't you think it's unbecoming of you to run away after rescuing one person?"
"Huh?!"
Hearing the voice, Whitebeard and the others paused.
They knew who it was: the Marines' genius scientist known as the God of Technology, Dr. Leon.
Sure enough, on the high platform, a young boy was looking down on them.
It was the first time the entire world was truly seeing him with their own eyes.
"That's Dr. Leon?!"
"Hiss... I didn't expect him to be so young! He's just a child!"
"How could an eight-year-old boy invent so many incredible things?"
...
"Hahaha! Leon has finally appeared!" Kaido and Big Mom grinned ferociously.
Now Whitebeard will have to experience the suffering we did, they thought, their hearts full of anticipation.
...
"Gurararara, so you're Leon," Whitebeard laughed, pausing his fight.
"Hmph, kid," Shiki sneered. "We admit your technology is powerful, but so what? You invent one, we can copy one. Can you stop us?" His eyes were full of sarcasm.
"You're right," Leon grinned, surprising Shiki. "I really can't stop you."
"Heh, the kid has some self-awareness!" Shiki laughed coldly. "Then why don't you hurry up and admit that your Marines are no match for us?"
"Hehe, Shiki, don't misunderstand. I was just talking about myself," Leon said with a confident smile.
"I can't stop you... but maybe someone else can."
"Gurararara," Whitebeard said proudly. "Leon, the Whitebeard Pirates of today are not what they were before. Now, whether we go or stay, no one in the world can stop us!"
"That's right! A mere child wants to stop us? What a joke!" the pirates behind him roared, their morale soaring.
"Leon..." On the high platform, only Sengoku's eyes flickered with hope.
He had just learned from Magellan about Leon's ultimate weapon.
As expected, Leon spoke again. "Since you are so confident, then come out and fight them to the death... Overlord."
As soon as the words fell, a man with a ferocious face slowly walked out from behind him.
"Huh?!"
The moment this person appeared, Sengoku's eyes shot wide with shock.
The face of this man... it was the super-powerhouse from decades ago, Rocks D. Xebec.
Garp was equally stunned, dumbfounded on the spot.
But no one was more terrified than Whitebeard and Shiki.
"Captain... Rocks?!"
"No, no! It's a Seraphim!"
They looked at each other, seeing the absolute terror in each other's eyes.
How did he do it? How did he turn our former captain into a Seraphim?
Not only did it have his face, but they could also feel an extremely terrifying aura emanating from it—an unparalleled power they had only ever felt when they were members of the Rocks Pirates, facing their captain.
...
On the deck of the Moby Dick, Miss Bakkin shuddered.
"It's him! It's actually him! The Marines... they even used him as a template!"
...
On the Sabaody Archipelago, the Dark King Rayleigh's eyes were wide with shock and an unparalleled fear.
He remembered Rocks clearly.
A man so powerful it took both Garp and Roger joining forces to finally defeat him.
...
The Five Elders, watching from Mariejois, suddenly stood up.
"Rocks!" they exclaimed.
Then, they understood.
"The bone we gave him... he used it to extract Rocks's lineage factor!" After their shock subsided, thick smiles spread across their faces.
"Hahahaha! As expected of Leon!"
...
Back at Marineford, the distant Overlord's immense aura made countless pirates' faces turn pale.
But some still scoffed.
"So what about a Seraphim? We have them too! And our father is the strongest!"
Many of the younger Whitebeard Pirates didn't recognize Rocks, or had only heard whispers of his name.
They naturally believed their father was superior.
"Hmph, aren't they all just humanoid weapons?!"
With a flash of deep fear in his eyes, Shiki, the Golden Lion, was the first to make a bold move!
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