Gurgle, gurgle…
Akainu's magma body continuously healed, the shattered molten rock radiating intense heat that enveloped the surrounding area.
"I said…"
The magma figure, upper body exposed, revealed resolute features.
Marine Admiral Akainu.
"Are you underestimating me…?" His calm, taut face, veins throbbing on his brow, stared at the old man who should have been near death, yet appeared robust and brimming with overwhelming power.
"Whitebeard!!!"
Akainu roared furiously. Scorching heat surged outward, baking the area into a crimson furnace.
"…," Aokiji, standing on the red-tinged battlefield, frowned slightly and retreated, avoiding the unbearable heat, yet he continued to attack and restrain Whitebeard.
"Ice Pond!!!"
Even from a distance, Aokiji's ice attacks could reach Whitebeard, though Akainu's magma greatly reduced their effect. Still, it was sufficient—enough to buy Akainu precious time.
Whoosh!!!!
The black-red magma coating Akainu dimmed, hissing as it condensed and compressed temporarily. Then, wave after wave of volcanic heat erupted from the ice surface below.
Boom!! Boom!!! Boom!!!!!
The simultaneous eruptions completely submerged the area. Heatwaves scalded the melted ice, leaving seawater boiling and steaming. Sea beasts feeding on corpses were instantly cooked.
Akainu's concentrated assault melted the entire battlefield, eliminating Whitebeard's ice footholds and interrupting his Tremor-Tremor Fruit blockade.
Whitebeard had been calculating, but Akainu's ruthlessness forced his hand.
Whitebeard, leaping across ice surfaces with Murakumogiri in hand, observed the magma eruption.
"Magma brat, your courage is impressive. But do you really think you've escaped?" His eyes hardened, ready to vibrate Murakumogiri through the sky, aiming at Akainu.
"Don't even think about it!!! Hah!!!"
Crack! Crackle, crackle…
White frost rapidly spread across Murakumogiri, freezing it to the ice.
"Hmm?" Whitebeard tried to lift the blade but found it immobile. Aokiji's ice ability had exceeded previous limits, even numbing Whitebeard briefly—a fleeting opening.
"Totsuka-no-Tsurugi!!!"
Whoosh! A photon-formed blade streaked toward Whitebeard's head.
Bang!
"Kizaru brat, relying on light speed for an ambush?" Whitebeard's fist, imbued with Conqueror's Haki, smashed through Kizaru's light clone, piercing the air where he appeared to stand.
"Hah!!!" Kizaru feigned panic, voice trembling, though the blow had struck only a projection.
"Hmph!" Whitebeard snorted coldly.
"Whitebeard, your aura feels… off!" Kizaru's real body flickered behind, his weathered face complex as he observed Whitebeard's unwavering determination.
Even an Emperor's resolve to fight at full strength despite their limits commanded caution. Kizaru, the 'Slacker King,' decided to harass with feints and long-range strikes, avoiding direct confrontation.
Crack!
Murakumogiri tore a massive ice chunk from the ground and swung it at Kizaru, grinning widely.
"Gurararararara!!! Marine Admiral brats, are you all just talkers?"
Crackling! A colorless blade aura, enhanced by Conqueror's Haki, pierced the ice, shaking the sky with a thunderous roar.
The shockwaves rippled across the air. Several Giant Vice Admirals were flung violently, coughing blood.
"Gurararararara, Kizaru brat, you think you can stop me?"
Kizaru dodged while noticing Aokiji's icy assault being disrupted by Whitebeard's vibratory punch.
"You really play a good game!!! Gurararararara!!!!" Whitebeard laughed heartily, unconstrained by the two, not advancing yet, simply observing.
"Ugh ah ah ah ah ah…" Whitebeard stood firm, gripping Murakumogiri, muscles contracting. His aged, slightly bloated body transformed into a perfected war machine, condensing immense strength beyond ordinary comprehension.
Sizzle…
A crimson aura flared in his eyes, killing intent radiating toward the distant iron wall where Akainu unleashed Meteor Volcano into the sky.
"Heh, no wonder I always felt trapped. Sengoku, you planned this all along…"
Crimson Haki surged around the strongest man in the world. Concentrated on his body, it was Whitebeard at peak, fighting without restraint.
"Ugh ah ah ah ah ah!!!!" His roar shattered the spirits of unprepared Marines and pirates alike.
The magma giant fists descending from the sky were a warning: the Marines intended to trap the younger generation, strip them of footing, and drown them in the icy waters beneath Marineford.
"You've angered their father!!!!!"
Whitebeard swung Murakumogiri with ferocious force, squatting slightly as Conqueror's Haki coiled around his hands and the Supreme Grade Sword.
Crack!!!!!
The black-red Haki coiled violently, twisting the heavens and earth, distorting space itself.
"Break!!!"
The Haki-empowered Dragon spun through the sky, colliding with the falling magma fists, shattering them in midair. The world's strongest man had finally unleashed himself.
"Old soldiers never die, they just fade away!"
Shirogai sighed softly from the spectator stand. Half of the "Reignited Hormones" duration had passed.
Whitebeard, the veteran of a bygone era, was now fully enraged by the Marines, holding nothing back, completely unleashed.