"All units—attack! Whitebeard is dying!"
Marshal Sengoku seized the moment, his voice echoing across the chaotic battlefield as he raised his arm to signal the general assault.
At once, the elite Marines surged forward from every direction, closing in on Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate—the strongest man in the world.
Once upon a time, no number of soldiers could have harmed even a single hair on his body. Anyone who dared to approach would have been obliterated by the overwhelming shockwaves from his Quake-Quake Fruit.
But now…
Now things were different.
Whitebeard stood motionless, his massive frame unmoving like a crumbling mountain.
The deep wound from Squard's betrayal, the gaping hole punched through his chest by Admiral Akainu, and countless other injuries all weighed heavily on him. His once invincible body had become little more than a vessel for pain.
He could do nothing but stand there, bearing the storm of attacks from the Marines.
Puff!
Puh!
Blades stabbed into his flesh.
Four Marines charged together, their bayonets and sabers sinking into Whitebeard's scarred torso.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets tore through him, one after another.
BOOM!
A cannon shell exploded in his face, smoke and debris scattering through the air.
The towering figure of the Four Emperors' Whitebeard wavered. For a moment, it seemed he might fall—
—but he steadied himself, his voice erupting like thunder.
"Don't think this is enough to kill me! I am Whitebeard!!!"
With a roar, he swung his massive naginata, Cong Yunqie, its blade vibrating with earth-shattering power.
Boom!
Rumble!
The ground of Marineford cracked and shook violently. Within a hundred-meter radius, Marines were hurled into the air like ragdolls—rising high before crashing down like falling dumplings.
The sight left even the bravest Marines trembling, their hearts pounding in fear.
"Don't fall back! Keep attacking—he's gravely injured!" Sengoku's voice thundered, urging his men forward.
Whitebeard laughed bitterly, his voice hoarse yet powerful.
"Gravely injured, you say? Don't make me laugh! You think this is enough to kill me?! I'm still standing!"
He slammed his foot into the ground, cracks spreading beneath him like spiderwebs.
"I know what my death means. If I fall here… my sons will never see the future I dreamed of for them. I will not allow that future to die!"
Sengoku's gaze hardened, his voice cutting through the smoke.
"Your future ended the moment you stepped onto this battlefield, Whitebeard. But if you want to see what comes next—then I'll show you!"
He raised his hand sharply.
"Executioners! Do it!"
The two men standing beside Portgas D. Ace lifted their blades.
The time for bait and strategy had passed.
Now came the execution itself.
Twin blades crossed above Ace's neck, gleaming coldly under the sun.
Whitebeard's eyes blazed.
"You think I can't stop this?!"
He gathered his will, ready to unleash his Conqueror's Haki—
—but before he could release it, a surge of pain ripped through his body. His legs buckled, forcing him down to one knee.
That brief moment of weakness sealed Ace's fate.
"Look closely, Whitebeard—your future is gone!"
Sengoku's hand dropped.
Swish!
The blades fell.
They pierced through Ace's chest.
Blood sprayed across the platform, dyeing the execution stand a vivid crimson.
"ACE!!!"
Whitebeard's voice broke. His vision blurred with tears.
"Ace!!!"
"Captain Ace!!!"
The pirates below cried out in anguish.
"How could this happen…"
"We came all this way…"
"And still… Ace…"
"Not just Ace—Marco, Jozu, even Dad…!"
Across the battlefield, despair rippled through the ranks of the Whitebeard Pirates and their allied fleets.
As Ace's life slipped away, so too did their will to fight.
The fierce determination that had carried them this far vanished in an instant, leaving behind only chaos and grief.
A low, bitter laugh rumbled through the sky.
"Gurarararara…"
The mournful, defiant laughter of Whitebeard echoed across Marineford.
From the moment he set foot on this battlefield, he had known—he would not leave alive.
He had resolved to trade his own life for his son's.
He was a relic of the old era, a man for whom the new world no longer had a place.
If his death could pave the way for the next generation, then it was a price worth paying.
But now… Ace was gone.
All hope had been cut away.
There was only one thing left to do.
Whitebeard gripped Cong Yunqie once more, the blade trembling with power.
BOOM!
He brought it down with all his remaining strength.
RUMBLE!
The Quake-Quake Fruit's full might erupted. The very earth of Marineford split in two, the sea roaring in fury as the world itself seemed to fracture.
"Listen up, my sons!" Whitebeard's voice thundered over the chaos. "This is my final order as your captain! Ace is dead! We've lost! The fallen cannot return—but you, you still have hope!"
He turned his gaze toward Sengoku on the execution platform, his lips curling into a grim smile.
"I'll take revenge for Ace! Sengoku… let's go to hell together!!!"
"Stop him—now!" Sengoku barked, his composure cracking for the first time. "Finish Whitebeard before he brings the whole island down!"
But it was too late.
Whitebeard no longer held anything back.
He burned through the last of his life, wielding his power without restraint.
"Dad!!!"
"No—Dad!!!"
"We promised, didn't we?! We were going back to the New World together!"
The pirates screamed, their voices raw with grief.
"Ace is dead! His partner's gone! And now Father too…"
"It doesn't matter anymore! My life belongs to our old man!"
"If he dies today, then I'll die with him!"
"Don't think you've won, Marines!"
"Even if it costs my life, I'll take you all to hell with us!!!"
The battlefield became a storm of blood and vengeance.
One after another, the Whitebeard Pirates abandoned retreat, charging headlong into the Marine ranks.
Their dying counterattack plunged Marineford—the pride of the Navy—into an ocean of fire and death.
By the time the chaos subsided, the entire bay was soaked in blood, transformed into a living purgatory.
And then… at last…
Under the unrelenting force of the Navy's combined assault—
The Great Pirate Whitebeard fell.
The Whitebeard Pirates were annihilated.
An era ended in blood and fire.