— BOOM! —
Sengoku launched a furious attack on Blackbeard and his crew, catching them off guard. The powerful shockwave made Blackbeard and his men cry out, especially Teach, the possessor of the Dark-Dark Fruit. The power of the fruit doubled the pain, nearly causing him to roll his eyes back and lose his combat effectiveness.
However, driven by his will and ambitions, Blackbeard regained his composure and immediately parried the attack, wielding the power of the fruit in both hands.
At the moment when Sengoku, in the form of the giant Buddha, was ready to continue the assault, his golden fist was suddenly caught by Blackbeard's dark hand. Surprisingly, Sengoku did not release the shockwave as expected. The strange sensation in his fist left him deeply surprised. He had never encountered anything like it before.
— How is this possible... —
— Ze ha-ha-ha, Sengoku, my hidden power can neutralize the power of Devil Fruits, air explosion! —
Before Sengoku could comprehend his words, Blackbeard swung his fist, splitting the air once again. The blow struck Sengoku directly, inflicting serious injuries on the seasoned marine officer.
Sengoku forced himself to focus. The Golden Buddha thirsted for blood and quickly realized how to counter Blackbeard's ability. He raised his fist, using only his physical strength and combat skills, causing Blackbeard to panic.
Suddenly, a blade flashed, and a deep knife wound appeared on the back of the Golden Buddha. Shiryu took advantage of the moment when Sengoku was not ready for the attack and left a deep knife wound on the back of the Golden Buddha.
— Shiryu, you scoundrel, have you forgotten the justice you once served? — Sengoku exclaimed.
— Sengoku, everyone serves their own master. We're not going to let you fight Teach alone, — Shiryu replied.
At the same time, the rest of Blackbeard's pirates attacked Sengoku. Three powerful pirates from the Seven Warlords of the Sea, plus Shiryu and Blackbeard, put Sengoku in an extremely difficult position.
The Marines present at the battle could not help. Most of the main forces were directed at pursuing the remnants of Whitebeard's pirates. Only two vice admirals remained at headquarters.
At the edge of Marineford's inner bay, Garp saw Sengoku surrounded and then noticed the expression on Rayleigh's face: "Do as you see fit." After a moment's hesitation, he turned back. If he had to choose between arresting Roger and Sengoku's safety, he would unquestionably choose his old comrade, with whom he had been through so much.
Before leaving, Garp stubbornly said:
— Roger, don't think you'll get off easy just because you escaped this time. Even if I have to go to the ends of the earth, I'll surely lock you up in Impel Down. Don't think I'm old yet. I could chase you and make you hide, and I still can now.
— …Do as you see fit, Garp. If you're not afraid that I'll sink you along with your ship, come here. I'll give you another piece of free information. Blackbeard's Dark Shadows Fruit ability allows him to extract the abilities of fruit users. If given time, he will be able to create an extraordinary pirate crew of devil fruit users.
As Garp was about to leave, upon hearing the information, he stopped and said to Sal:
— The ability of the Dark Shadows Fruit is so strong, Roger, Ace… Forget it, I won't say anything, they're adults now.
Garp left, and Rayleigh turned his attention to Kizaru. This admiral, who seemed lazy at the beginning of all this, now looked very dejected after the appearance of Rayleigh and his crew.
— kizaru, you're alone. Are you going to stop me by yourself? —
Fear appeared on the pale face of Yellow Monkey. This thankless task isn't worth it. Even if he stops Roger, no reinforcements will arrive anytime soon.
Why did Blackbeard decide to show up right now? It would be better to combine the efforts of two veterans to hold back Blackbeard; otherwise, when he leaves Marineford, I fear a new sea lord will arise.
— Roger, you're so terrifying. I don't want to fight you one on one. —
When Kizaru turned into golden light and departed, Sal felt compelled to thank Blackbeard. Although cunning and sly, Blackbeard was willing to do anything to achieve his goals. Yet, the appearance of Blackbeard and his crew this time provided them with an excellent chance to retreat.
As for Blackbeard's pirates, two veterans plus one Admiral—three top-tier fighters together—might be able to partially hold back Blackbeard and his men.
— Forget it, it's none of my business anyway. Blackbeard can only hope for the best. In the end, he needs the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, so he can't leave Whitebeard's body. If he lingers too long, he may not manage to extract the fruit's power. —
Of course, Sal understood that if Blackbeard could hold out until the arrival of Red-Haired Shanks, he might indeed escape unscathed. Whether the butterfly effect would occur, and Shanks would arrive, he did not know.
As for Whitebeard's body, the current pirates didn't have the strength to reclaim it. The appearance of Sal and Rayleigh had made Kizaru and Aokiji more serious than in the original work...
In the outer harbor of Marineford, the entire sea was littered with the wreckage of ships and lifeboats full of drowned Marines. These were the casualties of Whitebeard's two powerful earthquakes.
At this time, backup Marine ships, along with the remaining vessels, more than 20 ships in total, arrived and opened fire on the less than 20 pirate ships. A brutal artillery duel between both sides at sea reached its peak.
Ships were sinking one after another, and sailors from both sides were fighting for their lives in the sea. There was even a direct collision of two ships, leading to a fierce battle over capturing the vessels.
Two large whale ships, closest to the shore, were frozen on the sea surface and unable to move. Outside the icy layer, the Icebreaker, Ice Queen Whitney, was struggling to break through the ice shell to let friendly forces pass.
In the middle of two whale ships, Aokiji was fighting one against four and was not at a disadvantage.
Phoenix Marco from the blue flame, Diamond Joz, Fire Fist Ace, and sir Crocodile —these powerful individuals, with strength comparable to or even surpassing the Shichibukai—together were strong enough to stand against an Admiral. The Pacifistas, having retreated to the shore, approached the battlefield again, but there were only about a dozen left, and they could no longer repeat their terrifying assault as at the beginning.
They found themselves targeted by Rayleigh, whose sword cut through the artificial soldiers as if slicing a melon.
— Balloon Bazooka!!! —
Luffy was covered in smoke. He struck a Marine colonel with his palm. His short-cropped head was sweaty, and his breathing was labored. He had fought from Impel Down to Marineford, and his strength was nearly depleted. Next to him at this time was only Ivankov, who had used the female hormone, transforming himself into a young woman with an unusual chin. He was relentlessly whipping, knocking down one Marine after another.
— Sailors, call me queen! —
— Damn transvestite! —
— I'm not a transvestite, I'm the king of the new humans. Since you're so curious about what new humans are, I'll let you join them, Ambrosial Female Hormone. —
Ivankov's nails continued to dig into the bodies of the Marines who were stubbornly resisting. As voices changed from male to female, more than a dozen beautiful women with elegant figures appeared in front of him, and the Marines' once perfectly fitting clothes became loose.
— Aslan, how is it that you've become a woman, and such a beautiful one at that? —
— Damn you, Kira, why aren't you helping me? Ah! What are you doing? —
Amidst indulging in his own perverse pleasures, Ivankov suddenly noticed a particular section of the ground turning bright red, and it was very close to Luffy. This change alarmed "her," and she immediately shouted out:
— Luffy, watch out! —
Luffy didn't have time to react as a stream of lava surged from the ground. Although he tried his best to dodge, the lava still grazed his waist. The incredibly high temperature of the lava caused Luffy to collapse to the ground and roll around.
— It's so hot. I'm burning... —
— Luffy, BOY!!! —
When Ivankov ran up to Luffy and injected him with a healing hormone, the ground nearby suddenly exploded, and Akainu, surrounded by streams of magma, reappeared on the battlefield.
If you want to read more advanced chapters follow me on patreon
30 +chapters
patron.com /Manofathousandskills