A thick red mist and smoke blanketed the site of the terrifying energy impact.
The rolling dust surged like a ravenous beast, forcing everyone to step back instinctively.
After a moment, a massive hand suddenly stretched out from the smoke.
Whoosh!
Akainu's arm swept forward, generating a violent gust that completely cleared the crimson haze.
One of the Marine's Three Admirals, the embodiment of absolute justice and searing heat, now advanced step by step, exuding a chilling aura of cold-blooded authority.
The Marine's elite, previously intimidated by Ace and Whitebeard, felt a surge of reassurance at the sight of Admiral Sakazuki.
Even fiery power can bring comfort…
"Gurararara…"
"So it's the little Akainu!"
Whitebeard, draped in his grand cloak, planted his nodachi firmly on the ground and looked at Akainu approaching from the Marine ranks. His tone was teasing, as if scolding a child:
"Akainu boy, I hear you've fallen in love recently?"
"This is unbelievable…"
"The world is full of surprises…"
Gurararara!!!
Ahahaha…
The pirates surrounding Whitebeard burst into thunderous laughter at the sound of their captain's amusement.
These pirates weren't just powerful—they could outshout ordinary men by miles.
For a brief moment, the entire battlefield went quiet as all eyes turned toward them.
Some curious onlookers even began whispering questions.
Soon, the entire battlefield was filled with uproarious laughter.
"Hahaha! Admiral Akainu has a girlfriend!?"
"Yeah, I heard she's a Marine girl!"
"I even heard in a tavern that she's really young!"
"What? Akainu likes a little girl?!"
"What? The Admiral likes a loli? That's terrifying!"
Pfft…
Akainu staggered, nearly losing his balance, his pride shaken to the core.
Inside, he was literally spitting blood.
Those are rumors! Lies!
Although he didn't know who started them, lately he had been walking carefully, avoiding gossip.
And now… it felt like the rumors were evolving into something worse!
"Whitebeard!!!"
"Stop spouting nonsense!!!"
"You dare invade Marineford! Today, your Whitebeard Pirates will die on this land!"
Embarrassed and enraged by the pirates' mockery, Sakazuki unleashed his full power.
In an instant, his arms pointed diagonally toward the gathering pirates, fists turning into molten lava streams that solidified into massive magma gauntlets.
With a roar that shook the skies, his aged face contorted in fury:
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!…
His hands became two massive artillery cannons, blasting an endless barrage of lava fists like meteor shells.
The battlefield below became a cascading rain of molten rock, aiming to turn the entire land into a sea of lava.
Whitebeard watched the deadly meteor storm aimed at his sons, his aura swelling in response.
"Akainu!"
"Too flashy with your fire, aren't you…"
With a dismissive scorn, Whitebeard raised his muscular arms as if drawing energy, summoning an unstoppable force around him.
At the same time, he cast a playful, mocking glance at Akainu, as if watching a child play with fire.
Crack!… Snap!…
Whitebeard swung his massive fists outward with incredible force.
The fleet admiral Sengoku looked up from the high platform, noting the cloak billowing and the nodachi planted, and whispered in awe:
"There he is… The Strongest Man in the World!"
"The power that can destroy worlds!"
As Sengoku's words fell, the space on either side of Whitebeard shattered into countless fragments.
The displaced air didn't linger but surged outward in tandem with the direction of his fists.
In an instant, the sky cracked like a shattered mirror, fissures spreading rapidly in all directions.
The lava meteors Akainu had hurled were violently redirected, falling toward the seas on either side of Marineford.
Fwoosh…
The lava hitting the ocean instantly generated towering mists.
The wind carried the superheated fog toward the island's center, obscuring everything from view.
"Aiyaya…"
Kuzan, seated among the Three Admirals, slowly rose, extending his hand toward the mist.
"Really… just got injured, and now I have to fight in this insane war…"
"I wish I could be like a cloud—free and carefree."
Fwoosh…
A wave of extreme cold shot from his hand, condensing the fog over Marineford.
Tiny droplets froze together, forming ice shards with five delicate points, falling like snowflakes.
Pirates at the docks, already enduring near-100°C steam, were instantly blasted with freezing cold.
Even veterans of the Grand Line flinched at the rapid temperature change.
Blood within their bodies began to freeze as the snowflakes touched their skin.
Only the bluish-purple marks on their bodies showed which areas were fully frozen.
"Damn it! What is this!"
"Careful! Don't touch the snow!"
"Ah! My arm!"
Moments later, Kuzan's extreme cold had spread through the fog to all the pirates in the plaza.
The unlucky and weak were frozen solid, their bodies collapsing uncontrollably.
Heads shattered into fragments, lives extinguished in an instant.
"Tch!"
Akainu watched Kuzan effortlessly humiliate the Whitebeard Pirates and sneered at the memory of his own failed efforts against Whitebeard.
Yet something felt strange.
He had never seen Kuzan use such ruthless methods.
Could it be… that Kuzan, having been defeated, has truly turned to justice?
If so… it was good news.
Akainu's eyes glimmered with relief.
He didn't fear Kuzan competing with him…
He only feared… walking the path of justice alone.
"Gomu Gomu…"
While Akainu's thoughts wandered, a shout pierced the snow-covered battlefield.
Ace inhaled the freezing air with all his might.
The falling snow melted instantly upon touching his heated body.
In a blink, Ace ballooned to nearly 100 meters in height, his rubber body stretching with a painfully massive mouth.
Finally steadying himself, he directed his colossal head toward Kuzan's icy assault and shouted:
Whooosh!!!
A fierce gale erupted from Ace's mouth, the air stored in his rubber body released in full force.
Marineford seemed cursed by the heavens—meteor showers, deadly snow, and now a hurricane capable of flattening the land.
The storm raged for a full minute.
The ice shards flew like bullets toward the high platform.
Kuzan bent down, pressing a hand to the ground.
A massive ice wall rose, blocking the incoming shards.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!…
The shards collided with the wall with dull, metallic sounds.
Through the transparent ice, Kuzan focused on the shrinking figure in the sky—Ace.
"Pirate King Roger's son, Monkey D. Luffy's sworn brother…"
"This fight… is going to be tough."
Ace had just nullified a nearly impossible attack in moments, leaving Kuzan slightly exasperated.
So annoying… everyone is too strong!
The Marine is in deep trouble!
=======
Only Kizaru, still in his seat, glanced at Kuzan and Akainu below confronting Whitebeard, then suddenly stood.
If I don't act now, this month's salary will be docked!
"Ah~ Ah~"
So scary…
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Completed version available on P@treon(.)com/Veltoria