Boom!
Whitebeard clenched his fist and struck in Luffy's direction, the air cracking like a spider's web under his fist, a powerful shock wave heading toward Luffy with immense force, sweeping away the Navy on the road as they were flung away by the impact of this punch.
Even a Vice Admiral rank had no choice but to avoid the edge of this blow, this was the most terrifying aspect of Whitebeard at his peak, the Quake-Quake Fruit in his hands was a force of nature, capable of causing immeasurable destruction with a mere gesture.
In response, when Whitebeard threw this punch, Akainu and Kizaru also made their own responses.
"Amami Yatagarasu!"
"Inugami Guren!"
Whitebeard dodged Inugami Guren, but the body of the light transformed Kizaru crashed solidly into Whitebeard's chest. In battles of this calibre, getting distracted was a major taboo, even for Whitebeard, intervening in other battlefields while engaging two opponents came with a price.
Facing Kizaru's sudden attack, it was virtually impossible to avoid it on short notice.
Whitebeard staggered back two steps, blood streaming down his body along the lines of his muscles, staining the cloth wrapped around his waist red.
"Father!!"
"Don't worry about me, I'll handle things here. Everyone! Cover the Straw Hat kid! Help him break through!!"
Kaidou shirked off to spar with Sengoku, and Yamato was half-heartedly sparring with Kuzan, Whitebeard shared the load with Akainu and Kizaru, but that was already the limit of what they could manage.
Whitebeard hadn't counted on Kaidou to help him with anything; this was already a pleasant surprise. The Seven Warlords of the Sea were indifferent to fighting, the captains could match up with the Vice Admirals, he needed someone who could breach Garp's defenses in this situation.
Looking for a way to overpower Garp with brute strength, he did not find, so an alternative path was required.
While aboard Whitebeard's ship, Ace went on about his brother, and Whitebeard had a certain understanding of Luffy's familial ties. If there was anyone left who could save Ace in front of Garp, it had to be Luffy.
Whitebeard's voice echoed across half of the plaza, and his subordinate pirates reacted in kind, the captain's orders to his subordinate pirates were absolute, and those who could shake off their opponents began converging in Luffy's direction.
Before Luffy could even react to what was happening, a large group of pirates from the New World had already gathered around him, many of these pirates had once made a name for themselves, with some being even stronger than Luffy.
But under Whitebeard's command, they willingly played their part in covering for him.
"This won't do, if you all make it through, that would be quite troubling for this old man... Eight Span…"
"Flashy Kid! Where are you looking at?"
Kizaru's attack couldn't even be released before Whitebeard interrupted him; the outcome of Whitebeard's earlier distraction was now being reprised in his case.
"Borsalino! Leave that side to the others, let's deal with Whitebeard first! As long as we take him down, the Whitebeard Pirates are nothing!"
"Big words indeed, try taking this old man's head if you dare! Navy!"
Murakumogiri struck the ground, the huge crack extending towards the execution platform, opening a new path for the charging pirates.
Whitebeard even took several of Akainu's attacks head-on as a tradeoff, keeping Kizaru tightly suppressed within his sphere of ability, leaving him no chance to meddle in other battles.
...
Every moment, someone was falling, with Ace as the focal point, both pirates and marines had suffered tremendous casualties.
As Kaidou withdrew from the main front, Yamato also relaxed significantly, the intensity of her battle with Kuzan sharply declining.
"Have you seen it?"
"Seen what?"
"This battlefield, because of your presence, the casualties have become even more severe. If it weren't for you pirates, such a thing wouldn't happen at all."
As a fellow Admiral, Kuzan's combat nerves were not weak at all, and Yamato's moves appeared immensely powerful, yet pervasive with a sense of peculiarity.
He was Garp's senior disciple, the Ice-Ice Fruit his primary combat strength, but that didn't mean he was without body techniques. However, against the thunder-augmented Yamato, his body technique proficiency was at a disadvantage.
Yet, at times Yamato would suddenly hold back, giving the impression of deliberately going easy. This perplexed Kuzan more and more, making him wonder what exactly she intended to do.
After all, an ordinary person couldn't comprehend Kaidou's family environment.
"What are you talking about? This is war, isn't loss of life commonplace in war? Besides, didn't you guys initiate this war?"
"Ah lala, seems there's nothing wrong with that... Looks like you aren't as naive as I imagined."
"Don't use that old-timer tone with me! Who do you think you are!"
"Don't misunderstand, if my junior ever became a pirate, I'd have a headache.
I'm just curious, someone who doesn't like war, whose fighting is filled with such slackness, why did you come to this battlefield?"
"Naturally, I had no choice, but is my fighting really that casual? That won't do..."
Having one's opponent perceive her slackness was indeed the greatest failure in her rigged battles, if Kaidou noticed...
Imagining that terrifying scene, Yamato vigorously shook her head, then on Kuzan's sight, rushed to the other side, with Zekrom's Power of Thunder in play, Kuzan couldn't restrain Yamato's steps.
When she appeared in a safe zone again, a Heracross had already appeared in her hand.
"I mean you, what are you doing in a place like this? This isn't suitable for you."
"Hercross...."
"He's certainly bold, even consenting for you to come here, don't head that way anymore, your strength won't contribute there."
Since the time that Chansey took a bullet for her, Yamato avoided bringing Pokemon into dangerous battlefields. Except for tourism-grade missions, she never brought Pokemon along, even if hers were of the special type like Diancie and Genesect.
Heracross wasn't adept at high-speed flight, in the top-level war populated by many high-ranked generals, such flight speed could easily turn one into a target.
Recognizing the sense in Yamato's words, Heracross turned its gaze to Buggy's group, noting there seemed to be an adept locksmith among them.
"Hercross."
Seeing Luffy charge forward without a key, Heracross reluctantly flew towards Mr. 3, planning to help get a key made.
Where Buggy was located was arguably the safest area on the battlefield; Yamato didn't stop it, instead seeking out Kuzan again, intending to rectify Kuzan's perception of her slackness.
Meanwhile, at the rear of the battlefield, another group was drawing nearer to Marinfanto.
"Captain Teach, are you sure you want to do this? That place is awfully dangerous."
"Zehahaha, of course, handing Ace over to the Navy was precisely for this! That world-ending power is destined to be mine!"