The azure phoenix swooped down directly!
Even the body of Hundred Beasts Kaido was knocked away by his strike!
As the well-known First Division Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates and an acknowledged elder brother, Marco could not possibly allow Ace to stay behind as cover for him.
However...
When both parties try to cover each other's escape in a battle, it only leads to one outcome: neither can leave in the end.
"Hmph..."
"So stubborn..."
"Just like that old geezer..."
Hundred Beasts Kaido saw through their thoughts at a glance, his huge body directly striding towards them!
"Mirror Flame!"
Ace brought his fingers together and raised his hand, unleashing a massive wall of fire!
Yet Kaido, undaunted by Ace's flames, charged headlong into the blaze and punched towards Ace with a fist wrapped in Supreme King Haki!
"Don't think I'm afraid!"
Fire Fist Ace's arm burned with flame as he charged at Kaido's fist, his Supreme King Haki unconsciously emanating from his body!
"Mamamama..."
Charlotte Lingling observed Fire Fist Ace with a giggle, praising, "What a fine young lad..."
But...
The gap between Ace and Kaido was ultimately too large!
Hundred Beasts Kaido's fist shattered Ace's flames in an instant!
Phoenix Marco flew down again, his sharp claws reaching for Kaido's head, forcing Kaido to impatiently try to grab Marco with his swinging hands!
"Leave it to me, Kaido."
Charlotte Lingling swung her fist at Marco, a blast of wind like a shockwave, sending Marco flying with a single punch!
Marco's body tumbled to the ground, revealing a wound on his shoulder, but the injury healed rapidly on him...
This is the characteristic of the Phoenix Fruit.
No matter the damage, it can recover swiftly!
If he was merely entangled with either Hundred Beasts Kaido or Charlotte Lingling, one of the Four Emperors, Marco was fairly confident in holding them off...
But...
He was facing two of the Four Emperors!
Even with a Seven Warlords of the Sea member, Donflamingo, eyeing them greedily from the side...
Under the joint assault of Kaido and Charlotte Lingling, Fire Fist Ace and Marco soon found it hard to hold their own, their clothes tattered, bodies covered in bloodstains, and even their faces bore wounds, making them look extremely disheveled...
"Surrender, Marco, Fire Fist Ace."
Kaido stepped forward, spreading his arms as if he were a majestic Sea Emperor: "What's so great about following that old Whitebeard guy? Only playing a ridiculous father-son game with you as your family would. Follow me, and you can truly rule this sea…"
"Absolutely not..."
Marco rotated his dead fish eyes.
Even though his refusal lacked any sense of presence, it didn't seem like a statement of loyalty to Whitebeard, everyone knew this man was being earnest...
The entire sea knew that Marco, the First Division Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, had followed Whitebeard for about thirty years, how could he possibly betray him?
To be honest...
The appearance of a traitor from the Whitebeard Pirates was so unusual, Blackbeard Teach's betrayal truly shocked everyone.
"Unappreciative..."
Kaido shook his head, not expecting to persuade Marco so quickly, planning to capture Marco and Fire Fist Ace before taking any further action.
"Then let's capture you first!"
Kaido once again swung his fist towards Marco's body.
"Marco!"
Ace's body turned into a ball of flame, instantly appearing in front of Marco, his voice particularly urgent: "I told you, get out of here quickly!"
"You..."
"Both of you just stay here together!"
Kaido interrupted their exchange with a powerful punch that struck Ace, sending the renowned Fire Fist flying!
Ace's body rolled as he was blasted away, feeling his organs shifting, and spat out a mouthful of blood!
"Quite disheveled, aren't you..."
A gentle voice appeared beside Ace's ear.
"You are..."
Ace instinctively raised his head, spotting a blond youth wearing a blue outfit with a windproof goggle hat, gripping a steel pipe.
"!!!"
Ace's eyes widened involuntarily!
This outfit...
It was remarkably similar to a figure from his memories!
"Hello."
The blond youth extended his hand towards the prone Ace, his smile as warm as the spring sunshine: "If my recently recovered memory is correct, my sworn brother should be called... Portgas D. Ace?"
"You are..."
Ace, his mouth stained with blood, wanted to shout the name from his memories.
"Hey, Sabo!"
A girl with orange hair from the Revolutionary Army, Koala, called out to Sabo, rushing over and smacking the blond youth on the head: "Mr. Dragon has been looking for you! Let's head to the forest to find gold—don't get involved in pirate battles, they're really dangerous!"
"Sorry, Koala..."
The blond youth smiled apologetically, looking a little sheepish.
"Is it... Sabo?"
Ace struggled to get to his feet, interrupting their conversation.
This young pirate felt his heart pounding as fast as when he first heard the news of Sabo's death, unprecedentedly intense!