"Ursus Shock!"
With a low cry devoid of any emotional fluctuation from "Tyrant" Kuma, that mass of energy slowly flew out and struck Oars' chest.
Instantly, the wind howled, the earth shook, the ice cracked, and the battlefield within a radius of dozens of meters was swept by a powerful shockwave, clearing the area instantly.
Little Oars' massive body was also pushed back several steps by the shockwave. Bleeding from his head, he managed two more steps before finally being unable to hold on. He collapsed to his knees, and the Straw hat atop his head fell to the ground.
[Ursus Shock Learned Successfully]
Although Taro had learned this powerful move, there was little joy in his heart. The heart-wrenching cries of Ace from the Execution Platform behind him made his heart heavy.
Soon, Little Oars stood up again and continued his advance toward the Execution Platform, but his massive size made him nothing more than a sitting duck for the Marine heavy artillery.
His already battered body was overwhelmed. In a desperate final strike, he raised his right fist high and smashed it down toward the Warlord of the Sea in front of him.
Doflamingo leaped high into the air, and the power of the String-String Fruit instantly severed Little Oars' right leg.
Immediately after, Gekko Moriah's "Tsuno-Tokage" rose from the ground, piercing through Little Oars' lower jaw and exiting from the back of his neck.
Having suffered one heavy blow after another, Little Oars could no longer endure. He knelt on the ground and, with the last of his strength, reached out his arm toward Ace on the Execution Platform.
With that arm right before his eyes, Little Oars painfully groaned Ace's name. Taro was deeply moved, and his eyes turned red.
"Waaaaah, Doflamingo, you bastard actually cut off his leg! I wanted his corpse to make a zombie!"
Moria screamed, angrily accusing Doflamingo.
On the Execution Platform, Ace cried out Oars' name in grief and indignation.
Boom!
Little Oars' body crashed down heavily. His hand was only a meter away from Ace, but that meter was a distance that spanned life and death.
"Oars!"
Ace's face was covered in tears as he wailed aloud.
Taro flipped up from the ground and flew down.
He walked quietly onto the ice and picked up Little Oars' Straw hat.
Both sides of the battle knew Taro's terrifying strength. For a moment, they were uncertain and suspicious, not knowing what he intended to do, so they all stopped.
Holding the Straw hat, Taro walked over to the heavily injured and unconscious Little Oars, placed the hat back on his head, then turned to look at Moria and said coldly:
"On this battlefield, whether Marine or pirate, if you dare touch a single corpse of those who died in battle..."
As he spoke, he held his sword to his chest and pushed out a section of the blade with his thumb. "I will kill you without mercy!"
"You!..."
Gekko Moriah was both shocked and enraged. To be threatened by Taro in front of everyone while being a Warlord of the Sea was unacceptable to him, making him exceptionally ashamed and angry. He roared, "By what right do you..."
With a shring, Taro unsheathed the Famous sword "thunderstorm." The crimson blade pointed directly at Moria. The infinite anger and hatred in his heart transformed into a sinister tone.
"What? Was I not clear enough, or do you want to test if my blade is sharp?"
Moria's breath hitched. He stared hatefully at Taro but ultimately didn't say a word.
"Taro!" On the Execution Platform, Sengoku hadn't expected that in the midst of the great battle, the person Taro would draw his sword against was a Warlord of the Sea. He shouted angrily to stop him, "What are you doing? Get back here!"
Taro gave Moria one last look, snorted coldly, returned his sword to its scabbard, and flew back to the Execution Platform.
"Taro, do you have any idea what you're doing?" Sengoku questioned sternly.
Taro shrugged indifferently and sat back down cross-legged, not even looking at Sengoku.
"What am I doing? I am a Marine; I am very clear on that."
"Fleet Admiral often say that the Marines represent 'Justice'? This is my justice!"
Hearing this, Sengoku's face darkened even further, his blood pressure rising from anger. Considering they were in the middle of a war and that reprimanding Taro might affect morale, he ultimately said nothing more.
However, the Marine soldiers' morale soared because of Taro's words. They charged toward the pirates with a roar, and the two sides resumed their clash.
"Hahahaha, as expected of the kid I have my eye on!" Below the platform, Garp laughed heartily, clearly very satisfied. Vice Admiral Tsuru beside him also showed a faint smile.
On the battlefield, people continued to fall, rolling on the ground in painful wails. Taro grew increasingly dissatisfied with this war and even more unwilling to see Blackbeard emerge as the ultimate winner.
A sense of powerlessness and frustration made him exceptionally uncomfortable. Thinking of Ace's obsession with seeking the answer to "Is it a good thing that I was born into this world?" and his eventual choice to go to his death, which was even harder to understand, he finally couldn't help but mock:
"Take a good look, Ace. Watch how your companions die here, one by one, just to save you!"
Hearing this, Ace's face twisted in pain, tears and snot streaming down. Garp also gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
"Two points at the bay's edge have been Breakthrough, and pirates are invading in large numbers through these two locations!"
A Marine Rear Admiral ran up from behind the Execution Platform to report the battle situation.
Sengoku didn't even turn his head, calmly replying, "Hmm, no problem!"
"Notify all soldiers on the island to begin the next phase of the operation!"
After the Rear Admiral left to carry out the order, another set of heavy and slow footsteps came from the stairs of the Execution Platform.
Garp slowly walked up. Sengoku glanced at him sideways. "What are you doing here? Do you have an objection to the operation?"
"No. The opponents are pirates; they don't deserve sympathy."
"Then..."
"Shut up!" Garp shouted, interrupting Sengoku.
After a moment of silence, he slowly sat down between Taro and Ace and said in a low voice, "What does it matter if I stay here?"
Taro's breath caught. He could understand that Garp must be feeling like a knife was twisting in his heart right now, and his own heart was filled with both sighs and anger.
"Even if villains don't deserve sympathy, family is different," Garp said softly. Then, after more than ten seconds of silence, his whole body began to tremble, and tears welled up in his eyes.
"What am I supposed to do?! Ace, you bastard, why didn't you do as I told you!"
Seeing the tears burst from Garp's eyes, Taro felt an even sharper pain in his heart. Ace also bit his lip and whispered, "Old man..."
"As things stand, if you try any funny business, I will never forgive you, Garp!"
Sengoku remained unmoved and sternly warned Garp.
"If I were going to do anything, I would have done it already!" Garp responded in a low voice.
Taro looked at Garp hesitantly. His lips moved a few times, but he ultimately remained silent, though his eyes were filled with inquiry.
Garp shook his head slowly but with absolute firmness.
"Sigh."
Taro sighed. No matter how unwilling he was, what could he do?
Even if he put on an Oscar-worthy performance, if Ace didn't want to escape, the outcome still wouldn't change.
Besides, there was still Sengoku overseeing the situation from the rear. If things didn't go as he expected, Taro was certain that this Fleet Admiral wouldn't be as calm as he was in the original story.
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