The entire battlefield fell into an eerie silence, with only the friction of Taro and Whitebeard's Haki clash producing a "sizzling" sound.
Taro sighed, withdrew his Haki, and flashed to the side, dodging Whitebeard's slash and landing next to Sherman and Mike.
"Squard..."
"Phoenix" Marco roared in anger, his arms wreathed in blue flames as they transformed into Phoenix wings, and he dove from the sky, kicking Squard over.
Taro also glared angrily at Sherman and Mike. "Are you two tired of living?"
Seeing the two of them still stunned, Taro gave them an annoyed shove. "Get back!"
A short while ago, Sherman had seen Whitebeard standing alone at the bow and egged Mike on to join him in taking a chance. Mike hadn't wanted to come, but he couldn't resist Sherman's pulling and dragging, so the two ignorant fools had snuck over.
Witnessing the Aura of top-tier experts clashing at close range, both were terrified. It wasn't until Taro gave them another shove that they snapped out of it and scurried away.
At this moment, Squard at the bow also revealed his reason for backstabbing Whitebeard, then opened his arms and looked directly at him.
"Come on, I'm prepared to die. Kill me!"
Hearing Squard say that "Whitebeard reached an agreement with the Marine to only attack the 43 pirate groups and not the Whitebeard Pirates," the other Captains were also filled with doubt and began to question Whitebeard's motives.
Deprived of medical equipment, drained twice by Taro, and then backstabbed by Squard, cold sweat poured down Whitebeard's forehead, and his expression grew more pained.
He pulled Squard into an embrace. "It doesn't matter whose child Ace is. On this sea, we met..."
"..."
"Even if you are a foolish son, I will love you deeply!"
After speaking, he released Squard, took two steps forward, and sighed softly, "Your blade hasn't dulled, Sengoku!"
Planting Murakumogiri to the side, Whitebeard leaned forward slightly, clenched his fists, and then exerted a powerful shake, making the surrounding air appear to shatter.
The powerful vibration instantly spread, shattering the towering frozen waves on both sides of Marineford.
[Air Quake learned successfully]
Taro also looked up at Whitebeard in surprise. Even though he was terminally ill, the world's strongest man still possessed power that looked down upon the world.
The ice on both sides was destroyed, the seawater began to flow again, and Whitebeard opened an escape route for the pirates.
By this time, how could the pirates not know they had been deceived?
Squard knelt at the bow, tears streaming down his face as he let out a roar of regret.
"It really was fake! It was all a Marine plot!"
"Damn it, they actually lied to us!"
"Pops would never betray us!"
"Sorry, I'll never doubt Pops again!"
"I'm so sorry, Pops, I'm sorry!"
"..."
"..."
The other pirate Captains also cursed the Marine for their despicableness and apologized to Whitebeard in guilt.
Whitebeard clutched the wound in his side, the blood at the corner of his mouth seemed to flow more freely. He looked at the pirates and shouted,
"As pirates, you choose for yourselves what to believe!"
"Those who want to come with me, throw away your lives and follow me!"
After saying that, he picked up his Naginata again, took a few quick strides off the bow, and leaped into the air.
"Charge!"
Taro immediately realized something was wrong. He knew very well that given Whitebeard's physical condition, the old man couldn't hold out for long and would surely make a desperate final stand.
Therefore, at the same time Whitebeard spoke, Taro had already retreated at high speed and flown back to the execution platform.
"Taro, well done!"
Sengoku was very pleased with Taro's performance. Below the execution platform, Akainu, who had returned at some unknown point, also chimed in with a deep voice.
"Yeah, you seized the opportunity well!"
Taro was completely bewildered. What are you guys talking about?
He arched an eyebrow, thought for a moment, and then his eyes widened.
Holy crap, you don't think I was cooperating with Squard, do you? I went to save those two idiots, Sherman and Mike. Are you all blind?
Seeing Taro's somewhat surprised look, Sengoku frowned and said,
"Your contribution is yours. Who are you putting on this hypocritical act for?"
"Only Sakazuki and I knew about Squard's matter. It's rare that you could think to step in and cooperate immediately!"
Holy crap, if the pirates think that way too, won't all the goodwill I painstakingly built up be wasted?
Thinking this, Taro glanced sideways at Ace and saw that Ace's eyes were filled with fury.
"Taro, you really deserve to die! If you hadn't distracted Pops, with his strength, how could he have been wounded by Squard!"
It's over! It's a misunderstanding, holy crap!
Taro felt like dying. The problem was that in front of a group of Marine big shots, he couldn't even explain himself; he truly had a grievance he couldn't voice.
After a long silence, Sengoku looked over, frowned, and was about to speak.
The speechless Taro stared blankly for a long while before saying indifferently and helplessly, "I deserve to die? You'd better think about whether you can survive first!"
Garp frowned and thought for a moment before asking softly, "You think highly of that kid?"
Taro was stunned for a moment before realizing he meant Sherman. He nodded. "I suppose so."
Actually, it's mainly because of Fujitora. Otherwise, how would I know who he is?
Just then, Whitebeard also leaped into the battlefield, while the Marine soldiers quickly retreated to the plaza.
However, because Aokiji's Ice Age had frozen the sea, the encircling iron wall that should have risen did not emerge from the seabed.
Marine Vice Admiral John Jaennd, who had been Taro's Giant Race instructor during his time at the Training Camp, had no choice but to jump back onto the ice in an attempt to stop Whitebeard.
Whitebeard stabbed his Naginata, "Murakumogiri," into the ice, raised both hands like tiger claws, and then pulled down forcefully.
Instantly, the heavens tilted and the earth sank. Marineford and the entire surrounding sea area were sliced into several regions by this massive force, rising and falling as they vibrated violently.
[Earthquake learned successfully]
Taro was also dumbfounded. Being on the battlefield, he finally felt this world-destroying power personally. The power to trigger an Earthquake was simply too staggering!
After the Earthquake, the plaza and residential areas of Marineford were in ruins.
Vice Admiral John steadied himself from the vibration, gripped his saber, leaped high, and slashed at Whitebeard again.
Whitebeard, however, threw a casual punch. The entire space seemed to shatter, and the powerful shockwave sent Vice Admiral John flying backward.
At the same time, the shockwave actually grew stronger after passing through Vice Admiral John's body, eventually transforming into a sphere of energy and heading straight for the execution platform.
[Quake Fist learned successfully]
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