"Hmph!" Akainu let out a cold sneer, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Idiot! The broadcast was cut long ago! No pirate will ever hear your words!"
Sengoku's calm expression stemmed from the same reason—he knew the livestream had been severed. That was why he hadn't stopped Whitebeard from speaking in the first place.
After all—
He could tell at a glance what Whitebeard intended to do.
As long as there was no broadcast, it didn't matter.
Everyone present was a Marine. Not a single pirate remained. Even if Whitebeard shouted himself hoarse, his words wouldn't spread.
However—
What they didn't know was that through Buggy and Morgans' secret livestream, countless pirates around the world had clearly heard Whitebeard's final declaration!
The pirates watching went completely insane!
"Whitebeard said… ONE PIECE really exists!"
"The Grand Line! The Final Island!"
"Set sail! Find the great treasure!"
"—"
Because of that single sentence, piracy erupted once more!
Countless pirate ships raised their sails and charged toward the sea.
Sengoku and the others at Marine Headquarters knew nothing of this.
Akainu lifted his magma-boiling fist, intending to completely destroy Whitebeard's corpse.
"Sakazuki!" Sengoku called out to stop him. "Enough! He's already dead! There's no need to further desecrate Newgate's body!"
Akainu snorted coldly, reluctantly lowering his hand.
The battle was over.
The Marine higher-ups finally relaxed, preparing to leave and recover their strength.
This war… had been filled with unexpected twists.
Only now had it finally come to an end.
Sengoku ordered the ordinary Marine soldiers, "Collect Whitebeard's body. Take photographs! Announce our victory to the world!"
After they had walked a fair distance away—
Blackbeard, who had been lurking quietly, finally found his opportunity.
A brazen laugh rang out across the battlefield.
"Zehahahaha!!! In that case, I'll be taking Pops' body!"
Blackbeard stepped out from the shadows, his face brimming with unrestrained greed and triumph.
He didn't even bother covering the body with a black cloth this time.
There was no time for that.
Every second counted—he couldn't wait to get his hands on Whitebeard's corpse.
But—
Just as his fingers were about to touch Whitebeard's body—
Buzz!
A strange air door suddenly opened beside the corpse, instantly swallowing Whitebeard inside!
The door vanished just as quickly, as if it had never existed.
Blackbeard's grin froze.
His outstretched hand hung stiffly in midair.
The duck that was already cooked…
Flew away?!
"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
After a brief moment of stunned silence, Blackbeard erupted into a furious roar.
"WHO?! Which bastard was it?! Get out here!!!"
He trembled with rage, cursing wildly.
No one could understand his feelings at this moment!
The Tremor-Tremor Fruit he had dreamed of for years—
Right at his fingertips—
Only to be stolen at the last second!
How could he not be furious?!
It was like a pilot about to take off, only to discover the resources had expired—utterly infuriating.
But in his rage, he seemed to forget where he was.
When he finally looked up—
He met a pair of cold, murderous eyes.
The Marines—
Including Sengoku, Akainu, and Kizaru—
All stared at him like hungry wolves.
Blackbeard's furious expression instantly turned into an awkward grin.
"Zehahaha… a misunderstanding! Just a misunderstanding!" He waved his hands while backing away. "I was just… just here to laugh—ah, no—to mourn Pops! I'll be leaving now! Leaving right now!"
With that, he turned and ran without hesitation!
Despite his large frame and heavy body, his speed was far from slow. In the blink of an eye, he had dashed far away.
"Stop!" Akainu roared, ready to pursue.
He came to Marine Headquarters, disrespected them like this, and still wanted to leave?
What did he think the Marines were? A pleasure district?
…Well.
It kind of was.
"Sakazuki!" Sengoku stopped him again, his tone grave. "Don't chase him. Feel your current stamina and condition."
He paused before adding, "Don't forget—Blackbeard is someone who left a scar on Red-Haired Shanks."
Akainu's face darkened, but he knew Sengoku was right.
At full strength, he wouldn't fear Blackbeard.
The problem was—they had just gone through a life-and-death battle with Whitebeard.
His stamina was drained, his body wounded, his condition poor.
Chasing Blackbeard now might not yield any advantage.
They could even fall into a trap.
So—
He could only accept the bitter reality that anyone could come and go from Marine Headquarters.
"Just let him leave like that?"
A flicker of calculation flashed in Sengoku's eyes.
"Don't forget—Blackbeard is far less important than that traitor, Leno."
"Next, we'll fully target Leno… and the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates who joined him."
"The plan can begin."
"Leno… must die in our next encounter."
Everything Leno had done at Marineford was known to the Marines.
If you asked them now whether they regretted it—
The answer would be: yes. Deeply.
But what was the use of regret?
Leno was already their enemy.
And his growth had exceeded all expectations.
He had to be crushed in one decisive blow.
Akainu was finally persuaded.
Indeed—Leno was the greater threat.
He gave a resentful snort, watching Blackbeard disappear into the distance.
Blackbeard ran wildly until he was certain the Marines weren't pursuing him.
Only then did he stop.
His face was dark enough to drip water.
"Damn it! Damn it!!"
He smashed his fist against a nearby wall in fury.
"I waited so long! Planned for so long! And got NOTHING!!"
If not for the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, why would he have risked lurking at Marine Headquarters for so long?
And in the end—
He got absolutely nothing.
In stark contrast to Blackbeard's rage—
High in the sky, Leno was in an exceptionally good mood.
People's feelings were not connected.
At the very least—
Leno had no idea how Blackbeard felt.
Blueno opened an air door, placing Whitebeard's corpse before them.
Golden Lion Shiki stared at the body, his expression complicated and filled with confusion.
"Kid, you went through all that trouble… just to steal a corpse?"
What was so great about a corpse?
Did this brat have some strange fetish?
A chill ran down Shiki's spine.
Leno said nothing.
Under Shiki's uncertain gaze, he extended one hand—
And with the other, he produced an ordinary fruit he had prepared in advance.
The power of the Munch-Munch Fruit activated.
A strange energy radiated from his palm, enveloping Whitebeard's body.
Using the Munch-Munch Fruit's ability—
He forcefully devoured the lingering essence of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit that had not yet dissipated from within Whitebeard.
Once extracted—
Leno forcibly guided that power into the fruit in his hand!
The process was quick.
A few seconds later—
Leno opened his palm.
The once ordinary fruit now began to change.
Across its skin appeared countless strange spiral patterns—
Like seismic ripples.
"Ha… it actually worked!"
Joy flashed across Leno's face.
He hadn't even been certain it would succeed.
But the result spoke for itself.
"This… this is—?!"
Golden Lion Shiki's pupils shrank violently as he stared at the transformed fruit.
Shock filled his face.
Where was he?
Was he still in the world of pirates?
Was this even possible?
Since when could the Munch-Munch Fruit do something like this?!
No one had told him!
The Devil Fruit Encyclopedia certainly hadn't!
Devil Fruit Encyclopedia: I never said it couldn't.
Shiki recognized that fruit instantly.
Those patterns were unmistakable.
It was—
The Paramecia-type Tremor-Tremor Fruit!!!
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