Naruto: Copy System#651+652: Blackbeard’s Escape, The Summit War Ends

“What an arrogant declaration. The ‘Era of Blackbeard’? What does that make Shin? I’ll kill that pompous bastard right now.”

Hancock drew her sword, her voice laced with fury. Who the hell did Blackbeard think he was, making such a grandiose claim?

“Hancock, calm down.” Shin placed a hand on hers, calming her down.

"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Pay him no mind."

Blackbeard’s ambition was massive, but his strength didn’t quite match up—at least, not yet.

Even with the Dark-Dark Fruit, Blackbeard was probably only at the level of an Admiral. He was certainly no match for the other Emperors. If he managed to steal the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, then perhaps he could reach the level of Kaido and the others.

“That's right. We don’t have to lift a finger. Whitebeard will clean his own house. Why should we get angry?” Robin said, glancing at Hancock.

"I just can't stand that arrogant bastard making such a claim. Hmph."

Hancock was still fuming.

"Speaking of which, Marineford has turned into a complete mess," Shin remarked, observing the situation.

The battle had started as a Two-Faction war between Whitebeard and the Marines. Now, with Blackbeard’s interference, had it become a Three-Faction war?

Blackbeard’s faction was clearly the weakest, but both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines had already suffered heavy losses. It was hard to predict how the war would unfold from here.

“I’m guessing the Marines will stand down,” Olvia said to Shin.

“Mm, I think they’ll sit back and watch the tigers fight.” Shin nodded. Knowing Sengoku’s personality, that was a likely move.

Just as Olvia predicted, the Marines, who had been on the offensive, came to a halt.

Sengoku watched Whitebeard and Blackbeard with a detached expression.

They were both pirates. Let them tear each other apart. If they both ended up dead, all the better.

Sengoku would be thrilled.

—————

Currently being pummeled by Whitebeard, Blackbeard was silently cursing the Marines—not for refusing to help, but for being so useless.

Whitebeard showed almost no signs of injury, he was as full of life as ever. This was completely different from what he had imagined.

He had expected to find a severely wounded Whitebeard, but while the old man had taken some damage, it was nothing more than a few flesh wounds.

More importantly, his stamina seemed completely untouched. He was beating Blackbeard to a pulp, leaving him with no room to fight back.

Even with the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's abilities temporarily sealed, Whitebeard’s strength far surpassed Blackbeard’s expectations.

Blackbeard’s new crewmates were useless. They might have been infamous criminals from Impel Down’s sixth level, but against Whitebeard, they were nothing.

—————

“Fleet Admiral, we should join forces and finish Whitebeard now,” Akainu said, approaching Sengoku.

Akainu himself was badly injured. After killing Ace, he had been on the receiving end of Whitebeard’s furious retaliation. He probably had several broken bones, but he showed no signs of backing down.

“You’re right. This is the best chance to eliminate Whitebeard.”

Sengoku nodded. If it had been an even fight, he would have been happy to let them continue.

But this was a complete rout. It was like watching an adult beat up a child; Whitebeard was toying with Blackbeard.

"<Light Speed Kick!>"

Kizaru launched a kick at Whitebeard. It was an insidious attack, taking advantage of the fact that Whitebeard’s attention was entirely on Blackbeard.

He aimed for Whitebeard’s head. At the last second, Whitebeard managed to partially dodge, but the kick still connected with his face.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Whitebeard’s massive frame was sent flying by Kizaru’s kick.

“As expected of Whitebeard. His defense is incredible. How terrifying.”

Kizaru commented, watching Whitebeard climb back to his feet. To get up so quickly after taking a hit like that was indeed frightening.

“Zehahahaha! Black Hole!”

Blackbeard wouldn’t miss this opportunity. He slammed his hand on the ground, and darkness instantly enveloped it, spreading rapidly.

Anything touched by the darkness would slowly sink, crushed into dust.

Every Logia Devil Fruit had a large-scale attack, and Blackbeard’s was no exception.

“DAMN YOU, BLACKBEARD!”

Sengoku roared, transforming into his golden Buddha form and launching a shockwave at Blackbeard.

The impact sent Blackbeard flying like a rubber ball, spitting up blood.

With Blackbeard sent flying, his technique was interrupted. Sengoku breathed a sigh of relief. Good thing he stopped him in time.

Blackbeard’s ultimate move was aimed at Whitebeard, but it would have affected everyone within its range.

And the majority of people here were Marines. The Whitebeard Pirates had mostly retreated to their ships.

It was precisely for this reason that Sengoku had furiously attacked Blackbeard. He had thought he could use Blackbeard as an ally against Whitebeard, but he hadn't expected him to be a wolf in sheep's clothing.

—————

“Captain, are you alright?” The original members of the Blackbeard Pirates immediately helped him up.

Of course, the prisoners he’d freed from Impel Down showed no such loyalty.

Blackbeard looked up hatefully, glaring at Sengoku. He spat out a mouthful of blood and said, “Let’s go.”

His fight with Whitebeard had shown him that things were not as he had imagined.

Whitebeard was too strong. Even with his Devil Fruit ability sealed, he was no match. Now that he had been severely injured by Sengoku, he couldn’t stay here any longer. He had to leave, and quickly.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to escape.

The Blackbeard Pirates immediately began to flee with their captain. When Whitebeard saw this and moved to attack, he was met with the combined assault of the three Admirals.

“Damn it, Blackbeard’s trying to escape.” Sengoku, realizing Blackbeard’s intent, immediately moved to stop him.

In a drawn-out fight, it was uncertain if Blackbeard could beat Sengoku, but when it came to escaping, he was more than capable.

Especially with several strong fighters at his side, an escape was definitely possible.

Sengoku chased Blackbeard for a while but ultimately let him escape. If Garp had helped, they might've been able to stop him. But Garp was in no condition to fight—he had no spirit left at all.

Sengoku understood Garp’s situation, so he didn’t blame him. With Ace dead, it was a miracle Garp hadn't completely lost it.

<><><><><><><><>

Whitebeard watched as Blackbeard escaped, his eyes bloodshot. He unleashed all his fury on Akainu and the other two Admirals.

Akainu, in particular, became Whitebeard’s primary target. Faced with the enraged Emperor, Akainu was powerless to even fight back.

He was beaten until his face was a bloody pulp, a truly pitiful sight. Even someone who knew him best wouldn't be able to recognize him now.

Sengoku could only identify him by his clothes.

Yet, even after being beaten half to death, Akainu didn’t give up. He fought back desperately, leaving several magma burns on Whitebeard’s body.

At this moment, Whitebeard couldn’t use his devastating Tremor-Tremor Fruit, so dealing with him was not as difficult.

Without the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Whitebeard was still incredibly powerful, but he was no longer an apocalyptic threat. His sharpest fangs had been pulled.

Of course, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit wasn’t permanently unusable. The seal from the Dark-Dark Fruit was temporary, once the time was up, it would be unsealed.

“Pops, let’s go,” Marco called out, having returned to his father’s side.

Whitebeard, after sending Aokiji flying with a punch, fell silent for a moment, then nodded and began to retreat with Marco.

“Cover Pops!”

Vista, the Flower Sword, shouted, then unleashed two sword auras, one at each of the two Admirals.

While Kizaru and Aokiji were dodging, Marco and Whitebeard retreated towards the Moby Dick.

“FIRE ON THE MOBY DICK!” Sengoku commanded the Marines.

“Fleet Admiral, the cannons we prepared are broken!”

Just then, a Marine ran to Sengoku’s side to report the situation.

The cannons had all been destroyed by the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. They were now useless.

Sengoku’s face darkened. It seemed the ordinary Marines were temporarily out of the fight.

"<Meteor Volcano!>"

Akainu launched countless magma fists, bombarding the Whitebeard Pirates’ fleet.

Besides the Moby Dick, the other pirate ships were all sunk.

“AKAINU!”

Whitebeard’s eyes were splitting with rage. His hatred for Akainu was now irreconcilable.

He had killed his son, Ace, and now he had destroyed dozens of ships, with countless more of his sons on board.

"Hmph."

Faced with Whitebeard’s fury, Akainu merely snorted. He, too, had a blood feud with Whitebeard. After the beating he had taken, did he think he could just let it go? Of course not.

"<Yasakani Sacred Jewel!>"

Just then, Kizaru also unleashed his ultimate move. Countless light bullets rained down on the Moby Dick. Though not as visually impressive as Akainu’s attack, they were fast and had incredible penetrating power.

More lives were lost. Aokiji then used Ice Age, freezing the sea surface, trying to trap Whitebeard and his crew.

—————

From a distance, Shin watched the chaotic scene. It was even more spectacular than the height of the battle before. It seemed the Marines were hell-bent on keeping the Whitebeard Pirates here.

“Looks like the Marines really want to kill Whitebeard,” Shin said, observing the ferocious assault.

Of course, the Marines' original goal had been to kill Whitebeard. But given how things stood now, killing him would come at a devastating cost.

That was, of course, if they fought to the death. It all depended on whether Sengoku could make that decision.

“I don't think the Whitebeard Pirates can be wiped out. By the way, you did them a huge favor, didn't you, Shin?” Robin said to Shin.

Though Shin had never lifted a finger, his contribution to the Whitebeard Pirates was immense. If not for him restoring Whitebeard to his peak, and even surpassing it, Whitebeard would be dead by now.

“Alright, this war should be coming to a close. We should be leaving.”

Shin said to the others on the ship.

Though it wasn’t over yet, it was close. Whitebeard had no intention of fighting anymore. If he wanted to leave, he could. The Marines couldn’t stop him.

So Shin didn’t plan to watch any longer. There was nothing interesting left to see.

—————

After Shin left, the Whitebeard Pirates began their retreat. By now, Whitebeard’s Tremor-Tremor Fruit was usable again.

With a single punch, he shattered the ice. Wielding his naginata, he blocked every attack from the three Admirals.

The Whitebeard Pirates began to retreat. Without the ice blocking their way, their escape was swift. In the blink of an eye, their ship had disappeared over the horizon.

As for the Marine warships, Whitebeard had made a point of destroying them as he left.

With the warships gone, pursuit was impossible. Unless Kizaru went after them, but he was the only one who could catch up. And what could he do alone? Did they expect him to take on Whitebeard by himself?

If Kizaru tried that, he would be beaten to a pulp and killed.

Sengoku wouldn’t order him to go alone, and Kizaru was too smart to take on such a thankless job.

And this battle had completely fractured Marineford. As he left, Whitebeard had given the island one last parting gift.

“Damn it, Whitebeard. He actually got away,” Sengoku’s face was grim.

Though the exact number of Marine casualties was still unknown, one look at the current situation was enough to know how great their losses were.

Even several high-ranking officers had been lost. Of course, the Whitebeard Pirates had also suffered, losing several division commanders.

—————

“Sigh, clean up the battlefield,” Sengoku said to Tsuru.

“And make sure the details of this war don’t get out.”

The initial execution had been broadcasted via Visual Den Den Mushi, but not the later parts of the battle.

It's worth noting that Buggy never showed up. This should've been the battle that made him famous, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Maybe his legendary luck had failed him. Or maybe that same luck had kept him away—because this Summit War was far more dangerous than in the original story. If Buggy had actually shown up, he might've gotten himself killed for real.

Hearing Sengoku’s order to suppress the news, Tsuru smiled wryly. She knew he didn’t want the Marines’ current situation exposed, to avoid causing a panic.

But it wasn’t something that could be suppressed just because he wanted to. And in this situation, how could they possibly keep it a secret?