Chapter 58: The Ecstatic Blackbeard

"Hahhhh!"

Whitebeard yelled.

At the same time, he punched Admiral Aokiji directly and sent him flying.

But the blood flowing from the corner of his mouth proved that he wasn't as strong as before and could still be injured.

Most importantly, his body couldn't withstand this kind of fierce battle.

If he were in his prime, he would be certain to escape unscathed from Marineford.

But now that he was old, while simultaneously having to protect his children and hold back these Marines…

"Whitebeard, you can't escape."

After no longer needing to guard Ace, Sengoku officially joined the battlefield.

Although Sengoku was an old man from the same era, his body was much healthier than Whitebeard's.

While his physical strength had declined, it only affected prolonged fighting.

As he spoke, he walked toward Whitebeard.

His body slowly grew in size and transformed into the shape of a golden Buddha.

He raised his massive palm, and a circle of light similar to Whitebeard's [Gura-Gura no Mi] power appeared around it, shooting directly toward Whitebeard.

Not to be outdone, Whitebeard also charged up a punch and met it head-on.

"BOOM!"

The collision between the two instantly cleared an area of one hundred meters in diameter around them.

Sakazuki chose to attack Whitebeard's back without hesitation.

A soldier forced to act as an assassin, he was equally frustrated by this.

However, he simply wanted to win.

What was wrong with that?

Ace appeared, blocking Sakazuki's sneak attack.

"If you still won't leave, are you truly willing to watch me die here in vain?"

Whitebeard was somewhat angry.

Although he was overjoyed that his son hadn't given up on him and chose to fight desperately instead, this wasn't what he wanted.

He simply wanted to see his son survive.

It was then that Marco and a few others came to pick up Ace and left.

****

"Damn it, the timing is perfect!"

On Blackbeard’s side, things were extremely urgent at this moment.

His prepared plan wouldn't be realized if Whitebeard remained like that for too long.

Therefore, when he saw that Whitebeard was already unable to endure much more, he wished that the person standing next to Whitebeard was himself.

He could complete his plans much faster that way.

"If this man can't be dealt with, your so-called plan won't be able to proceed at all."

"If you want to fulfill your promise on the seas, you have to defeat him."

Shiryu said calmly.

If they couldn't even defeat this unknown Shichibukai, what business did they have plotting for Whitebeard's legacy?

"The attacks have become weaker."

But at this moment, Avalo Pizarro remarked.

Blackbeard looked up and found that the dark clouds in the sky had disappeared.

The reason was that the impact from the collision between Whitebeard and Sengoku had directly dispersed the dark clouds in the sky.

At this moment, Marineford was instantly illuminated, and the sky returned to blue with almost no clouds visible.

"That guy didn't continue releasing lightning. As expected, his ability can only be used with environmental assistance."

"As long as we're on land, we don't need to fear him using seawater to attack us."

"Shiryu, take me to the plaza. I want to carry out my plan. As long as you stop that person, when my plan is completed, I will defeat him."

Blackbeard couldn't hide the wild smile on his face.

He felt like God was helping him.

Although what they had been worried about were the continuous lightning strikes that kept falling, now the other party could no longer release them.

In terms of other aspects of strength, Blackbeard didn't believe this young Shichibukai could be very powerful.

After all, Yami had become a Shichibukai after him, and he had read the general intelligence.

This person was still young.

No matter how strong he was, there were limits.

Although he hadn't figured out what his Devil Fruit ability was yet, his [Yami-Yami no Mi] was definitely stronger.

"Without lightning, that guy has nothing on us at all."

Shiryu also became more confident.

After all, he truly didn't have the strength to cut through lightning, but he wasn't afraid of a head-on confrontation in other aspects.

The other two beside them also began discussing that.

Meanwhile…

"Is this what Blackbeard is thinking?"

"He doesn't understand my abilities, so he doesn't think I have the strength to threaten them."

Yami read their lips through his [Sharingan] and clearly saw what these people were saying.

But this worked in his favor, and he didn't continue pressing, preparing to separate Blackbeard from his subordinates.

By the time Blackbeard realized something was wrong, he would have no chance to regret it.

"Fugaku-san, target the swordsman."

"Shisui, the one with the horns on his head."

"Itachi, the guy in the prison uniform at the end belongs to you."

"Don't let your targets leave this place. Use flares immediately if there's danger."

At the same time, Yami arranged and issued orders through his communication device.

It was easy to defeat these people, but it would take considerable effort to kill them quickly enough to prevent them from fleeing at all costs.

At this time, all that remained of Blackbeard's strength was that of a Yonko crew officer.

Shiryu had become the second-in-command of the Blackbeard Pirates, equivalent to a first mate's position.

Moreover, Shiryu didn't possess Devil Fruit powers, so he wouldn't be easy to handle and would need to be defeated through brute force.

The information about the remaining two was unknown.

The one with horns didn't have Devil Fruit abilities because Yami had seen him swimming.

The last one with the long nose… he had no idea about that opponent's abilities.

He only knew the man possessed both [Busoshoku Haki] and [Kenbunshoku Haki].

Although they had combat equipment, ninjas were still too fragile, so caution was necessary in everything.

"Yes."

Several voices responded through the communication device.

As for Blackbeard, when he saw Whitebeard being overwhelmed by Sengoku and the three Admirals and almost unable to hold on any longer, he truly couldn't stand it anymore.

Shiryu didn't hesitate and rushed toward the plaza using [Geppo] while carrying Blackbeard.

Avalo Pizarro and Vasco Shot climbed directly onto the barrier and rushed toward Yami, who was standing on the wall.

They wanted to contain Yami and buy time for their newly recognized captain.

****

"Pops!"

Essentially, the entire crew of the Whitebeard Pirates had boarded the Moby Dick.

Although Ace and the others desperately wanted to help their father, they couldn't go against their father's final wishes.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Whitebeard attached the power of the [Gura-Gura no Mi] to his bisento.

With a sharp strike toward the ground, he cut a massive crack that was bottomless and nearly ten meters wide, directly into the Marine Headquarters Plaza, blocking the pursuit of the Marines.

"Go!"

Then Whitebeard punched the Moby Dick with his quake power.

This was the gentlest Quake power he had ever used in his life, just enough to push the Moby Dick off the plaza and let it fall into the seawater in the bay.

At this moment, Shiryu carried Blackbeard directly across the Moby Dick and rushed toward Whitebeard's position.

"Teach!"

Ace, standing on the ship's bow, glared at Blackbeard.

Not only Whitebeard, but he also wanted to tear Blackbeard into pieces.