Chapter 381: Ending an Era!

"Old Dad..."

Ace opened his mouth, gazing at Whitebeard's retreating back.

Marco, having shaken off Aokiji, landed beside Ace and patted the latter's shoulder, saying:

"Now we go home."

"Old Dad, he..."

Ace knew Whitebeard's physical condition; although Whitebeard remained powerful, his health was far from optimistic, absolutely incapable of facing the Navy's three admirals head-on!

"With Zephyr's help, Old Dad temporarily regained his strength, but the cost was immense."

"Old Dad's body has long reached its limit; even without this battle, he could have lasted at most a few more months."

"I was also worried about Old Dad's health, but the moment we stepped onto the Marineford battlefield, that sliver of hesitation vanished."

"For Old Dad, rather than dying in a sickbed, it is better to face the Navy Headquarters..."

"One final dance!"

Ace fell silent for a moment.

Reason told him.

Marco was right.

Whitebeard's body had long been on the brink of collapse.

Without Zephyr's aid to briefly return to his peak, perhaps this second, perhaps the next, the man who once ruled the seas would fall.

Dying on the battlefield, facing the Navy Headquarters, performing one final dance before the entire world—this was a more dignified, more meaningful ending, one more worthy of Whitebeard's life of roaming the seas.

Yet the emotions in his heart made the choice difficult.

"No!"

Ace turned around, ultimately unwilling to let that man face death alone!

This was the family he had finally found, the father who filled the void in his heart; how could he possibly watch him die before his very eyes!

But just as he took a step, he was roughly pinned down by Marco, the force so great that the ice beneath them cracked.

Crack, crack, crack—!

Ace struggled to rise, turning his head to meet Marco's bloodshot eyes:

"Are you awake?!"

"Old Dad, we, your younger brother—we did all this to save you, and now you tell me you want to go seek death?"

"Don't you understand?!"

"The one who must inherit Old Dad's will, who must carry the flag of the Whitebeard Pirates, is you, not me! Old Dad wants you to become king!"

Ace froze, staring blankly at Marco.

The latter's face was twisted, his breathing rapid, the suppressed emotions in his heart erupting completely in this moment.

Marco was the Whitebeard Pirates' chief doctor, the first crewman to follow Whitebeard, and also Whitebeard's first son.

He had witnessed Whitebeard's glory, and soon he would witness Whitebeard's curtain fall.

Watching this once strongest of men slip from his peak, his life irreversibly marching toward its end, he, as the doctor, even giving his all, could not reverse the natural laws of birth, aging, sickness, and death.

That torment, that sense of powerlessness...

How could Marco's grief, or rather, the grief of everyone under Whitebeard, be any less than his own?!

But a fact they had to accept was that Whitebeard was already old.

Just like the Moby Dick, which had undergone several major repairs and was now battered and broken, struck by volcanic shells and burning fiercely with Xiong Xiong flames!

This was the end of an era!

The moment Ace realized this, Marco had already turned around to face the pursuers attacking from afar.

As blue flames churned, Marco's voice, tinged with coldness, reached Ace's ears:

"How long do you intend to remain childish?!"

"I understand."

Gritting his teeth, Ace responded, flames surging beneath his feet as he shot away like a rocket toward the distance!

Behind them, war raged; lasers, freezing air, and magma surged, while powerful shockwaves tore open the sky again and again, forcibly holding back the three admirals who represented the Navy's highest combat power!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Amidst the flying flames of war.

Ace's eyes were filled with bloodshot veins, yet he did not look back, his speed even increasing!

At some unknown time, many crew members of the Whitebeard Pirates had gathered beside him: Diamond Jozu, Flower Sword Vista, Blamenco, the Fish-Man Namur...

Those who similarly understood Whitebeard's will gathered together.

Even Squard, the Great Spider who once held a grudge against Luo Jie, silently followed behind Ace at this moment.

Long before arriving here, his inner knot had already been untied by Whitebeard in advance.

Ace...

Was not Luo Jie!

What remained upon him was Whitebeard's brand!

Thinking this was far from just Squard; everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates held such a thought in their hearts at this moment.

With imposing momentum, the crowd gathered together, fleeing toward the path to life that Whitebeard had punched open!

The tide of people surged.

Upon Ace, who led the way, countless expectations had somehow converged; these burdens once borne by Whitebeard now rested upon his shoulders!

"Kill them!"

"Even if we wager our lives, we cannot allow the most evil bloodline to continue!"

In the distance.

Countless Navy officers and soldiers surged forward, surrounding them.

Even though they knew clearly they were no match for the monsters under Whitebeard's command, they still threw caution to the wind, blocking the path their enemies must take.

"This is precisely what we, as Marines, bearers of justice, must do, even if the price is our own lives!"

Within the Navy, there were good-for-nothings and villains who preyed upon the common people.

But those who could make it here were naturally the elite, chosen through rigorous selection; their will and conduct had passed inspection, making them true, pure Marines who held justice in their hearts.

Even knowing death was certain, not a single person chose to retreat at this moment!

Yet the gap in absolute power was something that could never be bridged by willpower alone.

The three Admirals, along with countless Vice Admirals, were held back by Whitebeard alone; Sengoku was entangled by Rayleigh and Gaban; the Seven Warlords were slacking off; and as for Garp...

Let us not speak of him.

Under such circumstances, their mere presence here was no different from a mantis trying to stop a chariot with its arms.

"Fire Fist!"

Ace let out a low shout, raising his hand to unleash a Fire Fist strike with all his might!

With his mindset having undergone a transformation,

The power of this punch was several times greater than before; the Haki enveloping it even stirred up crimson tears of light from the void!

Boom—!

Flames shot into the sky, illuminating all of Marineford!

A breach appeared once again in the Navy's encirclement; at the end of their line of sight, several warships rose from the seabed, their coatings shattered, Whitebeard's flag fluttering in the wind, snapping loudly!

A path to survival... lay right before their eyes!

"Whitebeard actually has a backup plan!"

In the distance,

Sengoku, who was barely holding off the combined forces of Rayleigh and Gaban, saw this and couldn't help but gasp in shock.

Only now did he realize that, in the end, he had underestimated Whitebeard!

An old fox becomes cunning; how could a man who once roamed the seas freely and was invincible everywhere possibly fail to leave himself a backup plan at such a critical juncture?

If Fire Fist Ace and the others were allowed to board those ships now...

the Navy's execution of Luo Jie's son would become a complete and utter joke, losing face spectacularly in front of the entire world!

"Damn it!"

"If the Seraphim project hadn't stalled due to Vegapunk's absence, how could the Navy be so passive right now?!"

"Moreover..."

"Mary Geoise still hasn't sent a reply; could it be that they too..."

"I must be overthinking it."

"With the Holy Knights, the Five Elders, CP0, plus that person, the combat power gathered at Mary Geoise surpasses even that of Marine Headquarters."

"To breach it head-on is nearly impossible."

"But things have become troublesome now..."

Sengoku abruptly withdrew, unwilling to continue tangling with the two legends before him, yet they gave him not the slightest chance, sticking to him like sticky candy and refusing to let go.

For a moment, Sengoku was burning with anxiety!

That fellow Garp was intentionally holding back, the Seven Warlords were slacking off and watching from the sidelines; biting down on Fire Fist Ace, who was fleeing into the distance, was already an impossibility.

Sengoku looked back at Whitebeard, who was still entangled with the three Admirals, and a hidden ruthlessness stirred in his heart:

"If we can keep the World's Strongest Man here, the Navy's reputation might still be salvaged somewhat."

"Externally, we can explain that this execution of Fire Fist Ace was merely a trap set for Whitebeard; the so-called bloodline of Luo Jie..."