Chapter 257

The power of the Float-Float Fruit activated.

In an instant, countless stones of every size throughout all of Marineford rose into the air, converging toward a single point, and under the stunned, frozen gazes of the crowd, gathered behind him to form a giant stone figure a hundred meters tall.

Within Luo En's azure eyes, a flash of brilliant light came and went.

The eyes of that giant stone figure then lit up, and it took a single step forward—mountains shook and the earth quaked in an instant!

Luo En stood atop the head of this giant stone figure, smiling at the Marines ahead as he said, "If the Marines wish to continue this war, I'm happy to keep you company."

"!!!"

The elite Marines, gazing up at the giant stone figure that loomed like a mountain before them, all couldn't help but swallow hard.

"How on earth are we supposed to fight a monster like this…"

Sengoku's expression turned extremely ugly.

"It seems this is as far as it goes, Sengoku."

Vice Admiral Tsuru sighed. "This war… we've lost…"

The current Marines do not have the strength to oppose the Red-Haired Pirates, the Whitebeard Pirates, and the Calamity of the Sky Brigade.

Sengoku lowered his head, closed his eyes, clenched his fists, and ground his teeth.

Finally, under the gaze of every Marine, he forced out a single sentence:

"All forces… stand down."

After speaking those words, he released his tightly clenched fists; his fighting spirit drained away completely, and the man seemed to age in an instant.

"How can this be… Fleet Admiral."

Some Marine officers who still wished to keep fighting stared at him in disbelief.

"It isn't over yet—we can still fight!"

"We haven't lost yet!"

"No, it can't end like this, Fleet Admiral!"

A Marine cried out in despair: "The Marines of justice can't lose to the pirates like this… if even we fall, what will become of this sea…"

Aokiji lowered his hand, his expression grim.

Fujitora sheathed his cane sword.

Green Bull and Momousagi, who had been besieging Sabo, Ace, and the others, also stopped fighting.

Sabo and Ace couldn't help but let out a breath of relief and exchanged a smile.

But at that very moment, both of them felt as though they had plunged into an icy abyss.

"Killing intent!"

The two whipped their heads around to look.

They saw the high platform behind the execution stage explode apart, and a figure wrapped in blazing magma shot toward them at high speed, his killing intent boiling over.

"Inu: Gion!"

Akainu, wounded by Whitebeard, unleashed a Great Eruption—a massive magma fist carrying fierce killing intent that blasted toward the two of them.

This sudden turn of events shocked everyone present.

"Fire Fist!"

"Dragon's Breath!"

Although Ace and Sabo had struck with everything they had the instant they sensed the killing intent, their attacks were utterly unable to withstand Akainu's full-power magma fist—they only stalled it for a heartbeat before being smashed apart. The magma fist, shaped into a dog's head, swelled rapidly in their wildly contracting eyes.

The chill of death enveloped the two of them in an instant.

At that very moment—

A slender figure abruptly appeared in front of them and threw a punch.

A right fist hardened with Advanced Busoshoku Haki collided head-on with the magma fist!

Boom—a tremendous roar rang out as the gathered, searing wind pressure exploded outward, and the gale that erupted instantly blew the surrounding Marines flying.

Magma sprayed out in great quantities in all directions, but before an invisible repulsive force, it could not approach that figure.

Akainu stared at Luo En, who had blocked his attack and saved Sabo and Ace, and ground his teeth in hatred: "You again!!"

Luo En had nothing to say to him. The Rinnegan activated, and Akainu was directly blasted away by that sudden, terrifying repulsive force, crashing heavily back into the ruins of Marine Headquarters along the path he had come from.

"Luo En! ×2"

Only then did Ace and Sabo come to their senses. Staring at Luo En's back as he stood before them, they called out to him, their faces full of joy and gratitude.

Ma Erke also let out a long sigh of relief—for that one instant, he had truly thought Ace was going to be killed by Akainu.

But at that moment, yet another thing left everyone dumbfounded.

Kaidou and Blackbeard launched a simultaneous ambush on Whitebeard.

"Thunder Bagua!"

"Kurai: Ana!"

Whitebeard's pupils contracted. He raised his fist and slammed it into the kanabo Kaidou swung down. The shock force imbued with Haki clashed violently against Kaidou's Haki-forged, mountain-splitting power; the earth quaked, the wind ran wild, and a great many Marines and pirates were instantly blown away.

Blackbeard, his fist hardened with Busoshoku Haki and wrapped in dense darkness, slammed heavily into Whitebeard's chest. Whitebeard's face changed—the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit failed because of Blackbeard's ability.

Kaidou's kanabo, wreathed in violet-black arcs of lightning, came crashing down hard onto Whitebeard's shoulder.

Boom!

The ground beneath the three of them instantly sank, then exploded apart with a roar, countless cracks snaking outward in every direction!

Whitebeard's legs sank deep into the earth, and his tall, burly, ramrod-straight frame was forced to bend forward under that blow.

Immediately after, Blackbeard drove a full-power punch into Whitebeard's face.

Shiliew of the Rain drove his Raiu, its blade dyed violet-black with Haki, into Whitebeard's chest, while the other members of the Blackbeard Pirates also fired a hail of lead bullets into Whitebeard, each one blooming into a spray of blood on his body.

Ace, Ma Erke, Jozu, and the others, upon seeing this, all had their pupils contract sharply.

"Old Man!!"

With the Marines no longer blocking them, Ace, Ma Erke, Jozu, and the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates all rushed toward Bai Huzi's side.

But it was already too late.

"Teach!"

Sensing his life was about to reach its end, Bai Huzi let out a furious roar and slammed a fist condensed with the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit down onto the Blackbeard before him.

"It's useless!"

"Dark Water!"

Blackbeard raised his palm shrouded in darkness and directly caught Bai Huzi's punch. The Dark-Dark Fruit activated, absorbing the tremor force capable of shattering an entire island.

Bai Huzi's pupils contracted.

"Hahahahaha, you see that? Bai Huzi!"

Blackbeard laughed wildly, "This is the power of my Dark-Dark Devil Fruit, the strongest power!"

"Die, Bai Huzi!"

Kaido swung the spiked club in his hand once more, intending to deliver Bai Huzi the final blow.

At that moment, Shanks made his move.

He stepped in behind Bai Huzi in a single bound, the long sword Griffin in his hand raised to catch Kaido's Thunder Bagua strike.

A powerful shockwave like rippling tides instantly spread across the entire battlefield, shaking the earth and churning the sea.

The clash of their Haki split the sky with an extremely long and deep fissure.

The whole of Marineford was on the verge of collapse under the attacks of these few men!

"The Tremor-Tremor Fruit is mine!"

Blackbeard laughed maniacally as he pressed his palm, radiating thick darkness, down toward Bai Huzi.

Bai Huzi threw another punch.

"Didn't I already say? It's useless!"

Blackbeard once again activated his ability to nullify Bai Huzi's tremor force, but Bai Huzi immediately followed up—within Blackbeard's drastically shrinking gaze—grabbing the great scythe Murakumogiri that stood planted nearby with his other hand and slashing it toward him.

Blackbeard was directly cleaved across the chest by the blade and sent flying backward.

Bai Huzi stood gripping the great scythe, bathed in blood, yet his posture remained ramrod straight.

He looked down at Blackbeard writhing on the ground in pain and said disdainfully, "Teach, the one Luo Jie is waiting for will never be you!"

Blackbeard's pupils contracted sharply.

The next second.

Bai Huzi used his final strength to deliver a full-powered slash. The terrifying tremor force instantly swept across all of Marineford; the land and the sea were both quaking. The ocean beyond Marineford that Aokiji had frozen over was also shattered apart, and the ships trapped in ice were able to move again.

After completing this final act.