#1475 - Chapter 1485: The Battle of Marineford (Part 97)

Anxiety and despair were etched on everyone's faces. They knew that if they lost Whitebeard, their leader, the entire pirate crew would fall into an unprecedented crisis.

"Pops!"

Ace spotted the shocking wounds on Whitebeard's body at a glance. The joy that had just welled up in his heart vanished instantly, replaced by deep worry and fear.

His eyes widened as he stared at Whitebeard in disbelief.

However, upon hearing Ace's worried cry, Whitebeard burst into a hearty laugh: "Gurarararara!"

The laughter was deafening, as if he didn't feel the pain in his body at all.

Without hesitation, he raised his massive naginata and slashed at Akainu with the force of a thunderbolt.

Akainu's expression changed drastically upon seeing this. He hurriedly retracted his arm and backflipped several times to escape Whitebeard's attack range at top speed.

"Ace, don't worry about me. These little injuries can't do anything to your old man, cough, cough!"

Whitebeard still laughed loudly, but before he could finish speaking, he suddenly coughed violently.

He clutched his injured chest with his left hand, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, staining the front of his clothes red.

"Not good, Pops is having another episode!"

Marco, who had been closely monitoring Whitebeard's condition, felt a pang in his heart upon seeing this. Without delay, he quickly flew to Whitebeard's side and began using his healing abilities to heal him with all his might.

Seeing this scene, Ace's heart, which had been hanging high, relaxed slightly.

But at this moment, the surrounding Marines surged up again like a tide. In the blink of an eye, three or four powerful vice admirals surrounded Ace and Luffy.

Ace turned to look at Luffy beside him, a smile on his face, and said with emotion, "I never thought that I would be saved by you one day. I never even dreamed of it before! But... thank you, Luffy!"

Upon hearing this, Luffy's lips curled into a bright smile, and he reached out and gently rubbed his nose.

His eyes were clear and bright, with a hint of humility, as he slowly said, "It's all thanks to Whitebeard and the others! I couldn't have done it without them."

Just then, the sound of metal friction was heard, followed by the sight of spears being raised high.

The Marines were holding various guns and cannons, and all the dark muzzles were aimed at Ace and Luffy.

One of the Marine vice admirals, with a cold face, shouted loudly, "Don't naively think that you have been safely rescued! This is your execution ground, and today is your death day!"

Before his voice faded, the deafening sound of gunfire and cannons rang out.

Countless bullets shot towards Ace and Luffy like a dense rain, and at the same time, powerful cannonballs howled closely behind.

Faced with such a dangerous situation, Luffy and Ace reacted quickly. They didn't hesitate to stand back to back, forming a solid defense between them.

"Be careful! These are seastone bullets!"

Ace's face suddenly changed drastically, and he warned loudly.

In the blink of an eye, he instantly stretched out his left hand to grab Luffy tightly, to prevent him from being hurt; at the same time, his right hand waved violently, and a raging flame suddenly rose up, as if to ignite the entire world.

In the blink of an eye, the flame spread at an alarming rate, quickly covering the entire area.

Then, Ace leaped into the air. His eyes widened with anger, and he shouted, "Fire Fist!"

With this roar, the already surging flames condensed into a huge and ferocious fire fist, heading straight towards the Marines below with a devastating force.

In an instant, the flame was like a raging beast, opening its bloody mouth and swallowing all the surrounding Marines.

However, those battle-hardened Marine vice admirals would naturally not sit idly by and wait for death.

They used Armament Haki one after another, wrapping their entire bodies tightly, to resist the scorching heat of the flames.

Although the high temperature of the flames made them feel bursts of burning pain, they still gritted their teeth and persevered with their powerful strength and tenacious will.

Luffy on the other side was not idle either.

Seeing Ace launch such a fierce offensive, a sense of heroism arose in his heart, and he immediately waved his thick and powerful arms.

For a time, his fists struck the surrounding Marines like a storm.

Each punch contained the force of a thousand pounds, causing the Marines to groan and retreat.

The two fell rapidly from the air like shooting stars, stirring up a gust of wind.

"Hurry, Luffy, escape from here quickly!"

Ace shouted anxiously, his eyes fixed on the possible escape route ahead.

Luffy nodded heavily, indicating that he understood, his eyes flashing with a firm light.

Bista and the others stood not far away, watching Ace and Luffy with smiles on their faces, and couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration in their hearts: "Their cooperation is so perfect! They are indeed brothers!"

Bista praised sincerely. Then, he waved the long sword in his hand and shouted loudly, "Brothers, carve a path of blood for them!"

With his order issued, the Whitebeard Pirates instantly took action, rushing towards Ace and Luffy like a surging wave.

Sengoku stood outside the arena, his face as gloomy as if water could drip from it.

His eyes stared fixedly at the chaotic and messy scene in the arena, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

Especially when he saw the figures of Ace and Luffy, his anger burned to the extreme.

"Garp, how long are you going to lie down! Are you just going to watch them escape?"

Sengoku roared at Garp in uncontrollable anger, venting all the anger in his heart on this former comrade.

Garp was lying quietly in a pile of rubble, seemingly unresponsive to Sengoku's roar.

With a loud bang, Garp, who had been motionless, finally moved.

He slightly raised his arm, forcefully pushed away the huge stone pressing on his body, and then slowly stretched his head out of the pile of rubble.

Garp looked a little embarrassed at this time, but his eyes were still as sharp as knives.

"Garp, the face of the Navy must not be damaged in the slightest. Now is the time for you to show justice!"

Sengoku glared at Garp and shouted sternly again.