Pirate: My Piltover technology is far ahead!

Chapter 430: Who will fall for this clumsy attempt at provocation?

"Akainu"

Although he was alone, Akainu managed to stop all the pirates who wanted to break through. He was the man who could cut a hole in Whitebeard's body and fight Whitebeard head-on until now.

Pirates may hate Akainu, but they cannot deny his strength. Squard was able to successfully backstab Whitebeard because Whitebeard was completely unprepared for his sons from beginning to end.

He simply couldn't believe his son would betray him; otherwise, few members of the Whitebeard Pirates could have harmed Whitebeard.

When Ace was defeated by Whitebeard, he tried to ambush Whitebeard quite a few times. Whether Whitebeard was asleep or at other times, Ace was unable to cause him any harm.

As the core of the Whitebeard Pirates, Whitebeard himself is covering the retreat of the other pirates. The pirates, having lost their leader, are momentarily confused and unsure of what to do.

However, this solemnity was quickly broken.

Among pirate groups, there is a special group – hotheads.

These kinds of pirates are widespread across the seas, believing themselves to be invincible and that dominating the Grand Line is just a matter of a wave of their hand.

Such pirates are usually the most miserable, with very few managing to successfully enter the Grand Line.

If a hothead who survives by sheer luck manages to survive for a period of time in the first half of the Grand Line, there is a high probability that he will evolve into a super hothead, thinking that the Four Emperors are nothing special, and that he will be able to kick Kaido and punch Whitebeard after entering the New World.

The best outcome for such people is to be defeated and recruited by the Four Emperors, or to live a miserable life in a corner of the New World with missing limbs.

Entering the new world does not mean the end of their naive life. After joining the ranks of the Four Emperors, they will develop the idea that they are invincible with the support of the Four Emperors.

It was these hotheads who broke the deadlock.

"Don't be afraid! He's been fighting with Dad for so long, he's just at his last gasp!"

"He's all alone! Are we just going to let him hold us off like this? Don't forget Dad's orders: get back to the New World alive! We're just one step away from success, kill him!"

With a leader in mind, a group of pirates charged towards Akainu. Marco, who was rushing over from behind, couldn't stop them in time and could only watch as these people fearlessly launched a suicidal charge against Akainu.

Courage alone cannot change the outcome. Akainu is indeed not at his peak right now. Even an old Whitebeard would be a great threat to Akainu, but these ordinary pirates are not Whitebeard either.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; Akainu is not someone they can bully now.

"Ash Lava Flow!"

The lava river behind Akainu began to boil, and thick black smoke seeped out from the flowing lava. This was volcanic gas with a pungent sulfur smell, accompanied by extremely high temperatures, making even breathing uncomfortable.

The pirates who first attacked Akainu were also swallowed up by the surging river of lava, with only a few black ashes proving that they had ever existed.

"The son of the Pirate King Roger, the son of the Revolutionary Army leader, and the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army. You three brothers bear boundless sins, and your very existence is a provocation against justice. Today, I will annihilate you all here!"

"A massive fireball!"

The flowing lava gathered on Akainu's arm, and a giant lava hand reached out to grab the people in front of him.

"Third gear! Rubber!"

"Luffy, get out of my way! This isn't someone you can handle!"

"He's right, this time you'd better just stay behind us and watch! Fire Fist!"

A person lacking in domineering aura is completely helpless against Logia-type Devil Fruit users.

The Dark-Dark Fruit lacks the ability to transform into an element; the Sand-Sand Fruit cannot transform into an element when wet; the Rumble-Rumble Fruit is ineffective against rubber; the Flame-Flame Fruit is made from his own brother; and even though the Smoke-Smoke Fruit hasn't been updated to the latest version, it was still able to easily defeat Luffy in the early stages.

These are the Logia-type Devil Fruit users that Luffy encountered in the early stages of the original timeline. Among the three admirals, Kuzan's body can freeze people, Kizaru's simple elemental transformation will not cause harm, and only Akainu is a monster with his own high-temperature armor.

An ordinary person attacking Akainu would only hurt themselves. Conqueror's Haki can be awakened under the right circumstances and stimulation, but Armament Haki cannot. If Luffy were to punch him now, he would really have to follow in Shanks' footsteps.

Sabo and Ace's teamwork was clearly more seamless. Sabo slammed Luffy's head down, while Ace countered Akainu's fist with a fiery punch.

However, Ace was at a disadvantage against the magma, both in terms of strength and other aspects, and the flames were being suppressed by Akainu little by little.

"Attack together! Immortal Thistle!"

"Shining Collision!"

"Rose Dance!"

Blue flames danced across the battlefield, and Marco's wings ignited with regenerative flames, allowing him to use them as shields as he charged straight at Akainu.

Although his offensive power is somewhat lacking, Marco's defense and recovery are top-notch. Relying on his Devil Fruit ability, he can withstand all kinds of attacks, such as King's Fire Dragon Emperor and Kaido's heat breath, which he can defend against for a short time.

Although the scorching heat of the lava forced Marco to retreat, he managed to withstand it.

At the same time, petals fluttered across the battlefield, and a sharp, cold light flashed. Vista's twin blades and Jozu's collision struck Akainu from both sides, creating several holes in his magma body.

"Hmph, so you used Haki? But that's all. Great Fire Breath!"

Akainu's body was slowly recovering. Jozu and Vista's attacks seemed fierce, but they failed to have any substantial effect. Akainu had already predicted their attacks with his Observation Haki and then used his elemental powers to avoid them.

This is the most unsolvable aspect of Logia-type Devil Fruit users. If your Observation Haki isn't strong enough, it's incredibly difficult to inflict effective damage. If you can't catch their physical body, no matter how much you attack, it's all just ineffective paper damage.

As the three admirals, their Observation Haki is naturally competent; the same reason why Aokiji was able to evade Whitebeard's slash is due to this.

Having evaded the attacks of several people without taking any damage, Akainu's body spewed out a large amount of magma like a volcano, forcing the people around him back.

At the same time, the ground suddenly trembled. Akainu hadn't paid any attention to this, as Whitebeard was still fighting against Kuzan, Kizaru, Sengoku, and several vice admirals with Shiki.

Golden Lion can fly, and Whitebeard doesn't need to consider his teammates. He's currently unleashing his earthquake-inducing abilities in that area, and it's inevitable that aftershocks will affect this place. Before long, Akainu discovered a ship approaching this area.

The Whitebeard Pirates also had another ship hidden underwater. Whitebeard originally planned to use this ship to break through the Navy's encirclement, but the appearance of Shiki changed Whitebeard's plans and gave the ship a new opportunity to operate.

With its massive outer wheels, the ship did not stop at all, but instead headed straight for the land, led by Squard.

"Everyone! Run! We'll take care of the rest!!"

"Squard! What are you doing, you idiot?! Didn't you hear your father's orders?!"

"I heard you, but let me be willful one last time! I want to atone for my actions! I'll cover your retreat!"

Behind Squard were members of the Great Whirlpool Spider Pirates, who also disobeyed Squard's orders and chose to die alongside their captain.

The massive ship continued its relentless charge towards Akainu without stopping.

"That's a Logia-type Devil Fruit user! You're just throwing your life away!"

"I know, but everyone, please trust me one more time! Just the last time!"

Using this kind of attack on a Logia-type user is undoubtedly extremely foolish. This kind of purely physical attack cannot cause any effective damage to Logia-type users. Squard certainly knew this, and there was a reason why he took so long to appear.

"Ready to begin!"

Akainu below did not choose to dodge, but instead swung his fist at the charging pirate ship. He could have chosen to dodge, but if he dodged now, the ship would simply charge past, which would be tantamount to letting them escape.

In order to intercept all these pirates, Akainu chose to confront them head-on. However, just as Akainu threw a punch, the hull in front of the ship suddenly shattered as it approached him.

A large amount of seawater gushed out, adding a layer of seawater shield to the hull.

Regardless of the type of ship, the issue of water ingress must be considered, especially for the large ships of the Whitebeard Pirates. The weather and sea conditions on the Grand Line are unpredictable, and even the best navigators and helmsmen cannot guarantee 100% safety.

Running aground is unavoidable, which led to the development of watertight compartment technology. By using wooden planks to divide the ship's cabin into small rooms, even if there is damage, the ship can continue to sail as long as that compartment is sealed.

Some cleverly designed ships can continue to sail even if half of their cabins are flooded.

Squard had just breached several ship cabins, filled them with seawater, and then launched a surprise attack on Akainu.

The gushing sea currents resemble waterfalls. The contact between the cold seawater and the scorching lava flow generates a large amount of steam, which also cools and solidifies the scorching lava, turning it into blocks of igneous rock.

The ship then continued forward without stopping until it got stuck in the lava river, creating a temporary bridge.

"Let's go! Let's go back to the new world!"

Squard opened a way out for the pirates in this way, even giving the illusion that Akainu had been killed. The pirates did not know where Akainu had gone, but they still rushed out of the ship.

As a Marine Admiral, Akainu would certainly not be killed by Squard in this way. However, because he had been fighting Whitebeard for a long time and had exhausted a lot of his strength, Squard was able to seize an opportunity.

The seawater in the cabin couldn't extinguish the lava river directly, but it slowed down the burning rate. By this time, the fire had already started burning below, but Squard stayed on the ship and let the others go first.

Seeing that most people had already crossed the "bridge," Squard still had no intention of leaving. Instead, he wanted to help Whitebeard, even if it was just to take a knife for him, he wanted to atone for his sins.

But at that moment, Akainu charged up from below the deck once again.

If it were Kuzan, he could freeze the seawater with just a slight movement, while Akainu could only counter it with magma.

Even though he is a Marine Admiral, he cannot escape the weaknesses of Devil Fruits. At most, he is more resistant. If he is completely submerged in water, Akainu will be just as weak and powerless.

"Kinniku Guren!"

Akainu burst out of the deck and pierced Squard's heart with a single blow. The escaping magma also incinerated the pirates who had not yet crossed the bridge, but Akainu was not satisfied.

Because of Squard's delay, quite a few pirates who rushed into the square escaped.

"You tricked me, huh?"

"Same here, not being able to kill you, you lava bastard, is the thing I regret most."

"Ha, if you truly trusted Whitebeard, how could you be swayed by my words? You only have yourself to blame."

"Pfft!"

Squard was thrown aside by Akainu before he could finish speaking. Akainu had hated pirates since childhood, and the reason he said those two sentences was simply to make Squard die in regret.

He didn't want to see a pirate leave satisfied, even if it meant walking down a dead end.

"They rescued Fire Fist Ace and immediately retreated, abandoning even their comrades who covered their retreat. The Whitebeard Pirates really are a bunch of cowards!"

Akainu's words reached the ears of the fleeing pirates clearly, and many turned to look at him. But even at this point, many remained calm.

"Don't fall for this blatant provocation! Think about why your father did what he did! Think about Squard's choice! Turning back now would be letting them down!"

"But that's just the kind of person the captain is, there's nothing we can do about it. After all, Whitebeard is just a loser from the last era."

Akainu's tone was light, but his words were even more "harsh." Anyone who wasn't a fool could tell that this was Akainu's bait-and-switch tactic. But this low-level provocation somehow managed to trick some people.

"What did you say? Take back what you said!"

"Take it back? Absolutely not. Your father, Gol D. Roger, conquered the Grand Line, ushering in the chaotic era known as the Great Pirate Era with his own life. As a Marine, I shouldn't say this, but he truly deserves the title of Pirate King."

Compared to Roger, what is Whitebeard? Does he really have the courage to fight Roger to the death? He'd rather hide in a safe place and be his own king of the sea.

There are many fools in the world who use the name of Whitebeard to protect the safety of some islands, but in my opinion, he only subdued some insignificant pirates and then used that name to act like a hero. It's laughable.

For decades he has reigned over the seas but failed to become king, accomplishing nothing but playing these childish games. What a pathetic loser!

Akainu could glean a lot from Ace's resistance to his identity during his pre-battle speech. At this distance, if they were determined to escape, Akainu really wouldn't have much of a way to stop them. Those captains weren't strong enough for Akainu, but they would still require some effort.

There were two real monsters causing trouble behind them, and he needed to go back to help, but with just a few words, Akainu managed to make Ace turn back.