A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Vice Admiral Tsuru was a renowned female naval officer in her youth. Although she is now in her sixties or seventies and has been working as a staff officer for decades, her martial arts skills have never diminished. When dealing with those young lads every day, her movements are still as swift and decisive as ever.

"What are you doing there, you green-haired moss head??" Sanji, who had run over, was dumbfounded. We are rescuing people right now, and every second counts. How come you're already here and still not going?

"Idiot! Look at the situation before you speak! This old woman is not someone to be trifled with..."

Zoro had three knives in his hands and mouth, but he hesitated around the execution platform, not daring to go forward. His beastly vision told him that the person in front of him was even more troublesome than Smoker, whom he had just faced!

"Grandma! Get out of the way!!" Luffy shouted as he ran.

Unfortunately, Vice Admiral Tsuru remained unmoved, simply standing there quietly, his eyes calm and unperturbed as he watched Luffy rush towards him. He muttered under his breath, "Garp's grandson? He's just as impulsive as Garp, and he doesn't know how to respect his elders at all!"

"Luffy, what do we do?"

Among these people, Sanji doesn't kick women, Zoro doesn't wield his sword against the elderly, weak, sick, or young, and Franky and Brook, despite being a pervert and a skeleton, aren't the type to attack the elderly.

Even though they knew that the old woman might be able to take on five of them with one hand, they still couldn't bring themselves to lay a hand on such an elderly person.

Fortunately, Luffy is among them!

He was even willing to hit his grandfather to save Ace!

Of course, Luffy wouldn't hit an old man, so he made a better decision: "Please stop them for me! I'm going to save Ace!!"

"Huh?! You're kidding, right?!" ×4

Before Zoro and the others could react, Luffy raised his hands high and stretched them out toward the support of the execution platform. After grabbing the support, he charged up like a rocket launcher, bypassing Vice Admiral Tsuru, who was dozens of meters away.

"That guy..."

"How cunning! Yohohoho..."

"Forget it, covering the captain's actions is what we crew members should do!" At this moment, Zoro was more aware of the situation. He slashed down with the Sandai Kitetsu in mid-air, clashing with the blade of a Marine Rear Admiral who came to provide support.

"'Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro... I never imagined you'd stoop so low!!"

"Looks like I'm pretty famous..."

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The group exchanged a few more quick slashes, their blades flashing in their hands, creating afterimages as if seven or eight swords were fighting simultaneously. For a moment, the two sides were locked in a stalemate.

"Thank you for showing up, otherwise I really wouldn't know how to deal with the old lady..."

Upon hearing this, the Navy Rear Admiral immediately retorted sarcastically, "What are you thinking? You bunch of pirates who haven't even been to the New World think you can take down Vice Admiral Tsuru? You'd better take a good look later!"

Zoro's heart skipped a beat. He quickly pushed off with both hands, his blade jerking as he leaped back. When he looked back and saw what was behind him, he couldn't help but yell, "What are you three doing?!"

Behind him, Sanji, Franky, and Brook had already collapsed and were now lying in a row, their bodies gleaming like freshly washed clothes.

"Completely outmatched..."

"I am ashamed that I am a pervert..."

"I feel like my body has been purified..."

Seeing this, Zoro was so shocked he almost dropped his sword: "A Devil Fruit user?? This is troublesome..."

With a quick thought, he slashed at the major general who had just been wielding a sword.

'Hmm... Anyway, Luffy's already up there, so it's safer for me to fight an opponent like this.'

Meanwhile, Luffy, who was rushing to the execution platform, also noticed the changes below. However, he believed that his companions would be alright, so he continued to climb up like a monkey climbing a tree. With his agile movements and the power of the Gum-Gum Fruit, he quickly reached the execution platform.

"Even A-He couldn't stop him? Looks like he went easy on him..."

Sengoku muttered to himself, his gaze fixed on Luffy, who had finally managed to climb up here. A surge of anger welled up inside him: The Monkey family, they're all such a handful!

"Ace!! I'm coming to save you right now!!" Luffy doesn't have the key right now and can't unlock Ace's lock, so he has no choice but to carry him on his back. "Get on my back quickly!"

"Idiot! What are you doing here?!" Ace shouted anxiously at Luffy.

The two brothers put on a melodramatic show, completely ignoring the angry Sengoku standing nearby.

This made Sengoku's lips twitch. If "Fire Fist" Ace were to be rescued by "Straw Hat" Luffy like this, what face would the Navy have left?

So the Warring States period made a move. He instantly transformed into a golden Buddha and swung his palm forcefully!

"Oh no! Get out of the way!" Ace thought to himself, realizing he was in trouble, and shouted at Luffy.

Luffy was shocked and stared blankly at the golden light that suddenly rose beside him: "What?! When did this person appear here?!"

Sengoku: "..."

Everyone: "..."

Before Luffy could even prepare his defenses, a large hand slapped him hard across the buttocks.

Bang! !

With a flash of light, Luffy shot through the air like a cannonball, flying straight from above the execution platform to the center of the plaza, where he crashed heavily to the ground, creating a sizable crater.

The pirates secretly sighed, "As expected... I knew it wouldn't be that easy!"

Monkeys can never escape the Buddha's palm!

If a kid who's only been at sea for less than two months could so easily save someone in front of the Fleet Admiral, then he must be blessed by the Sun God.

"My butt hurts so much..."

Luffy rolled over, got up from the ground, tears welling in his eyes, and rubbed his butt with one hand, looking much like when he was a child and had been given a good beating by his grandfather.

"Why do I feel pain?! I'm supposed to be made of rubber..."

Everyone around fell silent: This kid, doesn't he even know what Haki is? How did someone like this manage to break through the navy's defenses and reach the execution platform...?!

Luffy looked up and realized that he was the only one who had just been beaten; Ace was still kneeling on the execution platform, staring at him anxiously.

"Now we're even further away from Ace... We need to find a way to unlock Ace's handcuffs!!"

"Did he fail? That straw hat kid..."

Whitebeard stared blankly at the commotion in the square, his eyes dimming and his tone slightly disappointed.

After Gildarts entered the scene, he quickly noticed the commotion the enemy had created and Luffy and his crew following behind him. Thanks to Luffy's noise and his sons' reminders, he quickly realized that they were allies, so he ordered everyone to cooperate with this surprise attack.

When Whitebeard saw Gildarts holding Garp back and Luffy rushing to the execution platform, he genuinely had a 'maybe it will work' thought, but what happened next dashed his hopes.

Unfortunately, Sengoku's strength is ultimately beyond Luffy's current capabilities.

The extreme emotional turmoil caused the elderly man, already in his twilight years, to become disoriented and be successfully ambushed by Akainu's Ghost Hound attack.

The scorching lava roared past his head. Although Whitebeard reacted in time, he was still a step too slow and had half of his shoulder burned off.

"Dad!!"

The Whitebeard Pirates were immediately alarmed and tried to rush back to provide support, but their opponents seized their weaknesses and unleashed a series of attacks, leaving them completely battered and bruised.

In an instant, the situation on the pirate side took a sharp turn for the worse.

Chapter 982 The Aunt's Invitation

On the battlefield, the commander's injury caused the Whitebeard Pirates' morale to plummet.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Akainu increased his attack, unleashing another magma punch at Whitebeard: "Hellhound!!"

But this time Whitebeard had recovered and was on guard. He quickly dodged by tilting his head, and then clenched his left fist and slammed it hard into Akainu's abdomen.

boom!!

With a loud bang, Akainu's more than three-meter-tall body was slammed forty or fifty meters away before finally crashing into the cracked ground.

"Does that guy still have any energy left?"

The sudden turn of events caused those who thought Whitebeard was going to lose to abruptly stop their sneak attacks and kill-stealing activities.

Kira could see it clearly from the sky. In that instant, a third of the prominent pirates showed disappointment, sighed in regret, or sheathed their weapons and adjusted their positions.

"He started out at a young age, robbing and pillaging, and fought on the seas for decades, but he ruined his health, didn't have much money left, and still managed to get along so badly with people. It's unbelievable..."

Regarding Whitebeard's achievements throughout his life, especially his ability to make friends, Killer held deep contempt: "Akainu was right when he said he was a loser!"

Look at yourself, how long have you been in the world of One Piece? How many times have you met Kaido and Big Mom?

They so generously gave him dozens of islands to settle down, and even when he changed the government and established new kingdoms in their territory, they didn't say anything.

Then look at Whitebeard, who was once a crew member of theirs and had a decades-long friendship with them. Now these people are just watching their old friend die without even blinking.

By comparing the two, one can see how much of a failure Whitebeard's life was!

Another point is that Killer vaguely remembers that Whitebeard's hometown was called Sphinx. Because the country couldn't afford the "Heavenly Gold," it couldn't join the ranks of the member states, leading to frequent raids by pirates and thus its poverty. For many years, Whitebeard had been sending his money back to his hometown, leaving him extremely poor and unable to even afford alcohol.

There's actually a big problem here!

First of all, didn't Whitebeard mark the Sphinx as his territory?

If not, then his act of giving money couldn't have escaped the World Government's notice, and it's impossible that nothing would have happened over the years. If so, then which pirate would dare to visit this place?

Secondly, most islands in the pirate world have their own specialties, and some are even rich in resources. Even if Sphinx is short of resources, without pirates harassing it and without having to pay the Heavenly Gold, can't it be self-sufficient through farming, herding, hunting, and trading?

Finally, Whitebeard's territory is the largest among the Four Emperors, so in theory, the protection fees he collects must be quite substantial. It's even more absurd to say that he only covers his territory and doesn't collect protection fees. If he didn't collect protection fees, what would his subordinates eat and drink?

As the captain, Whitebeard must have made the most money through robbery and extortion. If he really gave all his money to the Sphinx, how could they not even be able to support the people of an entire island, given its sparse population?

Think about it carefully: a gangster boss who can influence the whole world with the slightest move, who is feared by both the underworld and the legitimate world, and who is known as the "strongest man in the world," is actually reduced to the point where he can barely support his hometown even though he wants to build it up. This kind of setting is very unreasonable from all aspects!

It can only be assumed that this was a setting that Oda forcibly added to Whitebeard later in the story in order to force emotional appeal, advance the plot, or whitewash the character.

The only effect of doing so is to add another significant stroke to his resume as a 'loser'.

Just as Kira was shaking his head and annotating Whitebeard's life, the war was about to come to an end.

After Akainu's departure, Barrett took his place and began to brutally beat Whitebeard.

His behavior in this war is like that of a mad dog, biting anyone he can get his hands on. First he fought the Marines, then Rayleigh, then the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and now it's finally Whitebeard's turn.

Although Barrett is already in his forties, even when he was in Impel Down with his hands and feet in seastone handcuffs, he still insisted on exercising every day, so he is still at the peak of his strength and can easily bully Whitebeard, a weak and sickly man.

Moreover, because his opponent was very strong, he used 80% of his strength. Except for the ability to 'merge with the island' that he had shown in the movie, he basically used all his tricks.

His extraordinary Observation Haki, Armament Haki, and Conqueror's Haki, combined with his superhuman physical skills, forced Whitebeard into a series of defeats, causing him to cough up blood repeatedly.

The Navy was pleased with this and did not intervene. Instead, they had Akainu secretly return to clean up the small pieces of trash on the battlefield.

The order is: Don't hold back, clean it all up!