Uchiha's personal opinion

"Meteor Volcano!"

"BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!"

As the power of ice and fire merged and dissipated, the world seemed to be filled with a deafening explosion!

However, the ice surface that had just been shattered was immediately filled back up by Kuzan's manipulation of freezing air from behind. The vice admirals who were fighting alongside Sengoku and others led a group of officers and soldiers to circle around from both sides and attack the frozen Whitebeard Pirates' ships.

"Kill them all!"

First Division Captain Marco roared and led his men to charge forward. Apart from the Second Division, which was temporarily disbanded after Captain Ace's accident, the other fourteen divisions of the Whitebeard Pirates, led by their respective captains, fearlessly charged towards the Marine officers from both flanks.

Even though they were outnumbered and the Navy was incredibly powerful, they were still sea warriors from the Whitebeard Pirates! So they had nothing to fear!

As for the battlefield in the middle area, that belongs exclusively to Whitebeard, Sengoku, Sakazuki, and Kizaru!

Behind them, forty-three vassal pirate crews had already begun heavy artillery barrages with forty-five warships led by three vice admirals, and the battle scene was extremely intense!

……

On the other side of the Red Line, the Sabaody Archipelago was also shrouded in thick smoke.

After receiving Minato Namikaze's request for assistance, the combined First and Second Army Corps, led by Hanzo of the Salamander and Fugaku Uchiha, quickly launched a fierce bombardment, bringing the entire archipelago into the attack range.

However, due to the unique nature of the Sabaody Archipelago, its seventy-nine islands are entirely composed of mangrove trees, making them particularly vulnerable to the chakra incendiary bombs of ship-mounted heavy artillery. After several rounds of bombardment, the Sabaody Archipelago was engulfed in flames.

Meanwhile, the intelligence ninjas who have been operating on various islands have been launching assassination operations under the leadership of Uchiha Nobutora. They have been targeting lower and middle-ranking personnel of the garrison, or providing artillery guidance. With their combined efforts from within and without, they have kept the entire Sabaody Archipelago in turmoil.

Even the experienced Vice Admiral Garp felt overwhelmed and helpless.

In less than an hour, the garrison navy, which had been fighting the island-encircling fleet to a standstill, was completely trapped in a predicament.

It was precisely for this reason that Vice Admiral Garp realized that these 'remnant fleets' surrounding the island were serious about their actions.

Even so, the nearby Marine Headquarters could only defend itself and had no way to provide support—because almost all of its main forces had been transferred to the G1 branch to fight against the Four Emperors.

……

"Are you really planning to bomb the entire island until it sinks to the bottom?"

On a battleship outside the Sabaody Archipelago, Fugaku Uchiha asked Hanzo of the Salamander.

"Does Lord Fugaku intend to have his men launch a beach landing now?"

Hanzo the Salamander continued to observe the Sabaody Archipelago shrouded in smoke and flames through his binoculars, saying without looking up, "If we launch a general offensive without sufficient prelude firepower, the casualties will be extremely heavy, which cannot be compensated by numbers alone."

"I just think that instead of wasting time here, we should divide our forces and attack the Marine Headquarters..."

Fugaku Uchiha licked his lips and revealed his idea.

"I have no objection..."

Hanzo the Salamander said, "As long as His Majesty's decree is in order."

Fugaku Uchiha was speechless.

Because Uchiha Tokumitsu is not in a hurry to expand his sphere of influence, he seems content with the occupation of the East Blue. Moreover, he has been engaged in large-scale construction recently, and his enthusiasm for war is not as great as that for the East Blue Laboratory.

But Fugaku Uchiha was too eager to improve!

Even now, as the commander of the legion, he is still constrained by Uchiha Shiina and Uzumaki Ichiraku, and cannot obtain military merits at will—moreover, the mechanism of the Uchiha Dynasty does not allow this, and even as a member of the royal family, he has no choice.

"Two Commanders-in-Chief!"

Just as Fugaku Uchiha was deep in thought, a ninja advisor appeared behind him in a flash and reported: "This subordinate has received an order from the East Blue Headquarters!"

"Read!"

Hanzo the Salamander's voice immediately became urgent.

"Order 1: The First and Second Legions are to launch a general offensive against the Sabaody Archipelago, which has been notified by the enemy, immediately. They must dismantle the enemy's combat capabilities on the islands by today. If this is difficult, Yagura Karatachi may destroy the Giant Tree directly after the intelligence agency has withdrawn!"

"Order 2: The Fifth Army Corps, commanded by Speaker Hatake Sakumo, has also set sail and is expected to arrive at the battle area tonight. After annihilating the garrison of the Sabaody Archipelago, the three armies shall proceed directly to the Marine Headquarters without fail!"

"Order 3: In this battle, only the results matter! Casualties are irrelevant!"

"In addition: the Fourth Legion of the East Sea Headquarters, the Third Legion of the Demon Triangle, and the National Guards of the member states have begun to assemble and will be personally led into battle by His Majesty the Supreme Emperor!"

"I respectfully obey Your Majesty's will!"

Hanzo of the Salamander and Fugaku of the Uchiha clan bowed respectfully towards the East Blue, and then personally drafted a telegram to report back.

However, the rapid change in attitude of Uchiha Tokumitsu, who initially seemed indifferent, left the two somewhat puzzled.

……

New World - The outskirts of the Navy's G1 branch port.

The more Whitebeard fought, the more powerful he became. Wielding his famous sword "Murakumogiri", he completely suppressed the two Admirals, Sakazuki and Kizaru. After all, Kizaru had lost his left arm in the Battle of Todoroki in the East Blue, which affected his strength to some extent.

Whitebeard's fifteen divisions were also locked in fierce battle with the commando suicide squads led by the vice admirals. Although it was difficult to determine a winner for a while, the commando suicide squads of the navy were gradually regaining the upper hand due to their numerical advantage.

Meanwhile, the forty-three vassal pirate crews, who were engaged in a fierce battle with Vice Admiral Tsuru and his men, were locked in a stalemate, and it was difficult to determine a winner in the short term.

In summary, while the Navy withstood the Whitebeard Pirates' direct offensive, its elite forces were also bogged down.

"We can't keep going like this..."

Whitebeard took a deep breath, unleashed a powerful sword strike towards the airspace where Kizaru was, and dodged him. He then leaped away, briefly escaping the melee with the two admirals.

Although he was having a great time fighting the two vice admirals, Whitebeard still had nearly half of his attention on the movements in every corner of the battlefield—because Fleet Admiral Sengoku was nowhere to be seen!

But he could see very clearly that it was Warring States who had led the charge!

Therefore, he cannot afford to be careless in the slightest!

"—Hey!"

Whitebeard held the Murakumogiri horizontally in front of him and began to frantically unleash the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!

But this is the moment that those who are determined have been waiting for!

"The form of a giant Buddha!"

Just as Whitebeard was gathering his strength for a powerful attack, a gigantic golden Buddha suddenly appeared behind him and began to punch him repeatedly in the back!

"hateful!"

Sensing the force of the punch behind his head, Whitebeard had no choice but to abandon his ultimate attack and quickly increased his Armament Haki defense. At the same time, he swung his sword backhand, unleashing a shockwave that was not yet fully charged, thus withstanding Sengoku's sudden attack.

"As a naval admiral, don't you feel ashamed of such behavior?!"

Faced with such a shameless sneak attack from his old rival of decades, Whitebeard couldn't help but curse loudly.

But Sengoku, with an expression neither happy nor sad, remained silent and continued to urge the giant Buddha to bombard the Whitebeard relentlessly, forcing the Whitebeard, who was on the defensive, to retreat step by step.

"Yata no Kagami!"

A beam of light struck Whitebeard's back, but failed to break through his Armament Haki defenses.

But then, like a ghost, Kizaru's figure flashed behind him, following the light trail of the Yata Mirror—

"The Kusanagi Sword!"

Suddenly, Kizaru appeared and condensed photons into a longsword, stabbing it towards Whitebeard's back!

This attack directly shattered Whitebeard's Armament Haki, severely slicing off a large chunk of muscle from Whitebeard's left arm!

"Pity……"

Kizaru sighed softly, then transformed into a beam of light and fled.

He originally intended to stab Whitebeard through the heart from behind, but he managed to dodge it.

As for this kind of injury, it's not considered fatal at all for a strong person like Whitebeard.

Just after Kizaru transformed into light and fled, Whitebeard suddenly turned around and slashed at him with his sword, but missed.

"A dog gnaws at a red lotus!"

Just as Whitebeard's attack missed and his old strength was exhausted while new strength had not yet been generated, Sakazuki immediately attacked.

Sengoku was responsible for containing Whitebeard, Kizaru was responsible for attacking, and Sakazuki, who possessed the Magma-Magma Fruit, was responsible for taking the damage head-on. This was the situation where the three of them surrounded and killed Whitebeard.

At that very moment, behind the forty-three vassal pirate crews who were engaged in fierce battle with the naval fleet, sails suddenly appeared—

"The Don Quixote Family's fleet!"

The vassal pirate crew stirred slightly, but then sent some of their ships to meet them.

Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, arrives on the battlefield with his troops!

Chapter 555 Only Rivers of Blood Are the True Essence of War

"I have faced life-or-death choices countless times..."

After wielding his unparalleled swift sword 'Murakumogiri' to block the golden giant Buddha's fist, Whitebeard unleashed a shockwave that repelled Kizaru, who was attempting a sneak attack from behind. Panting, he said, "But! No matter what, the ultimate victor will always be me!"

"I admit it..."

Sengoku, who had been silently unleashing powerful attacks, finally spoke up, saying, "You, who were able to withstand the combined assault of the three of us, truly deserve to be called the strongest man in the world!"

"Hey—"

Whitebeard first stomped his foot, creating a shockwave that forced back the heavily injured but still relentlessly attacking Sakazuki. Then, he adopted a sword-wielding stance towards Sengoku, who had stopped attacking: "...It was in the endless struggle between life and death that I understood that life cannot be measured by money, status, or honor. It is the foundation of our existence, the source of all our efforts and pursuits..."

"So you're planning to run away?"

The golden Buddha from the Warring States period still hasn't made a move.

Sakazuki, perched atop a small iceberg, panted heavily like an old donkey pulling a millstone, oblivious to the elemental disadvantages; Kizaru, on the other hand, had vanished without a trace.

Even Kuzan, located behind them, needed some time to repair the cratered and broken ice surface of the sea.

The temporary halt wasn't due to any mutual respect between heroes, but rather because they were all a bit tired.

Of course, the one who was most exhausted and injured the most was Sakazuki, who was responsible for the strong attack and took a beating.

"If you run away, you might actually survive..."

The golden Buddha of the Warring States period raised his giant hand and pointed at the Whitebeard Pirates who were fighting against the Navy's suicide squad, saying, "But they all have to die!"

"Hehehehe..."

Whitebeard couldn't help but laugh, and blood continued to flow from the wound on his left arm: "We've been dealing with each other for so many years, and you still look down on me like this..."

"By the way, what about that old man Garp? Aren't you going to have him come and meet me?"