Uchiha's personal opinion

Sakumo Hatake was somewhat surprised.

"I don't know him, but as far as I know, Garp is also from the East Blue..."

He answered in a deep voice.

"Is that so... I didn't expect there to be so many powerful individuals from the East Sea."

Hatake Sakumo nodded and then said, "In that case, let's go out together and meet this veteran of the East Blue."

"Right on my mind!"

He immediately responded.

Although he understood that words were not enough to make the renowned Garp kneel and surrender, it did not mean that he was willing to see this 'fellow countryman' hero perish. Therefore, he planned to defeat Garp with his sword and fists and then have a proper 'reasoning' with him.

But people always speak with their backsides, and backsides often determine their thinking; even though they both came from the East Blue, they had never interacted with Garp in their lives, so there was no friendship between them. It was just a slight mutual respect between heroes. Moreover, if Garp joined their side, the natives of the East Blue would naturally have more say in the Dynasty and Republic Alliance.

If all else fails, then defeating him, locking him up, and declaring that Garp has surrendered is also a good option!

After silently making up his mind, Iseki jumped onto the first landing craft at Sakumo Hatake's command and launched an attack on the Sabaody Archipelago amidst the smoke of war.

……

After suffering another heavy blow from the combined attack of Sengoku and two generals, the severely wounded Whitebeard finally managed to fight his way to the execution platform.

The wounds on his body, such as ice arrows, light spots, and lava burns, looked extremely terrifying. His originally tall body was also somewhat hunched. If it weren't for the fact that he still had half of his face intact, Ace would hardly believe that the person in front of him was the strongest person in the world in his mind!

But this is only an external injury.

For Whitebeard at this moment, the most troublesome thing was not the seemingly terrifying external injury, but the internal organs that had been ruptured by the shockwave of Sengoku's golden Buddha.

"Huhuhu..."

Whitebeard didn't have time to leap onto the platform. While breathing heavily to recover his strength, he twisted his waist, turned around, and swung his sword backward, shattering the ice arrows and cold arrows that Kuzan was shooting at him. At the same time, he barely managed to swing his left hand and unleash a shockwave to block Kizaru's 'Yata Mirror' beam of light.

But that's all there is to it.

The golden Buddha from the Warring States period once again slammed Whitebeard into the ground with a single punch!

Meanwhile, Ace, standing on the execution platform, was already sobbing uncontrollably with tears streaming down his face.

……

"loyalty!"

Marco, one of the Whitebeard Pirates' officers, possessed the Bird-Bird Fruit, Mythical Zoan type, Phoenix form. With his extraordinary regenerative abilities, he finally broke through the Marines' heavy attack, transformed into a phoenix, and flew into the sky, speeding over the G1 branch!

Similarly, encouraged by his shouts, the Whitebeard Pirates members, who were surrounded, roared and charged again, even causing the Navy's formation to teeter on the brink of collapse.

However, their initial momentum waned, and after the Navy reacted, they immediately mobilized their personnel to withstand the Whitebeard Pirates' onslaught and stabilize the situation once again!

Even in perilous situations, these pirates disregarded their own lives and continued to exert all their power to unleash their Devil Fruit abilities and Armament Haki, fighting a desperate battle against the relentless waves of Marines.

But as the G1 branch's siege on land gradually stabilized, countless marines poured out of the island, shouting as they charged toward the Whitebeard Pirates across the thick ice.

For this battle, Sengoku mobilized nearly 100,000 elite naval troops, aiming to 'drown' the invading Four Emperors' alliance with their overwhelming numerical superiority!

"Pineapple gravel!"

Just as Whitebeard repelled Kizaru's sneak attack once again, Marco, high above, unleashed a burst of azure flame imbued with intense regenerative power, covering Whitebeard's battered body and barely stopping the bleeding from his wounds.

Whitebeard, who had been isolated and helpless, finally received some assistance.

"Shoot him down!"

Upon witnessing this scene, Vice Admiral Momonga's expression changed drastically. He immediately summoned the long-lance marines who had retreated to the second line to continuously fire at the air in order to force Marco, who was treating Whitebeard's wounds, to retreat.

"Phoenix Seal!"

Marco flapped his wings rapidly, creating a fierce hurricane to deflect the Seastone bullets, while simultaneously spewing flames from his mouth to disrupt Kuzan's attacks.

After catching his breath, Whitebeard immediately swung his sword to block the shockwave of Sengoku's heavy punch, then leaped up and barely made it onto the execution platform.

With a casual swing of his sword, the Seastone cage binding Ace shattered instantly!

However, as the vice admirals continued to move around, Marco, who was in mid-air, had to take tactical evasion measures, and Whitebeard was once again left isolated and helpless.

As for Ace, he hasn't fully recovered from the side effects of Seastone.

"Dad..."

Looking at the Sengoku commander and three generals who surrounded him again, and then at the towering figure of Whitebeard standing before him, who was trying to straighten his back but still couldn't help but tremble slightly, Ace could no longer hold back his tears.

"terribly sorry……"

Whitebeard, panting heavily, said without turning his head, "Ace, I'm sorry, I might not be able to get you out of here..."

Even with Marco's off-field assistance, the sheer amount of exertion from fighting Sengoku and the three admirals was unprecedented in Whitebeard's life, so his strength declined considerably as his stamina waned.

Ace was about to say something when a loud voice suddenly rang out from high above—

"The Twin Emperors Within the Blade!"

Countless fireballs swept down from above, throwing the riflemen who were firing into the air into chaos.

King, the leader of the Beasts Pirates' top rank, was the first to arrive on the battlefield!

Chapter 557 A desperate gamble that ultimately fails

Sengoku was shocked when he saw King of the Beasts Pirates soaring in the sky, but when he turned to look at the sea behind him, he did not see any fleet and was puzzled.

Although the disappearance of the Calm Belt and the disruption of the magnetic field have reduced the requirements for the Log Pose for long-distance travel across the sea, it shouldn't be able to guide someone to fly directly from Wano Country to the G1 branch! Moreover, although the distance is not that far, how much stamina can even a Devil Fruit user maintain for combat after flying all that way?

Despite his many doubts, Sengoku continued to advance according to the original plan, determined to kill Whitebeard before Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, and the others arrived.

"Hurry! Fire in six stages to completely block out the sky!"

After a brief adjustment, Vice Admiral Momonga, who was in charge of commanding the Long Spear Marines, quickly regained his footing and ordered the Long Spear Marines to fire into groups at the air to block King's interference.

But just as King launched his surprise attack, Marco seized the opportunity and unleashed a 'Pineapple Gravel' with regenerative power, allowing Whitebeard's injuries to heal further.

Even Kizaru, who had just been repelled by a sneak attack, was affected by the lingering effects of the blue flames, and his injuries healed somewhat.

"Shockwave!"

After the Seastone bullets once again forced Marco and King back from the air, Sengoku immediately went all out and activated the golden Buddha to launch an attack.

This time, he included Ace in his attack range as well!

In order to protect the still weakened Ace, Whitebeard had no choice but to take the hit head-on. However, no matter how strong his body was, he was inevitably at a disadvantage when facing the golden giant Buddha, which aggravated his injuries.

Margo's hard-won "remote healing" effect was negated by Sengoku's latest offensive.

"Sakazuki, go deal with those two in the sky!"

Sengoku, who was repeatedly urging the golden Buddha to throw punches, shouted at Sakazuki, who was panting heavily like an old donkey pulling a millstone.

"understood!"

Although somewhat reluctant, Sakazuki accepted the order.

There was no other way; his injuries were far too severe. If he continued fighting Whitebeard, he would likely meet with certain death.

Therefore, he had no choice but to give up the opportunity to seize the great merit of killing the enemy, and instead unleashed a series of lava punches towards the sky.

……

Faced with Sengoku's all-out attack, Whitebeard could only defend himself.

With Kuzan and Kizaru, both at full strength, constantly harassing him from the side, he simply couldn't counterattack while protecting Ace.

However, simply defending will always lead to mistakes. Moreover, in order to kill Whitebeard before Kaido and Charlotte Linlin's reinforcements arrive, Sengoku and Kuzan Kizaru have both increased their attack intensity, which has put even more pressure on Whitebeard.

"Shockwave!"

The golden Buddha of the Warring States period slammed a punch into Whitebeard's left arm, the force of which nearly caused him to drop the 'Murakumogiri' he was holding.

"Yata no Kagami!"

The beam of light fired by Kizaru passed through Whitebeard's side and struck Ace directly, causing Ace to stagger and fall to the ground.

But that wasn't all. Kizaru immediately teleported to Ace's side, behind Whitebeard, following the light trail left by the Yata Mirror, and condensed photons to form a longsword of light—

"The Kusanagi Sword!"

The sword came too suddenly. Whitebeard, who was struggling to parry, could only slightly turn to the side to dodge, but his right hand was also pierced by the sword!

But just as Whitebeard was about to retaliate, Kizaru immediately gathered Armament Haki in his arm, grabbed Ace who was trying to transform into an elemental form, and then teleported away without a trace along the still-present path of light!

"Ace!"

Whitebeard was instantly consumed by rage!

Nothing is more demoralizing than this.

I can guarantee your survival!

"Warring States Period," he suddenly said.

But the golden Buddha's attack did not stop for a moment.

"Humph!"

Whitebeard snorted coldly, too lazy to even respond.

"As long as you're willing to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea under the Navy—"

While speaking, the Warring States period launched a powerful attack.

"Frozen Moment!"

Meanwhile, Kuzan's cold air caught Whitebeard off guard and froze his legs, making it difficult for him to move and allowing Sengoku's giant Buddha to strike his body again.

Although he seemed to be trying to persuade them to surrender, Sengoku showed no intention of holding back.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Despite his heavy injuries, Whitebeard struggled to swing his sword, but his strength was visibly waning rapidly.

After all, the combined attack from the four strongest naval warriors had already nearly exhausted his strength, not to mention he was now seriously injured...

……

On Dong Island in the East China Sea, the Third and Fourth Legions of the Ninja World Expeditionary Force, which were assembled by imperial decree, have completed their assembly at the port, while the Republic Guard, which accepted the conscription as a slave force, has also cobbled together more than 5,000 people to set sail together.

After giving a brief pre-battle mobilization speech, Uchiha Tokumitsu ordered the ships to set sail.