Chapter 39: The Pirates' Desperate Situation
On the battlefield, Bubu Wang suddenly appeared beside Su Xiao. The coordinate inside Su Xiao's collar had vanished—this was a coordinate pre-set by Bubu Wang using the Wolf Clan's heirloom.
Ace thudded to the ground, his hands still in a defensive posture.
"Soul Severing Shadow Stone, do you still have strength?"
Hearing this, Ace, lying on the ground, was momentarily dazed. He lifted his head and looked around; everywhere he saw were the corpses of Marines.
"Hey, Soul Severing Shadow Stone."
The tip of Dragon-Slashing Flash tapped in front of Ace. Ace looked at the owner of the blade, and his body immediately tensed, because the man standing before him was the same blood-soaked brute who had stood atop a pile of corpses.
"Soul Severing Shadow Stone? Me?"
Ace pointed at himself. Though he wasn't entirely sure what was going on, it seemed he had been rescued.
"That's right, you. Do you still have strength? I'm a doctor."
"Doctor..." Ace pondered for a moment before finally nodding and saying, "Yes, I still have strength."
"Is that so? If you still have strength... that won't do."
"?"
Ace was stunned for a second, then immediately rolled to the side.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A few seconds later, Ace was on his knees, his head pressed to the ground, his face twisted in pain as he clutched his abdomen.
"You were imprisoned for too long. Taking a few blunt hits will help you recover from your injuries."
As he spoke, Su Xiao gestured for Amu to hoist Ace onto his shoulder. If Ace still had the energy to cause trouble, that wouldn't do. If he jumped out and got himself killed, all of Su Xiao's plans would be for nothing.
[Tip: The Hunter has successfully rescued Ace. Please ensure he survives until the end of the Summit War plot event.]
The main mission had taken shape. A smile appeared on Su Xiao's face. As long as he could cover Amu and Bubu Wang's retreat from Marineford, everything after that would be much easier.
Su Xiao had previously considered having Bubu Wang set the coordinate outside the battlefield. On the surface, this seemed like a direct way to rescue Ace, but it carried significant risk. If there were no other Contractors in the One Piece world, Su Xiao would have done it. However, there were hundreds of Contractors at Marineford. If any of the Fifth Rank Contractors had spatial tracking abilities, the weakened Ace would be dead for sure, and Bubu Wang would also face considerable risk while covering Ace's escape—possibly even losing his life.
Having Bubu Wang teleport near Su Xiao was different. Su Xiao's combat power, on par with an Admiral, was a guarantee. Besides, there were other strong individuals here who would protect Ace.
"He can't leave! Inform Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
"Portgas D. Ace is here!!"
A smarter Marine shouted, but his cry not only alerted Sengoku but also informed the nearby pirates of the news.
"We did it! Cover Ace's retreat! Fall back!"
"What about Pops..."
"First, get out of the harbor. Once we're on the ship, we won't have to fear the Marines."
Dozens of pirates rushed toward Su Xiao. Bubu Wang immediately adjusted the permissions of the Snow Goddess Halo, allowing the surrounding pirates to also benefit.
Boom!
The ground shook. The ice walls on both sides of the battlefield shattered—it was Whitebeard.
Whitebeard was now panting heavily, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. In his hand, he held a headless corpse—it was the Fifth Rank Contractor named Heiyao. He had been betrayed by his temporary teammate, Apusi. In truth, Heiyao had also planned to betray Apusi. At this point, Whitebeard was almost certainly doomed, but the kill reward was only one.
Apusi's arms were now semi-transparent, his hands resembling sharp, angular claws.
The infighting between these two wasn't without reason. Whitebeard was simultaneously enduring attacks from four opponents, and his physical condition was rapidly deteriorating. Gone was the deterrence of kicking Akainu flying earlier; it was only a matter of time before he was overwhelmed and defeated.
If one were standing in front of Whitebeard, they would see several arm-sized bloody holes in his shoulders and chest—injuries inflicted by Kizaru. Dense ice crystals covered the left half of Whitebeard's body.
Dozens of meters away from Whitebeard, on a patch of broken ice, several sneaky figures were crawling forward. They weren't low-rank Contractors; they were Buggy's squad. He was leading a group of prisoners to escape the Summit War.
Buggy, who was crawling, suddenly froze, his face turning a bit green. A hard object was pressing against his crotch.
The clown-dressed Buggy reached down to feel it. The object was smooth to the touch. He brought it in front of him and saw it was something shaped like a conch.
"Captain Buggy, this looks like a Den Den Mushi. I've seen one in the West Blue."
"A Den Den Mushi?"
Buggy, lying on the ground, looked puzzled. But soon, he felt a door opening for him—a door to something called live streaming. The pirate version of a big streamer, Buggy, was about to go online, live-streaming the Summit War!
On the other side of the battlefield, the two factions that had been locked in battle were now retreating and pursuing. The pirates' goal was to rescue Ace, and now that they had achieved their objective, all they needed to do was withdraw from Marineford to claim victory.
"Wait! Pops is in trouble!"
The shout from the 10th Division Commander, Curiel, slowed the pirates' retreat. They looked toward Whitebeard and saw him covered in blood.
An ice bird flew toward Whitebeard and crashed into his chest with a boom. He staggered back a few steps. Before he could catch his breath, several photon rays struck him, piercing his lower abdomen.
"Save Pops!"
A few pirates, their eyes reddening, charged forward. But they had only taken a few steps before they were intercepted by pursuing Marines and cut down.
The pirates' shouts caught Whitebeard's attention. He glanced in Su Xiao's direction and tore off a piece of his tattered coat from behind.
Before the war began, Su Xiao had made a deal with Whitebeard. With Bubu Wang's stealth abilities, Su Xiao was confident he could rescue Ace, but retreat was a problem.
Whitebeard's reply was straightforward: if Su Xiao saved Ace, he would cover everyone's retreat. Now, it was time for him to fulfill that promise.
Whitebeard looked at Ace on Amu's shoulder and grinned—a genuine smile.
Pfft!
An ice spear pierced through Whitebeard's chest, rapidly freezing the surrounding area. With a bang, the ice spear was shattered, along with Aokiji's elementalized arm. Aokiji wasn't in good shape either; his clothes were nearly soaked through with blood.
"Huff, huff..."
Whitebeard's breathing grew more labored. Ignoring the pain in his body, he coated his fist with the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, forming a white orb at least the size of a house.
Seeing this massive white orb, the space around Apusi rippled. His body began to disappear, starting from his arms. Aokiji and Kizaru also retreated.
Whitebeard swung his fist sideways, cracking the atmosphere. A fissure rapidly spread across the plaza, sending the Marines pursuing the pirates tumbling.
At the front of Marine Headquarters, Sengoku received a report from his adjutant. He took out a Den Den Mushi from his pocket. In less than half a minute, a rumbling sound came from the ice below the harbor. Blazing flames erupted as all the ships of the Whitebeard Pirates caught fire, their hulls riddled with holes of various sizes. All the ships of the Whitebeard Pirates were destroyed, effectively cutting off their escape route.
The cannon fire from both sides of the harbor, which had been non-stop, abruptly ceased. As soon as the cannons fell silent, Aokiji and Kizaru, who had been fighting Whitebeard, leaped backward. Aokiji slammed his hands onto the ground, and a towering ice wall rose before him.
Outside the harbor, Pacifistas were surrounding the area from the outer port.
"Meteor Volcano!"
A low roar came from atop the ice wall. Standing there, covered in blood, was Akainu. As an Admiral, he wasn't so easily incapacitated, but he was severely injured.
A barrage of magma fists flew into the sky, casting a dark red glow over everything.
"Look over there!"
A pirate behind the ice wall shouted. Everyone looked toward the harbor, where a massive golden four-pointed star appeared—it was Kizaru.
Golden light bullets rained down from the sky, indiscriminately bombarding most of the plaza. Sengoku had been waiting for the pirates to enter the harbor plaza, making it easier to encircle them.
Boom, boom, boom...
The rain of light descended, and in an instant, a large number of pirates fell. The Marines near the ice wall cheered, but their joy was short-lived, replaced by despair.
No sooner had the Yasakani no Magatama stopped than a mournful whistling sound came from high above. The sky turned dark red as countless magma fists fell. The first to suffer weren't the pirates but the Marines. As the magma exploded, several Marines were turned to charcoal without even a scream.
Aokiji found it impossible to completely separate the chaotic battle between Marines and pirates. As a result, a small number of Marines were inevitably isolated outside the ice wall. Because of this, Sengoku had ordered the Den Den Mushi to be cut off.
Fortunately, Sengoku wasn't trying to sacrifice those Marines. Aokiji had left many holes at the base of the ice wall. Since the Marines were the ones blocking the advance, they were closest to the ice wall. However, even though the Marines outside the wall quickly retreated to safety, nearly a hundred of them still died under the magma fists—killed by their own side. Witnessing this, the Marines lowered their eyes, pretending not to see. The responsibility for these hundred or so "friendly fire" deaths fell on Sengoku, as he had given the order. The number was small, but the implications were significant.
One magma fist after another fell. In less than a minute, the pirates' casualties exceeded 30%. There was nowhere to hide. Behind them were Kizaru and the Pacifistas; to their left and right were dense cannon fire, almost saturating the area; and ahead was a towering ice wall. Whitebeard had shattered three sections of it, but Aokiji was right behind the wall. As soon as a section was broken, a new one would freeze over immediately.
Su Xiao slashed apart a falling magma fist. He wasn't surprised by the current situation. He was merely participating in this war, not one of its planners. If he had been, he was confident he could match Sengoku in terms of warfare.
Rescuing Ace from right under Sengoku's nose meant Su Xiao's plan had succeeded. As for how many members of the Whitebeard Pirates would die, he wasn't their babysitter. That had nothing to do with him. However, he had a surprise in store for Sengoku. He wondered if the old man's heart could take it.
After slashing apart a few more magma fists heading his way, Su Xiao's gaze shifted to Akainu, who was behind the ice wall. Akainu was severely injured. If he dared to pursue Ace, Su Xiao was confident he could kill him.