Boom!
A dull sound echoed as Marco was blasted back like a cannonball. With a loud bang, he slammed into the rock wall, creating a large hole and cracking it like a spider's web.
Akainu spat out disdainfully and coldly said, "A bunch of trash."
He turned to leave.
"Hey, hey, that must hurt."
Amid the dust, Marco figure slowly emerged.
His body was covered in a faint blue flame, and his wounds were healing rapidly. In no time, the injuries he had sustained vanished without a trace.
"Mythical Zoan, the Phoenix Fruit?" Kaguya said with interest. "Quite impressive."
Kaguya recalled a time more than ten years ago when she had taught Marco a lesson. Back then, he had seemed very young and his abilities were at an average level. But now, after more than a decade of training, his Devil Fruit powers had been greatly developed, and his strength had seen significant improvement.
Hmm, seems like getting beaten up made him stronger.
Akainu's eyes narrowed as he sneered, "No surprise, you're just like a cockroach in the sewers—your vitality is surprisingly strong."
"I won't be easily defeated," Marco said with half-open eyes, glancing at Kaguya. "Hey, where are you from?"
Kaguya twirled her finger through her soft hair, a playful grin forming on her lips. "Guess where I'm from."
Before Marco could respond, the ground suddenly began to tremble violently, like an earthquake. The shaking sound could be heard clearly even from afar, and the frozen ocean cracked with visible fissures.
Out of the mist created by the freezing, a massive figure slowly emerged, walking toward them. With each step, the ground trembled.
Kaguya raised an eyebrow—could it be that guy?
As the mist cleared, the figure revealed itself, and the Marine soldiers looked up in panic, their eyes widening.
What appeared before them was a colossal being, resembling a small mountain, so massive that it nearly matched the height of Marineford itself. Even the Marine Headquarters' giants looked like children next to him.
Little Oars spread his arms and roared, "Ace, I've come to get you!"
Ace's pupils contracted in shock as he shouted, "Oars, don't come here!"
"Don't worry, Ace," Little Oars grinned widely. "I'll get you out of here."
With that, he took large strides toward the platform.
"That fool Oars, I can't do anything with him," Whitebeard turned his head and shouted, "Being reckless and brave isn't the same thing."
Little Oars grunted, "Don't stop me, Old Man. I'm going to rescue him."
Whitebeard exhaled and said, "I understand." He turned to the Whitebeard Pirates and shouted, "You guys go help him and cover Oars!"
"Yes!" The pirates immediately let out a roar like a tsunami.
Meanwhile, not far away...
"This big lug thinks he can break through Marineford's defenses?" Akainu's eyes glowed with malice. "He's asking for too much."
With that, Akainu leaped into the air, transforming into a blazing ball of magma, shooting toward Oars.
Just then, Marco suddenly appeared in front of him. With a spinning kick, he collided fiercely with Akainu's fist.
"Hey, hey, I won't let you mess with Oars."
A flash of anger flickered in Akainu's eyes as he coldly said, "Let's see if you can back that up."
Since the arrival of Little Oars, the battlefield had shifted drastically. Little Oars' massive size and tough body made him resemble a tank, charging through with ease. Cannons fired at him like mere scratches, and bullets didn't even faze him.
In front of him, there was virtually no challenge. Even the Marine Headquarters' giant forces were no match for the massively larger Oars. Under Oars' relentless assault, they were left in disarray.
"I didn't expect someone like this to be in the Whitebeard Pirates," Monet whispered, watching Oars rampage, "Looks like the Navy is going to have a tough time now."
"That's where you're wrong," Kaguya said, setting her drink down with a slight smile.
"Oh?" Monet, adjusting her glasses, asked curiously.
"Although Oars is huge and powerful, in the Navy's eyes, he's just a moving target," Kaguya said, gently playing with the glass cup. "If Little Oars had support from others, he might have a chance, but now that he's charging in on his own, drawing attention, the higher-ups will definitely target him."
Sure enough, as soon as Kaguya finished speaking, Kizaru suddenly shot forward, appearing in front of Little Oars in an instant like a streak of light.
The Whitebeard Pirates were shocked. They hadn't expected the Marine Admiral to personally make a move. Moreover, Kizaru's speed was so fast that they didn't even have time to react.
Ace's pupils constricted, and he shouted, "Oars, be careful!"
Other members of the Whitebeard Pirates, including the 6th Division's captain Blamank and the 9th Division's captain Brenheim, rushed to Oars' side, their hearts racing with urgency.
But it was too late.
Kizaru drew something from his hand, and a dazzling light appeared in his palm—it was the "Cloud-Sword." He swung his arm, and the Cloud-Sword shot through the air like a white streak, heading straight for the unguarded Oars.
"With such a large body, you're just too conspicuous. You might as well lie down on the ground."
A flash of light streaked across Oars' body, and bright red blood sprayed out. A shadow spun into the air and crashed heavily to the ground, creating a thunderous impact.
It was Oars' leg.
In the original story, Little Oars had his leg cut off by Doflamingo. Now, with Doflamingo gone, Kizaru had severed Oars' leg. It seemed like he was destined to lose his leg no matter what.
"Oars!"
The Whitebeard Pirates cried out in shock, their eyes wide. On the high platform, Ace was shaken to the core, stunned for a moment.
Boom!
With a dull sound, Oars lost his balance and crashed heavily to the ground.
At the same time, a large airball in the shape of a bear's paw slowly began to form in Kuma's hands. He pushed his arm, and the massive airball quickly shot toward the immobile Oars.
"Bear Paw Impact!"
"Be careful, Oars!" Ace's pupils contracted as he screamed in desperation.
He recognized Kuma's move. It was a devastating attack, and if the airball hit Oars directly, even his tough body wouldn't be able to withstand it.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rang out as the bear paw-shaped air ball slammed into Little Oars. The impact triggered a violent explosion, flames shot into the sky, smoke filled the air, and shockwaves rippled out in concentric circles, stirring up a fierce hurricane.
Little Oars' massive body rocked a few times before he collapsed to the ground with a loud crash. The ground trembled violently, and a cloud of dust was kicked up.
"Oars!"
The Whitebeard Pirates shouted in shock, their faces pale with disbelief as their eyes widened.
As the dust began to settle, Little Oars' pitiful figure was revealed. Blood poured from his mouth and nose, his body was covered in numerous gashes, and the beast-skin clothing he wore was torn to pieces. The gaping wound on his chest was particularly gruesome.
"Finally, this eyesore is down," Kizaru glanced at the Navy soldiers with a smirk. "Honestly, he's just a more ferocious beast. I can't believe you're all this panicked"
"S-Sorry..." one of the Navy officers stammered, panicked. "We'll do better."
"Forget it, it's not entirely your fault," Kizaru waved his hand dismissively, his voice tinged with mockery. "Let me handle this beast for now."
With that, Kizaru gripped the "Cloud-Sword" in his hand and began walking toward Little Oars.
At this moment, Little Oars, heavily injured and having taken several rounds of cannon fire, was covered in wounds, his flesh shredded. He struggled weakly, trying to rise from the ground.
But before he could get up, Kizaru extended his finger and transformed it into a light gun, saying, "Stay still, don't move. If you try to run, I'll be really troubled."
Countless dazzling beams of light shot from his fingertip, turning into a rain of light that pierced through Oars' body in an instant.
"Yashiori no Magatama!"
Blood splattered everywhere.
"Roar!"
Oars let out a chilling scream, his body crashing down to the ground, full of holes from Kizaru's attack, his muscular body covered in bloody craters, with crimson blood spraying everywhere.
"Oars!"
Ace, frantic and struggling against the Seastone chains binding him, could do nothing to break free.
Seeing Oars injured, the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates were equally frantic, rushing to his aid. But before they could reach him, they were blocked by wave after wave of Navy soldiers.
"Looks like no one can save you now," Kizaru stood on top of Oars, his Cloud-Sword pointing at Oars' throat. "To prevent you from causing any more trouble, I'll just take care of you now. Don't complain, though it won't do you any good."
With that, he swung his arm, the sharp Cloud-Sword heading straight for Oars' neck.
"Oars!"
"Have some mercy. Since he can no longer resist, why not spare him?"
Accompanied by a voice like the sweetest melody, a sharp sword beam shot through the air, a cold glint cutting through the sky, heading straight for Kizaru.
Clang!
A sharp clash of metal rang out as the dazzling light blade collided with the black and red sword, releasing a burst of brilliant sparks.
Caught off guard, Kizaru was knocked back and staggered several steps before regaining his balance. Looking up, his eyes narrowed. "I see... So you're with Whitebeard."
Before him stood a delicate-looking blonde girl, her porcelain-doll-like face adorned with a charming smile. She said, "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not with Whitebeard, and I have no interest in being his daughter. Besides, his old, decaying ship is about to sink—I'm not looking to feed the fish."
Her words stunned everyone.
To speak so bluntly was a blatant provocation, a direct slap in the face to Whitebeard. Even the Navy had never dared say such things to him.
"Hey, do you know what you're saying?"
"That's insanely arrogant!"
"She's just a little girl—how dare she talk so big?"
"Old Man Whitebeard was sailing the Grand Line before you were even born!"
Whitebeard raised his hand, and the voices fell silent. He grinned and said, "Little girl, too much arrogance is not a good thing. Also, this ship of mine... I haven't decided to let it sink just yet."
"Oh, really?" Kaguya smiled faintly. "Then I'll be watching closely."
Originally, this wasn't something she planned to get involved in. It should've been Luffy and his crew's role to intervene. Unfortunately, they had just arrived and were already being held down by Fujitora and Momousagi at the outskirts of the harbor. Breaking through wouldn't be easy, especially with several vice admirals involved.
Though Luffy's group was much stronger than at this point in the original story, they still weren't ready to take on an admiral head-on. Taking care of minor characters was within their reach, but challenging top-tier powerhouses was still beyond them.
What surprised Kaguya more was the presence of Tashigi and Rebecca—both performing impressively in battle against Whitebeard Pirates' squad captains without falling behind.
Seeing Little Oars escape danger, Ace finally sighed in relief. But then, something unbelievable caught his eye, and he stared, wide-eyed.
Kaguya had walked over to Little Oars. As everyone wondered what she was doing, she extended her fair hand and, to their shock, grabbed Little Oars' massive body—and lifted it single-handedly.
Impossible.
Everyone on the battlefield was dumbfounded. Little Oars was even larger than Oars himself, a towering figure like a mountain. Compared to him, Marine warships were mere toys. He had to weigh tens of thousands of tons—something not even the giants could lift.
And yet, this seemingly delicate girl lifted him with one hand. Even Marine Admirals couldn't do something like that so effortlessly.
In contrast to Oars' gigantic body, Kaguya below him looked no larger than an ant.
But just as everyone was still stunned, Little Oars, suspended in midair, suddenly swayed and crashed down with a massive boom, smashing a gaping hole into Marineford's thick steel wall.
Kaguya turned around, coughed lightly, and said, "Oops. Sorry. My hand slipped."
"..."
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