MTLNOVEL Chapter 68: Hawkeye Tilts His Head
Whitebeard stood tall upon the frozen battlefield, his massive naginata, Murakumogiri, buried deep into the ice.
He had long prepared himself to die here today. What he hadn't expected was for the tide to turn so dramatically in their favor.
Now, all he had to do was wait for Marco and the others to return. Then it would finally be time to end the battle and take his sons home.
Since Aokiji clearly had no real intent to fight anymore, Whitebeard figured he'd stir the pot with some well-placed words.
"Hey, kid Aokiji. You heard what those Celestial Dragons said earlier, right?"
Aokiji leaned back against the ice wall he'd created, pulling his sleep mask lower as if to block Whitebeard out entirely.
He had held back but not because he sympathized with pirates.
There were many reasons: a debt to Garp, the relatively restrained behavior of the Whitebeard Pirates, and most of all, the gnawing doubt in his heart about the true meaning of this war. All of it led him to choose the path of least resistance.
Had Big Mom or Kaido's crews shown up, he would've fought to the death.
As a high-ranking officer in the Navy, Aokiji was painfully aware of just how corrupt and cruel the World Government had become he'd seen it firsthand.
But even the worst form of order was better than total chaos. Most pirates weren't adventurers like Luffy or warlords like the Emperors they were thugs, looters, murderers. The Navy's presence at least kept some semblance of justice alive.
He'd already seen what happened to Akainu. Shocking, yes but that was war. No matter how powerful, anyone could fall.
Aokiji hadn't joined the Navy in the same generation as Akainu or Kizaru, and he'd never had a close relationship with Sakazuki in fact, the two had clashed violently in their youth. If you chose to kill, you had to be prepared to be killed. It was hard to feel sympathy.
After this, Sengoku was almost certainly going to retire. And when he did, the next Fleet Admiral would be either himself or Borsalino.
If he became Fleet Admiral, perhaps he could truly change things.
"Don't try to shake my sense of justice, Whitebeard," Aokiji muttered, closing his eyes. He'd decided to ignore whatever nonsense the old pirate might say next.
"Oh? I was at the God Valley Incident, you know. I'm sure your Navy pals like to keep that one quiet hahaha!"
Aokiji's ears twitched despite himself.
Aboard a Hot Air Balloon
High above, the legendary "News King" Morgans was still fleeing the scene in his flying vessel when his Den Den Mushi rang.
"What now?" he muttered, answering the call.
"Boss! Big news! HUGE!!"
"Another top-tier fighter showed up?!"
"No—it's even crazier!! Admiral Akainu has been taken down!!!"
Morgans shrieked into the receiver. "Turn this thing around! DOUBLE the paper run for tomorrow! No TRIPLE!!"
Back on the battlefield, now wrapped in a thick silence since Akainu's fall…
BOOM!!!
A shattered Navy warship came crashing down from the sky like a meteor, slamming into the sea.
The entire area had been frozen solid but somehow, the ship landed exactly where the water hadn't iced over. If it had hit just a few meters off, half the people on board would've been dead. Clearly, someone with ice powers had made a last-minute save.
Chunks of frozen debris exploded outward, the impact sending shockwaves across the field. Through the smoke, several figures stood out.
"Ace! We're here to save you!!!"
Monkey D. Luffy had arrived flanked by none other than future Emperor Buggy and his royal companion, Crocodile. A moment later, Emporio Ivankov and Jinbei emerged from the wreck.
This ragtag rescue team had originally been part of Uchiha Itachi's first war plan.
But now… they were too late.
Ace had already freed himself. He was standing on a massive blue bird beside a man cloaked in black robes with crimson clouds.
He waved excitedly down at Luffy. "Oi, Luffy! Took your sweet time, huh?"
Luffy's jaw hit the deck. "EH?!?!"
"We fought our way out of Impel Down for this?!"
Buggy had a full-on snot bubble going. "What the hell's going on?!"
Crocodile, ever the pragmatist, didn't waste words. His body began shifting into sand as he launched a direct attack on Whitebeard.
But this time, the old man didn't even flinch. With Armament Haki infused into his Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Whitebeard struck back.
One blow sent Crocodile flying, blood spraying from his mouth.
Only then did Whitebeard turn to Luffy, his eyes narrowing. "Ace's little brother, huh? That Uchiha guy was right again."
"Luffy, Jinbei stay put. It's almost over."
"Garp! Look at the mess you've made!"
Sengoku's rage erupted the moment he saw Garp's second grandson arrive.
Akainu's fall was a blow too big to bear. Sakazuki had been the Navy's sharpest blade.
Sengoku had planned to retire with honor after killing Whitebeard handing command over to the more moderate Aokiji. With Kuzan wielding that deadly sword, the Navy would rise to new heights.
But with everything spinning out of control, even a seasoned tactician like Sengoku was left grasping at straws left only to vent at an old friend.
Garp's face had darkened. The Navy had just lost its greatest symbol of power and it was all thanks to his own family.
With Ace's escape, the part of him that had softened as a grandfather was now crushed under the weight of duty. The soldier in him took command once more.
A pulsing vein bulged on Garp's forehead.
"ACE!! LUFFY!! You reckless brats!!!"
With a roar, Garp leapt into the air.
FIST OF JUDGMENT!!!
A storm of Armament Haki split the air apart. Even before his iron fist landed, the sheer pressure had already cracked the ground below.
A friendly unit had just turned hostile Garp's nameplate had gone red. He charged at the three who had let their guard down.
Itachi's head whipped around in shock.
Wasn't this old Navy guy the employer's grandfather? Did the Hokage give him false intel?
He'd made the classic mistake of projecting his own world's logic onto this one. In the world of pirates, loyalty shifted daily. One minute allies, the next enemies no explanation needed. Everyone here played by different rules.
The blue phoenix spread its wings in a frantic rush to shield them.
BOOM!!!
The iron fist, cloaked in raw Haki, knocked all three from the sky.
As they fell, Ace twisted midair and crossed his arms into an "X."
Mirror Flame.
A fiery shield exploded outward, barely dulling the impact before they slammed into the ice below. Marco's wings caught them at the last second.
Ace dropped to one knee, catching his breath. "The old man's back to being a Navy dog again."
"What do we do now?" Marco asked, reverting to human form. Healing flames continued to flicker in his palms, focused on Itachi's injuries.
Itachi stayed silent. Whether to fight or not that wasn't his call. As a mercenary, that decision belonged to his employer.
"Run. Not like we can just brawl it out with Gramps now," Ace muttered.
And so, under a hail of cannon fire and seismic shockwaves, the trio made a break for Whitebeard's flagship.
As they ran, Ace clicked his tongue. "Tch. I was hoping to take down Blackbeard today too. Guess we'll round everyone up next time and hunt him down properly."
Marco, still tending to Itachi mid-sprint, nodded. "He's here too, you know."
Meanwhile, with the Blackbeard Pirates…
Marshall D. Teach had just arrived on the fringes of the battlefield.
Looking around at the chaos, he grimaced. This wasn't the time to swoop in and reap the spoils.
The Whitebeard Pirates had somehow managed a full-blown victory. That left his crew in a tight spot they could be facing full-scale retaliation from the Emperors next.
"Let's go, boys! Hahahaha! Plans never survive first contact, right?"
Still, Teach didn't seem too bothered. A minor setback wasn't going to break him. If a little failure could stop him, he never would've made it this far.
But at that exact moment
Now that Vista had withdrawn, Dracule Mihawk found himself… bored.
His piercing eyes locked onto the Blackbeard Pirates, who'd just arrived in full.
Now this looked interesting. The man who'd captured Logia users with raw Haki alone? A new challenge.
Let's have a taste. See how he compares to Red-Haired Shanks.
With no warning, Mihawk raised the Supreme Grade blade Yoru his famed black sword and unleashed a titanic slash infused with every ounce of his Haki.
The Blackbeard Pirates were blasted off their feet, howling in agony.
"…Huh?"
Hawkeye tilted his head.
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