90 Chapter 89: Start of the War
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Chapter 89: Start of the War
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Days passed by and many strategies were exchanged amongst the Vice Admirals and the higher-ups. While most of them had the physical strength, their strategic mindset wasn't that good. So the first thing I made sure to do was to make sure none of my subordinates would be in the front lines.
I went on about honor and power, raising some people's sense of pride while strategically positioning my troops to the side. I had around 3000 Marine subordinates and didn't want them to die.
While I might not be the nicest person out there, I still won't let my people die in a war that was started for someone else's benefit.
**
Then the day of the war came around and the higher a Marine's Rank was, the closer to the back of the army they stood, and closer to Ace's stand. While the Warlords of the Sea had to stay on the front wall and in front of all the army.
I was a little surprised by the Warlords of the Sea because while Blackbeard not being here had been expected, there was one big difference. Mihawk, Boa Hancock, Kuma, and Doflamingo were expected, but Edward Weevil was there too.
Looking at this showed that things had changed quite a lot, and there were some things that I didn't know about behind the scenes.
"Negan, let's go down to Raynare," I whispered to him. This battlefield was too dangerous to leave her down there, also Isuka was at the front of this whole mess.
None of the Vice Admirals said anything though some did look at me disapprovingly and others with approval.
I didn't care about their feelings on the matter.
**
As I went down there, picked up Raynare where the rest of the Lieutenants were and we went to Isuka who was at the front as her Marine Rank is very low. The young girl looked nervous and the rapier in her hand was shaking, she didn't notice us as we got closer.
"So you are still scared?" Asked Raynare, surprising Isuka by announcing our presence.
They seemed to have a good relationship, and I was glad my little crow found a female friend she doesn't try to maul. Though she and Reiju have also become better friends too.
The Mariners around us murmured and talked like gossiping high school girls.
"Hey isn't that Vice Admiral Max?"
"What's he doing here?"
"Was that girl one of his subordinates?"
The cannon fodder were all worried that today would be their last and if they had a family, it would be left alone in this world. So everyone was worried, but gossip like this would help them get their mind off the War for a second.
Isuka pouted at Raynare. "Yeah, of course, I am scared, this is Whitebeard we are talking about. My grandma and grandpa always used to say that he wasn't someone even Gold Roger would mess with without reason."
"Those old-timers are scary. In professions where people die young, having an old man is scary," I added with a small smirk.
Negan chuckled. "Of course you would say that after losing to Garp so terribly."
"Well, as my excuse, I didn't use my Devil Fruit." I wanted to see how good I had gotten without my Devil Fruit. But Garp used a trick to distract me and punched me on the chin two times, knocking me out.
Yeah, my endurance has grown, but I shouldn't be too arrogant. Also, the old bastard used advanced forms of Armament Haki, and I was under the understanding it would be just a punching competition.
"Yeah, but you still fell in two punches," Negan snickered.
"And you pissed your pants without him even hitting you," my counter-argument made Negan wince. Yeah, fighting Garp in a punching competition was the height of stupidity.
But… I wanna have a punch like that one day, it wasn't just raw strength behind them either. There was a technique that I cannot grasp yet. But when I do…
"So, you wanna learn Garp's punch right?" Asked Negan, noticing the look on my face. He can read me quite well, even though I usually don't show what I was thinking most of the time.
"Yeah," I nodded. That punch wasn't something like a special power of Devil Fruit, it can be copied. And I intended to do that, no matter how many times I needed to get hit by it. "Pain is the best teacher, my body will instinctively not want to experience it. So until I learn that punch, I will continue getting hit by it. At least now I know that I can survive the attack."
"And you have the guts to call me a mad dog after doing that kind of shìt?" Negan sighed and sat on the ground cross-legged. The golden spiked bat lay over his shoulder. "I mean, who comes up with the idea of getting hit until you learn it?"
To anyone else, it might seem madness, but I needed to also observe how the Haki he hits me moved. An attack like that shouldn't disappear just because Garp died. A single punch that was able to break mountains and it was also able to break some people that were greater than any mountain in the world.
"So how long do you think it will be until Whitebeard arrives?" Asked Isuka, staring at me with great interest.
That was a good question, but I didn't know the answer to that. "Ace will be executed around midday, so before that, an hour or two before?"
"So… in like 10 minutes?" Enquired a marine next to me, looking at him he seemed kind of familiar and someone I had done quite an investigation on.
"Yes, but who are you?" I asked the man who seemed like a skeleton. He wore a knight's helmet and a longsword.
"They call me T-Bone," said the man, smiling at me, showing that he had some missing tooth. "It's quite surprising to see a Vice Admiral here with the normal Marines."
"I have my subordinates down here," my reply was immediate and without hesitation. "Though I was able to get most of the people under me in the sidelines where they wouldn't have to fight too much. Some of them still ended up here, so… I am looking after them."
"Not many would do that," for some reason he seemed insistent on something.
"Well, they saved me after the confrontation with Big Mom, I owe them this much at least," the real reason was a little more selfish, but I won't say something like that out loud.
"Hahahaha!!" T-Bone laughed like a mad man and even fell backward on the ground. "You are completely mad!"
It was the second time today someone said that to me. But his reaction was over the top here, what did he even find so funny?
T-Bone was someone I kept an eye on and wanted him to join me, but never quite had the chance to recruit him.
He couldn't betray me but had just the right amount of talent to be useful. Though he was a little past his prime, it didn't matter at the end of the day because with the Devil Fruit I would give him, none of that would matter in the end.
"Whitebeard's allied forces have been sighted!" Someone yelled out loud enough to be heard all over the island.
This interrupted my thought process and I looked up at the sky. "You know, for some old man who only knows how to destroy things. He is quite ingenious."
"Huh?" Negan was confused by that and so was everyone else. "What do you mean?" He asked, intrigued. Until I pointed at the sky.
They all looked up and narrowed their eyes but didn't see anything.
"In seven seconds, Whitebeard will come from the sky with his three ships and crash in the middle of the plaza," I explained to them my vision of the future.
It was like a prophecy, because before anyone could refute my claims. Three giant shadows appeared in the sky and started falling.
BOOOOOOM!!!
Unlike in the anime where Whitebeard had come outside of Marineford and entered from underwater. This time he had landed inside the initial wall. Right in the middle of the army, some of the marines were killed by the impact.
Whitebeard stood like a statue at the top of his ship, halberd in hand and Luffy's minuscule size (in comparison) stood next to the man.
"Gurarararara, Sengoku, I hope you have been taking good care of my son," Whitebeard's words sounded like a greeting and as he swung his fist backward… he was ready to knock.
I grabbed Isuka by the waist, Raynare and Negan had already retreated. Knowing what was coming next.
*CRACK!!*
A huge crack appeared in the air, it spread through the battlefield like a shockwave and came straight at us. "Negan! Raynare! Behind me!"
They got the message and went behind me, I used my Armament Haki, infusing it with Conquerors Haki too.
BOOOOM!!
The attack was canceled in my direction, but on the other side, it had caused disastrous devastation. Thousands had probably already been killed with that first initial attack.
Even the ground had cracked like an egg.
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A/N: Max is trying to learn Garp's punch. Though it isn't that easy to grasp something that Garp had spent his lifetime on improving.
P.S: Also a lot of things have changed, Luffy was with Whitebeard from the beginning. After all, there is no Impel Down for him to go to.
