Chapter 221: Holding the Rear Alone,

The Escape Begins."Ace has been saved!!"

"Ohhhhh—"

Amidst the thunderous cheers, Whitebeard forced himself to swallow back the blood.

Although he still looked imposing, only Whitebeard knew that his body had reached its limit. So next:

"Activate the backup plan!!"

At Whitebeard's loud command, a small coated 'Moby Dick' surfaced, turned around, and slowly retreated towards them. —This was the last ship of the Whitebeard Pirates; the previous four had been destroyed in the battle.

After saving Ace, it was time for a great escape!

Unfortunately,Whitebeard sighed, knowing he wouldn't see the moment his sons were safe.

"Luffy, can you still fight?"

Two figures landed back-to-back below the execution platform, it was Luffy and Ace!

"Of course, hehehe~~"

"Don't even think about it!"

The Rear Admirals and Captains who had been sent flying by Whitebeard's slash had already returned. Swords and spears from all directions surged towards the two, Ace immediately unleashed a Fire Fist, sending a massive straight-line flame attack! Luffy entered Gear Second to deal with those using 'Soru' for close-range Armament Haki attacks.

"You've gotten stronger, Luffy!"

"One day, I'll surpass you, Ace!"

...Patting the non-existent dust off himself, Roman stood up calmly from the rubble. Bon Clay had already slipped away in the chaos, transforming into someone else. With the power of the Clone-Clone Fruit, no one could catch him in this melee.

And now came the most dangerous moment: the Marines wouldn't just let the Whitebeard Pirates go, or their reputation as rulers of the seas would be ruined.

So, the Admirals who were holding back are going to get serious!

"Hey, Mr. Garp."

Walking over to Garp, who was embedded in the stone slabs, Roman spread his hands.

"I've probably become 'hated' by the Marines because of your two grandsons. Stop pretending to be dead and at least protect me."

Crash,

Garp sat up from the rubble and rubbed his silver hair.

"Aren't you the cunning one? And you still need this old man to protect you?"

Roman rolled his eyes and discreetly pointed behind him.

"I have a feeling your Fleet Admiral Sengoku is thinking about when to kill me with one blow and report it as 'died from battle aftermath'..."

"Nonsense!"

In a good mood, Garp patted his white suit.

"If Sengoku wanted to kill you, he wouldn't need to think about it."

He'd just do it!

"Ace, Luffy,"

Watching his two grandsons fighting side by side and breaking through, Garp's expression softened. Even though he had been a Marine for decades and captured countless pirates, these two...

He was willing to throw away his lifelong beliefs and reputation for them.

Ah, this is what they call: 'A mother misses her son, her heart breaks; a son misses his mother, the pole is long.'

Standing next to Garp in the ruins, Roman felt safe. But today's events weren't over. Without a satisfactory 'result,' the Marines wouldn't let it go.

In the face of Aokiji, who could freeze the sea, and Kizaru, the fastest in the world, how could the Whitebeard Pirates escape Marineford?

Mass teleportation?

So they had to leave behind enough 'heads'..."I now issue... the final 'captain's order'!"

In fact, there was someone on the battlefield who had the same thought as Roman. That was:"Listen up... Whitebeard Pirates!"

"This is where we part ways. You must live and return to the New World!!"

"Pops!"

"Don't say such ominous things..."

"We don't want to hear this—"

However, Whitebeard had already crouched slightly, raising a clenched fist. His muscles, like steel cables, were taut to the limit!

"I am a remnant of the old era..."

As he activated his Devil Fruit ability, a blazing white sphere, encompassing all colors, formed on Whitebeard's fist in an instant. Just looking at it felt like it would shatter you.

"...There is no ship in the new era that can carry me!"

My sons,Don't look back,The era is about to change.

'Hahaha, how can a pirate not be interested in treasure?''Hey, Newgate, what do you want?'Family—"Space Quake!!"

Boom!

Whitebeard threw a punch, as if striking everyone's hearts! As large cracks exploded in the air, waves of invisible force surged towards Marine Headquarters, like a thousand mountains crushing down, causing the Marines to tremble, their bones creaking as if they had become a thousand times heavier!

This was a wave of power, a spatial tremor, and a projection of the mind! It didn't need to hit directly; just being within the ripples would make the opponent feel infinite vibrations.

Armament Haki, Devil Fruit ability, Conqueror's Haki!

The combined tremors of these three powers fluctuated at a certain frequency, forming wave after wave of omnipresent force, spreading out and making all the Marines feel as if their entire bodies, from skin and muscles to bones and organs, were being repeatedly crushed and impacted by terrifying vibrations.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!!!

Amidst the dense sounds of blood being coughed up, elite Marines fell to the ground in droves—this one punch equaled the casualties of all previous battles!

As the tremors spread, the entire Marine Headquarters, Marineford, trembled, groaned, collapsed, and turned into ruins.

"Master Utakata - Armor Bubbles!"

Bubbles enveloped Roman, as he was now standing in the 'Marine' camp, and being accidentally injured was inevitable. When the shockwave reached Roman, each bubble acted like a small 'reactive armor,' continuously exploding and offsetting the layered tremors.

As one bubble was destroyed by the shockwave, new bubbles immediately appeared. In this cycle, Roman withstood Whitebeard's attack unscathed—though it was just a large-scale AOE.

"Interesting little trick,"

Facing Garp's comment, who seemed to feel only a breeze, Roman rolled his eyes.

"Mr. Garp, were you born with the peak of Armament Haki?"

Everyone starts as a weakling...However:

Whitebeard's punch could rival those 'masters' seen in those eyes—But only rival.

Perhaps peak Whitebeard would surpass those who once challenged the Holy Land Mariejois, but... Roman shook his head. With the calm demeanor shown in those eyes, even peak Whitebeard couldn't shake the rule of the Celestial Dragons!

Sigh, the road is long and arduous~~"I've traveled for a long time... let's end this, Marines!"

Facing the resolute Whitebeard, Akainu charged with his fists without a word, and other Marines surged forward.

"Take him down!"

"Justice will prevail!!"

"Whitebeard is at his limit—"

"Go!"

"Hurry—"

"Go, it's Pops' order!!"

With Whitebeard covering the rear, the pirates began to retreat with tears in their eyes, even Luffy turned and ran—this battlefield was too much for his current strength.

"Ace?"

A huge pillar of fire swept away the enemies in front of him, and Ace knelt before Whitebeard, his forehead heavily hitting the ground.

"No need for many words, I just ask you one thing..."

"Am I worthy of being your Pops?"

Facing Whitebeard's question, Ace nodded heavily.

"Of course!!"

"Gurararararara~~~"

The tall figure let out a series of hearty laughs, then suddenly turned and swung the 'Murakumogiri' in his hand!

"Come on, Marines—"

"Let's go, Luffy!"

A pure white armored glove grabbed the nearly exhausted Luffy, and the familiar cool sensation flowing from the hand made Luffy turn back in surprise.

"Roman!"

"Yes,"

The White Knight nodded, pulling Luffy to retreat. At the same time, a white dove landed on Ace's shoulder.

"Listen to me..."

The white dove spoke in a human voice, making Ace pause.

...

"Hmph, talking about safety, safety..."

Garp glanced at the motionless 'Roman' beside him, then looked at The White Knight pulling Luffy back in the chaotic battle.

"In the end, aren't you also rushing into danger?"

But, this is youth... —————— ----You can read 30 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu