Chapter 96

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Chapter 96

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As Akainu was going off after Luffy, Marco tried to stop him. But Kizaru interfered, kicking the phoenix man in the face. 

Booom!

Marco crashed into the wall, creating a giant explosion, he came out unharmed out of it. Any injuries he might have sustained had already healed.

"C'mon now, you are making this annoying," Kizaru complained in a lazy voice.

Akainu shot out a magma fist at the downed Luffy who couldn't move. But suddenly Jinbe came out and tried to stop the Admiral.

You know, seeing situations like this made Luffy seem like a lucky guy. If he was a D&D character he would have a Nat 20 in luck.

Though sadly, life wasn't a game. A good roll didn't mean that the player himself couldn't just flip the table and beat the other players.

I grabbed a small metal ball from my pocket and flickered it at the fishman. 

Pew!

Jinbe dodged my attack, tilting his head to the side. But it didn't matter as that still slowed him enough, and by the time he got to Luffy… his arm was covered in magma and grotesquely melted off.

Luffy's mouth widened as if he was about to scream, but no sound came out. Jinbe had pulled him out of the way of the attack. But in turn, had also gotten injured.

Good, now without an arm, Luffy will never be able to achieve what he could have. Especially as a fist-fighter, this would irreversibly impact his progress in the future.

Instead, now my eyes wandered towards Ace, who looked at Luffy with shock. "Akainu!! I will kill you!!"

BOOOOM!!!

A huge explosion of flames rang out as Ace propelled himself toward Akainu. The Admiral only gave him a side glance and went back to chasing after Luffy who was now being wielded off by Jinbe.

<Soru>

In an instant I was in Ace's way, grabbing him by the neck and slamming him down on the ground head first.

Baam!

A crater was made by the hit, but that wasn't my real attack. Most of the damage was inflicted by my Haki entering his body and destroying his neck from inside out.

"Ugh!" Ace winced, looking up at me in despair. "Max… why?"

He seemed confused, probably remembering the times I had helped him become stronger. I didn't say anything to him as one of my nails transformed into a bear's dark claw.

<Finger Pistol>

Ace stood there, his eyes dulled and his mouth was agape. I walked off at that, getting ready for my next fight.

It seemed like he was okay at first, but as his hair moved slightly, a gaping hole dripping with blood was shown. 

Portgas D. Ace was dead.

"Max!! You bastard!!" Marco screamed out, looking at me with ungodly fury. He charged toward me, dismissing his opponent Kizaru. 

That was a mistake, as Kizaru appeared above him and kicked his head on the ground, stopping Marco mid-flight. He held down the phoenix man with his leg.

"You sure you have the leisure to be distracted against me?" Asked Kizaru, pushing down so hard on Marco that the pavement cracked.

"I will kill you!" Marco's bloodshot eyes were still on me. He didn't seem to even hear what Kizaru had said. 

A Vice Admiral with many scars on his face came and cuffed Marco. Those were Seastone Handcuffs as Marco immediately winced as Kizaru stepped on his neck harder, and this time injuries appeared on Marco. Blood dripped on the ground, and tears came out of the captured Whitebeard First Division Commander.

I better make sure to kill him when he is imprisoned. Wouldn't want someone like Marco to come after me in revenge. Desperate people are scary… I won't let any of them live if they had hatred for me even if they were normal people. 

My eyes wandered once again, and this time settled on the Whitebeard vs Kaido fight. It was a little disheartening at how much Whitebeard was dominating, even though one of his arms was wrecked. It seemed like Kaido didn't even have time to react, in less than a second the ground would shake in a strange rhythm. I can only guess it is Whitebeard filling Kaido's brains with the Quake power and trying to kill the man.

It seemed to be working too, as Kaido's eye which I had blinded seemed to come out of his socket. Blood spewed out of the socket profusely and his mouth too, and Whitebeard used his kicks to land devastating body blows while Kaido was still on the ground.

The old man's face was filled with fury, it seemed like Oden meant a lot to him. Even more than I thought. Better be careful I don't get taken off guard like Kaido, I did just kill Ace after all.

I noticed Kizaru looking at me, and an amused glint appeared in his eyes. Did he want to try and kill me too? After all, Aokiji made it clear that the World Government wanted me dead, but wanted it done discreetly. 

"Be careful," he warned me. "Red dogs can be quite loyal to their owners."

He blitzed off after saying that, going to fight somewhere else. Probably against another strong presence who just made itself clear. 

Now that's where my problems lie with Kizaru. I had no idea where he stood or what he wanted. Akainu and Aokiji have clear goals, they would never work with me or compromise in their beliefs. What about Kizaru?

Also, the Red Dog was Akainu, as that is his moniker, like every Admiral, his moniker was after an animal. So Kizaru warned me? What is his end goal here?

Better keep an eye on him, and if I get the chance… I will kill him too. There is no need to take a chance on an unknown factor like him.

While the World Government thought of themselves as smart in wanting to eliminate me discreetly. If I knew of this, then it would make their plans useless. After all, I just needed to stay in the spotlight and they wouldn't attack. 

But there was another method to it too, I just needed to go out of sight and an Admiral or someone strong will attack me. That would be perfect too, I just kill off someone who is in my way and take out a powerful member within the World Government.

The same camouflage that they made for themselves would also work for me when I kill them off. Due to my reputation and political power, the World Government cannot come and admit openly that they want me dead either.

Well, they will learn from my actions that their plan had some holes in it. But before that, I should kill a couple more important people. 

If my enemy is making mistakes, there is no need for me to correct them.

Hopefully someone like Kong or one of the Five Elders would attack me. That was an almost impossible situation, but it would simplify a lot of things if they did so. That will also get rid of some uncertain variations in the plan.

Still, though, this war had turned more beneficial than expected. I got rid of Aokiji, an Admiral that was bound to go against me in the end. 

I looked at Luffy and the rest of the Strawhats as the Sunny came from underwater. Air gathered at the back propulsor in their ship, meaning that they were about to use Coup De Burst. 

I contemplated entering my Awakened Form and stopping them from going off, but decided against it, Luffy still had some uses before it was his time to die.

For now, neither Whitebeard nor Garp have seen that I killed Ace. Meaning that right there was another chance.

Whitebeard had to die. 

Garp… I have to make sure he dies too, or in the end, he will become another thorn in my side. A very big thorn.

***

While Max was contemplating his plans and looking for a chance to kill off some people. On the other side of the island, Sengoku, Garp, and Kizaru stood in front of an old man.

He had a goatee and a straight sword in his hand. He seemed distracted as a tear came out of his eye as he looked towards the other side of the island. "Ace… I was too late."

Sengoku, in his giant buddha form, made a palm, getting ready to attack. "Rayleigh… did you come here to die with Whitebeard too?"

Rayleigh, an old man past his prime, looked Sengoku straight in the eyes. He then observed Garp and Kizaru who were there too, undoubtedly they would fight against him 3v1 if it came to a battle. But he only smiled. "Well, all old men have to die one day. Though it would be quite fun if I took down the Marines while doing so."

He then smiled sadly. "I will even drink a good bottle of sake after this."

….

A/N: Max likes Ace and Luffy as Manga Characters. But when it comes to when that situation becomes real, he won't let his feelings interfere with his benefits.