Chapter 53 : Justice at all costs!!

At the same time, in Marineford Square, the battlefield that was once filled with deafening shouts and cries of battle was now plunged into an eerie silence.

Both pirates and Marines alike stared in amazement at Whitebeard, who stood on the bow of the Moby Dick. Behind him was Squard, the Maelstrom Spider, holding a long sword that had pierced Whitebeard's body!

"Am I seeing things? Did Whitebeard just get attacked?"

"W-why? What happened?"

"Internal strife? No way, why now?"

More than ten seconds passed, and everyone was still in shock, having even forgotten to continue attacking.

"Squard! What did you do to Pops?!"

Marco, the captain of the First Division of the Whitebeard Pirates, was so agitated that he spread his wings and prepared to fly back to the Moby Dick.

"Hold on, Marco!" Seeing this, Whitebeard raised his hand to stop Marco. He turned back to look at Squard and asked calmly, "Squard, why?"

Squard trembled as he pulled the long sword out of Whitebeard's body, his eyes red with fury. "Pops, why are you still pretending at this point?"

Whitebeard frowned, realizing something was amiss. "Squard, did someone tell you something?"

Squard roared, "Ah! Akainu told me everything! You must have reached an agreement with Marine Headquarters a long time ago! The lives of our forty-three pirate crews in exchange for Ace's life!"

As Squard finished speaking, the entire place fell silent once more, then erupted in an uproar.

"Is this true? Did Pops make such a deal with the Navy Headquarters?!"

"Idiot! How could you doubt Pops? He would never do such a thing!"

"But... but Squard doesn't look like he's lying!"

Most of the pirates couldn't believe that their captain would betray them, but a few showed hesitation. Seeing this, Marco shouted with a distressed expression, "No! Squard, Pops would never do such a thing!"

"Shut up, Marco! The truth is right in front of us!" Squard retorted angrily. "Look around! Since we were led into the inner bay, the Navy hasn't tried to kill Whitebeard Pirates Main crew members again!"

"Until now, all the dead are Subordinate Pirate crew members!"

Marco was stunned by these words and looked around in disbelief. He realized that, except for those who were killed or injured at the beginning, there were no further casualties among the Whitebeard Pirates!

Just as Squard had said, the Marine Headquarters used those human weapons that resembled the tyrant Kuma, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, to hunt down only the people in the 43 pirate groups under Whitebeard, and not the Whitebeard Pirates themselves!

Not only Marco, but everyone else noticed this too!

Now, even more people's trust in Whitebeard was shaken! The morale of the pirates dropped instantly!

If their own captain had betrayed them, was there any point in continuing this war?

Admiral Akainu stood in a dark corner, observing his handiwork with a satisfied smile.

So, what will you do now, Whitebeard?

"What a fool you are, Squard!"

Whitebeard turned around, gazing affectionately at Squard, without a hint of anger. Squard was stunned, staring blankly at Whitebeard.

Whitebeard reached out, pulling Squard into his arms, and said, "But even so, I still love you, my foolish son!"

Squard's body trembled, and tears flowed uncontrollably! It was then that he realized he had been deceived!

Whitebeard released Squard and turned to face the pirates. "If you want to quit now, I won't blame you. But if you still believe in me, then follow me!"

After speaking, Whitebeard leapt off the Moby Dick, charging towards the navy with a naginata in hand!

Whitebeard knew that no matter what he said at this moment, it would seem pale and powerless. Only actions could serve as the most effective proof!

Just as Whitebeard anticipated, all the lies were exposed when he launched his charge at the navy!

"I told you! There's no way Pops would make such a deal with the Navy!"

"That's right! This is all a conspiracy by the navy!"

"Damn the navy, they made me doubt Pops! Kill them!"

"Follow Pops! Charge!"

The pirates' morale soared, even higher than before, as they charged towards the navy!

"Have they regained their morale? No matter. The primary goal has been achieved! But I can't let you go, Whitebeard!"

Akainu's figure blurred into a shadow as he blocked Whitebeard's path. His arm transformed into boiling magma, thrusting towards Whitebeard with immense force.

"Great Eruption!"

Whitebeard snorted disdainfully, clenching his fingers into a fist that glowed with a faint luminescence. Without hesitation, he met Akainu's magma fist head-on.

**"Boom!!!"**

Magma splattered everywhere as Whitebeard's immense strength pushed Akainu backward!

Murderous intent flashed in Whitebeard's eyes as he coldly remarked, "Not lurking in the shadows with your tricks and schemes this time, eh, magma brat?"

Akainu's face remained impassive. "For justice, I will do whatever it takes! Even after being gravely wounded, you're still this strong. I can only imagine your power at your peak!"

"I will never allow someone like you to roam the seas again!"

Raising his hand once more, Akainu charged at Whitebeard!

"Gurarara! That depends on whether you've got the strength, little magma kid!"

Whitebeard, truly angered by Akainu, clashed with him fiercely!

On the execution platform, Sengoku stood vigilant with Ace kneeling beside him and Garp sitting cross-legged. The two original executioners had been carried away, incapacitated by Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki, and new executioners were on their way.

Sengoku glanced at Akainu, who was battling desperately against Whitebeard, then turned his gaze to Kizaru and Aokiji, who were engaged in fierce combat with Whitebeard Pirates' captains, Marco and Jozu. His frown deepened.

"When did Marco and Jozu become so powerful?"

"Or when did Kizaru and Aokiji become so weak?"

"Damn those two slackers! It's already this late, and they're still slacking off!"

Sengoku muttered in frustration. Though anger simmered within him, he couldn't openly criticize them at this critical moment.

Clenching his fists, Sengoku felt an intense urge to jump into the fray.

If he joined the battlefield now and combined forces with Akainu to take down Whitebeard, the outcome of this war would be practically sealed.

However, if he personally took action, there would be no one left to handle unforeseen emergencies.

But after the war had progressed this far, could there really be any unexpected developments?

As Sengoku wavered in his decision, his eyes suddenly widened in shock.

Why did the shadow cast by the Marineford headquarters building look different from before?!

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