The Pride of Whitebeard.

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Sorbet Kingdom:

"Your counterpart has some common sense… but unfortunately, that common sense doesn't apply to Luffy."

Dragon was sitting with one leg crossed over the other, flipping through the pages of the manga.

He had just reached the part where Akainu exploited Whitebeard's moment of weakness to deepen his wounds.

The scene then shifted to Ivankov and Luffy, Luffy's body was completely drained of strength and energy, unable even to move.

At this point, Ivankov was hesitant to inject Luffy with temporary tension hormones again, as it would deplete the last drop of his already exhausted body.

But Luffy, who saw that Ace's death would mean his own death too, didn't care. He just wanted to regain the strength to stand and run to save Ace.

Seeing how Ivankov eventually yielded to Luffy, Dragon sighed and said, after looking in Ivankov's direction,

"Of course he's stubborn… he's your son! It wouldn't be fair to blame my counterpart if something happened to him after that..."

Ivankov commented nervously.

Although he hadn't yet reached the level of his future counterpart, he was well aware of most of his Devil Fruit's abilities. The tension hormones only stimulated the body's potential and didn't create vitality out of thin air… This meant they gradually consumed the user… That's why Ivankov refused to inject Luffy with more hormones as it would cause him significant harm in the near future, possibly even death.

"It's alright… my grandson is strong, he can do it."

Garp said calmly, then turned the page to the next chapter.

Something told him that Luffy would surprise everyone again, after all, he was his grandson, Monkey D. Garp!

"Pfft! But don't be too harsh on Koby, you fool!"

At the moment he saw how Luffy punched Koby hard in the face, knocking him out quickly, Garp spat out all the cake he had been eating.

…

Ohara:

"Hancock often intervenes to save Luffy from his predicaments… the elder sister is really keen on saving him~"

"Everyone already knows that, is this love?"

"Elder sister Hancock is ruthless! Hahaha!"

"At this point, her help for Luffy must be completely exposed, right?"

"She's been doing it openly from the beginning…"

"Derishishi~ That's why elder sister is ruthless…"

"W-W-What are you saying exactly! Why do you keep associating this woman with me all the time! I have nothing to do with what 'I' do in the future!"

"Hahaha! Take it easy, elder sister. We're just joking~"

Robin, Yamato, and the others were thoroughly enjoying Hancock's embarrassed reactions every time a scene of her saving Luffy appeared in the Summit War.

It wasn't just the children; even Olivia, Bell-mère, Toki, Sora, Glora, and the others were enjoying it, especially Little Hancock's cute reactions, unable to resist teasing her.

…

"Huh? It looks like things are getting worse for the Whitebeard Pirates."

"At this rate, they'll be completely wiped out…"

"Things are out of control…"

"How sad…"

"What's the matter? As long as Whitebeard hasn't fallen, I don't see the Whitebeard Pirates losing any time soon…"

"Are you blind?… Look at this."

"… Even though Marco relies on his phoenix abilities to heal his injuries, he's been secretly restrained with Kairoseki cuffs… He was hit again by Kizaru's laser, so he's doomed."

"Another strong captain, Jozu, has been completely frozen by Aokiji… he's down."

"And this… Whitebeard has been completely surrounded and brutally beaten with various attacks in his moment of weakness. The damage has increased to a horrifying extent, how will this outcome be changed?"

The readers in the art store in Ohara were on edge due to the current events in the manga.

Scenes of the Whitebeard Pirates being brutally beaten by the Marines were not happy ones for the readers, even though they hated pirates.

But for some reason, the Whitebeard Pirates were not the usual type of pirates.

They were more like a family… an ordinary family anywhere in the world.

Whitebeard was just a father trying to save his son. Why did the Marine have to go to such lengths to eliminate this old man?

…

•———•———•———•———•

*Chapter's Events:*

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"Whitebeard Pirates, you're finished…"

After taking down Jozu, Aokiji said that as he exhaled cold air.

"Take out the rest of the squad leaders!!!"

Sengoku announced, then looked towards where Whitebeard was and shouted:

"Don't slow down!!! Men, all of you go get Whitebeard."

After plunging his volcanic fist into Whitebeard's chest, Akainu retreated and allowed the rest of the Vice Admirals and strong soldiers to do as the Fleet Admiral commanded.

They attacked him with everything they had, bullets, swords, bazookas, and abilities. Whitebeard's blood flowed profusely, but he remained standing.

Seeing this, the Whitebeard Pirates shouted, "BOSS!!!"

They drew their weapons and rushed to protect their leader.

"Stay back!!!" exclaimed Whitebeard, preventing his sons from advancing.

Whitebeard pulled a sword stuck in his body and said:

"You all… think that this… Haa… Haa… is enough to kill me!?"

"I don't need any help… haa… haa…"

With eyes red from rage, Whitebeard swung his weapon, crushing all the soldiers who attacked him.

"I am Whitebeard!!!"

Seeing this, the nearby Marine soldiers thought, ("He's… a Monster!!!")

Whitebeard regained his stance and stood, "If I die…"

"Will my death have any meaning…?"

"I know… that I must watch over my sons' futures."

"I can't afford to die…!!!"

"Right, Ace?"

Fossa and Vista, along with the rest of the commanders and even Jimbei, gathered behind Whitebeard, catching the Marines's attention.

"What!? They're gathering behind Whitebeard!!"

"Haa… Haa… it doesn't matter if you people don't understand…"

"We will protect our boss's pride!!!"

•———•———•———•———•

Back to Sphinx Island, where all the Whitebeard Pirates, including their allied crews, were gathered.

They all felt complex emotions at this moment… They never expected, even in their dreams, that the day would come when they saw themselves so helpless.

"Sigh… weakness is terrible…"

Whitebeard sighed regretfully.

He currently had blonde hair, tight muscles, and a perfectly strong body without any hidden injuries or wounds! He was 54 years old, at the peak of his strength, but compared to his old counterpart, it was truly pitiful.

"But in this weakness lies unparalleled strength… How proud I am of you, my sons…"

Whitebeard wiped a small tear from his smiling face at that moment.

When he saw how his sons stood behind him to protect the last thing he still had, he couldn't help himself, and his emotions overwhelmed him.

They were protecting their father's pride! And what was that? Perhaps just a symbol on his back, or maybe his back itself that hadn't been touched by even dust throughout the battle.

"They had to protect you…"

"They failed miserably in that…"

"I feel ashamed of my counterpart…"

"Will I be this weak in the future? Damn it!"

"Starting today, I will double my training more than twice! I will never allow this future to repeat itself!"

"How shameful to let the enemy get to the Boss in such a brutal way while we stand by and watch…"

"Is this all that the Whitebeard Pirates and their allied crews can do in the future?"

Whitebeard's sons began to ruthlessly criticize their future counterparts… this scene made them feel a weakness and shame they had never felt before.

"Protecting Whitebeard's pride? It's a shame that this is all we can do, Oyaji."

Marco said with gloomy eyes.

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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):

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Chapter 737: Luffy's Conqueror's Haki Sweeps Marineford!

Chapter 738: One Step Closer!

Chapter 739: The Fall of Garp! Reaching Ace's Side!

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