Chapter 72 : Koby Killed!!!
"Great Buddha Impact Wave!"
"Divine Departure, Three Thousand Worlds!"
Golden and blue lightning intertwined, tangling together and annihilating everything in their path!
The full force of Sengoku's attack, with its terrifying shockwave, seemed as if it could shatter the entire world!
Buggy also pushed the Divine Departure to its limit. Straight cracks spread out, splitting the space in front of him!
"Boom!!!"
A tremendous roar echoed through the heavens and earth. Buggy's upper body garment tore apart under the powerful shockwave, and his body was riddled with wounds!
Sengoku's massive golden form was also covered in cracks, each deep enough to reveal the bone beneath!
Unable to hold on any longer, Sengoku reverted from his Buddha form and collapsed to the ground!
Buggy swayed slightly, adjusted his stance to lower his center of gravity, and stood firmly without falling!
The outcome was decided!
"How is this possible..."
"Vice Admiral Garp has fallen, and even Fleet Admiral Sengoku has been defeated?!"
"We still have the three Admirals! Don't lose hope!"
The surviving Marines on the battlefield were in disbelief, their morale plummeting to an all-time low!
Despite the shock, the higher-ranking Marine officers knew they had to boost morale quickly!
"Teach!"
Buggy exhaled deeply, catching his breath before calling out to Blackbeard, who was fighting Akainu!
Blackbeard, who had long lost interest in the battle, heard Buggy's voice, repelled Akainu with a swipe of his hand, and distanced himself to appear by Buggy's side.
Akainu glanced at Buggy, frowned, but chose not to pursue further!
At the same time, Kizaru and Shiryu, Aokiji and Bullet also ceased their fighting, distancing themselves and facing each other off.
Buggy surveyed the ruined Marineford, taking in the entire battlefield.
After this fierce battle, only about two to three hundred of the prisoners Buggy had brought from Impel Down remained!
But amidst the chaos, these two to three hundred were the cream of the crop, almost all with bounties exceeding fifty million—top pirates!
The Marine Headquarters and the Whitebeard Pirates had both suffered immense losses!
The Whitebeard Pirates' high-level combat force was nearly wiped out, leaving only a few cats and dogs—less than two thousand men!
The Marine Headquarters' elite force of 100,000 had also suffered severe losses, with only about 7,000 to 8,000 still able to move. Their mid-to-high-level combat power had been greatly diminished!
As for the Seven Warlords of the Sea who were just there to observe, they hadn't incurred significant losses. Except for Moonlight Moria and Donquixote Doflamingo, who were engaged in a fierce battle with Sanjuan Wolf, Mihawk and Bartholomew Kuma were basically just strolling around the battlefield.
Buggy thought for a moment and looked at Shiryū, saying, "Go get Sanjuan Wolf over here and deal with Doflamingo as well. Don't hold back, just don't kill him!"
Shiryū nodded, unfurled his wings, and flew off.
Buggy then turned to the three Marine Admirals on the opposite side, showing a smile and saying, "How about we call it a day?"
Buggy's goal for coming to the Marine Headquarters was not only to eradicate the Whitebeard Pirates but also to weaken the Marine Headquarters' strength. Now that both of his objectives had been achieved, there was naturally no need to continue the fight!
Although continuing the battle might have given him a chance to completely crush the Marine Headquarters, that wasn't what Buggy wanted to see. He still saw value in keeping the Marine Headquarters intact!
However, Akainu had a different opinion!
Akainu clenched his fists and said coldly, "Who do you think you are? Do you think you can just stop because you say so?"
Aokiji furrowed his brow, disagreeing with Akainu's stance. He didn't want to continue the battle at this point either. But since Akainu had spoken first, Aokiji decided to keep his thoughts to himself for the time being, prioritizing a united Marine Headquarters.
Buggy looked at Akainu, raising an eyebrow and asking, "Are you sure you want to keep going?"
Akainu replied firmly, "Of course! You're at the end of your rope now. Justice will prevail!"
As Akainu spoke, he took a step forward, heading towards Buggy!
Aokiji sighed lightly but still followed behind Akainu.
Seeing both of them moving, Kizaru reluctantly began to move as well.
Just then, a rapid series of footsteps rang out, and a figure spread their arms to block the path in front of the three Admirals!
"That's enough!" Koby, covered in dust and tears streaming down his face, shouted at Akainu, who was leading the charge. "So many people have died already! Many more are buried under the rubble! This war needs to end here!"
Everyone was taken aback. Akainu's face darkened, while Buggy wore a smirk of amusement.
Buggy had been wondering who it was, only to realize it was the so-called "Coward King" Koby. He hadn't expected this guy to have survived!
Koby the Coward, a Marine friend of Luffy and a disciple of Garp, was a deserter who aspired to become an admiral but was instead known as the "Coward King."
In the original story, Koby the Coward, scared out of his wits by the brutality of his first battle, tried to flee the battlefield but was intercepted and forced back by Akainu.
At the end of the war, when Akainu was pursuing Luffy, Koby had stepped forward and blocked Akainu, buying Luffy crucial seconds!
Those seconds were later praised by Shanks as moments that changed the world!
From a third-party perspective, Koby's act of helping Luffy, the world's destined protagonist, escape danger was clearly aligned with the side of 'justice.'
However, as a Marine who was first scared and became a deserter, and who hadn't killed a single enemy throughout the war, then coming out to question the higher-ups' orders and demoralize the navy, Koby's actions were utterly disgusting!
Buggy hadn't anticipated that, despite the drastic changes in the war's situation, Koby the Coward would still dare to show himself!
Buggy's eyes flickered as he exchanged a glance with Blackbeard. Blackbeard nodded slightly in understanding.
"Get out of the way!" Akainu's face was filled with fury as he raised his arm, now transformed into magma, and coldly threatened, "Or face death!"
Koby, terrified by Akainu's murderous intent, froze on the spot, unable to move a muscle!
"Die!"
Seeing Koby's state, Akainu couldn't be bothered with further words and swung a fist towards him.
'Boom!'
At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared between Koby and Akainu, drawing a sword to block Akainu's punch!
The Four Emperors: Red-Haired Shanks!
In addition to that, members of the Red-Haired Pirates had appeared at various corners of the battlefield, halting everyone who had been fiercely fighting!
The expressions of the three Marine Admirals changed drastically; even Kizaru rarely showed such a serious demeanor!
Shanks, with a faint smile on his lips, spoke calmly, "Give me some face..."
"Black Spiral!"
Before Shanks could finish his sentence, Blackbeard, standing beside Buggy, raised his hand and pulled the stunned Coward King, Koby, towards him!
With a 'crack', Buggy grabbed Koby by the neck and cleanly twisted it, breaking it decisively!
Shanks turned around in shock, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Buggy casually tossed Koby's lifeless body aside and gestured grandly, "Please, continue your performance!"
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