As soon as Marco finished his report and returned to Teach and the others, they surrounded him.
Oden was the first to ask, “Who is Akainu?
Is he strong?” From what Whitebeard had said earlier, Oden understood that the coming battle could be extremely difficult.
As the second-strongest person aboard, he had to shoulder his share of the responsibility.
Akainu, whom Marco had specifically mentioned, naturally caught his attention.
“He’s terrifying.
At present, aside from you, Oden, no one aboard can contend with him.” Akainu’s Devil Fruit ability was exceptionally dangerous and possessed terrifying destructive power.
Without Armament Haki, even a graze would cause serious injury, while a direct hit would be nearly fatal.
Even those aboard who possessed Armament Haki were not strong enough to withstand many of his blows.
Furthermore, he was a Logia user with all kinds of unusual fighting methods, making it difficult for anyone unfamiliar with such abilities to adapt.
Akainu was twenty-seven years old, close to Oden in age, and their strength was also comparable.
Both already possessed power approaching the level of true monsters, far beyond what the teenagers aboard could contend with.
In the future, aside from Teach and Marco, the others would not even be qualified to confront Akainu directly.
Becoming a Marine Rear Admiral at only twenty-seven was enough to demonstrate both his terrifying strength and the speed at which he had accumulated military achievements.
“Leave him to me!” Oden said seriously, tightening his grip on his two Great Grade Blades.
“He’s a Logia user who possesses the Magma-Magma Fruit.
Be careful of his Devil Fruit ability.
You absolutely cannot take his attacks head-on!” Marco warned him.
Rather than becoming cautious, Oden grew even more excited, eagerly anticipating his coming battle with Akainu.
A Logia user with the Magma-Magma Fruit!
This would be his first time facing a Logia user.
Wano Country also had volcanoes, and Oden had witnessed eruptions before, so he could imagine how powerful Akainu’s attacks would be.
“Fortunately, we’re at sea, so he can’t fully utilize his Devil Fruit ability,” Teach analyzed.
“As long as Pops finds the right opportunity to destroy their ship, we can shake off the Marines.” There was no reason to fight the Marines to the death.
Even if Pops fought desperately and managed to kill Zephyr, he would likely suffer severe injuries and be unable to fight for some time.
In the dangerous New World, the Whitebeard Pirates would then become a tempting piece of meat that everyone wanted to bite into.
Before Pops recovered, most of them would likely be killed or seriously injured.
Standing at the bow, Whitebeard heard Teach’s analysis and nodded inwardly.
That was exactly what he intended to do.
When pirates encountered the Marines, anyone with a working brain would make the same decision.
No one wanted to fight them to the death.
Marine warships were not merchant vessels.
They carried no treasure worth plundering.
Even if the pirates killed everyone aboard, they would gain nothing and still have to worry about an endless stream of Marines pursuing them afterward.
As time passed, the atmosphere aboard the ship grew increasingly tense.
They had already faced an Admiral once before.
Back then, the crew had been even more inexperienced than they were now.
They had not possessed someone like Oden, whose strength already approached the level of a monster.
Those who had survived their previous clash with Sengoku the Buddha firmly believed that they would not suffer such devastating losses again!
Thatch walked over to Teach and instructed him earnestly, “When the battle begins, don’t separate from me.
We’ll fight together!” He truly valued their friendship.
This was Teach’s first time facing the Marines and his first experience with a battle of this scale.
Thatch worried that he might fail to adapt and die on the battlefield.
The soldiers serving directly beneath a Marine Admiral could not be compared to the Red Wolf Pirates.
They were genuine elites.
Like the Whitebeard Pirates, they had seen the world, witnessed monsters of the sea clash, and survived the aftershocks of those battles.
Vista went to find Jozu.
The two of them would also fight together.
Toki and Izo formed another group with Inuarashi and Nekomamushi.
Rakuyo stood with Whitey Bay.
Against opponents like these, there was no point insisting that women were not combatants.
Once the fighting began, the ship offered little room to escape.
Everyone would have to face the enemy.
They could hardly place Whitey Bay and Toki in a small boat and send them away.
How far would they have to flee to avoid the aftermath of the battle?
And afterward, how would the crew find a tiny boat drifting somewhere across the sea?
The ordinary crew members also found partners.
On a chaotic battlefield, anyone fighting alone could easily be overwhelmed.
Once a naval battle turned into close-quarters combat, both sides usually fought in small groups.
Exceptional fighters were a different matter.
Whitebeard and Oden needed no partners.
At their level, each had a distinct fighting style, and forcing them to cooperate would only hinder them.
“They’ve appeared!” Marco shouted from above the Moby Dick.
Whitebeard immediately raised Murakumogiri at the bow.
The blade trembled slightly, its edge surrounded by a white halo.
Whitebeard lowered his body and held the long weapon horizontally.
Power erupted from his waist and abdomen, driving his upper body before flowing into his arms.
That overwhelmingly powerful force was finally unleashed through Murakumogiri.
An enormous white slash surged forward, shattering the air along its path with a continuous series of cracks.
Far from the Moby Dick, an enormous Marine warship sailed across the sea.
“Zephyr-sensei, aren’t we moving too slowly?” a man wearing a baseball cap marked with the word Justice asked in a deep voice.
He wore a bright red shirt beneath a white coat of justice.
His expression was gloomy as he watched the fleeing pirate ship ahead.
“Sakazuki, naval warfare cannot be won through one person’s courage alone.
You must consider the condition of the soldiers aboard.” “Even if you eliminate the pirates, excessive casualties on your own side would make the victory meaningless.
On this vast sea, even you would struggle to survive alone.” Zephyr understood his student too well to waste time lecturing him about avoiding unnecessary killing.
Such words would be meaningless to Sakazuki.
If he pushed too hard, this red-eyed bull might even turn around and butt him.
Zephyr genuinely valued Akainu, especially after the deaths of his wife and child.
His outlook had quietly changed.
He had originally favored Aokiji, but now he preferred Akainu.
The three naturally gifted monsters were all part of the Marines’ future.
Aokiji gained practical combat experience under Garp, while Kizaru followed Sengoku.
Only Sakazuki had no one personally guiding him.
After his outlook changed, Zephyr chose to bring this student into the New World, allowing him to experience real combat and grow more quickly.
Every time he watched Sakazuki incinerate pirates, Zephyr felt a satisfaction he was unwilling to acknowledge, even to himself, and could never discuss openly with anyone else.
“I understand,” Akainu answered stiffly.
Zephyr smiled and shook his head, paying no attention to his attitude.
This student was almost thirty years old and had already formed his own convictions.
A few words would never change him.
Zephyr was too tired to keep lecturing him.
He only wanted Sakazuki to grow faster and eventually take his place in killing pirates.
The smile suddenly vanished from Zephyr’s face.
His Observation Haki had detected something unusual.
An enormous sailing ship had appeared ahead of the pirate vessel they were pursuing, and aboard it was an exceptionally terrifying presence.
“Wait!
Slow down!” Startled, Zephyr immediately gave the order.
“Sensei, what’s wrong?” Akainu asked, taken aback.
“We’ve encountered trouble.
There’s probably a great pirate ahead—and there’s a good chance it’s Whitebeard!” Marine intelligence generally kept track of the approximate locations of the other great pirates.
Only Whitebeard had suddenly disappeared for a time.
No island had reported the Whitebeard Pirates stopping to replenish their supplies.
“Whitebeard…” Akainu murmured.
He turned toward Zephyr, his tone forceful.
“So, Sensei, are you going to retreat?” “I…” Zephyr did not know how to answer.
Before the deaths of his wife and child, he would have possessed the courage to face anyone alone as a Marine Admiral.
But he had not participated in a high-intensity battle for several years.
After losing his family, his spirit had fallen to its lowest point, leaving him almost like a broken man.
Most notably, his Armament Haki had weakened, and the name Black Arm no longer carried the same weight it once had.
However, as the Marines’ new generation grew under his guidance, Zephyr had gradually recovered.
Watching them develop had shown him new hope.
His diminished strength was also slowly returning.
But if he were now asked to face Whitebeard, Zephyr truly had no confidence.
Over the past several years, everyone else had continued growing stronger from their original foundations.
Zephyr had only been recovering what he had lost.
****** POWERSTONES!!