One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

Upon hearing this, the marines respectfully obeyed and stepped back, allowing Ace to walk up to Garp.

"Ace!"

Seeing that Ace was alright, Luffy was so excited he almost cried. He squeezed out of Garp's outstretched hand and ran to Ace's side.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw Ace face Garp and kneel down with a thud.

"grandfather."

he shouted.

Garp stood tall and imposing, like a statue, staring intently at Ace before him.

Ace had a happy smile on his face, but tears kept streaming from the corners of his eyes.

He choked up and said, "Grandpa, I'm sorry, I've let you down. I know you always hoped that I could be a brave and righteous marine, but I can't fulfill that in this life. If there is a next life, I will definitely fulfill your expectations and become a righteous marine, a naval admiral."

As he spoke, he bent down and kowtowed three times to Garp.

Garp raised his trembling hand, wanting to help Ace up, but in the end, he pressed his raised hand against his own face.

Large tears dripped from between his fingers.

After bowing three times to Garp, Ace stood up, smiled at Luffy who had walked up to him, reached out and placed his hand on Luffy's head, ruffling Luffy's hair.

Looking at Ace's unusual behavior, Luffy felt a sense of foreboding and stared blankly at him.

Ace smiled and said, "Luffy, while I'm gone, take good care of Grandpa and Sabo. He should be alright. Go find him later, and then you two leave here as soon as possible. Remember, don't hate Rorschach. I don't blame him; I lost on my own. Remember what we said when we drank our sworn brotherhood sake?"

"Yes, yes. Ace, you...you won't die, right?"

Luffy kept nodding, his face full of panic and fear.

“I said, one day, we will go out to sea and be freer than anyone else.”

Ace seemed not to hear, and just kept talking to himself in a low voice.

"But now I realize that what I really wanted wasn't freedom. What I wanted, I've already gotten, more than most people in this world have. What is the meaning of life? I've already... got it."

He spoke softly, stretched out both hands, bent down and gently hugged Luffy, then turned and left.

"Ace...Ace!"

Luffy reached out, wanting to grab Ace, but then heard Garp's trembling voice in his ear.

"Let him go, Luffy."

Garp's words were like the last straw that broke the camel's back, crushing the last glimmer of hope in Luffy's heart. He stared blankly as Ace staggered away, losing all his strength, and slowly knelt on the ground.

Ace's figure receded into the distance, gradually becoming blurry.

"Ace, are you dead? Waaah, no, don't die, I don't want you to die!"

"Idiot! Don't just say someone is dead!"

"Waaah, but I'm so scared, I don't want you to die!"

"I told you I wouldn't die! Stop crying, you're such an annoying crybaby."

The conversation between the two children kept replaying in Luffy's mind, causing his mental state to gradually collapse.

On the shattered ground of Marineford Square, Ace staggered forward.

His consciousness began to blur, many things began to disappear from his mind, and his memories became increasingly unclear, as if they were being rapidly erased by an eraser.

He began to forget where he was going, but Ace dared not stop.

Because he was afraid that if he stopped, he would never be able to stand up again.

He cannot fall down yet.

But where am I supposed to go? And what am I supposed to do?

so tired.

I just want to not think about anything, I just want to lie quietly on the grass, basking in the sun, feeling the sea breeze, and have a peaceful nap.

Like when Luffy, Sabo, and the others finished their sworn brotherhood drink and lay sprawled on the beach at the garbage dump, that slightly tipsy feeling.

Where should I go?

Ace staggered forward, his body growing lighter and his steps slower.

Finally, he stopped.

I could faintly hear many people crying and calling their own names.

Ace tried to open his eyes to see, but the world before him gradually darkened and became icy cold.

He began to slowly fall down.

Just before his world was plunged into endless darkness, Ace felt a warm, strong hand catch him and pull him into a tight embrace.

This embrace was as warm as the winter sun, dispelling not only the bone-chilling cold in Ace's heart but also the darkness before his eyes.

He used his last bit of strength to open his eyes and saw a gentle smile.

"Ace, if you're tired, get some sleep. We'll continue our voyage tomorrow."

"Sailing?"

"Yes, let's go to Jinbe's hometown Fishman Island, to Sphinx Island, to the giant village of Elbaf, to Kaido's Wano Country, to Totto Land, to Paradise, to the four seas. The world is so big, we can go wherever we want."

"Yes, Dad."

Ace slowly closed his eyes, a satisfied smile curving his lips, and nestled into the broad arms of the white-bearded man.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock..."

Tears welled up from Whitebeard's blood-stained eyes, dripping down and landing on Ace's face, only to be gently wiped away by Whitebeard's large hand.

He wiped away the tears again and again, but the more he wiped, the more tears flowed.

His towering figure knelt on the ground, holding Ace tightly in his arms, and whispered as if afraid of waking Ace:

"Sleep well, Ace, sleep well. When we wake up tomorrow, we'll board the Moby Dick and set sail together."

Chapter 672 The Strongest Wrath

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The coastal artillery on the inner bay dike continued to roar incessantly, the booming of the cannons seeming to shake the sky, the earth, and the sea.

On the broken ice of the inner bay, the fierce battle continues.

However, the pirates, as one of the warring parties, have already shown signs of complete defeat.

With over 40% of the pirates killed or wounded, even the united Whitebeard Pirates were unable to stop a large-scale exodus of deserters.

Numerous vassal pirate crews abandoned their comrades and fled desperately across the vast ice surface, attempting to escape Marineford, a meat grinder battlefield where death seemed inevitable.

With less than 20,000 pirates remaining, they are still relentlessly entangled with the Navy.

Among these pirates, some had no way to retreat and could only stay and fight to the death, while others were loyal followers of the Whitebeard Pirates and were willing to stay and die.

Below the embankment near the square, the skylark, covered in blood, gasped for breath, staring blankly at the blood-red battlefield before him.

Beside him lay Pamel, whose arms were broken, whose chest had collapsed, and who had lost consciousness and was in a coma.

Palmer was injured by Joz.

He still couldn't break through Jozu's diamond defense and defeat Jozu.

If Tezzoro hadn't intervened and stopped Joz, Pamel would probably be dead.

Luo, holding the Ghost Crying Sword, is treating his injuries and correcting his broken bones.

On the ice nearby, a large polar bear sat slumped, panting heavily with its tongue lolling out. Its white fur was stained crimson with blood, emitting a strong stench of blood.

In the distance, bursts of dazzling laser light occasionally exploded on the ice surface; these were laser beams fired by pacifists.

Amidst the tremors of the ice, Sentomaru, carrying a large battle axe, came running breathlessly from afar.

Upon seeing Sentomaru from afar, Hibari immediately shouted, "Sentomaru! How's it going? The encirclement..."

“The encirclement is useless!” Sentomaru shook his head.

"What? How could this be?" Hibari exclaimed in surprise.

Sentomaru stepped closer and sighed, "After being hit by Whitebeard's tsunami, squeezed by Aokiji's ice layer, and with Whitebeard's recent rampage that nearly overturned Marineford, the encirclement walls that were built with enormous manpower, resources, and time are intact, but many of the lifting devices inside have been damaged. Even if they can be raised, there will be many gaps. Therefore, the encirclement wall operation plan has failed."

"What do we do now? The ice is breaking apart more and more. If this continues, we won't have anywhere to stand. Should we order a retreat to the plaza, Luo?"

Yun Que looked at Luo with some anxiety on her face.

The war has dragged on for so long that the pirates have suffered heavy losses, and the navy has also suffered many casualties.

Besides being directly killed by pirates, some were also affected by changes in the battlefield terrain, falling into the sea or into the abyss.

Luo quickly treated Palmer's injuries, waved for a team of medics to drag the incapacitated Palmer away, took a deep breath, and gripped his long sword tightly, saying:

“I don’t know either. We don’t have the authority to order a retreat. We must continue fighting until we receive orders from above. Lark, keep going. The war is not over yet.”

"Ah."

Hibari nodded, and was about to call Bepo and Sentomaru together.

Just then, the ice beneath their feet began to vibrate with a buzzing sound.

The tremors grew stronger and stronger, gradually affecting the entire ice surface of the inner bay ahead.

No.

Not only on the inner bay ice surface, but also in the distant Marineford ice floes, the size of mountain peaks, were violently shaking and tossing.

The two sides fighting on the ice lost their balance and fell due to the sudden and violent shaking.

"What's going on? It's happening again, Whitebeard!" Sentomaru plunged his giant axe into the ice to steady himself.

"No, this time, I'm afraid things are really bad. Quick! Get people onto the warships! Get them away from the islands and the ice! This place is about to be turned upside down!"

Luo turned around abruptly, looking at the inner bay embankment behind him that was constantly cracking.

The entire Marineford was trembling, buzzing, and cracking.

In the center of the Inner Bay Plaza, on the sloping ground, Whitebeard placed Ace in Marco's hands, straightened up, and said in a deep voice, "Marco, lead everyone to retreat immediately!"