One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

Strands of electricity spread from his heart outwards, and in the blink of an eye, they spread throughout his body like a silver net, stimulating his extremely exhausted body.

There was no time to go to Zhan Tao Wan for the nutritional paste. Luo Xia moved and soared into the air. He opened his two large hands and grabbed at the sea and the ground of Marineford below.

The air currents roared in the sky, transforming into thousands of invisible chains that descended from the heavens. Locked in by Rorschach's powerful Observation Haki, they sank into the deep sea and the soil of the island below, entangled the weak marines in the crevices of the earth.

"Get up!"

Luo Xia exhaled and his wounds reopened. His hands seemed to grasp the sky, pulling him upwards heavily.

The next moment, to the astonishment of the marines, figures of marines, bound by invisible chains of air currents, flew out from the sea, the mud, and the cracks in the ground from all directions, converging on the flat ground of Marineford, where they were gently set down.

Then, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Rorschach scored a second goal, only to fall from the sky once again.

Chapter 684 Battle Losses

To Luo Xia's surprise, he did not faint this time, but instead fell into a long and agonizing state of wanting to sleep but being unable to.

His physical strength and recovery ability were significantly enhanced after the fruit awakened.

The damaged areas are now being repaired by a powerful self-healing ability every moment.

It allows his damaged muscles, blood vessels, and internal organs to regenerate continuously.

The repair process was anything but pleasant; it felt like tens of thousands of ants were crawling and biting all over my body.

It makes one feel unbearably itchy and numb all over, as if experiencing a form of torture.

Luo Xia had no choice but to have Yun Que bring over the chubby little boy, Zhan Tao Wan, again, and have Zhan Tao Wan bring all the remaining nutritional paste. He immediately sat down on the ground and poured one tube after another into his mouth.

With ample nutrition replenished, the speed at which his injuries healed immediately became much faster.

Soon, the small wounds caused by the non-aggressive attacks scabbed over and fell off, replaced by newly grown tender skin.

Only a few large wounds on his body, inflicted by the powerful entanglement attacks of Whitebeard, Rayleigh, Shanks, and others, left behind some hideous scars that could not be completely removed.

After a while, Sengoku, whose body was wrapped in many bandages, came over.

Looking at Luo Xia, who was sitting on the ground without any semblance of a strongman, Zhan Guo asked with concern, "How are you, Luo Xia? Are you alright? If you're too tired, go and rest early. You don't need to worry about the rest of the work. You've really had a hard day."

Luo Xia forced a smile. "Don't worry, I won't die."

He picked up the nutritional paste next to him and handed a few sticks to Zhan Guo, saying, "Want a few? This stuff tastes awful, but it's very helpful for restoring your strength."

"No need, I'm not badly injured."

As soon as Sengoku finished speaking, he saw Luo Xia's gaze fall on the white bandages wrapped around his body.

Seeing this, he smiled bitterly and touched the bandages wrapped all over his body, sighing, "I'm just old and useless. I only fought a few small pirates and my old injuries have flared up again."

"At your age and Whitebeard's age, would your physical condition really decline to this extent? Even if you're not Zoan-type Devil Fruit users, your physical strength far surpasses that of most people in this world, right? I heard from Garp that his strength hasn't weakened at all," Rorschach asked curiously.

"Don't listen to that bastard Garp's nonsense. As long as you are a normal human being, your body will naturally age as you get older. It has nothing to do with how strong your body is. In fact, the stronger your body and the more powerful your fighting ability are when you are young, the more likely you are to suffer from various injuries and illnesses when you get old, and your body will weaken faster than others."

Sengoku chuckled, then sighed, turning to look at the white-bearded figure standing like a statue not far away, and said, "Just like Whitebeard. Rorschach, do you think he's strong?"

Luo Xia said solemnly, "It's not just strong, it's inhumanly strong. His attacks have a built-in shock effect, and the destructive power of his Haki is even more terrifying than Kaido's Haki Binding. Even my awakened Mythical Zoan physique couldn't withstand more than a few hits. I suspect that if this old guy had held on a little longer, I would be the one dead now, and Marineford would have disappeared from this sea. If he had attacked our warriors without regard for anything else, it would be a miracle if even 10,000 of these 60,000 warriors survived."

"Yes, inhumanly strong. The world's strongest man, with a bounty of 5.046 billion Berries, how could he not be strong?"

Sengoku sighed, "But Whitebeard is already seventy-two years old. A seventy-two-year-old guy almost destroyed Marineford. Just think how strong he was when he was young. The Tremor-Tremor Fruit in his hands became the most destructive fruit in the world. With a single blow, he could destroy an island and a country with ease. Compared to him, Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, and Shanks are nothing, because only Whitebeard can destroy the world."

"A living Whitebeard is equivalent to an Ancient Weapon. In fact, for decades, the Five Elders have been worried that Whitebeard might suddenly go berserk and use his powers to shatter the Red Line and cause the Holy Land Mary Geoise to fall into the sea. This is why the World Government has ordered us to do everything in our power to wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates, or rather, to kill Whitebeard at all costs."

"But even Whitebeard, who was strong enough to inspire fear in the entire World Government single-handedly, ultimately succumbed to the ravages of time and was defeated by you, a young man old enough to be his grandson. And I..."

Sengoku coughed twice, touching his chest, and said with a wry smile, "He's five years older than Whitebeard."

Luo Xia looked at Sengoku, whose eyes were filled with exhaustion, and sighed inwardly.

The Warring States period was right; as long as one is human, one will inevitably grow old and decline from one's peak.

He glanced silently at where Whitebeard was and said softly, "Now that we have won the war, let Whitebeard's body be sent back to his hometown for burial. Whitebeard is a worthy opponent, and respecting our opponents is also respecting ourselves."

Because of this sentence, Sengoku looked at Luo Xia for a long time before nodding with satisfaction.

“I agree. Although the Five Elders will definitely demand that Whitebeard’s body be sent to Egg Point Island for research, you’re right, respecting our opponents is respecting ourselves.”

"What do you plan to do with those Shichibukai who aren't putting in any real effort? Are you really not considering taking this opportunity to abolish the Shichibukai system? I think it's feasible. Anyway, there aren't many Shichibukai left. With this great victory, perhaps we can go a step further, take them down, and restore peace to the waters of Paradise."

Rorschach then thought of Hawkeye, who had been slacking off throughout the war, and Hancock, who showed no mercy to either pirates or marines.

Because of the cooperation he made with Tesoro, he did contribute on the battlefield, killing many pirates for the Navy and holding off Jozu's offensive for a long time.

As for Moria, although he was a bit weak, he surprisingly didn't slack off in the battle at Marineford. On the contrary, he was the most hardworking of the four Shichibukai who participated in the battle, and he was also the one who was most seriously injured after the war.

Upon hearing Rorschach's suggestion, Sengoku quickly shook his head and said, "No, we can't touch the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Rorschach, you probably don't know yet, something has happened at Impel Down."

Sengoku's expression was rather grim, and the news he revealed stunned Luo Xia.

Something happened at Impel Down?

how can that be possible?

It's worth noting that, in order to prevent a repeat of the disastrous fall of Impel Down, Rorschach exposed Ivankov, a corrupt official hiding in Impel Down, almost three years ago, when he had just set sail from Marine Headquarters to complete his basic training.

While imprisoned in Impel Down, he also spent a whole year disciplining the prisoners in Infinite Hell.

Afterwards, Magellan was instructed to further reduce the food rations for the prisoners.

At the same time, Hannibal was given the Heat-Heat Fruit, which allowed the guards of Impel Down to train harder, thus enhancing their overall strength.

Blackbeard, who was originally destined to become a Shichibukai and then invade Impel Down, was also defeated by him.

Not long ago, Hancock wanted to visit Impel Down, but she was unable to do so because of Rorschach's advice.

All of the above, Rorschach simply couldn't understand why Impel Down had fallen.

Luo Xia frowned and pondered, when suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him, bringing to mind a name he had long forgotten.

He looked at Sengoku, his face also turning grim, and blurted out, "Wasn't Bucky the Clown the one who caused Impel Down's fall?"

Sengoku was surprised. "That's right, how did you know? Did you already know about the situation over there?"

Rorschach didn't answer, but instead swore.

"屮!"

Yes, the one who could cause Impel Down to fall was Bucky the Joker!

That guy possesses an innate Conqueror's Haki-like luck attribute; he can be considered one of the luckiest people in this world.

In some ways, Buggy is more like the protagonist of this world than Luffy.

The sun god may not be able to make people smile, but the clown certainly can.

Putting aside the Warring States period, Rorschach has almost completely forgotten about Bucky.

There's no way around it; his current strength and status have placed him far beyond the level of an ordinary naval admiral.

He deals with either the Seven Warlords of the Sea or the Four Emperors of the New World every day, and Buggy, who has never appeared in his sight, has no presence at all.

However, what no one expected was that after Rorschach took a series of precautions to prevent Impel Down from falling, the problem ultimately stemmed from an insignificant clown.

He said with a grim face, "How's the situation at Impel Down? Uncle Magellan and the others..."

"Magellan and Hannibal are both in critical condition. I have already asked Kizaru to take Law there for them to receive treatment."

Sengoku looked worried. "As for Impel Down, apart from the two hundred prisoners poisoned by Magellan, all the other prisoners in Infinite Hell have escaped. Including the several hundred transvestites taken away by Ivankov, a total of more than six hundred people have escaped in this Impel Down incident, of which more than three hundred are prisoners from Infinite Hell, including Barrett, Ryder, Wald, Devon, and Pizarro."

"Is this why you disagree with abolishing the Seven Warlords system at this time?"

Luo Xia felt annoyed after hearing this.

They just finished defeating the Whitebeard Pirates and taking down so many pirates, and now something's happened at Impel Down, with even more dangerous criminals escaping.

What kind of situation is this?

Sengoku nodded. "That's right. With the personalities of Barrett and his ilk, they'll definitely wreak havoc on the world once they get out there. A new world even more chaotic than the Whitebeard Pirates' situation is about to emerge. We've just finished a war, suffering huge losses, and urgently need to recuperate and recruit soldiers worldwide. We can't rashly abolish the Seven Warlords system. Not only can we not abolish it, but we must continue to invite the strongest warriors from the seas to fill the Seven Warlords' slots. Rorschach, I know you're very dissatisfied with this system, but until we recover our strength and develop the Seraphim that can replace the Seven Warlords, the Seven Warlords system must continue to exist."

"I see."

Rorschach nodded, not dwelling on the matter any further.

A little while later, Brannew came in, covered in sweat, and brought with him the approximate battle casualties of both sides in the war.

Of the Whitebeard Pirates, apart from Marco and Vista being kidnapped by Dragon and Shanks, and the thousands of pirates scattered across the sea and fleeing to various parts of Paradise, the rest of the pirates either died or were captured.

Captain Whitebeard died in battle, as did Ace, Jozu, Blenheim, Blackman, Atmos, and other Whitebeard Pirates captains.

Izang and Lakyo were arrested.

The Navy side.

The total number of participants was 60,000, and those still alive, including seriously wounded marines, number more than 39,000.

More than 20,000 people died in the battle, including thirteen lieutenant generals from headquarters, such as veteran lieutenant generals Gumir, Strobelli, and Jonathan.

Luo Xia hadn't expected that, despite such thorough preparations, they would still suffer such heavy casualties.

Sengoku sighed, "Many were killed by Whitebeard's power or drowned in the sea. Although the warriors were considered elite, they were still very vulnerable in the face of Whitebeard's attacks."

Rorschach remained silent.

More than 20,000 people—a simple number, but behind it are more than 20,000 families who have to bear the grief of losing their breadwinner.

He remained silent for a long time, then said in a hoarse voice with a tightness in his throat, "The compensation for the fallen soldiers must be paid in full. I have some money here; please help me distribute it to the families of those who sacrificed their lives. Although money can't bring back the lives of fallen soldiers, it can make their families live a better life and comfort their souls in heaven."

"I will." Zhan Guo nodded solemnly.

Chapter 685 Zoro

Let's rewind a little.

While Whitebeard unleashed the power of the sea earthquake, creating a massive tsunami in the waters of Paradise, somewhere off the coast of Marineford...

Three three-masted sailing ships, equipped with double-decker cannons and filled with bounty hunters, floated silently on the sea, gazing in the direction of Marineford, as if waiting for something.

On a very conspicuous golden ship in the middle, Jonathan, with orange peel and white hair, whose appearance was getting older, looked quite vigorous today, and his cloudy eyes revealed an unusual gleam.

He was wearing an extremely old naval uniform, with a patched and yellowed cloak draped over his back. The two large characters for "justice" on the cloak were almost washed away and became illegible.

This uniform was brought with him more than fifty years ago when he left the navy. It was the first uniform he received after being promoted to Vice Admiral of the Navy Headquarters.

"Grandpa, do you really think we can catch any pirates if we wait here? This place is so far from Marineford. The Whitebeard Pirates would be crazy to come here. Besides, I really don't think we small-time bounty hunters have any right to mess with the world's strongest pirate crew. If we ran into Whitebeard, you old bones would definitely be shocked to death on the spot."