One Piece: Demon's Extract

Shiryu's words hit Kizaru hard. Indeed, if Elior had chosen to press the attack earlier, he would've been done for!

That CP0 commander... a monster whose combat strength was easily on par with any of the current three Admirals. On top of that, he was an awakened devil fruit user, with terrifying power. And yet… that man had been slain by Elior.

If Elior could kill someone of that level, then the fact was obvious: he had more than enough power to kill Kizaru as well.

The only reason Kizaru was still standing was because Elior simply didn't chase him down.

Otherwise, Kizaru might have already been a corpse.

Just thinking about Elior's strength made Kizaru's scalp tingle. There was no point questioning why Elior was this powerful anymore; he just was. Ridiculously powerful—so much so that the gap between his age and strength felt almost surreal.

"But still, calling yourself 'King of the World'... isn't that a little too arrogant?" Kizaru muttered.

"There was another guy like that once… claimed he'd become the King of the World too. And… well, we all know how that ended."

Of course, Kizaru was talking about Rocks—a terrifying existence, the man who once united the young versions of today's three Emperors. Yet, in the end, Rocks was completely dismantled… erased from history itself. A tragic fate.

King of the World… even just hearing the title sounded ridiculous.

If anyone today could be called that, it would probably be that shadowy figure in Mariejois.

At least Pirate King still felt grounded. After all, Roger had actually reached that.

"Well… we'll see soon enough."

Shiryu shook off Kizaru, preparing to unleash another heavy blow. But before he could, Kizaru turned into light and vanished from the spot.

"Hmm?"

Shiryu narrowed his eyes, watching as Kizaru flew straight towards the execution platform.

That place… no Admiral was stationed there yet.

And now… the Whitebeard Pirates' offensive was growing fiercer by the second. With the execution time looming closer… if they couldn't save Ace today… then why had they even come to Marineford? To die?

Meanwhile…

At the execution platform, Sengoku raised the Den Den Mushi's mic to his mouth and bellowed,

"As of now, ten minutes remain until the execution!"

The announcement hit like a cannon blast.

Across the battlefield—tension exploded.

Pirates, Marines, spectators—everyone froze for a moment.

The Whitebeard Pirates grew even more desperate.

The Marines, on the other hand, just wanted one thing: for Ace's head to fall as soon as possible. That would mark their victory.

Citizens back in the Sabaody Archipelago… and the families of countless Marines… prayed for an overwhelming Marine victory—not just the beheading of Fire Fist Ace, but the complete annihilation of the Whitebeard Pirates, and every other enemy that stood against them.

"Just ten more minutes…" Sengoku declared firmly.

"The Marine… will secure victory!"

"Ten minutes left? The final ten minutes! Brothers—charge!!"

"Almost over!!"

"Hold the line against the Whitebeard Pirates, even if it costs our lives!"

"That's right! No enemy gets past us! If they want to stop the execution, they'll have to step over our dead bodies first!"

"Fire Fist Ace… must die!!"

The remaining Marines started roaring. One after another—each louder and more frenzied than the last.

Their morale skyrocketed. Their despair… swept away.

Just ten more minutes. Hold on… for just ten more minutes.

After that… victory would be theirs.

But atop the platform… Sengoku, watching it all unfold below… his earlier declaration suddenly felt like a lie, even to himself.

Ten more minutes until victory?

Anything could happen in ten minutes.

And even if they did execute Ace by then… would that really mean the Marine had won?

At best… it would only be a small victory.

After all—the true goal of this war was far bigger than just executing Fire Fist Ace.

It was about wiping out the Whitebeard Pirates entirely.

That was the real mission.

Sure, Ace carried the bloodline of Roger... but compared to Whitebeard, and the vast power behind him… Ace's life was just a small piece of the puzzle.

The World Government's top brass didn't just want Ace dead… they wanted Whitebeard's crew obliterated. Especially, they wanted Whitebeard himself dead.

Right now… the world existed in a fragile balance. If Whitebeard fell… that balance would collapse. And the side to benefit… would be the World Government.

But… the enemies at Marineford today… were no longer just the Whitebeard Pirates.

"Ace!!"

Luffy, still more than a hundred meters away, but ahead of him, tens of thousands of Marines stood packed together, blocking the path.

Exhaustion was finally catching up to him.

Looking at the sheer number of enemies, Luffy couldn't help but feel a wave of helplessness.

"I have to save Ace… no matter what!!"

A sudden image flashed in his mind—Ace's severed head rolling off the execution stand, a headless body spraying blood, collapsing lifelessly onto the platform.

Just thinking about it… it felt like a nightmare. No… worse than a nightmare.

"I won't let that happen!!"

"Luffy! We're almost there!"

"We're going to save Ace for sure!!"

Sabo, fighting at his side, looked ahead grimly. Thousands upon thousands of Marines still blocked the way, more numerous than ants, and both Sabo and Luffy were running on empty.

The two kept charging forward—shoulder to shoulder—but after nearly two hours of nonstop battle, their strength was drained.

Their punches had long lost the power they once carried. And yet, ahead of them still stood thousands more Marines.

How could they not panic?

"Justice will prevail!!"

"We will never let these criminals break through!!"

A Marine roared—his voice igniting the morale of others around him.

"That's right! Justice will prevail!!"

"Justice will prevail… huh?"

Not far away, still silent and unmoving, Elior stood there. This was already the third time today he'd heard someone shout that line.

"Yeah, justice always wins. After all, power is justice. And the strong always win. That's why justice prevails."

As he muttered to himself, Elior's eyes narrowed.

Kizaru had already appeared beneath the execution platform, unleashing blast after blast of yellow light.

Each beam exploded violently, tearing through groups of pirates, blowing them skyward or vaporizing them outright.

Of course, for the Marines, pirates dying here wasn't something worth mourning.

Weaklings… were just cannon fodder.

Sad, really. They'd come here full of passion… but in the end… very few low-ranking pirates would leave this battlefield alive… or with all their limbs intact.

For Whitebeard, saving Ace required sending countless soldiers to die.

If it were anyone else… would he have gone this far to fight at Marine Headquarters?

Probably not.

But to Whitebeard… Ace was more than just a crewmate. He was the chosen heir. Someone whose place in Whitebeard's heart… might have even surpassed Marco and the rest.

Now… Elior's gaze turned to Whitebeard himself.

It was obvious… Whitebeard was reaching his limit.

There he knelt—one knee down—using his bisento just to stay upright.

Everyone knew, even before this battle, Whitebeard had needed IV drips and constant medication just to get through daily life.

His body had been deteriorating for a long time.

And today, after suffering that devastating blow from Squard, his condition had only worsened.

In the original timeline… Whitebeard's final rampage had been nothing more than a last flash of life… a final burst before death.

In his prime, Whitebeard had been unimaginably strong.

But now, even legends grow old. Even heroes fade.

Compared to the original story, this Whitebeard was still holding up better, but only just.

"Hmm?"

Just as Elior prepared to make his next move, a sudden wave of heat surged from behind him.

The air temperature soared.

That feeling… familiar.

Akainu.

Elior clenched his right fist and spun, launching a punch straight behind him.

Of course, he didn't forget his fist was already wrapped in Armament Haki.

Boom!!

The air itself seemed to crack apart. Their fists collided—Elior vs Akainu—and an immense shockwave blasted out.

Elior hadn't expected this. Wasn't Akainu supposed to be fighting Dragon?

"There's nothing left to say."

Akainu's voice was venomous.

"Today… I'm leaving your corpse here. And tomorrow… we'll feed you to the Sea Kings."

His fist burst with boiling steam, the air twisting under the heat, the temperature rising almost vertically.

Elior didn't speak.

But at that moment, a sudden surge of lightning burst from his fist, a surge of raw electromagnetic force blasting Akainu back several meters.

Akainu's right hand was already going numb.

His face twisted in shock, staring at Elior's crackling, lightning-wrapped fist.

"What… what was this?"

"Electricity?!"

"You look surprised."

In a blink, Elior vanished in a flash of lightning, reappearing right in front of Akainu, fist arcing with electricity, swinging down like a thunderbolt.

Akainu's eyes widened.

That blue-white electric charge… unmistakable. Just like real lightning.

But there was no time to process it.

Instinctively, Akainu raised his fist to block.

Another devastating collision of fists. But this time, the electricity flowing through Elior's body transferred straight into Akainu on contact.

The forceful electromagnetic repulsion blasted Akainu back again several more meters.

"What the hell is this ability?!"

Akainu's brow furrowed hard. Just a few days since he last saw Elior, and somehow the man felt completely unfamiliar again.

But Elior didn't care about his confusion.

With another roar, he smashed a punch forward.

"Thirty million volts!"

It wasn't even a fancy attack name. Just a simple declaration.

His right fist, wreathed in Haki, surging with devastating lightning arcs.

Compared to the one billion volts Elior could now command, thirty million volts was child's play.

And this was just a basic application of an electromagnetic railgun.

Just hearing the term electromagnetic railgun… you could tell—this ability wasn't simply about controlling electric current.

A punch carrying 30 million volts of electricity slammed into Akainu.

Electricity naturally generates repulsion forces. And in that instant, Elior fully unleashed it.

Boom!

With a deafening explosion—while Akainu used his technique to defend—their fists collided with overwhelming force. The shockwave from their clash sent both fighters flying back several meters from the sheer impact.

But this was just the beginning.

The two surged forward again, fist after fist, blow after blow, electricity and magma erupted wildly across Marineford Plaza.

In an instant, the fight between Akainu and Elior became the most terrifying battle in the entire square.

Elsewhere, time was running dangerously short.

The distance to the execution platform kept shrinking… Ace… was finally within reach!

Without hesitation, Marco transformed into his Phoenix form, soaring toward the platform.

Blue flames blazed through the air—but this wasn't normal fire that burned… it was the Phoenix's immortal flame.

"Ace!"

Marco pushed toward the stand, and from where he was, he could already see it: there were only Ace and Sengoku remaining atop the execution platform.

Seeing this… Marco didn't hesitate.

But just as he closed within five meters of the platform, Marco's eyes widened.

He could already see Sengoku's face, both shocked and furious.

And most notably, Sengoku's fist—clenched and ready to strike at any second.

Boom!!

Suddenly, a black shadow flashed through the air. Before Marco could react, an explosion of searing pain blasted through his head. It felt like colliding headfirst into a meteorite.

Marco's body was sent crashing straight back to the ground.

Looking up dazedly… he heard the surrounding Marines erupt in excited shouts,

"It's Vice Admiral Garp!!"

"Hero of the Marine, Garp, the legendary Marine!!"

"It's really Iron Fist Garp!"

"He's finally making his move!!"

There he was, sitting atop the Admiral's seat, the same place where Akainu had sat earlier... Technically, Garp was only a Vice Admiral, but now, seated there, looking down over everyone below, holding his arms across his chest…

He looked every bit like a king surveying his battlefield.

Yet no one dared say that Garp didn't deserve that seat.

Because after all… he was the Marine's hero. More than qualified.

The man who had cornered Roger time and again… the man who had accumulated countless military achievements… the man who had rejected promotion to Admiral again and again.

Now, seeing Garp seated on the Admiral's throne and watching him stop Marco the Phoenix so effortlessly…

The Marine soldiers around them… their morale soared even higher.

"Garp!!"

Only now did Sengoku realize that Garp had stepped in. But fortunately, it wasn't something he hadn't expected.

And Garp had successfully intercepted Marco's charge.

At this moment, the Marines' spirits rose even higher!