Chapter 339: ICISEI Episode 325

Episode 325: To Atone for His Sins, Squard Prepares to Vent His Rage on the Marines

『 Whitebeard spoke slowly, asking, "I only care about one thing right now. Who on earth made you so loyal and twisted your heart? Was it Sengoku?"

"No, it was a Marine."

A trace of a smile appeared on the corner of Whitebeard’s mouth; he already had an idea in his mind.

Although the Marines in front of him were staring at him, wanting to eliminate him immediately, Sengoku would certainly not use such an underhanded method. In this showdown, whoever is not present is the mastermind behind the scenes!

He shifted his gaze to the three Marine Admirals, finally stopping on Akainu’s face.

His gaze was heavy; this Akainu was indeed ruthless enough!

And right at this moment...

The video showed the scene of Squard meeting Akainu.

At that time.

Akainu’s massive body felt extremely oppressive, as if his entire being was shrouded in darkness.

He sent Squard flying with a blow, but he did not deliver a fatal strike.

Instead, he began to use words to shake Squard’s resolve.

"The Whitebeard you respect in your hearts is actually all a lie! What legendary pirate, what Four Emperors? In the end, for his own sake, he still cooperated with the Marines. This is his true face!"

"To think you fools are willingly risking your lives for such a bastard. It’s truly too foolish. In his eyes, you are nothing but insignificant pawns. The only one he truly cares about is Ace, only thinking of preserving his own crew!"

"For such a person to be worthy of being everyone’s Father, it’s simply too hilarious!"

"Now, the only way to save yourselves is to kill Whitebeard and let his execution proceed smoothly. Once the goal is achieved, the Marines will naturally stop troubling you. Do you understand?"

Returning to the present...

"As long as you kill me, you can be saved. Did he really say that?"

Squard nodded in Whitebeard’s embrace.

"I know how much you hate Roger! That’s why I chose to hide the truth. But have you ever thought about it? The idea of making the next generation pay for the previous generation’s debts is absurd. What did Ace do wrong? The two of you have known each other for so long; do you still not understand what kind of person Ace is? Aren’t you brothers who have gone through thick and thin together?"

"Don’t worry about Ace’s identity. He is merely a companion met in the vast sea, a son of the sea. Not just the two of you, but everyone here is a son to me! Squard, you should understand what I mean. Not just Ace, all of you are my family!"

"Pops!" The defensive line in Squard’s heart completely collapsed.

He let out a wail toward the sky, filled with endless remorse!

When the others on the battlefield heard his cries, they also understood that Pops had not betrayed them at all. This was nothing but a misunderstanding!

"I knew Pops would never do such a thing!"

"Pops will always be our Pops!"

"How detestable; the enemy actually tricked Squard. After this is over, we must make him give us a proper explanation!"

"If we don’t break his legs and make him kneel to apologize to Pops, we absolutely cannot let him off easily!"

"Everyone, listen to Pops now; let’s win this battle first!"

The surrounding crowd began to shout one after another, their morale soaring!

At this moment, Whitebeard looked at Sengoku and Akainu in the distance, his tone filled with anger: "My, my, in the end, you still managed to play me, Sengoku!"

"Saying that I betrayed my own children!"

When Whitebeard said this, he was already furious!

He leaned forward slightly, and the long coat on his body slid to the ground, revealing his robust body. Even with a penetrating wound in his chest, it did not diminish his imposing aura in the slightest!

He suddenly slammed both hands to the sides, just like when he used to display his power; with this slam, countless cracks immediately appeared in the air, as if the surrounding space was about to be shattered by him!

Then, a massive force erupted instantly; the entire ground trembled, and the distant icebergs began to crumble and shatter. This single move actually shattered the two large icebergs next to him into pieces!

With one punch, the icebergs shattered in all directions!

This move by Whitebeard left everyone present dumbfounded!

Even Sengoku was no exception. At this moment, his brow was furrowed, and he muttered to himself, "He wants to leave a path of survival for the pirates! This guy is indeed a tough nut to crack!"

The pirates looked at everything before them, feeling extremely shocked.

"The entire iceberg was destroyed!"

"What’s going on?"

"This way, we have a chance to escape!"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Pops is still fighting; how can you think of running away?"

"This is just Pops finding a way out for us; now is not the time to give up!"

Everyone discussed animatedly.

And Whitebeard also spoke loudly at this moment: "As pirates, you should know what to believe in!"

This sentence echoed across the battlefield.

It was not just a reproach to Squard, but more like a warning to all the pirates.

To leave!

Or to stay!

It was entirely up to them to decide!

Tears streamed down Squard’s face, the ground soaked with his tears.

However, after receiving Whitebeard’s instructions, none of the numerous pirates chose to flee. Instead, they stood even more firmly by Whitebeard’s side!

"This is too much, Squard actually deceived everyone!"

"Once we get out, we must teach him a lesson!"

The other captains were extremely angry!

They had originally believed in Whitebeard, but because they carried the lives of so many subordinates and the situation on the battlefield was extremely tragic, they had questioned the hero in their hearts!

"We’re sorry, Pops, we will never dare to question you again in the future!"

"As long as Pops doesn’t betray us, even if we lose our lives, we are willing!"

"We will definitely make sure Pops successfully rescues Ace!"

Whitebeard looked down at Crocodile and shook his head, saying, "Do you think I’m a coward?"

"Come on, don’t bring that up again, Crocodile brat. No matter how you look at me, I am just an ordinary man, with only one heart!"

"It doesn’t matter what others say about me. Whether it’s a devil, a monster, or some Four Emperors, these titles cannot guarantee that I will be invincible forever, nor can they guarantee that I will never fail!"

Whitebeard pressed his hand against his wound, a helpless smile appearing on his face.

Whitebeard continued, "If I can guide young lives to the right path and allow them to seize future opportunities, then my task is complete!"

As soon as his voice fell, the surroundings fell into a dead silence.

Everyone present understood in their hearts that Whitebeard had prepared for the worst.

From his words, it could be heard that he had no intention of leaving alive. As long as he could rescue Ace, that was enough!

He had already stated his goal clearly to everyone.

Life was no longer that important to him!

He shouted, "Whoever is willing to fight with me, follow me! Whether alive or dead, we walk together to the end!"

The scene erupted with an enthusiastic response!...

The pirates raised their weapons one after another, swearing to follow Whitebeard to the very end. 』

『 .....』

?Dimensional livestream, Chat Room?

[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "So united." ]

[ The Doctor ?11th? (Doctor Who): "Although in that world, being a pirate is just a profession, they are truly very united." ]

[ The Doctor ?11th? (Doctor Who): "They are all companions whose backs you can trust with your life." ]

[ Oyama Mahiro (Onimai): "Fight, go for it!" ]

[ Oyama Mihari (Onimai): "Onee-chan, behave, behave." ]

[ Oyama Mahiro (Onimai): "Oh, oh." ]

[ .....]

?Naruto World?

Naruto’s eyes were now a bit red.

Before knowing these things, he had absolutely no impression of his father, let alone experiencing what a father’s care felt like.

But seeing the interaction between Whitebeard and his crew, he felt that this was what a father should be like!

"Pops!"

He muttered softly, wondering in his heart if his father were still alive; would he also give him such deep love like them?

Kakashi looked at Naruto, who was crying tears, and gently placed his hand on his head, saying nothing.

—

?One Piece World?

Whitebeard Pirates—

Squard stared blankly at Pops on the screen, and at his screen-self. His mind was completely blank, and he had absolutely no idea what to do.

At this moment, everyone around was constantly praising Pops, while he alone fell into deep guilt.

Even though he had committed betrayal, Pops did not blame him in the least, but instead bypassed him to find the Marines behind the scenes.

This action of his was clearly telling everyone that he still regarded him as a member of the family, as his own child!

Laughably, at that time, he had actually doubted this. It was truly an unforgivable sin!

Now, tears fell like rain on his face.

At this point, no one blamed him anymore, but he still knelt alone in front of Whitebeard, saying nothing.

—

『 At Whitebeard’s command, everyone moved in response. He turned back to look at everyone, his eyes full of gratitude, and shouted in a booming voice, "Charge!"

He leapt down from the ship’s railing.

This action immediately made Sengoku panic, and he warned loudly, "Everyone, pay attention, the strongest man in the world is about to start fighting!"

Usually, no matter what situation he encountered, Sengoku appeared extremely calm, showing how strong his psychological resilience was.

The entire battle had not caused his expression to change, but this single gesture from Whitebeard immediately threw him into disarray!

Just a simple action could make this usually expressionless man panic to this extent!

Whitebeard leapt down from the high railing, his massive body kicking up waves of shockwaves as he landed.

Amidst the powerful shockwaves and flying ice splinters, Whitebeard’s gaze was as sharp as a sword, pointing straight at the Marine forces opposite him, as if he alone could deal with all the Marines!

And the Marine soldiers behind the city walls, though unable to see the situation outside, were also extremely tense.

"Whitebeard has started to move?"

"Can we really block a figure who makes the Fleet Admiral so afraid?"

Whitebeard stood tall.

The aura he exuded at this moment was incredibly intense.

Whitebeard swung the giant naginata in his hand forward, and suddenly a powerful aura emanated from the blade. With just this gentle movement, cracks appeared in the ice on the ground!

He turned slightly, pointing the naginata at Sengoku on the execution platform!

This undisguised threat caused an awkward expression to appear on Sengoku’s face.

To dare to show no respect to Sengoku in front of a hundred thousand Marines, probably only Whitebeard alone could achieve this!

Whitebeard was very satisfied in his heart.

He revealed a proud smile...

Under his command, the pirates charged forward like madmen!

"Brothers, keep up! We can’t let the old man take risks alone!"

"Let’s charge together and carve out a path of blood for the old man!"

"Everyone fight alongside the old man; no matter what, we must rescue Ace!"

Everyone exerted all their strength, charging forward without hesitation!

The courage of the pirates deeply shocked the Marines opposite them and everyone who witnessed this scene!

Although a small episode had occurred in the middle, the tacit understanding among the Whitebeard team still deeply touched everyone’s heart!

Not far away, the Marines also quickly began their counterattack.

They aimed their cannons at Whitebeard and his subordinates, shouting, "We must stop them from approaching!"

As the cannonballs flew toward Whitebeard, his face turned grave, and he suddenly punched forward. These cannonballs actually flew back in the opposite direction along their original trajectories!

Explosions rang out one after another on the gun emplacements. Some Marines fled in a hurry, while those who were a step too slow were blown away, looking no different from the pirates who had met misfortune earlier!

"Truly a headache, is this Whitebeard?"

"What do we do about this difficult Whitebeard?"

"What else can we do? Just hold on to the end!"

In a certain Marine stronghold, a group of people was operating a complex device.

"Speed up the progress; otherwise those pirates will break in soon!"

"Understood!" After that Marine soldier replied, he immediately began to adjust various data settings.

In the scene, the machine under the water finally gradually emerged before everyone’s eyes.

It looked like a giant wall!

Only, this wall was made entirely of metal and could also cloak itself to hide!

As this massive steel plate slowly rose, about to emerge from the water’s surface, the machine suddenly stopped with a ’thud’!

And the Marine operator was also sweating profusely with anxiety at this moment, because this defensive equipment did not work as smoothly as expected, getting stuck halfway up.

"What’s going on?"

"This is bad; the ice in the bay has blocked us. We can’t break through such thick ice!"

Ice? Could this be the doing of Aokiji!

The commander was also in a flurry now. He knew that once the Whitebeard Pirates landed, Sengoku’s plan would be completely ruined!

He shouted, "Find a way to solve it quickly!"

"Understood!"

Everyone was sweating with anxiety, their eyes fixed on the pirates charging forward on the screen, their minds like ants on a hot pan, desperately trying to find a solution.

On the deck, Squard knelt on the ground, looking down at Whitebeard and his comrades who were charging with all their might, muttering to himself, "What on earth is going on? How did it turn out like this!"

"Isn’t Pops supposed to sacrifice us to save Ace? Wouldn’t everything be over then!"

"Why are things completely different? Pops is actually going to battle himself for our sake!"

Squard’s touched feelings were understandable, but at this juncture, he still naively believed Akainu’s words, which really made one wonder if his head was filled with water!

"What... what on earth have I done!" Holding his head, he cried bitterly, "Pops, I’m sorry!"

Marco stood silently behind him, watching all of this.

At the moment Squard stabbed Whitebeard, Marco wanted to kill this person more than ever.

But now, looking at Squard weeping uncontrollably, he also understood why Whitebeard had spared him.

Marco took a few steps, coming to Squard’s side, and asked him in a calm tone, "Squard, can crying alone make up to Pops?"

Hearing Marco’s words, the gaze in Squard’s eyes became much firmer. He wiped the tears from his face and gripped his weapon tightly once again!

At this moment, he knew what he had to do next.

Diamond Jozu was extremely displeased.

He was not angry because of Squard, but vented all his anger on the Marines opposite them!

The Marines did not want to engage at all, fighting while retreating, returning to the city walls in an orderly manner.

Luffy was almost invisible in the crowd. He charged forward desperately, occasionally looking back at Whitebeard.

Seeing Whitebeard left alone in the rear, constantly swinging his naginata to ward off cannonballs, he couldn’t help but exclaim, "So amazing, that old guy! Even after being stabbed through, he can still be this strong!"

"But right now, the most important thing is to save Ace!"

He turned his head back again, his eyes locked onto Ace on the execution platform, his gaze incredibly firm!

Ivankov and Jinbe also ran in Luffy’s direction.

Ivankov said to Jinbe, "Jinbe, look over there!"

Jinbe looked in the direction of his finger and furrowed his brow. Ivankov whispered, "The enemy is already slowly retreating from the plaza. If the outermost Marines can also safely land, then only we will be left in the entire bay!" 』

『 .....』