章 37: Light at the End of the Tunnel
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As Marco sprinted through the chaos of Marineford, his eyes locked onto Whitebeard, who was still on his knees, clutching his chest. His captain, the mighty Whitebeard, was in agony, his strength waning with every passing second. Marco's heart raced, desperation bubbling inside him—he had to reach him. His wings had yet to unfurl, his flames unlit. He was just Marco now, running to his captain's side.
Kai's body screamed in protest as he tried to push through the crowd of enemies, his legs feeling heavier with every step, but it didn't matter. His instincts were screaming at him: Marco was making a fatal mistake.
"No—wait!" Kai shouted, but his voice was drowned in the clamor of battle. His eyes widened as he saw Marco's form getting closer and closer to Whitebeard. His warnings were useless; Marco was too focused on his captain. It was obvious, though, that this was the exact moment the Marines had been preparing for.
"DO NOT LET YOUR GUARD DOWN!" Kai bellowed, but once again, no one could hear him. He could feel it, like the pull of gravity. The Marines were waiting for this.
Marco reached Whitebeard, hands outstretched, ready to help. But before Marco could lay a finger on the fallen captain, the trap sprung.
Out of nowhere, Onigumo, the spider-like Vice Admiral, emerged like a phantom from the chaos. His movements were as swift as a predator's, and within seconds, he was at Marco's side. Marco barely had time to react before Onigumo shot forward, his hands quick as ever. He applied the sea stone cuffs in one fluid motion, locking one around Marco's wrist before the Phoenix could even flinch.
"Sea stone!" Marco roared, realizing what had happened just as the sea stone hit his skin. His flames, his regenerative abilities, his whole power—everything that made him a force to be reckoned with—was suddenly useless.
It was too late. The trap had already been set.
Kizaru, ever prepared, seized the opening. A blinding flash of light cut through the air, and Marco was hit by a laser beam that sliced through the battlefield. The light cut into him, and his body began to falter, Without his healing, without his flames, Marco collapsed, crumpling to the ground in a heap. His eyes were wide with shock, his breath shallow as his body gave out from the damage.
A shout rang out through the battlefield: "Commander Jozu got beaten!" The despair in the voice was unmistakable. Kai turned his gaze sharply. Jozu—another cornerstone of the crew—was down. Overwhelmed by Aokiji's ice powers. The realization hit Kai like a hammer.
His eyes blazed with helpless fury.
"Shit!" Kai cursed, his body still trembling from exhaustion as he watched Marco struggle to even move. His anger boiled over. He had no time to consider the cost anymore, no time to think. His hands clenched into fists, and with a primal scream, Kai slammed his fist into the ground, the shockwave rattling the earth beneath him. His knuckles cracked with the impact, but the pain was nothing compared to the frustration coursing through him.
"Fuck!" The word burst out of him in a ragged breath. He looked around, seeing the chaos closing in, knowing he was powerless to change anything. Marco was down, Jozu was down, Whitebeard was still clinging to life, and Kai had been too slow, too exhausted to do anything about it.
His rage was almost animalistic, but there was nothing—nothing—he could do.
As Marco lay broken, Kai realized that this battle, this war, was slipping beyond their grasp, and it didn't matter how much he tried to fight against it.
Sengoku stood firm, his eyes narrowed as he stared across the field at the execution platform, where Ace was bound and ready for his execution. Garp sitting in one of the Admirals chairs, the weight of the situation weighing heavily on his broad shoulders.
"This is our chance, Garp," Sengoku said, his voice cold and calculating, though there was an underlying urgency. "Whitebeard is breaking. Ace's death will shatter what's left of his crew's morale. We can end this right now, once and for all."
Garp didn't answer, still fighting his internal thoughts espite the weariness etched on his face. His heart ached, but he kept his emotions in check. He was no stranger to battle, no stranger to tough decisions.
Sengoku's eyes fixed on Ace, who was now the focus of every eye in the battlefield. Whitebeard's gaze was locked on his son, his breathing labored, his powerful frame trembling. The Marines had Ace right where they wanted him.
Sengoku raised his voice to the heavens, his words cutting through the tumultuous noise of the war. "Look closely, Whitebeard!"
Whitebeard's eyes hardened, but he did not look away from the platform. His son was about to die—he could feel it in his bones, and the world seemed to hold its breath. The executioners raised their blade, ready to strike the fatal blow, and the battlefield fell silent in anticipation.
Time seemed to stretch as Ace's fate loomed, with every Marine and pirate alike watching, powerless to stop the inevitable.
Then, in a flash, something shifted.
The air crackled, the tension was palpable, and a faint pressure—subtle but undeniable—swept through the field. The entire world seemed to hold its breath.
At first, no one knew what had happened. But then, from the far side of the execution platform, a low rumble emanated from deep within Luffy. His eyes, wild with desperation, locked onto his brother, and he gritted his teeth in a mix of fear and anger. And then—without warning—he unleashed a surge of willpower.
Conqueror's Haki.
It exploded from Luffy in a wave, overwhelming the senses. The sheer force of it was so strong that it knocked out Marines and pirates alike, sending waves of unconscious bodies crashing to the ground. The platform trembled, the earth beneath them shuddered as the power roared like a beast unleashed.
A stunned silence fell over the battlefield, as everyone tried to comprehend what had just happened. It wasn't just a shockwave—it was willpower manifest, a force of nature that no one could deny.
Kai had been watching the scene unfold with a sharp focus, but even he couldn't help the awe that crept into his expression. He had seen Luffy's potential before, knew what he could do in the future, but to witness it in this moment—this primal burst of power—was something else entirely.
"To witness it like this..." Kai muttered under his breath, his voice laced with a mix of wonder and admiration. "I felt a tiny bit of pressure, Good to know that i can withstand this."
Sengoku's eyes twitched as he watched the scene unfold. He felt the force of Luffy's Conqueror's Haki, even as it seemed to ripple across the battlefield. For a moment, his steely expression faltered—he was reminded of just how dangerous this boy was. This wasn't a mere fighter. Luffy was a king in the making. A leader, born to command.
It wasn't just the Marines who were stunned. Even Whitebeard, weakened as he was, looked toward Luffy in awe. His breathing slowed, as if the weight of what had just happened was sinking in. Whitebeard's heart, already fragile, thudded hard in his chest.
Sengoku's eyes burned with frustration as he watched the battlefield unfold before him. His grip on the podium tightened, his jaw clenched. The chaos around him was growing more unruly, and the rookies—these "new generation" pirates—were causing far more trouble than they had any right to.
He glanced briefly at Luffy, who was still visibly exhausted, standing with unsteady determination. Then his gaze shifted, settling on Kai, who was pushing through the debris, fatigue written all over his face.
"I'm getting sick of these rookies," Sengoku growled under his breath. His voice was low, but the sharpness of his words carried far across the battlefield. "We may have in our grasp a huge threat in Ace, but these damn kids—these rookies—are just as dangerous. We can't let them run rampant anymore!"
He turned slightly to his right, signaling Kizaru with a sharp flick of his wrist. Kizaru, standing at the ready, gave a short nod, acknowledging the command. His hands remained loose at his sides, almost as if he were barely concerned with the world around him.
And then, as Sengoku's gaze returned to the battle, Kai was struggling to move forward, trying to push through the overwhelming fatigue, ignoring the dull ache that crawled up his limbs. The battlefield was a blur of motion around him, but he had a single goal: to survive.
But what Kai didn't realize was how quickly the tide was turning against him.
Suddenly, the air around Kai seemed to warp. Before he could even register what was happening, the faintest blur of light appeared, and then—*
BOOM.
A massive force slammed into him with the speed of a speeding bullet, and before he could even react, he was sent hurtling through the air. The world spun around him as he was thrown like a ragdoll, smashing through the side of a building that cracked under the impact.
Kai's vision swam, blood trickling from his mouth as he struggled to push himself upright. His body was screaming at him, his limbs heavy and aching, but he tried to make sense of the rapid events that had just unfolded. The only thing he managed to process was the voice he'd heard right before impact.
"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light before?"
The words echoed in his ears, and before he could even respond, the blinding speed of Kizaru's attack had already sent him crashing into the wreckage.
He groaned, blood dripping from his lip. His eyes widened in disbelief as he looked up, desperately trying to focus on his surroundings. His chest ached with each breath, the pain radiating through him like a fire. He could see Kizaru now, standing in the distance, almost as if he hadn't even moved from his original position. The lights around him flickered, like the very air was bending to his will.
Then, in the blink of an eye, Kizaru was back—right in front of him.
Kai barely had time to register the movement before he felt the pressure on his chest. Kizaru's foot pressed down on his midsection, pinning him to the ground. Kai groaned in agony, his body trembling from the pain.
"K-Kizaru..." Kai wheezed, barely able to get the words out.
Kizaru's face remained neutral, almost casual, as though stepping on someone was as normal as blinking. He looked down at Kai with a cold indifference, his sunglasses reflecting the chaos of the battlefield around them. "Now I need you to sleep," he said, his voice calm and almost amused.
Kai's vision blurred, his body screaming in protest, but before he could react, light began to gather at Kizaru's outstretched hand.
The energy in the air grew tense, the light around them pulsing like a living thing. Kizaru's finger pointed directly at Kai's chest, and then—*
ZAP.
A burst of light shot forward, hitting Kai in the chest with the force of a cannon. He let out a strangled gasp, blood spilling from his mouth as his body convulsed in pain.
"One."
The next shot came so quickly after, his body still trembling from the first. His chest was searing, his lungs burning with each breath he tried to take.
"Two."
The final blast hit him like a hammer, sending a shockwave of pain throughout his entire body. His vision went white, and for a split second, he felt his consciousness slipping.
"Three."
He barely managed to register the words before everything went black.
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