Hours later, Mr. 3 had docked the Thousand Sunny next to the warship, ready to meet Buggy and the others.
Blackbeard stood on the deck of the warship, staring in the direction of the cabin. His doubts were growing stronger by the minute.
What on earth could Buggy and Akainu be discussing in there for so long?
He glanced at Shiryu, Domino, Doberman, Onigumo, and the others waiting nearby and said, "It's been ages, and there's still no sign of movement inside. Shouldn't we go in and check?"
However, Shiryu and the others seemed to completely ignore Blackbeard, treating him as if he were invisible.
Yet, Blackbeard knew that if he made a move, they wouldn't hesitate to attack him.
It was one thing to deal with Shiryu, but Blackbeard wasn't sure he could handle so many opponents at once.
In fact, it wasn't just Blackbeard who wanted to enter the cabin; Domino was just as curious.
She too wondered what Buggy, one of the Four Emperors, and Akainu, one of the Admirals, were discussing.
Could it be that Akainu had also betrayed them like she had? Wait, I'm not a traitor—I'm just an undercover agent!
Maybe it was all just a trick that Buggy had played on her?
Domino's heart felt heavy, as if countless claws were scratching at her thoughts, swirling in confusion.
Just then, a loud boom echoed, and a massive magma fist shattered the barriers, flying out of the cabin, accompanied by a figure!
"Hahahaha, Admiral Akainu! We'll meet again someday! Retreat, everyone!"
Buggy landed on the Thousand Sunny, shook the blood from his hand, and laughed.
Without a moment's hesitation, Shiryu and Domino soared into the sky and returned to the Thousand Sunny before anyone could react!
"Fuck!"
Blackbeard, left stranded on the deck of a warship without any means of flight, glared at the surrounding Navy and couldn't help but curse loudly!
"Damn pirates! I knew I couldn't trust you!"
Onigumo remained silent, his eight swords slicing through the air as they aimed at Blackbeard!
Doberman quickly maneuvered behind Blackbeard, cutting off his escape route!
"Shockwave!"
Blackbeard threw a punch, knocking Onigumo away, then turned to force his way past Doberman's blockade!
But in the next moment, a figure burst out from the cabin. With a punch, it transformed into fiery magma, crashing down on Blackbeard!
"Hellhound!"
"Black Vortex!"
Blackbeard barely had time to raise his left hand, conjuring a dark spiral that countered the intense magma created by Akainu. However, the immense strength and powerful Armanent Haki in Akainu's punch still sent Blackbeard flying!
Screaming in agony, Blackbeard felt that even if his hand wasn't broken, it certainly felt shattered!
Akainu snorted coldly, seizing the moment to chase after Blackbeard and struck him with another punch!
Doberman and Onigumo weren't idle either; they joined in attacking Blackbeard!
Caught off guard, Blackbeard quickly found himself on the defensive. In less than a moment, several more cuts appeared on his body!
"Hey Teach, are you alright? If we don't get back soon, we're done for!"
Sunny had created some distance from the warship, and Buggy floated above it, shouting down as he watched Blackbeard take a beating.
"Buggy, you bastard! Yes!!!
Blackbeard struggled to keep himself upright, but he was distracted by Buggy and got slashed by Onigumo, letting out a scream of pain!
"Since you won't let me live, let's all die together!" Blackbeard roared, a ferocious look on his face as he raised his hand to unleash a thick cloud of black smoke.
"Black Hole!"
Normally, being on the sea, with the warship beneath him as his only support, Blackbeard, a powerful Devil Fruit user, had never dared to use an attack that could cause too much damage for fear of destroying the ship.
But now, Buggy showed no intention of rescuing anyone, and Blackbeard didn't care about the consequences either. He intended to destroy the warship, leaving everyone with nowhere to stand!
Akainu and the others quickly retreated but soon realized the ground beneath them was gone. The warship was engulfed in black smoke, and they hurriedly leapt into the air using Moonwalk!
Even as Blackbeard swallowed many unprepared Marine soldiers into the darkness, he found himself falling towards the sea!
"Release!"
Blackbeard raised his hand and unleashed what was consumed by the darkness in a chaotic torrent, propelling himself toward the Sunny with the force of the blast!
Buggy shook his head, extending his hand to grab Blackbeard mid-air and then dropped him onto the deck of the Sunny!
"Everyone, we'll have a meeting later!"
Buggy waved to the Navy members in the air and then turned to Mr. 3, signaling him to sail into the distance!
"Damn pirates, don't run!"
"Alright, stop chasing!"
Seeing this, Onigumo was ready to pursue Sunny, but Akainu's shout interrupted him!
Onigumo frowned, looking at Akainu in disbelief. "Admiral Akainu, why aren't you chasing them?"
In the past, if they faced such a situation, Akainu would be the first to chase. Now, however, he not only refrained from pursuing but actively stopped them. Onigumo was baffled by Akainu's unusual behavior!
"It's us who'll end up dead if we chase!"
Akainu raised his hand to cover the wound around his waist, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth as he spoke coldly.
Onigumo and Doberman stood frozen, staring in shock at the sight before them. The mad dog, Akainu, had a deep wound on his right side, flesh torn and internal organs faintly visible, blood gushing out uncontrollably.
Worry replaced any thoughts of pursuing Buggy as Onigumo asked anxiously, "Admiral Akainu, are you alright?"
Akainu remained silent, his hand pressed against the wound, thick smoke rising as the intense heat seared the flesh and skin.
A low grunt escaped him, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, each drop glistening like small beads.
After a moment of silence, Akainu waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about me. Focus on rescuing the wounded and securing the G2 base first!"
Without needing to be told twice, the rear admirals and captains, who had used the Moonwalk to ascend into the sky alongside them, began to take action, diving into the water to rescue their fallen comrades.
Doberman frowned, his voice heavy with concern. "Admiral Akainu, what exactly happened?"
Akainu snorted, his expression hardening. "That Buggy the Clown knew about Shanks being promoted to Fleet Admiral and tried to recruit me under the pretense of that news. When I refused him, he retaliated!"
"Don't let his demeanor fool you; he's definitely hurt more than I am!"
Doberman nodded in understanding. "So that's why they didn't seize the chance to finish us off and instead retreated."
A sneer crept across Akainu's face. "This isn't over yet. I'll explain more later."
With that, Akainu activated his moonwalking technique, heading towards the G2 base. Onigumo and Doberman, momentarily pushing their questions aside, joined the others in their efforts to save the Navy.