PIRATES: I WORK IN NAVY FROM NINE TO FIVE

Boom!!

Two monstrous shockwaves surged across the battlefield, spanning a full kilometer, each carrying the weight of a falling star as they bore down on Whitebeard.

Far off, Ace had just broken free from his shackles and was about to leap into the fray.

"Pops! Let me help you! This time, I'll defeat Teach!"

But before he could move, Whitebeard's thunderous voice rang out, overpowering his cry.

"No! Marco, follow the plan—get Ace out of here!"

"…The plan?" Marco's expression froze. His face went pale, his voice trembling with doubt.

"Pops…"

"Shut up!" Whitebeard bellowed again. "What? You're disobeying your old man now?!"

With a roar, he slammed his bisento down into the shattered earth.

Boom!

The very ruins of the plaza quaked violently. The blade embedded itself deep in the ground as Whitebeard hunched forward, both arms bulging with terrifying muscle. Veins pulsed, and his crimson-tinted skin almost bled rage.

"Don't forget…" his voice boomed, "I am Whitebeard!"

"A mere traitor… and a little brat with some candle flames… won't kill me."

"Marco—GET LOST!"

"Quake Shock: Blastwave!"

Whitebeard's arms exploded with strength. The air around him fractured like broken mirrors.

BOOM!!

With his double-fisted slam, the very sky cracked like thunder. Air froze momentarily—and then erupted.

A colossal shockwave surged outward, ripping up the earth beneath his feet like a divine tsunami. The oncoming attacks from Akainu and Blackbeard trembled—then shattered under the force.

Caught in the aftermath, both Akainu and Blackbeard realized far too late that they couldn't escape in time.

The blast swept toward them like judgment.

BOOM!!!

Marineford was engulfed in cataclysm.

Stone, steel, ruins—nothing withstood the rampage. Everything within a ten-thousand-meter radius was flattened as if by the hand of a vengeful god.

The shockwave surged toward the already crumbling Marine HQ and the wounded soldiers lying within.

"WHITEBEARD, YOU CRAZY BASTARD—ARE YOU TRYING TO DIE?!" roared Garp.

He dashed into the blast zone, fists raised. "Aokiji, Kizaru—help me stop this wave!"

Three figures stood firm in front of the shattered base, clashing head-on with the incoming devastation.

BOOM!!

Another detonation rocked the battlefield. Dust blanketed the sky, blotting out the sun.

Cough! Cough!

Blackbeard spat a mouthful of blood as he staggered up from the rubble.

He had expected Whitebeard to be weakened—old, sick, wounded, and exhausted after battling Akainu. This shouldn't have been possible.

But the sheer force of that blast…

It was inhuman.

Still trembling, Teach began to retreat.

Let Akainu burn Whitebeard down a bit more. Then he could strike again.

"Teach! Where do you think you're going?!"

Whitebeard's voice rang out like thunder.

As Blackbeard turned in terror, Whitebeard was already in front of him—his massive frame moved with blinding speed, dispersing the dust around him in a gust of wind.

Everyone's eyes locked onto him.

The bisento in his hand crackled with black lightning—Conqueror's Haki surged and danced across the blade like divine fury.

"You ungrateful bastard… You dare betray the heart I gave you?! Today, I'll kill you myself!"

BOOM!!

One swing—and the heavens split.

Blackbeard went white with terror, pouring everything into his Armament Haki and Yami Yami no Mi. He screamed:

"Pops! DON'T! I WAS WRONG!!"

BOOM!!!

The bisento came down like the blade of fate. The slash tore through the ground, cleaving the battlefield in two.

Blackbeard was flung back, his body smashed into the earth. Blood sprayed from a deep gash that tore from his shoulder down his abdomen.

He shrieked in agony.

But when everyone looked closer… the cut had missed his neck—by just inches.

Everyone realized—at the last moment, Whitebeard had held back.

He could've killed him.

"…Pops couldn't do it after all," Marco muttered, tears pouring as he dragged Ace aboard the Moby Dick.

The captains nearby froze, stunned.

Ace shouted, "Marco! What is Pops thinking?! Why won't he let us help?!"

"Teach was my responsibility! Let me back him up—he's exhausted! We can help him escape!"

"SHUT UP, ACE!" Whitebeard barked without looking back.

"Teach's sin isn't yours. It's mine—for trusting him."

"I'll finish it myself."

"Teach… are you ready? I'm taking your arms."

Whitebeard raised his bisento again.

Teach struggled up, bloodied and shaking.

He sobbed, "Pops… you said everyone deserves forgiveness… I lost my head for a moment… I'll cut off one of my own arms to repent!"

But then—

SPLURT!

Blood erupted from Whitebeard's body. His veins bulged like writhing worms, leaking crimson through his skin.

Teach froze, then burst out laughing.

"HAH! Old man—you really are dying! Looks like the heavens want me to kill you after all!"

"Then I'll take your fruit too!"

Teach forced himself up, laughing as he surged forward.

Everyone's expression changed.

No one had expected Whitebeard's body to fail at the critical moment.

"POPS!!"

Ace and the others screamed in unison.

Even Sengoku and Garp tried to move—but it was too late.

But before Blackbeard's hand could reach Whitebeard—

A pressure beyond words suddenly descended from above.

A crimson sword of divine terror—like a heavenly blade—pierced the clouds, crashing down from the sky like judgment.

Susanoo's blade.

Everyone's pupils shrank. Their eyes widened to the brink of tearing.

They looked up… and then to the clock tower.

Two minutes to noon.

At that moment, everyone understood what Ain had said earlier.

He really came… just in time to clock out.