PIRATES: I WORK IN NAVY FROM NINE TO FIVE

Boom!

A crimson longsword tore through the air.

The sheer sharpness of its presence sent chills down Blackbeard's spine—his scalp tingled, and every hair stood on end.

Glaring at the nearly unconscious Whitebeard before him and the quake-quake fruit, his greatest prize within arm's reach, Blackbeard's eyes flashed with struggle… then turned vicious. He roared in desperation:

"I don't believe I can't buy a few seconds!"

"Dark Tide: Black Curtain!"

Boom!

A torrent of darkness erupted from within Blackbeard and surged into the sky, forming a heavy dark canopy. He was betting it could buy him just enough time to finish Whitebeard and claim the Gura Gura no Mi—hailed as the strongest Paramecia.

With zero hesitation, Blackbeard sprinted toward Whitebeard.

In his eyes, Admiral Luo Yu—no matter how powerful—would be nothing if he, Blackbeard, gained the quake-quake fruit and possessed dual Devil Fruit powers.

But this thought had barely taken root—

Boom!

The "dark curtain" Blackbeard had conjured in the sky—hoping it would delay the blow by a few seconds—shattered before he could even take another step.

A crimson blade, streaking down from the heavens with thunderous momentum, pierced through the void. Everything it touched was shredded like paper.

The sense of impending death overwhelmed Blackbeard, and he screamed in horror.

"Pops, save me!"

BOOM!

The colossal Susanoo blade slammed into the ground.

A shockwave, like a divine storm, swept across the battlefield.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Blackbeard, like a ragdoll, was hurled dozens of meters through the air, crashing into a pile of rubble with an impact that carved a massive crater into the ground.

Before his crew—Burgess and the others—could even react, blood geysered from Blackbeard's chest.

Slashes bloomed across his body like crimson lotus petals.

His shrill screams echoed across the battlefield.

One of his arms was severed and landed on the ground with a dull thud.

Everyone's pupils contracted sharply.

No one had expected the infamous ex-Warlord Blackbeard, the man who dared to challenge Whitebeard, to be crushed in a single strike… and to lose an arm in the process.

Their shocked gazes turned to the towering blade embedded in the earth.

And then they looked upward.

What they saw sent tremors through their very souls.

A hundred-meter-tall Susanoo—clad in heavy armor, with three heads and six arms—descended like a wrathful god.

This couldn't possibly be the power of a human!

In that instant, they understood why it wasn't Kaido who had arrived…

It was Luo Yu, the newly appointed Admiral Taiote.

Because only this could explain the surreal, mecha-like power now standing on the battlefield.

"Hahaha! Sengoku, did you see that?" Garp dropped beside Sengoku, laughing wildly. "I told you! Once you upped his bonus, Kaido was as good as done! That money was well spent!"

The entire battlefield finally awoke from its stupor.

Everyone stared at Luo Yu with awe and reverence.

After all, how many among them could claim they could defeat a Yonko?

Even Whitebeard couldn't manage that.

But Luo Yu had already returned victorious.

If this man wasn't worthy of reverence, then who was?

"Damn Navy Admiral! You dared sever my arm! Aren't you afraid I'll turn against the Marines and side with Whitebeard?" Blackbeard screamed from the rubble, bloodied and deranged.

Losing everything—his arm, his prize—had finally driven him to the brink.

With his Devil Fruit powers, he forcibly halted the bleeding and howled again:

"Pops! Let's join forces! We'll crush the Marines! I'll atone for everything if you give me a second chance!"

He stumbled toward Whitebeard.

Watching Blackbeard's sudden turnabout, Ace and the others had just retreated to the Moby Dick when they panicked.

They had seen firsthand how cunning and twisted Blackbeard was.

No one believed this abrupt change of heart.

But before anyone could act—

BOOM!

Whitebeard slammed his bisento into the ground, using it to prop up his battered frame. And then, he laughed—loud and free.

"Hahaha! Teach! Just for calling me 'Pops' earlier, I spared your life. That's all you get!"

"Don't forget… I'm Whitebeard! This is Whitebeard's era!"

"Boys! Let the world see… what it means to stand under Whitebeard!"

BOOM!!

A quake erupted from within Whitebeard, blasting Blackbeard away once more.

He vomited blood, flying through the air again.

Twisted with rage, Blackbeard screamed:

"You damn Whitebeard! I've called you 'Pops' my whole life! Why won't you just help me? I'm the one most fit to become the Pirate King!"

"Without me, how are you going to escape from Marineford?"

Whitebeard laughed again and clenched his right hand.

Web-like cracks of power spread out from his fist.

And without turning his head, he punched behind him—toward the harbor.

"Teach, you underestimate me."

"I'm Whitebeard! From the start… I never intended to leave this place alive."

"Since I created the era of Whitebeard… then let me be the one to bring it to an end!"

"Boys! Set sail!"

"Sea Quake!!"

BOOM!

With one final punch—

A devastating shockwave surged across the bay.

The ships moored at the harbor were flung into the sky like twigs.

Even the mighty Moby Dick was blasted forward by the raging sea.

A massive wave surged behind them.

And in that moment, everyone's eyes went wide with disbelief.

Whitebeard… wasn't trying to escape.

He was bidding farewell.

To his sons.

To the world.

And to an era that bore his name.