HTP: Ch. 65

Itachi released his Susanoo.

If he hadn't found such a perfectly compatible partner in this world, he never would have employed such an aggressive tactic, this kind of strategy, whether it succeeded or not, meant mutual destruction.

This was a long-planned assault. From the moment he decided to officially enter the war, he had been searching for a suitable opponent. His approach likely only allowed for one decisive shot.

Among the Admirals, Aokiji had the most ambiguous stance, he was not a viable target.

Kizaru, while not completely unserious, clearly hadn't gone all out. With that attitude, the powerful man known as Rayleigh could easily stall him.

As for the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Mihawk was the only one among them capable of decisively shifting the battlefield, but he was clearly just going through the motions, not willing to go all out against the Whitebeard Pirates.

Garp was the grandfather of their employer, and thus naturally not an obstacle.

That left only two viable targets: Sengoku and Akainu. None of the other enemy units on the battlefield were worth the effort.

Then, when Garp proactively exchanged blows with Sengoku internally, only one target remained: Akainu.

At the same time, Ace underwent some unknown transformation. He actually managed to hold Akainu in direct combat, significantly increasing the chances of success for Itachi's plan.

This was an unexpected bonus. Originally, he hadn't factored in the employer's combat strength; the real turning point of the battle was supposed to come after the arrival of two reinforcements: Luffy's crew and Shanks.

Everything had gone more smoothly than anticipated. Most likely, this war would end soon.

He wondered how Sasuke was doing now.

"You okay?" Marco's voice pulled him back to reality.

"I'm fine. Just drained," Itachi replied calmly, his gaze sweeping over the battlefield.

"Haha! We really are the ultimate combo!" Marco laughed heartily, spreading his wings of healing flame, doing his best to help Itachi recover.

With the fall of Akainu, the battlefield fell into silence. No one could understand why such a high-ranking Marine powerhouse would be the first to go down.

The already fragile banner of "justice" took another blow.

Previously, it was a moral blow. Now, it was a blow to strength.

Most of the deserters earlier had been idealists, disillusioned and betrayed by the Marine's corrupted ideals, they no longer wished to fight. But now, those who laid down their arms and left after Akainu's defeat simply no longer believed in the Marine's strength, and these people hadn't joined the Marines for some abstract sense of justice.

With the battle nearly decided, Ace let out a cheer. Leaping onto the phoenix's back, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Itachi.

"Knew it had to be you! I knew it was the Totsuka Sword!"

This made a question mark pop up over Itachi's head. And this employer knew way too much about him.

Marco was also surprised. "Itachi, didn't you say you'd never met this guy before? And Ace, you're even stronger now."

Itachi responded, "It's true. We hadn't met before… I came on the Third Hokage's request."

Ace grinned, waved his hand and said, "We've been spiritually connected for a long time! I've given so many upvotes to posts about you on the forums."

Even though most of them were hate posts. But from today on, I'm officially a fanboy of Itachi.

Thinking that, he continued, "Let's go. With Akainu dead, the Marines probably didn't have the will to keep fighting."

Forums? What was that?

Curious as he was, Itachi simply nodded and didn't press further. This was still a battlefield, not the place for idle chatter.

At the same time, he confirmed that the employer's condition was indeed strikingly similar to that of the Third Hokage.

He was beginning to understand why Konoha had changed.

---

Midfield of the battlefield, blown aside effortlessly along the path of the fearsome Phoenix-Susanoo combo, Doflamingo crawled out from a pile of rubble, battered and disheveled. His pink feather coat was covered in dust. Adjusting his skewed sunglasses, veins bulged furiously on his forehead.

"Fufufufu… What a mess," he chuckled grimly, flicking off bits of rubble from his shoulder. Activating his String-String Fruit powers, he reattached his twisted arm.

"It was just carelessness... What kind of… sick joke is this…"

The Heavenly Yaksha, known for his arrogance and lawlessness, was now trembling uncontrollably. Cold sweat drenched his back as he realized just how recklessly foolish he had been.

He snapped his head toward the other Warlords.

Over there, Moria, who had also been casually sent flying by the phoenix, was just now struggling to his feet. Seeing Akainu taken out so quickly, his jaw practically dropped to the ground in shock.

Mihawk stood with blade sheathed, watching the execution platform alongside Vista. Both wore expressions of deep shock.

Bartholomew Kuma was… just blankly staring into space.

And Boa Hancock, absurdly enough, looked delighted.

Tch. I thought today was going to be the downfall of the Whitebeard Pirates. Turns out, it's the beginning of their resurgence.

Doflamingo wisely gave up on retaliating. This war was far more dangerous than he had expected, no time to fool around any longer.

The light sword radiated blinding golden light, forcing Rayleigh back several steps.

Usually laid-back, Kizaru now wore a grim expression. Behind his glasses, a rare trace of anxiety flickered in his eyes.

"The worst-case scenario really happened."

Gone was his usual nonchalant tone.

As one of Akainu's closest colleagues, he could no longer remain calm. That sword strike had been aimed at him too, if Akainu hadn't taken that blow, he might've been the one out of the game during their last confrontation at sea.

Now that Akainu had been taken out, the Marines were likely doomed. In a game that already started at a disadvantage, the main carry had gone offline, how was anyone supposed to win now?

"Looks like the battle's already decided." Rayleigh sheathed his sword, his silver hair fluttering through the smoke and ash. His role had simply been to stall; now, he was happy to relax.

The old pirate looked across the battlefield at the cheering Whitebeard Pirates. A hint of nostalgia flashed in his eyes.

The captain's kid has grown so quickly. And that mysterious reinforcement from the Whitebeard Pirates… that technique was beyond ridiculous.

"So, what now?" he asked casually.

The light sword swung down again. Rayleigh raised his sword to block once more.

Kizaru replied, "I'm not the Fleet Admiral."