HTP: Ch. 62

In the war, the attitudes of the Marine Admirals were completely different.

If Aokiji could be considered a secretly neutral yellow unit, then Kizaru was a bizarre, idling red unit who drifted about, his only display of goodwill during the war was quietly letting Luffy go.

But Akainu was a blatant skull-emblazoned boss unit.

His hatred for pirates was raw and undisguised, and under his belief in "Absolute Justice," he clearly wasn't going to show Garp any courtesy. He didn't just want to kill Ace, he wouldn't hesitate to kill Luffy either.

The hatred ran deep.

This event alone led to hundreds of hate threads on the One Piece forums. If he didn't have such a large female fanbase, he might've ended up as disliked as Hiruzen.

At this moment, Akainu was planning to execute that maddening, pink-haired deserter on the icy battlefield below. Even if Ace broke free on the platform, he would inevitably die at the hands of Sengoku.

But Garp had the audacity to stand in Sengoku's way and block him completely.

And Rayleigh, who suddenly appeared below, if he didn't want to retire quietly, then he could die here today with Ace.

Of the Admirals, one was playing actor and the other was slacking off, the entire burden of the Marines now fell on Akainu alone.

His body half-molten with magma, he stared coldly at the arrogant Ace standing on the execution platform. That guy didn't even try to run, on the contrary, he looked like he couldn't wait to fight.

Is he relying on the power of his Logia Fruit?

But Akainu's Magma-Magma Fruit completely countered Ace's Flame-Flame Fruit. And as for Haki, would a Marine Admiral really be afraid of him?

"Akainu! I've been training two hundred times harder in prison for this very moment!"

Hearing this, both Garp and Sengoku, watching from the sidelines, expected Ace to turn and flee.

Logia types had a high escape rate.

I've already done so much for you, why aren't you running?! Garp screamed internally.

His knuckles were turning white, but Sengoku placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

Akainu's boots shattered the ground as he walked forward, each step leaving behind burning magma scars.

Lava rolled around his fists, and his killing intent became almost tangible.

On the execution platform, Ace was engulfed in roaring flames. He took an offensive stance, not out of arrogance, but because he knew exactly what kind of man Akainu was. Turning his back on him would be fatal.

Akainu's magma fist swelling grotesquely. He was about to start mocking Ace and the Whitebeard Pirates, but Ace cut in faster.

"After today, will your 'Absolute Justice' still stand? That 'Justice' on your back might as well say 'Servant!' You're nothing but a government slave for the Celestial Dragons! If you had a shred of decency, you'd yield now with honor, then we could still call it justice, rise up together, storm Mary Geoise, and capture Imu alive! Wouldn't that be glorious?!"

Garp and Sengoku's eyes widened in shock. They couldn't hold back anymore.

Enraged, Akainu launched his attack.

At that moment, their fists collided.

Fire and magma clashed, Conqueror's Haki crackling in black lightning. The supposedly inferior Flame-Flame Fruit began devouring the superior Magma-Magma Fruit in reverse.

He actually mastered that! Akainu's pupils shrank violently.

His magma fist was being incinerated inch by inch, cracks like spiderwebs spreading across the molten surface. Ace's flames only burned hotter, surging back up the flow of magma.

"You rely too much on your Devil Fruit powers, Akainu!"

With a furious roar, Ace's flame-cloaked punch. laced with black lightning, finally broke through Akainu's last defense and smashed into his jaw. The sickening sound of cracking bone rang out, and the half-elemental body was forcibly slammed back into solid form.

Akainu's massive frame flew through the air in an arc, blood spraying from his nose. He crashed hard into the ruins a hundred meters away.

Ace shouted loudly, "Only Haki can reign supreme over all!"

Akainu had let his guard down. The sudden Haki infusion had completely caught him off guard.

In the spectator stands, Garp and Sengoku were dumbfounded.

Even Kizaru and Rayleigh, locked in battle, dropped their jaws in shock.

Aokiji gave up pretending entirely, after blocking a slash from Whitebeard and dodging Marco's blue flames, he quickly retreated to create distance. Holding up his sunglasses, he silently thought, Well, at least I've finally done right by Garp.

Whitebeard halted his assault, his crescent-shaped mustache raised high. "Gurararara! Well done, Ace!"

Mihawk, locked in an intense duel with Vista, forced his opponent back with a single slash. Turning to look at the execution platform, he murmured, "Another one… has mastered that."

From within the smoke, Akainu reappeared. He slowly stood up from the ruins, magma dripping from his body and searing terrifying holes into the ground with each drop.

"Looks like I really underestimated you… No wonder you carry the world's most sinful bloodline."

Crack! Crack!

He rotated his neck, the sickening crunch of bones echoing out. The previously shattered magma armor on his body began to reform.

"To deal with you… I'll have to get completely serious."

BOOM!

The ground beneath him instantly melted into a pool of lava as his figure vanished amidst the explosive magma jets.

The sky suddenly darkened. Looking up, a massive lava fist, over a hundred meters in diameter, descended like a meteor. Even worse, the entire attack was imbued with Haki.

"Watch out!" Whitebeard roared.

"Marco! Now's the time!" Itachi's voice pierced through the battlefield noise, his Mangekyō Sharingan spinning wildly in its triple-bladed pinwheel pattern.

Marco responded instantly, wings bursting into blue flames that swept upward. In his fully transformed phoenix form, surrounding Marines were knocked to the ground by the shockwave.

The blue bird hovered in midair.

Itachi leapt onto its back.

Crimson chakra exploded outward, instantly forming a skeletal half-body. With the infusion of his ocular power, the Susanoo rapidly grew flesh and tendons. A longsword and shield materialized next.

The Susanoo continued to expand, eventually wrapping entirely around the phoenix.

The overexertion sent his vision spiraling into darkness, near-blindness, but the regenerative flames of the phoenix surged to compensate, restoring his clarity in an instant.

"Thank you, Marco."

"Haha, we're partners!"

Finally, a dual flame ring formed, blue fire on the outside, crimson armor within.

"Marco, let's go."

At this moment, no one could stand in the path of Susanoo-Phoenix.

Any enemy that tried to block them was cleaved down by a chakra sword, and charged at full speed toward Akainu.