"The New World has no ship that can carry !!"
Whitebeard's furious roar rolled through the battlefield like crashing thunder.
Watching the massive naginata Murakumogiri closing in, Nao's eyes shifted slightly. After a mont of silence, he let out a soft sigh.
His current condition was far superior; facing Whitebeard's final, burnt-out strike, he could have easily stopped it with a single punch.
But at this mont, Nao chose instead to grip both his swords solemnly.
"Rest well, Whitebeard."
Buzz—!
Wind-Thunder Sword Style: Primal Slash!
A tempest erupted, crackling blue lightning surging around him. Nao moved like thunder itself, passing Whitebeard in midair.
When he sheathed his blades and turned back, he saw Murakumogiri—starting from its tip—splinter, shatter, and crumble into fragnts.
Just like its master, after hours of life-and-death battle, the legendary supre blade had reached the end of its lifespan.
Whitebeard still stood where he was, unmoving, his back to Nao. His right hand clutched the handle tightly.
A few seconds passed.
Boom—
Only then did Whitebeard's towering body crash backward, his blood-stained face staring wide-eyed at the sky—yet holding no trace of life.
This scene fell upon the eyes of all the Whitebeard Pirates crew mbers present.
Fra by fra, the mont seed frozen, painfully clear—as if the world had stopped. Color drained from everything, turning gray and dim.
"Pops!!!"
Cries of unbearable grief echoed from all directions.
Even though they had expected it, watching Whitebeard fall and die before them was too much. Jozu, stricken, couldn't accept the reality. Many fell to their knees, pounding the ground, wailing in agony.
Even pirates not affiliated with the Whitebeard Pirates, who didn't share such deep emotional ties, were stunned—shocked into silence as they stared at Whitebeard's corpse.
Even Sengoku and Garp, far away, exchanged a glance, complex emotions flickering in their eyes.
That Whitebeard…
The man who once rivaled the Pirate King Roger, who shook the world with his very presence, the monster known as the Strongest Man Alive, Edward Newgate…
Just like that… he died?
...
Sabaody Archipelago
People gathered before the giant screen—reporters, underworld figures, ordinary citizens—stood in stunned silence, mouths agape, taking a long ti to react.
"Wh–Whitebeard… is dead?!"
"Only a few hours of fighting… that was fast!"
"Hey! What's surprising about that? We all saw the floating island battle, didn't we? That old guy was being crushed by Lord Nao the whole ti!"
"Lord Nao… he's unbelievably strong! Long live!"
"Long live Lord Nao!"
The area erupted in cheers. But among the underground world's elites, a few exchanged dark, uneasy looks.
In the southeastern corner, an old man with ssy gray hair stared at the corpse on the screen. Suddenly he chuckled softly, releasing a faint sigh.
The old era is truly over.
"Heh…"
Rayleigh lifted his head and took a deep swig of strong liquor. Then he poured the remaining drops onto the ground before him.
Half release, half tribute—to a departed old friend.
...
Tap… tap… tap.
Footsteps echoed across the ruins. Nao walked slowly to Whitebeard's corpse. After two seconds of silence, he bent down and gently closed Whitebeard's eyes.
Their positions and allegiances were different, but an opponent like this deserved respect.
Exhaling softly, Nao stood, turned his gaze toward Sengoku in the distance.
Sengoku understood instantly. With a firm nod, he took out a Den Den Mushi and shouted the final order across the battlefield:
"Whitebeard has been killed by Admiral Nao!"
"The pirates are finished! All marines, hear my command—launch the final assault!"
"Wipe out every last remaining pirate in one strike!!!"
...
Sengoku's powerful voice bood across all of Marineford through the loudspeakers surrounding the plaza, igniting the marines' fighting spirit to its peak.
The pirate alliance, already at a disadvantage, collapsed instantly after Whitebeard's death. Many pirates who were already exhausted completely lost their will to fight and chose to drop to their knees and surrender.
The only exception were the escaped prisoners from Impel Down.
Driven by burning hatred and newly restored strength, they weren't as shaken by Whitebeard's death. Grouping together in a desperate last stand, they managed to put up notable resistance against the elite marines closing in on them.
But such resistance was dood to be futile.
For one simple reason.
Nao was finally free to act.
After battling Whitebeard for hours, his stamina remained plentiful. Without resting, he transford into crackling lightning and shot to the very front lines, specifically seeking out the strongest and most troubleso criminals—cutting them down one by one.
Garrison with his forr 500 million bounty…
Akra Dodo with a bounty of 390 million…
The ferocious pirate Catarina Devon, who had just regained consciousness and the ability to fight…
All of them were legendary criminals, imprisoned on Impel Down's Level 6 for years, once infamous figures who road the seas in glory.
Yet under Nao's blades, they couldn't fight back at all. They didn't even last two exchanges before screaming and falling dead at his feet.
The white cloak of justice crackled with lightning, flickering through the battlefield.
Only faint afterimages were left behind—cold, rciless sweeps, like the scythe of Death itself, harvesting soul after soul with precision and efficiency.
In just over ten minutes…
Most of the Level 6 legends were killed or crippled.
The few remaining huddled together in trembling terror.
Their eyes toward Nao were filled with pure fear, as if staring at a demon. Gone was even a shred of the arrogance and swagger they had shown when they stord Marineford earlier.
Nao showed them no rcy. A few flashes of motion—
and their lives were gone.
By this ti…
The main Marine forces had completed the encirclent and purge of the pirate alliance.
The war had entered its final, closing monts.
...
"Split off part of the forces to guard the harbor exit—don't let any stragglers slip away underwater! The rest of you, break into squads, sweep the battlefield, and rescue the wounded."
Nao's figure appeared above a pile of rubble. He issued the order coldly to two Rear Admirals passing by.
"Y-yes, Admiral Nao!"
It was their first ti being this close to him, and they were so nervous their saluting hands trembled. Once Nao gave a slight nod, they hurried off to carry out the orders.
After the two left, the clearing in Nao's view revealed a familiar figure.
"Admiral."
Covered head-to-toe in wounds, his right arm wrapped in bandages, Rosinante quickly saluted.
"What happened to you? Who beat you up this badly?" Nao raised an eyebrow.
"Reporting, Admiral!"
In a situation like this, Rosinante definitely couldn't call him "Brother Nao." He scratched his cheek awkwardly and said:
"The injuries aren't that serious, really… It was Doflamingo. I saw he was planning to fly up and sneak-attack you while you were fighting Whitebeard, so I blocked him, and then…"
He didn't finish the sentence, but the aning was obvious.
Even though Rosinante had improved a lot over the years and risen from Lieutenant Commander to Commodore—
—in front of soone like Doflamingo, that still wasn't nearly enough.
"I don't know what that guy went through in prison, but he's totally deranged now. Completely unstable. The mont I blocked him, he went berserk. His blows were vicious and relentless. I couldn't last more than a few exchanges."
Rosinante glanced at his bandaged arm, still trembling a little from the mory.
"If Shiryu hadn't stepped in when he did, forget this arm—I wouldn't even be alive right now…"
"Shiryu ca too?"
Nao was slightly surprised, but quickly understood. He still wasn't sure how these prisoners had escaped, but for soone as prideful as Shiryu, such an unprecedented disaster at Impel Down was the greatest humiliation imaginable.
As long as he wasn't dead—even if it ant crawling with his last breath—he'd drag himself to Marineford.
"Where is he now?"
"Seven o'clock direction. Still fighting."
Rosinante pointed, then hesitated.
"I can tell Doflamingo's gotten much stronger compared to seven years ago. Admiral, should you maybe… go help him?"
"No."
Nao rejected the idea instantly without thinking.
"You've known Shiryu for years. You know his personality. If I stepped in now, it would be an insult to him."
"Besides, with his strength, defeating soone like Doflamingo won't take long."
"…That's true."
Rosinante nodded.
But there was still one thing he couldn't figure out—what exactly happened between Doflamingo and Shiryu back in the prison?
The mont Doflamingo saw Shiryu take action, he went completely berserk, charging at him like a vengeful demon. It was far more intense than when he saw Rosinante.
As Rosinante was still puzzling it over, Nao's voice suddenly sounded again:
"Compared to Doflamingo, it looks like there's sothing more urgent happening."
"Huh?"
Rosinante instinctively looked up and followed Nao's gaze.
Just in ti to see that in the southeastern sky, the massive azure dragon that had been locked in fierce combat with Akainu suddenly threw its head back and roared. A flash of blue light burst out as it shot upward into the clouds, fleeing at incredible speed.
In the blink of an eye, it vanished. Akainu, even with Moonwalk, couldn't catch up.
"K–Kaido… abandoned his n and ran?"
Rosinante's eyes widened, then he quickly understood.
"The battle's already lost. No matter how his fight with Mr. Akainu ends, it won't change the outco. If he doesn't run now, he'll die here."
"This isn't the first ti."
Nao shook his head slightly, as if recalling events from the New World.
"But he's still not thinking clearly. He ran way too late."
Too late?
Rosinante hadn't yet understood what that ant—
Suddenly a bright white flash exploded before his eyes. At the sa mont, Nao's calm voice entered his ears:
"I'll go take care of it. I'll be back soon."
He reflexively raised a hand to block the blinding light. Through his fingers, he saw Nao transform into lightning, shooting straight into the sky in pursuit of the fleeing Kaido.
That speed…
Rosinante stared at the vanishing bolt of lightning, clicking his tongue in awe—yet without the slightest worry.
After all—
Even Whitebeard, the man hailed as the strongest in the world, hadn't lasted even half a day against Brother Nao.
A re Kaido—what waves could he possibly stir up?
…
Half an hour later.
The ruined Marineford plaza had been mostly cleared, and the wounded were being carried away.
And just as the global broadcast was about to conclude—when everyone thought this unparalleled war had reached its end—
Thunder rolled across the sky.
A figure covered in wounds, barely recognizable as human—Kaido—was being dragged through the air.
Nao tossed him down like a dead dog from high above.
He crashed into the ground with a thunderous impact.
The live broadcast captured everything perfectly.
Nao's casual posture.
Kaido's broken, limp body.
The stunned silence that followed.
Once again, the world was shaken to its core.
And with this final scene, the "Paramount War" reached its flawless conclusion.
…
With this battle—
The pirate alliance was annihilated.
All legendary pirates, including every Emperor of the Sea, died on the spot.
The Marine achieved an unprecedented, decisive victory.
So were desolate.
So rejoiced.
So stared blankly toward the horizon…
But everyone understood:
History was moving forward.
A new era was coming.
And no one could stop it.
Twelve years ago—
The "Great Pirate Era" opened personally by the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger,
finally ca to an end today.
The war had ended, but its shockwaves would continue to ripple for a long ti.
And the one who shone brightest in this war—Marine Admiral "White Dragon" Nao, who slew both Whitebeard and Kaido—naturally beca the figure of greatest rit.
Through the worldwide broadcast and the relentless coverage that followed—
Within just a few days, Nao's reputation reached an unprecedented peak.
From the East Blue to the New World, from grand capitals to remote villages—
everywhere, people spoke constantly about this war.
And the na "White Dragon Nao" beca the most frequently spoken term on the planet.
Titles like:
"The Strongest Human Alive"
"The Greatest Admiral in History"
spread across the seas.
Admiration, fear, and awe followed everywhere.
No one objected.
No one could.
After this battle—
Nao's fa and prestige reached a level unmatched in all of Marine history.
Not even Garp in his pri could compare.
He had truly beco a man known and feared across the entire world.
A man who shook the seas.
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