"It was Jotaro who saved Pops!" Marco stared dead at the far side of the valley, at that battlefield where fire roared into the sky and shockwaves boiled the air.
"As if Pops had co back, but instead it's him… still alone, over there facing three Admirals all by himself."
Even across the valley, he could feel the surging battle intent and killing will in the air.
Marco clenched his fists tight, his eyes full of anxiety and unease.
"Pops, we… we can't just leave like this."
Whitebeard's gaze was as steady as a mountain. He spoke in a low voice, just three words, "Trust him."
Marco wanted to argue more, but Ace pressed his shoulder.
"If Pops is willing to believe in him, then I'm willing to believe too!"
"Jotaro… he's really a man you can admire from the bottom of your heart." Jozu wiped the corner of his eyes, his voice choking, "He saved Pops' life. From now on, my life belongs to him!"
"We're the sa!!" The Whitebeard Pirates all echoed.
Whitebeard's lips curved into a faint smile.
"Alright then! We charge out! On the ship, prepare the feast, wait for his triumphant return!"
"Uooooooooh!!!"
The pirates' morale exploded, they surged forward like bamboo cutting through brush, unstoppable.
"Damn it! These bastards' montum is even fiercer than before!" A Marine commander's face twisted in terror. "We can't stop them at all!"
"Don't panic, reinforcents are arriving soon, they won't stay arrogant for long!"
Yet, just as he finished speaking, a sudden earth-shaking cannon blast thundered from outside Marineford's bay.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A storm of cannonballs rained down, throwing the Marine ranks into chaos.
"Damn Marines! Damn World Governnt! They actually deceived us for so long!"
Oimo and Kashii's fury was like a tidal wave.
The two giants had searched all through Impel Down and never found their captain. Only in the end did they learn they'd been tricked by the Governnt's people.
Their captain had never been captured at all.
Now, they manned the cannons themselves, unleashing their wrath upon Marineford.
"Jotaro-chan! We're here to get you!!"
Standing by the giants' side was Bon-chan, and behind him a crowd of Impel Down criminals.
Most of them were low-level offenders, but among them were a few elites.
Like Baroque Works' Mr.1, the man who had eaten the Supa Supa no Mi, the Blade-Blade fruit.
"Young Master!!!"
The Donquixote Family sailed their warship in as well.
They'd only had a brief clash with Trafalgar Law before, after all, the Calm Belt wasn't exactly a place to fight.
And besides, the battle at Marineford was far too intense.
Each side had their own tasks, so they'd chosen a temporary truce.
Hearing the commotion, Doflamingo glanced over. White strings shot from his hand as he leapt into the air, landing above them in the blink of an eye.
"Young Master! Thank goodness you're safe!"
The mont he landed, the Donquixote Family rushed to surround him.
Monet let out a relieved smile. "Young Master is destined to beco Pirate King, how could anything happen to him?"
The others nodded in agreent. "That's right, since it's like this, let's go back, Young Master. There are still many matters in Dressrosa waiting for you to handle!"
"The Sabaody Archipelago GR1 Auction House called not long ago too, they said a good batch of goods ca in."
But suddenly, Doflamingo's face darkened.
He swept his gaze around, and his eyes landed coldly on Monet, the chill like dropping into an ice pit.
"Pirate King? Is that what you think? You'd better rip that thought out of your head, or I'll kill you myself!"
Monet's face instantly went pale, staring blankly at him, lips trembling. "Young Master…"
"From now on! Don't ever call that again!" Doflamingo's sharp voice cut her off. "Your master is only one!"
"And that is Lord Jotaro!"
———
"Lord… Jotaro?" The Donquixote Family looked at each other, faces suddenly changing.
"I-I say… Jotaro… you an that…" Trebol stamred, fear leaking through his voice, "that… the one who defeated Young Master before, and even indirectly sent him into Impel Down, Kujo Jotaro?!"
A heavy crack bood.
Doflamingo's iron fist smashed straight into Trebol's face. Bone-crunch and screams overlapped. That already twisted face instantly turned into a bloody ss, and several rotten yellow teeth that had been about to fall out flew out.
"Young Master!!!" The family mbers cried out.
But Doflamingo's killing intent surged, his eyes cold as blades, and he showed no intention of stopping. He stomped down hard on Trebol's bulging gut, grinding until Trebol howled endlessly, his face paper-white.
"Who allowed you to speak Lord Jotaro's na so casually, you trash! Don't want that filthy tongue of yours anymore?!"
The Donquixote Family felt the genuine, freezing killing will radiating from him, and couldn't help but shiver.
They never imagined the "Lord Jotaro" from Young Master's mouth was really that Kujo Jotaro.
They had never seen Young Master like this before, this man who once was arrogant and untad, who always called himself king, now bowing down in reverence to a forr enemy.
Their hearts were full of doubt, yet faced with the current Doflamingo, not one of them dared to ask.
"To show disrespect to Lord Jotaro is a capital cri. Trebol…" Doflamingo's voice was frigid. "Considering this your first offense, I'll give you one chance to redeem yourself."
"Soon, Lord Jotaro will descend upon the New World. I plan to offer him the Kingdom of Dressrosa as a gift."
"WHAT!!!"
The words exploded in their ears like thunder.
Dressrosa, the stronghold they had painstakingly managed, the kingdom they had poured years of blood and sweat into. And now it would just be handed over?
So of them gaped wide-eyed, so tried to speak, but no words ca out.
The air froze, only the hunting wind whistled.
"What's this? You have objections?" Doflamingo's gaze swept them, sharp as knives, killing intent unhidden.
"N-no… not at all!"
All of them bowed their heads in unison, silent as cicadas in winter.
"Hmph!" Doflamingo's lips twisted into a cruel smile. "A man like Lord Jotaro, unmatched in the world, if he ca to the New World and had no place to set his feet, that would be the true disrespect."
"Just the thought alone terrifies ! We must prepare at once."
He suddenly turned his head, fixing his stare hard on Trebol.
"Trebol! I order you, imdiately, right now! Rush back to Dressrosa with all speed and settle this!"
"If there's the slightest mistake, I'll hold you responsible!"
Trebol's face twisted in agony, but he could only grit his teeth and endure, his voice trembling.
"Y-yes… I… I will not fail, Young Master!!!"
"Donquixote Doflamingo!!!"
Law glared coldly at the figure on the ship's prow, that familiar, hated silhouette, his face dark.
"To think he's already out of Impel Down… this is bad…"
"Captain, we…"
"For now, leave him be! Our main goal is to wait for Jotaro-san to co out, and cover his escape from here!"
———
"Ora ora ora ora!"
Star Platinum's fists howled, the air itself shuddering violently.
Countless fist imprints landed on Jotaro's body, shattering the thick ice coating him into flying shards in an instant!
"Freezing his body is useless!" Aokiji frowned, unease and wariness in his eyes. "That strange ability lets him thaw instantly."
He'd even tried freezing Star Platinum directly.
But strangely, the Stand was only affected when it attacked him.
If Aokiji attacked first, Star Platinum could ignore the Ice powers entirely.
He faintly grasped the pattern.
Only a Stand can freely touch another Stand.
Anything not a Stand, Star Platinum can choose whether to interact with it.
So when Jotaro wanted to attack, he had to make contact with Aokiji's elental body.
That contact went both ways, so Star Platinum would then be affected by Aokiji's Ice powers.
But as long as he chose not to make contact, Aokiji had no way to deal with him.
Helpless, he was forced to target Jotaro's actual body.
But even freezing Jotaro, if he didn't kill him instantly, Star Platinum would thaw him out right away.
"Ora!"
The fist storm rose again. Star Platinum threw a heavy punch.
Aokiji's face shifted, he instantly retreated, widening the gap.
"Never get close to him!"
Now Aokiji understood. Jotaro's Stand strength was imnse. Even without Haki, one punch could shatter bones.
Armant Haki could blunt most of it, but the force still rattled him badly.
And if Jotaro channeled Ripple through his body, Star Platinum could use Haki freely within ten ters, no longer bound by that old 1.5-ter range.
Aokiji would never dare step within ten ters of him. And considering Jotaro could stop ti, he wanted to stay as far as possible, avoiding close combat entirely.
Thanks to his Ice fruit's ability to reshape terrain and shift via ice elents, Aokiji kept avoiding battle. Jotaro had no way to force him.
"Two minutes left."
Jotaro counted silently in his heart. He had no intention of a death match.
He'd already used Ti Stop earlier to evade the three-man assault.
The next use must wait for that "critical mont."
"…Three minutes."
"He's fought Aokiji, Kizaru, and Fujitora for three whole minutes… and he hasn't fallen behind?!"
Sengoku's face was like he'd seen a ghost, pure shock written all over.
Akainu was the strongest Admiral.
That Jotaro could defeat him ant his strength exceeded Akainu's, though not by much, about 1.2 Akainus.
But Aokiji, Kizaru, and Fujitora together, at least 2.5 Akainus in strength.
By rights, with double his power, they should be crushing him.
Yet now, Jotaro was fighting evenly with all three.
The first ti they joined forces, their coordination was clumsy. That was one reason they weren't showing full strength.
But that wasn't the real problem.
Garp's face was graver than ever.
"This man is a genius of battle!"
"When calm, he makes the optimal choice. Every step he takes seems like the result of precise calculation."
"It looks like a stalemate, but in truth, Aokiji and the others are already falling into his rhythm!"
Sengoku snapped angrily. "Garp! You still have ti to talk? You can still fight, can't you?!"
If he wasn't in poor condition now, if charging in wouldn't make things worse, Sengoku would've already gone himself.
Garp looked at him solemnly.
"It's not that I don't want to go. I can't. The balance right now is delicate. If I join, they'll lose focus. The balance will break instantly."
"That would be a chance for both sides. If we seized it, we could kill Jotaro. But if he seized it… we'd suffer losses, maybe even give him the chance to escape."
He turned back to the battlefield, face grave.
"My gut tells , in this kind of contest, his chances of winning are higher!"
"Knowing how cunning Jotaro is, since he dared to stay behind alone, there's no way he doesn't have sothing prepared."
"Maybe… he's already been waiting for us to intervene!"
Sengoku clenched his teeth, silent, unable to refute.
Yes. This was a man who always planned ten steps ahead.
The fact he dared to stay behind ant he had sothing to rely on.
"If I can't beat you in strength, then I'll win with speed."
Kizaru's lazy voice sounded in Jotaro's ear as his body turned into countless light particles.
"When speed is high enough, even the tiniest mass can unleash huge power."
"Ever been kicked at light speed?"
In the next instant, dazzling light exploded, death-like attacks striking down.
"Light speed? Seems it's a speed-type, like Star Platinum."
Jotaro's voice was calm, expression stern, as if just stating a fact.
"Ora!"
Star Platinum let out a low shout, its fists accelerating sharply.
At the mont the golden light reached him, Star Platinum's fist t it head-on.
"How is this possible!!!"
Kizaru's foot clashed with Star Platinum's fist, the Stand unscathed, while his pants leg shattered to pieces, exposing his hairy calf.
"This guy… actually kept up with my light-speed attack?!"
Unwilling to believe it, Kizaru gritted his teeth through the pain, his body turning to light again, attacking madly.
"Ora ora ora ora…"
Every single light-speed kick was intercepted precisely by Star Platinum's fists. Each blow heavy as a mountain, swift as a teor.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't even brush Jotaro's clothes.
"Star Platinum's strength is terrifying. Besides his own imnse power, the most important thing is, his speed!"
"Star Platinum's fists can surpass light speed!"
Compared to Kizaru, Jotaro clearly understood better the true weight of E=mc².
"Ora ora ora ora!!"
Star Platinum's fists accelerated again, turning into endless phantoms.
Kizaru's jaw dropped in disbelief.
"I-I can't keep up with his speed anymore!"
"Those fists… are faster than light!"
"It's just like ti itself has stopped!"
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