area51novel Chapter 1724 Backlight
Chapter 1724 Backlight
Far beyond Wano Country, on the battlefield of Marineford.
As Hiyori stood before Whitebeard's towering figure, a sudden, intense pang of fear swept through her heart, as if an invisible, cold hand had abruptly gripped her soul.
An indescribable unease and grief welled up in her heart for no apparent reason, causing her calm, pale eyes to tremble slightly.
“This is…” Hiyori subconsciously raised her hand to her heart. This feeling was very bad, as if something important was disappearing in the distant future.
But she quickly attributed this inexplicable unease to the rapidly changing and brutal battle before her.
Perhaps it's just because my father is on the most dangerous front lines, and I'm worrying too much? After all, the battlefield in Marineford can change unexpectedly at any time.
She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her unease, and rolled her eyes, refocusing her gaze on the heart of the battlefield.
After Luffy flung Admiral Kizaru away like a meteor in mid-air, his presence had become an undeniable and terrifying threat in the skies above the Marine front.
In the minds of most Marines, Nikka Luffy at this moment is probably stronger than anyone below the Admiral level, a monster that cannot be stopped unless an Admiral personally intervenes.
As for Admiral Kizaru, who was thrown away, the Marines weren't too worried.
Given that general's consistently carefree and unfathomable nature, it's estimated that he'll leisurely fly back in no time.
The reason he was careless and suffered a loss was simply because he underestimated Luffy's incredible and unconventional antics in Nikka form.
And Luffy's Conqueror's Haki had a brief suppressive effect on Logia-type Devil Fruit abilities, which caused him to suffer a considerable loss when his physical form was captured.
"Ace, I'm here to save you! No one can stop me!" Luffy's determined shout once again echoed across the battlefield.
The unrestrained aerial maneuver continued, propelling the white figure forward at high speed through the air like a shooting star streaking across the sky, passing over the heads of countless naval officers and soldiers.
Ignoring the sporadic bullets and artillery fire coming from below, all he could see was that figure kneeling on the execution platform.
Ace looked at his younger brother, who was getting closer and closer in the air, radiating a dazzling white light and an aura of freedom, and a very complicated look flashed in his eyes.
There was relief, pride, and emotion, but also a touch of indescribable shame.
She never imagined that one day she would be saved by the younger brother she had always wanted to protect.
This feeling was indeed a bit awkward for Ace, who was always strong-willed and considered himself an older brother, but seeing Luffy grow to such a level and possess power comparable to legends made him feel very comfortable.
As his family, Ace felt a deep, heartfelt pride.
His younger brother has truly grown up; he is now a man capable of standing on his own and even shaking the world.
At this moment, atop the city wall.
As Fleet Admiral Sengoku watched Garp, whose lawless grandson Luffy was getting closer and closer to the execution platform, the pent-up anger in his heart began to build up and boil, almost to the point of exploding.
again and again.
This kid always disrupts the navy's plans, challenges its authority, and tramples on the bottom line of justice that Sengoku upheld, at the most crucial moments and in the most unexpected ways.
Kisame had somehow appeared behind Sengoku.
He glanced at Luffy rapidly approaching from the sky, then at the marshal whose face was ashen and whose aura was growing increasingly heavy. He stepped forward and whispered, "Marshal, should I go and stop him?"
At this crucial moment, Sengoku did not immediately agree; his silence itself was an attitude.
Meanwhile, Artoria and Lucy, standing on the other side of the castle tower, also turned their gazes toward Sengoku, perhaps waiting or perhaps making their own judgments.
This invisible pressure, in that tense moment, was transmitted entirely to the Warring States Marshal.
There was a silence of about half a minute.
Sengoku slowly closed his eyes, as if bidding a final farewell to something, or as if making some unwavering decision.
"Garp, oh Garp..." His voice wasn't loud, even a little low and hoarse, but it clearly reached the ears of the three people beside him.
"I never imagined that one day I would lay a hand on your descendant, your own grandson."
When he paused and opened his eyes again, the last trace of reluctance in his eyes had completely disappeared.
"But don't blame me. Blame your grandson for crossing my bottom line time and time again."
These words struck the other three people on the castle tower—Kisame, Artoria, and Lucy—like a bolt from the blue.
The admiral is actually going to personally deal with a mere kid who's not even twenty?!
What an astonishing decision, and what a heavy signal!
This means that in Fleet Admiral Sengoku's mind, Nikka Luffy's threat level has risen to the point where he, as the Supreme Commander of the Navy, must personally intervene to suppress him.
Ace, kneeling in the center of the execution platform, suddenly sensed a fundamental change in the aura of the figure behind him who had been standing silently.
Even from behind came a growing, increasingly intense burning sensation. The temperature was extremely unusual; it wasn't the heat of flames, but rather a purer form of wisdom.
Because Ace was kneeling on the execution platform with his hands cuffed behind his back, he couldn't see Sengoku behind him, but that didn't mean the others on the Marineford battlefield couldn't see him.
"What is that?!"
"The Marshal is glowing?!"
Countless gazes were involuntarily drawn to the figure draped in a marshal's cloak atop the highest point of the city wall.
Behind Zhan Guo, a gentle yet incredibly solid and solemn golden Buddhist light was gradually emanating and gathering. The light was not dazzling, yet it was impossible to look directly at it, containing supreme majesty.
He did not fully unleash the Human-Human Fruit - Buddha form; he only activated a portion of the Buddha Fruit's original power in his simplest human form.
However, even from just this part, the radiant light emitted was so intense that Kisame, Artoria, and Lucy, who were standing nearby, could not open their eyes.
What's even more astonishing is that in the empty space behind the Warring States period's head, a perfectly circular disc radiating pure white holy light is gradually coalescing and appearing.
That is one of the symbols of the Buddha, representing the halo of perfect wisdom and supreme enlightenment!
Everyone who witnessed this scene, whether from the navy or the pirates, felt an indescribable emotion rising within them.
It was sacred, solemn, and inviolable, as if one were no longer facing a person, but a Buddha descended to earth.
However, Luffy in the air only had eyes for Ace at that moment and was completely unaware of the earth-shattering change taking place on the Navy's Supreme Commander atop the city wall.
Not only have most pirates never seen Fleet Admiral Sengoku make a move, but even the Navy itself has almost forgotten about the strength of this strategist who has always been in charge of planning from the rear.