THE STRONGEST CREATURE OF THE BEAST PIRATES

Whitebeard grinned. "So what?"

Ace's crisis was temporarily lifted, but Sengoku had already decided to press forward with the execution. The Whitebeard Pirates fought even more frantically, their determination bolstered by Luffy and the Straw Hats.

With the appearance of Jinbe and others, the war seemed to enter a new, intense phase.

Under the sea, Alastor knew that his chance to intervene again had come. However, he couldn't afford another failed attempt like the previous two. The hatred Sengoku held toward him had likely surpassed even Whitebeard's. The navy would stop at nothing to eliminate him, and he needed to create even more chaos to serve his purposes.

"Yes," Alastor thought, a plan forming in his mind.

The two executioners had already been incapacitated by Whitebeard's Quake ability, leaving the execution incomplete. This was a perfect opportunity to rescue Ace and escalate the war into its final, chaotic phase.

Sengoku would never allow the navy's defeat or the embarrassment of failing to execute Ace. A public execution intended to demoralize the pirates would instead boost their confidence. Sengoku would not allow such a scenario, even if it meant his own death.

Alastor licked his lips, feeling the plan coming together. However, he knew he couldn't execute it himself—Sengoku would detect his presence immediately. Instead, he needed a distraction, someone else to carry out his plan.

Alastor quickly recalled the strongest Vice Emperor, Mr. 3 Gal Dino, who was currently trapped within the candle-made walls, alongside Buggy the Clown.

Inside the walls made of candles, Buggy and Mr. 3 had managed to escape from Impel Down, relying on Buggy's "luck" to fool their captors. Buggy, now filled with delusions of grandeur, proclaimed he would soon become one of the Four Emperors.

Mr. 3 found Buggy's behavior ridiculous. "Outrageous," he muttered, disgusted by Buggy's arrogance. Crocodile hadn't even acted this foolish during his time as a schichibukai.

As Mr. 3 contemplated distancing himself from Buggy, the ice beneath his feet suddenly cracked. Before he could react, something yanked him down into the freezing sea.

"Hahaha! I'm Captain Buggy! With my followers, I'll take Whitebeard's head and become a true Emperor! Mr. 3, you'll be my assistant in this great conquest!" Buggy continued his delusions, unaware that Mr. 3 had vanished.

"Hey, Mr. 3? Where are you?" Buggy called, his face scrunching up in confusion when he saw the empty space where his "assistant" had been. "Are you kidding me? What the hell, Mr. 3! You better not die on me!"

Buggy, scared and trembling, stumbled backward. His delusions shattered as he spotted the hole in the ice, realizing something horrifying had occurred.

"Sea… beneath the sea?!" Buggy panicked, running away. "Monsters… there shouldn't be any monsters!"

Meanwhile, Mr. 3 was barely holding on under the ocean. The seawater rushed into his mouth, nose, and ears as he struggled to stay afloat. His strength, drained by the sea, left him helpless, drowning.

But before his vision darkened, he was swiftly pulled from the water and thrown into a dim, underground cabin. A man stood before him—a man whose terrifying reputation had preceded him.

Mr. 3 coughed up the water, his head still spinning. His eyes widened as he recognized the figure before him. "Lei Lei Lei… Thunder Disaster…"

"Oh? You know me?" Alastor said, his calm voice cutting through Mr. 3's fear.

Mr. 3 didn't dare speak, his body trembling. The thought of this man, who had killed Celestial Dragons and threatened the world, filled him with terror.

"Good," Alastor continued, his tone indifferent. "If you behave, you might survive."

Mr. 3 could only nod quickly, his mind racing.

Alastor then gave his order. Mr. 3's face turned pale, and he stammered, "You want me to pretend to be the executioner… to free Ace? No, no, that's impossible!"

Alastor narrowed his eyes, his expression unyielding. "Oh? Impossible, you say?"

Mr. 3 immediately seemed to be choked, unable to utter a single sound as his mind raced, his body trembling uncontrollably. In the end, driven by fear and desperation, he reluctantly agreed and, with tears streaming down his face and snot dripping, donned the executioner's clothes.

Thus, Mr. 3 made his way onto the execution platform, standing behind Fire Fist Ace and becoming one of the two executioners. His legs trembled uncontrollably, and if not for the knowledge that Alastor was watching from below, he would have collapsed right then and there.

On the execution platform at this moment, there were only four people: Fire Fist Ace kneeling, two executioners, and Sengoku standing some distance away.

Sengoku glanced at the new executioner, still focused on the battlefield, unaware of any anomalies. He simply commanded, "Hurry up and execute."

Then, his gaze turned to Whitebeard, who was still defiantly showing off his might. No one expected the navy to carry out Ace's execution so soon, and Whitebeard was visibly frustrated. As he prepared to activate the power of the Gura Gura no Mi, the heart attack he had long suppressed struck him, causing his body to seize up. Half-kneeling, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Akainu seized the opportunity, launching a ferocious magma attack. "Ghost Dog!" Akainu's magma fist connected with Whitebeard, burning half of his beard and scarring his scalp.

Despite enduring excruciating pain, Whitebeard unleashed a powerful shockwave, sending Akainu flying. However, this was his limit. His energy had run out, and he could only watch helplessly as the two executioners on the platform raised their blades to strike down Ace.

At that moment, when despair seemed inevitable for the Whitebeard Pirates, Straw Hats, and others, an unexpected accident occurred.

One of the executioners suddenly dropped his sword and instead squatted down, fumbling to unlock Ace's cuffs.

At the same time, the other executioner was hit by an unseen force and fell to the ground. The audience fell silent, stunned by the sudden turn of events.

"Turn a candle into a key, unshackle... Ah, no, I'm too scared!" Mr. 3's hands trembled, his head covered in sweat, failing to insert the key properly after multiple attempts.

Fortunately, no one expected this sudden disruption, giving Mr. 3 a moment of reprieve.

Alastor surfaced from beneath the sea, appearing mid-air near the execution platform. His cold voice cut through the tension.

"Don't sleep now, Whitebeard. I've done you a big favor. If you can't seize this opportunity, you might as well go see Roger the Pirate King."

Whitebeard was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, blood still staining the corner of his mouth. "Gu la la la... kid, I'm just a human, not some perverted monster like you."

With a newfound determination, Whitebeard pushed himself up, ignoring Akainu and focusing on the execution platform.

With one mighty punch, he sent a powerful shockwave toward the platform, aiming to destroy it.

The Sengoku, seeing the incoming shockwave, had no choice but to divert his own energy, colliding the shockwaves with Whitebeard's.

Rumble!

The city walls crumbled, and the execution platform groaned, creaking as it struggled under the immense pressure.

Alastor, in his ultimate Thunder God form, released over 300 million volts of electricity. His tall figure surged with power, his hair and beard turned white, his eyes glowing purple with lightning.

With unimaginable speed, he appeared behind Mr. 3, delivering a powerful kick that sent both him and Fire Fist Ace flying.

As for whether Ace's body would break under the impact, Alastor didn't care. His goal was not to save Ace, but to ignite the final chaos of the war.

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