Alright guys here we are again with another chapter. I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story so far and love those of you who bother to give me your opinions and ideas. A lot of PMs I get are for the pairing situation which I'm still undecided on so we'll see. Anyways I said last chapter that Marineford would end in two or three chapters but no this will be the final chapter for it. Hopefully you guys like it. Now let's get on with the chapter.
All around the bay pieces of ice were melting at a rapid rate. The giant lava fists that the admiral was raining down on them were coming down fast. At the rate it was going Naruto didn't doubt that the entirety of the ice would be melted soon. He looked to his side and saw Law nod at him. Understanding the signal the two moved as close to the iron walls as they could as they seemed to be the least affected area.
The two took deep breaths as the lava fists continued to rain down. "Whitebeard said not to worry but if something doesn't happen soon we're screwed." Naruto commented. His point was soon being proven correct as one of the three ships Whitebeard had brought with him were hit by one of the attacks. The Yonko pulled his fist back and struck the air, creating cracks in space. The ground shook, feeling the effect of the attack but still, the force of the punch wasn't enough to break down the walls.
"The walls are reinforced well." Law commented looking at the giant indent where Whitebeards attack had struck. "Whitebeard doesn't look too concerned though, even with all the ice melting. He must have a trick up his sleeve." As he finished his sentence the two noticed bubbles appearing on the water next to the ship that had been struck. Soon more and more bubbles began appearing before a shape became visible from underwater.
The shape began to grow in size the closer it got to the surface and they noticed many of the Whitebeard pirates making their way through the still solid pieces of ice to get to it.
"It's another ship." Naruto deduced. "This is his plan. Let's go." The two made their way to the ship along with everyone else. Soon enough the ship finally flew out of the water before settling on the surface of the bay. Within seconds a large majority of the pirates were atop the ship along with the captain. Naruto cut two pieces of ice from the ground before throwing it towards everyone. Law then used his Room before using shambles to switch places with the two pieces so they were now atop the boat as well.
"Alright we made it onto the ship but now what?" Law asked out loud. They were still trapped in the bay as long as the walls were up. Though it should be noted that the aerial attack had finally stopped. His question was answered not too long after as even from atop the ship a shaking could be felt. Looking ahead they noticed that the still body of Oars Jr was moving slightly. At the very same moment the ship began to move towards him.
"When his body collapsed it stopped one of the walls from rising." Law noted. "Now Whitebeard most likely plans to use him for something." He was right Oars faced the ship and kneeled slightly as if preparing to lift.
Naruto's eyes widened slightly as he realized what the old man was planning. Oars braced himself and grabbed the front of the ship before raising it into the air. Using his large muscles he picked up as much of the ship as he could and dragged it into the opening in the wall. The marines seemed to have known what was being planned as well as they had begin shooting the giant with everything they had. Naruto was impressed with the man.
He was already half dead as it was with a missing foot and still managed to drag a giant ship into plaza and took shot after shot from cannons and bullets. Finally Oars dropped the ship and collapsed taking down some marines with him.
"Whitebeard has entered the plaza!" A marine yelled from somewhere in the crowd. The marines stood looking at them in shock. They were sure that the walls plus the hell fire that Akainu had rained would have been enough to end it. So to see the strongest man in the world in front of them was a scary feeling. To their horror they watched as the man took a few steps forward before jumping off the ship and finally stepping into the plaza.
"Stay back my sons." Whitebeard commanded as he stared down the sea of marines in front of him. Naruto and Law watched in amazement as the man pulled his Bisento back and charged it with the power of his devil fruit. A small white orb of translucent light appeared at the tip before coating the blade.
"AHHH!" The captain yelled as he swung. Similar to before, cracks appeared seemingly in mid air. Only this time the cracks broke like glass before a giant shockwave erupted. Buildings were destroyed and marines of different levels were blasted back by the attack. Some of the vice admirals were able to stay in place with some difficulty. The three admirals all stayed put, hands in their pockets as their subordinates were sent flying.
Finally, one by one the division commanders jumped off the ship and landed in front of their father in a line, Naruto and Law following suit. "Guys! Rescue Ace and destroy the Navy." Whitebeard ordered. At that declaration the entirety of the Whitebeard pirates jumped off the ship, weapons drawn and charged forward.
Up above on the scaffold Sengoku watched with narrowed eyes as their plan had backfired. The walls that had been used as a means for victory now looked like a disadvantage. "Garp. I don't think we're gonna make it through this unscathed." The fleet admiral commented as he rolled his sleeve up.
Garp didn't answer but nodded as he had come to the same conclusion long ago.
Down below the fighting had once again started up. It was looking grim for the marines as they were being cut down left and right. Naruto and Law were back to back cutting everything that came their way down. Naruto created gift balls with Nitrogen being the substance of choice and shot them at Law, while his captain would use his Room and switch places with marines to drop them at an incredible rate. This combined with their combined sword play spelled trouble for the marines.
The two pirates cut the same marine down before they once again felt a shockwave. They turned around to see Whitebeard's bisento stopped mid attack by Akainu's lava coated foot. The two briefly separated before attacking once more. Whitebeard had his fist coated in his power while Akainu likewise had a giant lava arm at the ready. The two attacks clashed creating a shockwave across the plaza. The two pirates were evenly matched it seemed as neither man was backing down from the deadlock.
As much as he would have liked to watch them battle, Naruto didn't have that luxury. His Haki telling him to duck right in time as a blade passed over his head. Turning around he kicked the man in the chest before swiping his feet out from under him. He quickly unsheathed his blade and stabbed the marine in the chest before putting it away.
He didn't have time to take a breather as he sensed another attack coming. Right as he dodged to the side a yellow beam went flying by him. He didn't need to look to see that the beam had come from Kizaru. He let out a relieved breath when he noticed that the man seemed to be aiming at him specifically, he was just attacking any pirate he saw.
"Pops!" Marco had yelled out. Everyone stopped to see what had happened. Naruto was surprised to see that Akainu had his left fist buried in the mans chest. Akainu even pushed in a bit before removing his fist, letting everyone see the burning hole left in Whitebeards chest. It was the first time Naruto had seen the man actually be injured in the battle.
Luckily for them Akainu took a few steps back after the attack, most likely believing that he had done enough damage to put the man down for a while. This gave the commanders and allies time to come to the mans aid. This wasn't good. If Whitebeard went down the entire war would be lost in an instant.
"Marines. Take Whitebeards head!" Sengoku yelled from the scaffold. At once all shocked marines were broken from their trance and immediately began to try and jump whitebeard. The allies and commanders were feeling the strain as fighting a sea of marines at once was proving to be quite difficult, even for high level pirates like them.
"You think this is enough?" Whitebeard asked as he began to stand again. "I won't be beaten until I've saved my son. I am Whitebeard!" Standing to full height the man let off an earth shattering attack effectively shaking the marines off of them. The morale was coming back quickly. The pirates all smiled in relief as their father wasn't dying just yet.
"You're foolish" Sengoku said. Though he didn't yell it, it was still heard clearly. "Now watch what happens to your son. Do it." He ordered to the two guards who were at the ready to execute Ace. The two nodded and raised their blades high into the air before slashing down. Unfortunately for them right as the blades were about to make contact the two guards passed out due to the overwhelming feeling of Haoshoku Haki.
"He has it." Law muttered looking at Luffy with slightly widened eyes. Naruto glanced at the rubber man briefly before turning his attention to the scaffold. They were close, if they played their cards right they could pull off the rescue quickly.
With a lot of the low level marines being knocked out the Whitebeard pirates were able to gain a slight upper hand in the battle. Soon the plaza was filled with pirates and marines once again clashing blades and fists. Naruto didn't fight anyone instead trying to find a way to get to the scaffold. As if some divine deity was reading his mind he noticed something. Luffy was running behind someone 'Inazuma' if he had heard the name correctly earlier. The man was using some sort of scissors to cut the ground before he flicked his arms, forcing the ground to rise and land straight on the scaffold.
"Law look." Naruto called out. The tattooed man saw the path and where it led, but he also noticed who was waiting at the top.
"It won't be that easy. Garp won't let Straw Hat through that easily." His captain replied.
"That's where we come in. Let's go." The two traded places with some marines closer to the path via Law's Room and began running behind the young man. They ran while staying a few feet behind him in case anything happened they wouldn't all be taken out. The distinct sound of a cannon being fired was heard, looking to the left Law jumped up and cut the balls before they could impact the path.
As they had expected Vice Admiral Garp jumped down onto the path meet them. Well more specifically Luffy but he also had to meet them by default. Naruto looked at the two about to clash but noticed Garp's mind didn't seem to be focused. A brief vision passed through his mind as the two neared one another.
"Law get ready. This is the moment we've been waiting for." Naruto told him. They watch as Garp threw a punch that seemed to have no real intent behind it. As expected Luffy dodged the attack before retaliating with his own punch that knocked the Vice Admiral off the platform.
Finally the trio made it to the scaffold where Fleet Admiral Sengoku was watching them. The man stood by as Luffy spoke to Ace while the two heart pirates kept their eyes on him. Naruto glanced at Luffy, seeing him pull out a key ready to save his brother, only to have that key be destroyed curtesy of Admiral Kizaru.
"No!" Luffy yelled as the key was split into two.
"Room!" Law yelled creating the light blue dome around them. It was at this moment that Sengoku finally seemed to take action. Though he would soon find out it was too late. The man began to glow a golden color while rapidly growing in size.
"Shambles!" Cried Law switching Ace and Sengoku's positions. Sengoku found himself where Ace had been kneeling, though he was lucky he was already big as if he hadn't he'd be confined to the seastone cuffs.
"Move out!" Law told them; they didn't need to be told twice and immediately jumped off the platform. They moved just in time to avoid being crushed by Sengoku's giant fist. The four pirates landed down below in between more marines. The four men stood back to back, making sure all sides were covered.
"Thank you guys for helping my brother and saving me." Ace spoke "Are you guys friends of Luffy?"
"Not exactly." Law answered, unsheathing his blade. "We can discuss this once we're in the clear though."
"Of course." The marines tried their best to try and stop them but were no match for their combined power. The four men quickly carved a path through the soldiers and began making their way towards the Whitebeard pirates. Seeing this the pirates all doubled their efforts to fight and began trying to clear a path for Ace and the others to follow.
"We're almost home free." Naruto commented as he slashed the chest of another marine. "Just a little further." As the quartet was getting closer to the rest of the pirates they stopped in place as another large explosion was heard. They turned back to see Whitebeard still standing tall, but panting heavily. His chest bloodied and his breathing ragged.
"My sons. I'm about to deliver my final order as your captain." He shouted, much to the dismay of his crew. "Survive at any cost and make it back to the new world safely." He continued before cocking his arm back. "I'm a remnant from the old times. There's no ship that can bare me in the new era." He punched the space in front of him destroying everything leading up to the navy headquarter.
"Now Go!" He yelled. The mans crew hesitated but complied nonetheless. The commanders ordered everyone to get to the ships and head back to the new world. Though they too had tears in their eyes.
Naruto was forced to bring his blade up to block the sword strike of a vice admiral. He didn't have time to counter as he had to jump back to slightly as to not get shot from the marines who had their sights on him. Deciding that wasting his time with the vice admirals was counter productive he shot off multiple 'Gift Balls' in every direction, using them as a distraction to jump over the marines and continue running.
At this point he was no longer fighting back against the marines, his only goal was to get Ace to one of the ships with the Whitebeard pirates and head back to the Polar Tang with Law. He punched an unlucky marine that happened to be in his way before he heard Akainu speaking up from behind them.
He and Law noticed Ace had stopped running and was now facing the admiral. A look of pure loathing on his face. Akainu was going off about how Whitebeard was a coward and couldn't do anything or beat Roger, all the while Ace was letting his anger get the best of him. His body beginning to burn the longer the man kept talking.
"Idiot. All this work will have been for nothing if you die here." Naruto thought as he tilted his head, letting a stray bullet fly past him. He took off towards Ace the moment he saw the two begin to clash. Ace's fist clashed with Akainu's and though they looked evenly matched it was becoming clear Ace was losing. Magma was on a higher level in the hierarchy after all.
The closer he got to them he finally noticed that Straw Hat Luffy was on the ground, awake but clearly having trouble moving. It seemed all the fighting and damage he'd taken had finally caught up with him. What was more troubling was that he wasn't the only one to notice this. As Ace hit the floor, having lost the exchange with Akainu, said admiral turned his attention to the mans younger brother.
"Oh shit." Naruto thought knowing what the man was planning. Law wasn't close enough to use his room ability on them as he was busy with three vice admirals, all who were rushing him in such a way as to not give him any space to counter. He watched as the marine of absolute justice aimed a Lava coated punch towards the young Straw Hat.
Having caught his second wind Ace jumped up and threw himself protectively in front of his younger brother. Naruto watched it happen almost in slow motion as the fist neared the former prisoner. If the punch connected it would be over.
Using every bit of strength he had he pushed off the ground with enough force to shatter the ground beneath him. Within a second an explosion that let off smoke and debris was detonated. Everyone both marine and pirate watched with held breaths as the smoke cleared out. When most of it was cleared Ace was still standing with a fist touching his back. Most shocking of all was Naruto whose body was coated in Haki, was holding on to the giant fist stopping it from moving forward.
Though he had managed to stop the fist in time from penetrating the back of Ace, said man still fell over as enough had connected to do some serious damage.
"Deathdealer." The gruff voice of Akainu sounded out. The man was looking right at him, his fist still suspended in place. "A once respectable name among the marines considering all of the pirates you would capture for us. Now reduced to a lowlife pirate." He finished before batting the blond away.
Naruto managed to flip in the air and land straight up, opposite the marine admiral. "Since you got in the way I'll be taking your head as well in the name of justice." Akainu told him as his body began taking the properties of Lava once more.
The blond took a deep breath as he prepared himself for arguably the most difficult fight in his life until this point. His arm was beginning to pulse in pain from where Doflamingo had shot him earlier and his stamina was low from all the fighting and running.
"I know I'm not on Akainu's level yet. But I'm not about to die here." He thought. He could feel his heart beating faster and his blood flowing in response to the upcoming battle. Letting a smile appear on his face the two fighters disappeared from their spots before reappearing closer together, a magma fist meeting a black Haki fist.
Naruto felt his feet digging into the ground from the amount of force Akainu had behind his attack. He grit his teeth in anger trying to push back but ultimately failed as he felt his opponent add more pressure. He hit the ground hard enough to leave a small crater around him. His instincts flared up, telling him to move as danger was approaching. The young man pushed himself off the ground, rolling aside just in time for another magma fist to land where he had previously been.
He got up just as the sound of footsteps began getting closer. Coating his arms once more he met the man half way and began his own assault. The two traded punches and kicks briefly. Fists met fists and kicks met mirrored kicks. Even with his precognition abilities granted to him by his Haki he was barely able to keep up. His body ached and his stamina was low. The fact that the man had more experience than him was also a disadvantage to him.
His fist collided with magma again and he could feel himself struggling to stand upright.
"Damn. His punches are heavy. If I didn't have Haki I doubt I'd be alive right now." He thought as he continued mirroring the mans attacks. The blond realized he wasn't getting anywhere and created space between them. Grabbing the hilt of his blade he covered the blade with Haki but also extends it all the way to his shoulders.
Seeing the change of tactics Akainu likewise let lava cover his arms and began shooting lava fists, the same way he had earlier though on a smaller scale. His Haki made it easy to avoid being hit by the attacks and wasted no time dashing forward. Once close enough he began trying to cut the man down. The man wasn't an admiral for nothing however as he was able to dodge and weave every slash with little to no problem. The blond knew he was outclassed.
"I'm not going to underestimate you like Kizaru did at Sabaody." Akainu tells him as his arms glow a dark red color. "Inugami Guren" He called out as he punched forward. The lava transformed into the shape of a dog and charged at him.
"It's too big to jump out of the way" Naruto thought as it got closer. He closed his eyes and gripped the blade with both arms before taking a deep breath. A brief flash was seen before the magma created dog was split down the middle crashing into the iron walls around them. His little victory was short lived as Akainu had disappeared from in front of him.
Naruto's eyes widened as a brief vision flashed through his mind. He quickly turned around and crossed his Haki covered arms across chest in an 'X' formation. His precognition had once again saved his life as a second later a magma fist connected with him. A small golden blur seen flying across the battlefield into the ship that Oars had carried into the plaza.
"Naruto!" Law yelled as he watched his vice captain get hit. He grit his teeth in anger as more high level marines kept him from helping.
The Whitebeard pirates that had picked up Ace and Luffy also noticed that Akainu was heading their way again. The commanders all had their weapons drawn making subtle motions to have the rest move the two incapacitated pirates away.
"Where do you think you're going?" Akainu questioned. "None of you are leaving this place alive." He added as lava began leaking from under his cap. The Whitebeard pirates who were still able held their weapons at the ready, fully prepared to lay down their lives for their brother.
"Oi!" A tired voice came from behind them. They turned around to see Naruto on shaky legs walking back towards them. Even though he had his arms coated in Haki, he had burn marks on his arms, the only part that seemed decent was the part that had been covered by the other arm. Just below his collar bones was also marked red, though not as dark as his arm which had taken most of the blow.
"We're not done here." Naruto added. "Oi take Ace and Luffy to Law, we'll treat them." He added.
"You're resilient but you'll die all the same." Akainu taunted as he made his way back to the blond. The commanders wasted no time in continuing along taking Ace and Luffy with them. Naruto dashed forward at a speed that caught the admiral by surprise. The man still managed to bring his arms up in time to block a kick aimed at his head. The blond didn't let up however, as the moment he landed he tried a hard punch to the chest that was also blocked.
"Gift Ball" He said created multiple orbs and shooting them toward the admiral.
"That technique is useless. I've seen how it works. As long as it doesn't touch me it does you no good." Akainu told him before letting off magma fists again. The blond managed to weave through them if only barely. He could feel his body becoming heavier as the fight dragged on.
"It's not working. He knows how to get around my techniques since he knows they're coming." He thinks before he stops. "That's it."
He jumped in time to miss being hit by another magma fist. Landing he released the Haki he had coating his blade before getting into position. Rushing forward he slashed at the man, creating the black blade yet again. Though there was something different about it this time. Rather than solid black, it seemed to have a slowly moving pattern up and down the blade.
"Pathetic." Akainu taunted as the fist met the blade. The blond smirked as he felt the power behind the punch immediately disappear. Using this small moment of surprise he parried the arm aside. The blade once again losing its black color before regaining it though this time it was solid black. Naruto slashed at the man from the hip up to the shoulder and smirked in satisfaction when he saw the blood spill out of the man.
Seeing that he had the upper hand he cocked his arm back before punching the admiral in the face with everything he had. Even the normally composed Kizaru had his eyes widened in surprise as his fellow admiral flew out of the plaza and into the bay.
"Let's move nows our chance!" Naruto yelled. Everyone ran in the direction of the bays looking to steal one of the marines ships. Unlike when he dropped Doflamingo he kept his Kenbunshoku Haki activated, he knew that little attack wouldn't be enough to keep Akainu down.
Sure enough the man was up by the time the pirates all made it back to the bays. Though it was to be noted he was no longer using his devil fruit powers. He must have realized that on the ice he was standing on using his magma powers would be to his disadvantage.
"You should be honored that a rookie like you could do this much damage to me." Akainu told him before looking down at his cut chest and feeling his face. "But this is as far as you go."
"There's enough ice to run to the ships. Bepo should be close by with the Polar Tang too. There's not enough space for a large scale battle here. I need to finish it." He thought.
Naruto jumped at the man blade at the ready once more. Akainu was ready and had his arms lit up though they didn't seem to be emitting as much heat as they previously had. The man moved at speeds faster than he had throughout their battle and Naruto was finding it difficult to retaliate. He managed to block a punch with his blade but still felt the force behind it, threatening to knock the blade out of his hands. Akainu brought down his other fist and Naruto knew he wouldn't be able to completely block this one. He willed his Haki to extend all the way to his face right on time as the fist connected. Luckily it wasn't as bad as the last one he had eaten.
The blond felt himself hit the ground hard and could see pirates looking to him in worry. Among them was his captain who was making his way over to him as fast as he could. His mind was hazy, and his body unresponsive. His stamina almost completely gone and the punches he'd taken from Akainu really took their toll on him.
"Time to die." He heard. Using all the left over strength he had he reached out and gripped the leg of the admiral and created a black pool beneath their feet.
"Look where we are." Naruto told him spitting out some blood. "This little bit of ice is the only real ground we have besides the pieces keeping the ships in place." He took a deep breath "You're in my Gift Bad and the substance I chose is oxygen. I've lowered your bodys resistance to almost non existent. In a few seconds your body will begin to shut down. If you use your magma powers you'll melt the ice beneath us." He explained spitting out more blood and fighting to keep his eyes open.
"It's already weak from the heat you were radiating just now. We'll both fall into the ocean and meet our deaths. Either way you lose." He finished with a small smile enjoying the angry look Akainu was sending him for forcing him into this situation.
"Oh fuck" He thought as he could feel his gift bad begin to shrink in size as his eyesight began to turn black. Akainu could have taken the opportunity to end it then and there but couldn't as he felt an ominous presence behind him.
He had just enough time to turn around and see Whitebeard in all his bloody glory behind him with a punch coming right at him. If his body wasn't weak from the effects of the technique the blond had used he probably could've defended himself. Naruto stayed conscious enough to watch the admiral get sent flying into the iron wall with enough force to actually dent it.
The strongest man in the world waddled over to the downed admiral almost as if he could die any second. By now most of the pirates were on navy ships and Law was standing aboard the Polar Tang which was making its way to his spot on the ice. He felt himself be lifted up and moved, most likely by Law and managed to watch Akainu make another hole in Whitebeard.
Even in his half concsious state he could still see Whitebeard pick the man up before throwing him into the air, chest on fire and all, and use the last of his strength to punch the man in the side of the body. Hard enough that the earth began shaking once more and Marineford began to crumble even more.
As the final bit of energy left the Yonko those still up heard the sounds of evil laughter in the distance. The laugh and Law telling him that Bepo was waiting for them with Luffy and Ace was the last thing he heard before darkness finally took him.
Alright so I'm going to end it there, that concludes Marineford. So Ace is Alive but Whitebeard still kicked the bucket. I have some plans for Naruto and Law during the time skip so the next few chapters will be a bit more original. I'll probably go into them collecting the hearts of some pirates so Law can join the Shichibukai and some Naruto and Bonney interactions. Anyways if there's anything you want to see feel free to leave it in a review or PM me. Later.