Claudius's kick came so fast that Newgate had no time to react. The impact sent the Yonko hurtling backward.
Shiryu, seeing the magma bombs from Sakazuki descending upon Teach, made a split-second decision.
Not worth it.
He turned and fled, leaving Teach behind. Whatever hopes Shiryu had for Teach's ambitions evaporated in that moment. Teach might've promised greatness, but now, lying there with his body broken, he looked more like a sinking ship. Shiryu had no intention of going down with him.
---
Teach, meanwhile, had just regained consciousness. His blurred vision cleared just in time to see Sakazuki's molten fist descending upon him like a falling volcano.
"Dark Vortex!" Teach screamed, extending an arm to summon his darkness.
But it was too late.
The dark smoke barely formed when Sakazuki's magma blast crashed down. The superheated rock consumed Teach, driving him deep into the ground.
For several seconds, there was nothing but the bubbling hiss of magma cooling against scorched stone.
Then, from the molten pit, Sakazuki's figure emerged. His body reconstituted from lava into flesh, and in his grasp, he held a charred, barely-breathing body.
Teach dangled from Sakazuki's hand, burned beyond recognition. His once-cocky expression had been replaced by agony and disbelief.
This wasn't how the script was supposed to go.
Teach had envisioned himself rising to power during this war, slaying Whitebeard, claiming the Gura Gura no Mi, and fooling the World Government into trusting him. Then, he'd planned to steal the Road Poneglyph from under Claudius's nose before escaping to the New World to take over Whitebeard's territory.
But here he was, battered and broken, his so-called ambitions shattered.
"My dream… I'm Blackbeard…!" Teach gasped, his voice broken.
Sakazuki sneered. "Ugly."
His left arm morphed into molten stone, forming the head of a snarling, magma hound.
"Your ambition dies here, Marshall D. Teach."
The magma hound lunged forward, piercing Teach's chest and leaving a charred, gaping hole.
---
From a distance, Shiryu saw this and made his decision.
Teach is done. Maybe I'll join Big Mom's crew… or find my own path.
Without a word, he turned and fled the battlefield.
---
Sakazuki yanked his arm free and discarded Teach's corpse like a piece of trash. He then turned his gaze toward Newgate.
The Yonko was in rough shape. Claudius's kick had sent him flying, and Kuzan had seized the opportunity to freeze him into a block of ice. After breaking free, Newgate had been struck by three of Borsalino's laser beams. His chest was riddled with holes, and his breaths came in ragged gasps.
Even so, Whitebeard stood tall.
He threw a punch, forcing Claudius back, and staggered forward. His gaze landed on his naginata—Murakumogiri—lying nearby. He stomped the ground, sending a tremor through the earth that knocked the weapon into the air.
Newgate caught it and slammed its haft against the ground. His voice roared across the battlefield:
"Whitebeard Pirates… hear me!!!"
The battle froze for an instant as his booming voice cut through the chaos.
"Father!!!" Marco screamed, breaking free from three Vice Admirals to fly toward him.
"We've lost today… but we took down Teach! I didn't get to kill him myself, but that bastard's ambition ends here!" Newgate declared.
"Now… I'm giving you my last order as your captain. RETREAT!"
"No, Father! We'll fight with you!"
"We can go together! Don't stay here alone!"
Newgate smiled faintly. His voice softened, though it still carried across the plaza.
"I've sailed for too long… it's time for my journey to end here."
His eyes shifted toward Claudius, who was slowly approaching with an impassive expression.
That's the face of the new era, Newgate thought.
From the moment this war began, Newgate had known that, regardless of who won, the era would shift. The world was moving into Claudius's shadow.
He was just here to mark the turning point.
"I am a remnant of the past…" Newgate declared. "And in this new era… there's no ship that can carry me!"
He raised his fist and slammed it into the ground. The force shattered the plaza, carving a massive trench between himself and his crew.
The Whitebeard Pirates, separated from their captain by a yawning chasm, could do nothing but watch.
---
The tension broke when Sengoku's voice crackled through the Den Den Mushi.
"All Marine units—attack! Wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates! Don't let them escape to the New World!"
Marine forces surged forward in response. The bloodlust of imminent victory drove them to strike harder.
The pirates, disoriented and demoralized, scrambled to resist the renewed assault.
---
Across the battlefield, Shiki stood with blood streaming from two deep gashes across his chest. He saw the tide turning against the pirates and realized that staying here was suicide.
With a grimace, he conjured his Fuwa Fuwa no Mi powers, levitating an abandoned warship into the air. After slaughtering the Marines aboard it, he directed the vessel skyward.
Time to leave.
He had no interest in dying here. He'd return to the New World, bide his time, and reclaim what he'd lost.
Fujitora spotted the fleeing ship and prepared to pursue when his Den Den Mushi buzzed.
"Leave Shiki," Claudius's voice ordered. "Focus on stopping the Whitebeard Pirates. Don't let them escape."
"Understood," Fujitora replied.
Claudius watched the distant ship as it ascended into the sky. His eyes narrowed.
Shiki…
He knew the Golden Lion wouldn't sit idle. The man's ambitions hadn't died during his imprisonment. He would return to the New World and try to reclaim power, disrupting the delicate balance Claudius was trying to shape.
Perfect.
Shiki, driven by his ego, would plunge the pirate world into chaos. Newgate's death would create a power vacuum, and Shiki would fight to fill it. That chaos would weaken the pirate factions, making Claudius's long-term plans even easier to execute.
"Go ahead, Shiki," Claudius muttered. "Start your war. When I'm done with the World Government, I'll come for your head."
---
Elsewhere, Garp was locked in brutal combat with Charlotte Linlin.
Linlin was fighting desperately, but the prolonged battle had taken its toll. Imprisonment had weakened her. Her Homies were gone, her powers diminished. One eye had been blinded, and she was far from her peak condition.
Garp, on the other hand, had been conserving his strength for this very moment.