Finally, the day of Ace's execution arrived. Ace was brought from Impel Down to Marineford, knelt on the execution platform, and his identity as the natural-born son of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, was revealed.
The Navy's full force was present: the Fleet Admiral, the Three Admirals, Garp, Vice Admirals like Tsuru, and an overwhelming number of Rear Admirals below.
Li Xing stood in a line with the other four Shichibukai. Blackbeard Teach's spot was empty, as he had apparently gone to Impel Down to find someone.
(Too many people to introduce one by one.)
Just as Li Xing felt bored, the sea before him suddenly rose, and a colossal pirate ship emerged from below. It was Whitebeard's ship, having traversed the seabed with a coating. Following it came the captains of the Whitebeard Pirates, the entire crew mobilized for the sake of rescuing one person.
Whitebeard slowly walked out from the deck, a large sword in his hand. Li Xing vaguely recalled that the sword was one of the twelve Supreme Grade Swords, and he remembered Mihawk's sword, Yoru, clearly; it certainly exuded an impressive aura.
Whitebeard's first words were to ask Fleet Admiral Sengoku if his dear son was alright. Then, he clenched his fists and slammed them into the air beside him, causing visible cracks to appear.
"Is this the Tremor-Tremor Fruit? The ability to shake space is indeed powerful," Li Xing mused, having never tried its power before and now seeing it firsthand. It felt quite impressive.
Before Li Xing could ponder further, massive tidal waves, or rather, tsunamis, erupted on both sides of Marineford. However, there was no need for concern. Admiral Aokiji leaped into the air, freezing both waves completely and launching three ice spears.
But Whitebeard struck again with a punch, sending Aokiji plunging into the sea. Fortunately, Aokiji instantly froze the surrounding water to prevent the pirates from escaping by ship, which also provided a suitable battlefield for both sides.
Next was Admiral Kizaru. With a flash, he flew into the air and unleashed countless light bullets, seemingly called "Yasakani no Magatama," though Li Xing couldn't see any resemblance to magatama.
Whitebeard squinted at the glare, then a bird wreathed in blue-green flames soared into the sky, blocking all of Kizaru's attacks. It was Marco, the first division commander and ship doctor of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Marco's strike was swift and decisive; he kicked Kizaru down, demonstrating considerable strength.
Suddenly, Mihawk beside Li Xing moved. He stepped forward, drew his black blade, and unleashed a green slash towards Whitebeard.
Whitebeard didn't even glance at it. From below, a man with half his body made of diamond, Jozu, the third division commander, rushed forward. Jozu's diamond-hard body withstood Mihawk's slash, and with a swing, he deflected the attack skyward.
Then, using his diamond hardness, Jozu dug out a large chunk of ice from the ground and hurled it forcefully towards Marineford.
At this moment, the last Admiral, Akainu, intervened. With a punch, "Dai Funka," he melted the enormous ice block into nothing.
"Magma-Magma Fruit. Doesn't that counter Aokiji's Ice-Ice Fruit? Could these two fight for ten days?" Li Xing was truly bewildered; the power of the Pirate King's war seemed so chaotic.
However, Li Xing decided he wouldn't just spectate any longer. He sensed that Luffy and the others were on their way, and he didn't want to waste too much time, wanting to end the Marineford War quickly.
But Whitebeard had already made his move. Grasping the air with both hands and pulling downward, the sea tilted dramatically, with no horizon visible, only immense tsunamis and slanted waters.
"Too much bloodshed is not good. I stand on the side of justice now. I'm sorry!"
"Sage Art! Wood Style! Deep Forest Emergence!"
Li Xing clapped his hands together, and trees instantly sprouted from the ice below, growing towards the members of the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Hmm? Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock. Isn't your ability petrification?"
Doflamingo, standing nearby, looked astonished, as if he had only just met the Empress today. Even Mihawk showed some curiosity.
Of course, only those standing close by, like Doflamingo and Mihawk, knew Li Xing had made a move. The others hadn't even noticed him act.
However, just as the wood style was about to touch the Whitebeard Pirates, Whitebeard unleashed a powerful punch. The wood style stopped growing and was shattered into splinters by the immense shockwave.
Li Xing lowered his hands. It seemed ordinary means couldn't counter the spatial vibrations; it was like an absolute defense, repelling or shattering anything that dared to approach.
"Who is attacking? There are no plant-type Logia users in the Navy," Sengoku wondered, his gaze sharp, remaining vigilant lest a pirate had infiltrated.
Apart from the high-ranking officials, the regular Marines didn't think so deeply; they just knew this mysterious person was on their side.
But at that moment, a Navy warship descended from the sky. It was the warship hijacked by Luffy and his group. Also falling were the revolutionary Ivankov, Crocodile, and the Fish-Man Pirate Jinbe, along with other Impel Down escapees like Buggy.
"It seems they were blown here by Whitebeard's tsunami. Good thing Jozu dug a pit for you, or half of you would have been killed upon impact."
Seeing the group fall into the water, Li Xing decided he no longer needed to hide. He ripped off his cloak, revealing a haori underneath. His hair also began to shorten, eventually turning white.
"Li Xing! The rookie with the highest potential to become Pirate King! Why was the Pirate Empress impersonated by this brat? He even deceived everyone!" Akainu was the first to notice Li Xing. He had been observing their own ranks all along and hadn't expected a pirate to infiltrate, and this pirate was one Akainu paid the most attention to.
Just as Li Xing was about to utter a few words, a magma fist slammed towards him. Li Xing caught the mass of magma with one hand, instantly freezing it.
"I helped you just now, and this is how you treat me? You truly are ungrateful!"
"There's nothing to say to pirates; all pirates should die!" Akainu leaped in front of Li Xing and swung his fist.
"Since that's the case, I won't hold back!"
Li Xing clenched his fist and unleashed a powerful punch, colliding with Akainu's. Akainu was sent flying far away, blown away as magma, and Li Xing's punch simultaneously broke Ace's seastone handcuffs.
"Fire Fist!"
The moment he was freed, Ace transformed into a torrent of flames and flew out, launching a Fire Fist. However, his target was Sengoku on the platform. That's right, Sengoku had already transformed into his Great Buddha form. The moment Li Xing acted, Sengoku had been prepared.
"Ace!" Luffy cried out desperately, rushing towards the execution platform. While Akainu and Li Xing exchanged blows, a chaotic melee broke out on the ice.
Crocodile attempted to seize Whitebeard's head but was knocked away by Jozu. Doflamingo had manipulated Jozu's body.
Ivankov engaged Bartholomew Kuma, who had been turned into a combat robot. After all, both were Revolutionary Army cadres.
Little Oars Jr. of the Whitebeard Pirates also charged forward, engaging several Giant Vice Admirals from Marine Headquarters. Luffy attempted to reach Ace but was intercepted by Mihawk, who simply wanted to gauge Luffy's strength.
Li Xing found Garp and immediately began fighting him. Although Garp was not weak, he couldn't withstand Li Xing's power. Before long, Garp was smashed away by Li Xing, crashing into the rear of Marine Headquarters.
"I prevented you from witnessing the death of your family with your own eyes! You should thank me!"