THE STRONGEST CREATURE OF THE BEAST PIRATES

Ice and magma collided with each other, creating vast amounts of water vapor that rose into the sky. The temperature difference between the two elements formed towering cumulonimbus clouds, gradually darkening the once clear, cloudless sky. It made the world look like a purgatory on earth.

"It's... so terrible. So many people have died!"

In the square of Marineford, many sailors trembled, their fear palpable. They were not prepared to face such a level of war. Some couldn't bear the oppressive atmosphere of death and chose to desert, quietly slipping away.

Among them were two very young sailors—one with a round, winter melon-shaped face, glasses perched on his forehead, drenched in cold sweat, and visibly terrified.

"In this kind of war, people die... They really die!" the boy cried, his voice trembling as he ran.

"Wait for me, Koby!" the other called from behind.

"Shh, keep your voice down, or they'll hear us!" Koby whispered urgently.

Suddenly, Koby came to an abrupt stop. He had spotted Akainu, who had caused this hellish scene just moments before. The red dog, as if out of nowhere, appeared in this hidden corner of the battlefield.

In front of Akainu stood another deserter, one who, like Koby and Bellamy, had fled in fear.

"Go back!" Akainu's voice rang cold and stern. "If you care for your loved ones at home, then fight for absolute justice and kill more pirates!"

Koby watched in horror as the deserter hesitated and refused to return to the battlefield. Without hesitation, Akainu struck, killing him without a second thought.

Koby's face turned pale, his legs trembling as he collapsed to the ground, staring into nothingness. "You'll die if you run... or you'll die if you don't run. Bellamy... we're done for. Why, why don't we stop this war?"

Akainu wasn't here to deal with deserters. A dignified admiral didn't concern himself with such minor tasks. Instead, he had a more sinister purpose—carrying out a counter-plan devised by Sengoku and Chief Staff Crane: instigating rebellion within Whitebeard's forty-three pirate captains, particularly targeting Shuyard the Great Eddy Spider.

At the same time, no one knew where Alastor had disappeared to. He had been transported via Trafalgar Law's Room, now beneath the sea in a submarine.

What Sengoku had predicted became clear—Alastor's injuries were severe. Most notably, Akainu's last attack with the light devil fruit power had pierced his heart, putting him on the brink of death.

However, unlike during his previous encounter with Whitebeard, Alastor didn't fall unconscious. Though his body could barely move, his eyes remained open, and he could still speak.

This wasn't a case of adapting to fatal wounds—he was genuinely at the brink of death. The difference now was that Alastor was forcing his heart and brain cells to stay conscious through the intense stimulation of electric current.

"This can't last long," Alastor thought, grimacing. "I can only hold on for a minute or two."

The members of the Heart Pirates, shocked by his condition, watched in disbelief.

"The heart's been pierced, and he's still talking? What kind of monster is this?" Beppo shivered, his fur standing on end.

Rebecca had tears streaming down her face, though she fought hard not to cry.

Sai shouted, "Master Alastor! Let us go up with you. We'll fight the navy!"

Shimotsuki Onimaru added, "Now's not the time for that. Trafalgar, your abilities should be able to inject food directly, right?"

Trafalgar Law stood in stunned silence as he witnessed the man who should be dead smiling faintly at him. His heart felt gripped by some inexplicable force.

"Well, it is being held," he thought, remembering the moment when Onimaru had taken his heart.

After a moment of hesitation, Law spoke. "Don't worry. I promised to serve under you for five years, and I don't break my promises. I'm not one to act like such a villain."

"Room!" Trafalgar Law activated his power, creating a spatial room and injecting the food prepared in advance into Alastor's stomach, bypassing his throat.

Alastor's body began to visibly recover, his injuries healing at a speed none could comprehend.

"This… this recovery rate," Trafalgar whispered, shaking his head in disbelief. "No wonder they had us prepare food from two islands. His physique is beyond comprehension."

Alastor chuckled, his smile widening. "Even the Four Emperors couldn't manage something like this."

Trafalgar shook his head, still unable to comprehend the extent of Alastor's monstrous recovery.

"No wonder he asked for so much food..." Trafalgar muttered under his breath.

After injecting hundreds of tons of food, Alastor stood up, his injuries completely healed, his bronzed muscles unmarred.

Trafalgar, Beppo, and the others stared in stunned silence.

"You've done well, Trafalgar. After this battle, I'll return your heart." Alastor stretched his arms, his body revitalized and unharmed once again.

Trafalgar didn't respond with joy. The thought of serving under Alastor for five years weighed heavily on him.

"Lord Alastor, I have to remind you," Trafalgar said softly, "even with this level of recovery, you've used up nearly all your potential. You can only survive such injuries up to five times, including this one."

"Five times," Alastor muttered, a grin forming. "That's 6,000 defense points, not counting additional serious or moderate damage."

His system panel now displayed:

[Host: Alastor]

[Age: 20]

[Defense Power: 9800 points]

"I'll break 10,000 soon," Alastor thought, exhilarated. His internal and external factors were aligning, catching up to Yamato's level.

Alastor became increasingly confident. As the battle raged above, he could hear Akainu's cold voice ordering the rebellion against Whitebeard's forces.

Alastor's advantages were clear. His lightning-fast speed rivaled that of Admiral Kizaru, while his advanced Observation Haki allowed him to hear the voices of the entire island, a skill unmatched by any other.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes. "Let's see what kind of tricks you've got, Akainu."

Only the winner defines everything. History has proven this countless times.

But Alastor couldn't allow the Navy's scheme to succeed again. He couldn't stand by while Akainu's countermeasures played out.

With a firm grip on Enel, Alastor replenished his body's energy. Then, with a burst of lightning crackling around him, he leapt from the submarine, his entire form enveloped in thunder. Once again, he surged toward Marineford above, ready to unleash a thunderstorm of his own.

Akainu implemented his countermeasures against Squard. The fool Squard had actually fallen for it.

He looked at the massive iceberg surrounding Marineford, created by the freezing powers of the admiral Aokiji's tsunami. Now, it seemed like a deliberate blockade, trapping them, ensuring their retreat was cut off.

Squard clenched his fists in frustration, his eyes burning with rage. "That damn Whitebeard," he muttered, his voice trembling with fury. "Thanks to our trust in him, he actually conspired with the Navy to trade our lives for Ace!"

His fists trembled, his mind consumed by the anger of betrayal. Squard drew his long knife and boarded the Moby Dick, walking toward Whitebeard with a steely determination.

Speaking of which, as the captain of the Great Pirates of the New World, Squard had been with Whitebeard for many years. He shouldn't have been so easily swayed. The reason he believed Akainu's conspiracy was because of his limited connection to Ace.

Most of the other forty-two captains who weren't part of Whitebeard's core fleet weren't very familiar with Ace either. They followed Whitebeard, not Ace, and although they respected him, many didn't particularly like Ace's reckless nature.

Ace had only been with Whitebeard's crew for a few years, barely interacting with the subordinate captains. How could they be willing to sacrifice their lives for someone they didn't fully trust or know?

What bound them wasn't their relationship with Ace, but their loyalty to Whitebeard. When Akainu spun his tale of Whitebeard betraying them for Ace, many—including Squard—found it all too plausible.

In a way, this was Whitebeard's greatest sorrow. Despite being a father to many, his bonds with some sons were fragile, easily broken under the weight of external pressures.

As Squard drew closer to Whitebeard, the man himself noticed, but did nothing. Whitebeard truly considered his pirates family, trusting each of them. He never anticipated that one of them would turn against him.

Back in the Marineford square, Akainu and Sengoku observed the scene, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Seeing Squard approach Whitebeard with a knife, both displayed a sense of triumph. The countermeasure had succeeded.

"Whether that fool Squard succeeds or not, Whitebeard's spirit will be fractured," Akainu thought. "His strength will be weakened, and victory will be within our grasp."

Sengoku nodded. "Whitebeard's health is already fragile. This could be the final blow."

It didn't matter to either of them if Squard's attempt succeeded. All they needed was the appearance of instability, and the Navy would hold the upper hand.

Suddenly, the ice beneath Marineford trembled, sending a shock through the battlefield. A purple figure shot up from beneath the surface, moving at an incredible speed.

Sengoku' eyes widened in shock as he recognized the figure—Alastor had returned.

"How? How did he recover from such severe injuries?" Sengoku wondered aloud, his voice filled with disbelief. "His internal injuries—gone?"

Kizaru squinted, muttering in disbelief. "It's impossible. All those injuries… disappeared."

Sengoku, lost in thought, couldn't grasp how someone could survive injuries that should have been fatal. "Is he some kind of phantom beast? A creature with super resilience? But he emerged from the sea... How can that be?"

"No, it can't be a Devil Fruit power," Sengoku concluded, scratching his head. "And his identity remains a mystery. His bounty order still lists 'unknown' for his Devil Fruit."

Alastor hovered above the battlefield, his form crackling with lightning. His purple eyes swept across the assembled forces, radiating sheer power.

Thunder Disaster Alastor had descended once more.

Visit patreon.com/shirokendama to read up to 100+ chapters