Clank… Clank…
Beneath the walls along the harbor's coastline, the sound of gears turning echoed through the air.
As the gears rotated, each wall slowly lifted, revealing the steel barriers hidden beneath.
Whitebeard's clash with the three Admirals had left Maude wanting more, but the sudden movement of the encircling walls instantly drew his attention.
Not just his—every pirate on the frozen harbor floor turned to look at the rising barriers surrounding them.
"Steel walls?!"
"What the hell are the Marines up to?!"
The pirates closest to the walls watched in shock as the barriers rumbled upward.
"We're being trapped!"
Some pirates reacted swiftly, immediately aiming their shoulder-mounted cannons at the walls.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three consecutive shells blasted toward the barriers.
Boom!
The explosions sent thick smoke billowing into the air, but as the wind carried it away, the pirates saw the walls remained unscathed.
"Damn it! Not even a scratch!"
"Hey, look! There are gunports on the walls!"
"This is bad—we're sitting ducks!"
As the barriers reached halfway up, the pirates caught sight of the neatly arranged gunports along the structure, their faces darkening instantly.
Clearly, they had grossly underestimated the firepower the Marines were about to unleash.
In the distance…
Whitebeard narrowed his eyes at the ascending walls. Though they were still rising, from his position within the harbor, he could no longer see the plaza—or the execution platform towering above.
This meant the final height of these barriers would exceed a hundred meters.
"So this is your 'plan'… Strategist Sengoku."
His eyes sharpened as he clenched his massive fist and struck one of the barriers.
With a deafening crack, a powerful shockwave burst forth, slamming into the steel wall.
However—
The impact that had shattered countless structures before this could only cause the stone walls behind the steel to crumble. The steel itself remained intact, with nothing more than a deep dent.
"…?"
Whitebeard's brows furrowed slightly.
His crew members, however, were utterly shocked.
"The steel wall didn't break?!"
"E-Even Pops' power can't destroy it?!"
"That must be no ordinary steel!"
If even Whitebeard's power couldn't break through, then using cannons was out of the question.
"Hey, everyone! One of the walls isn't rising!"
"Huh? That's…!"
Everyone, including Whitebeard, turned their gaze toward a section of the barrier that remained motionless.
At that spot lay Oars Jr.'s fallen body.
His massive corpse had prevented the barrier from rising properly, leaving an open path into the plaza.
Even in death, this giant who had fought desperately to save Ace had given the Whitebeard Pirates a chance—a glimmer of hope for victory.
"…Oars…"
A fleeting trace of sorrow flashed in Whitebeard's eyes before quickly vanishing.
...
At the base of the barriers…
"So, the plan has begun…"
Maude glanced at the towering steel walls behind him, then withdrew his shadow clone from battle.
Without the clone's suppression, the pirates of Whitebeard's 13th Division managed to escape their perilous situation.
They turned to look at their fallen comrades, slain by the shadow clone, their grief immeasurable.
Maude paid them no mind. He stepped into the air, using Moonwalk to ascend effortlessly to the top of the barriers.
These walls were high, reinforced, and equipped with artillery. Without the ability to fly or leap great distances, scaling them was nearly impossible.
But for someone with Moonwalk, they were meaningless obstacles.
From his vantage point, Maude surveyed the battlefield below. He could see that some Marines had failed to retreat in time and were still inside the harbor.
Their fate, once the barriers fully closed, was self-evident.
Among them were not only soldiers still able to fight but also many severely wounded Marines lying unconscious on the ice.
When the Marine firepower rained down on the harbor, these men would lose their final chance at survival.
"…Brutal. To achieve victory, they'll even abandon their own."
Maude sighed.
After all, this was a battle the Marines could not afford to lose.
If they could secure victory cleanly, all the better.
If not—
Then they would do whatever it took.
Abandoning their own? That was nothing. The Marines wouldn't even hesitate to execute Ace ahead of schedule if it meant ensuring their success.
On the barrier's top, Doflamingo and the other Warlords had also arrived, all noticing the same unexpected development—Oars Jr.'s body preventing the barrier from rising.
The Marines on the plaza had, of course, noticed it as well.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku! The barrier's power isn't enough to lift Oars' massive body!!!"
A Marine officer in charge of the barriers looked up at the execution platform, awaiting orders.
"It doesn't matter. It's just a 'small gap.'"
Sengoku glanced at the portion of the wall crushed beneath Oars Jr.'s weight, showing no concern.
Then, he turned his gaze to Akainu and Fujitora, who had been waiting for orders.
"It's time. Akainu, Fujitora."
"..."
Hearing Sengoku's command, the two Admirals moved simultaneously.
Fujitora unsheathed his cane-sword and slashed the air multiple times, sending waves of violet gravitational ripples skyward.
Moments later, far on the horizon, several fiery lights flickered into view.
They were… three colossal meteors.
"Meteor Volcano."
Following Fujitora's attack, Akainu activated his ability.
His arms turned into flowing magma, then he raised them skyward, unleashing a barrage of magma fists like a machine gun.
Countless magma fists soared into the sky, piercing through the clouds and turning the entire sky a blood-red hue.
Seconds later—
Just as the technique's name implied, the sky rained down an apocalyptic storm of magma fists upon the frozen harbor.
Trailing behind them, the three massive meteors loomed closer.
...
On the ice…
The pirates looked up in horror at the sky, now dyed crimson by the falling magma and meteors, as though witnessing the end of the world.
"The impact zone is the harbor! Everyone—board the Icebreaker! Cross over Oars' body and push into the plaza!"
Whitebeard's voice rang out in perfect timing.
Although the barriers had trapped them inside, the Marines had also withdrawn their forces from the harbor. With no opposition, the Icebreaker ship could now move freely across the ice.
And at this moment, it was their lifeline.
On the ship's prow stood a woman with long, pale blue hair, wearing a striped short-sleeved shirt, a captain's hat, and a lace cravat.
She was one of Whitebeard's fleet captains, the Ice Witch Whitey Bay.
"My ship can go anywhere. A little ice is nothing."
She smirked confidently.
"Yeah!! Whitey Bay's Icebreaker!"
The pirates cheered as they sprinted toward the ship's path.
As the ship drew near, they prepared to jump aboard.
If nothing unexpected happened, the icebreaker would charge toward Oars' corpse with most of the pirates aboard before the magma projectiles and meteors rained down.
Atop the encirclement wall, Maude calmly observed the shifting tides of battle.
He remained silent for a long moment.
Finally, he made his decision.
With a powerful leap, Maude descended toward Oars' massive corpse below.
While still midair, his shadow rippled like water behind him, surging and undulating as if forming a pair of dark, demonic wings.
The pirates in the bay had their eyes fixed on Oars' fallen body.
Meanwhile, the Marines in the plaza, determined to guard the breach created by Little Oars, also focused their attention on the same spot.
The moment Maude leapt from the top of the encirclement wall, both sides immediately took notice.
Under their gazes, the wing-like shadow behind Maude plunged downward ahead of him, sinking into Little Oars' lifeless body.
Rumble—
Almost the instant the shadow merged with the corpse, Little Oars' massive limbs twitched—then, without warning, he stood up.
As for Maude, who had just jumped from the encirclement wall, he now stood firmly atop the reanimated Little Oars' shoulder.
"What!?"
Watching Little Oars' corpse rise again, both the pirates in the bay and the Marines in the plaza were utterly shocked.
But an even more astonishing scene unfolded next.
Under Maude's control, Little Oars' massive arms dropped neatly to his sides before he sat down in a dignified, upright posture.
With his colossal body, he completely and tightly sealed the breach in the encirclement wall.
At the same time—
Scorching firelight reflected off the frozen battlefield.
Countless magma projectiles and meteors rained down in succession.
With just a single, seemingly minor action, Maude had completely severed the Whitebeard Pirates' path to victory.
"Brat…!"
Whitebeard's sharp gaze locked onto Maude, standing atop Oars' shoulder.
Boom!
A magma fist crashed down first, wreaking havoc on the ice below.
The sheer heat instantly melted portions of the ice, sending seawater into a violent boil.
And then—
A massive, even deadlier meteor plummeted from above!
At this moment—
For the Whitebeard Pirates, this battlefield had become nothing short of hell.