"Good work. Is Nami okay?" Kizaru spoke calmly. He had more or less anticipated that Dragon had a backup plan, but for something of this scale, it had to be one of Dragon's true trump cards. If there had been any other choice, Dragon wouldn't have revealed it so easily.
"Nami-chan? Ah! I forgot to take Nami-chan somewhere safe!" Baby-5 suddenly realized, shouting in panic. Though they hadn't known each other for long, in Baby-5's heart, Nami—who always needed her—was already her best friend.
"Forget it, I'll check myself." Kizaru rolled his eyes as his powerful Observation Haki swept across all of Marineford, quickly pinpointing Nami's location. Because of the approaching storm, even Fleet Admiral Sengoku had no choice but to stop pursuing Rayleigh, and with no one unleashing Conqueror's Haki at the moment, Kizaru's Observation Haki could perform at its best.
"The wind is still getting stronger... I need to seal off any areas where water might seep in..." Inside a bunker, Nami muttered to herself. The arrival of this storm was far too strange, violating common sense in many ways. If only she had her weather instruments, she might have been able to give whoever caused this a nasty surprise.
Just as she was about to move some cannonballs to block the entrance, she suddenly saw Baby-5 being thrown inside as if someone had casually tossed her in.
"Hmm, this place looks safe. Stay here until the battle is over before coming out."
Kizaru's voice suddenly echoed in the air. Unlike Jotaro Kujo's Stand, Star Platinum, Kizaru's Stand, "Flash," had an almost limitless range.
"Got it!" Though Nami had no idea what just happened, listening to Kizaru was always a safe bet. And now, with Baby-5 here as a... useful helper, sealing off any possible leaks became much easier.
Kizaru had sent Baby-5 back to Nami for two reasons: one, to have Baby-5 protect Nami, and two, to make sure Nami kept Baby-5 in check—so that this airheaded fool wouldn't run off and get into trouble.
"Tch, he sure runs fast..."
In the short time he had been distracted, Shanks had already disappeared without a trace. Kizaru could still catch up, but he had to admit that Dragon's move was ruthless. Unless he revealed his full strength, there wasn't much he could do in a storm of this scale aside from ensuring his own safety.
As the wind levels continued to rise, the first ones to suffer were the towering Giant Vice Admirals. Even with their immense strength, their average height of nearly twenty meters made it incredibly difficult to move in these conditions. In a storm like this, the larger the body, the stronger the wind pressure—what was a powerful gust to a normal person was a thousand times worse for them.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it! What the hell is up with this wind?!" Giant Vice Admiral Vivian was half-kneeling, shielding herself from the raging storm. Just moments ago, she had been inches away from cutting down a pirate, but the sudden gusts had nearly ripped her halberd from her hands.
At that moment, she spotted an unfortunate soul being blown away by the wind. Quick on her feet, she reached out and caught him mid-air.
"You okay?" Vivian asked while shielding him from the wind with her massive hand, but the storm was too fierce for her to see his face clearly.
Despite her fiery temper in battle, Vivian was considered relatively easygoing compared to the notoriously short-tempered giants—otherwise, she wouldn't have bothered saving him.
"I'm fine, thanks! But I still need to get back to the fight!" The person she saved was a lean young man. He had nearly been swept away by the wind, but after checking that his straw hat was still on his head, he grinned and spoke cheerfully.
"No rush. With wind this strong, those damn pirates aren't getting away either. You can go after them once the storm dies down," Vivian, who had been furious just moments ago, was now surprisingly calm as she tried to reason with him.
"Huh? Why are you chasing pirates?" The young man looked genuinely confused. Weren't all the pirates here on their side? They were either Ace's crew or Shanks' crew.
"Chasing pirates is what the Navy does, obviously—wait... Straw Hat?!"
Vivian was full of confusion, but as soon as the wind weakened slightly and she got a good look at the person in her hand, she nearly smacked herself in frustration.
Realizing she had saved the wrong person, Vivian immediately slammed her palm down on him, only to find that it felt like she was pressing against something elastic—no matter how hard she pushed, she couldn't squash him.
"Whoaaa! What are you doing?!"
Luffy was flattened under Vivian's palm, but as a Rubber-Rubber Fruit user, it was impossible for him to be crushed to death like that. No matter how much strength Vivian used, all she could do was repeatedly squish him flat.
"Damn pirate! You dare trick me?! Die!"
Vivian gritted her teeth, cursing furiously. Shocked and enraged, she even forgot about the halberd at her side, focusing only on smashing Luffy to death with her bare hands.
Braving the howling winds, she pounded her fist onto her own palm over and over, squashing Luffy again and again—but no matter what she did, she just couldn't kill that damn Straw Hat kid.
"Fire Fist!"
"Dragon Claw Fist: Dragon Hook Claw!"
Just in time, Ace and Sabo arrived together. Ace's flames forced Vivian to turn her head away, while Sabo struck her arm aside, rescuing Luffy from her grasp.
"You again?! I'm gonna kill you!"
Vivian quickly recognized Ace and Sabo. She had no personal vendetta against Ace—she wasn't like Akainu. But Sabo, who had fought her before, left a much stronger impression.
"This one's trouble—don't fight her!"
Sabo stopped Ace before he could charge in to defend Luffy. Having already clashed with Vivian, he knew just how formidable this giant woman was.
Even if he, Ace, and Luffy worked together, beating Vivian would take far too much time.
Boom!
Before Ace could respond, a deafening thunderclap roared across the sky. Moments later, rain poured down like an inverted river, drenching everyone in Marineford within seconds.
The storm, now mixed with torrential rain, made visibility even worse. Even Vivian, who was only a short distance away from the three brothers, had turned into nothing more than a blurry shadow.
Whoosh...
The rain poured relentlessly, while the raging waves crashed violently against Marineford's shores. Pirates still on their ships hurried to lower the sails, fearing the winds would capsize them.
Even the mighty Moby Dick was nothing more than a large toy in the face of the furious ocean, rising and falling unpredictably with the waves.
Veteran pirates who had spent their entire lives at sea had never seen a storm this sudden and this ferocious.
Sizzle...
Cold raindrops fell onto burning magma, instantly evaporating into steam.
Yet, as the downpour continued endlessly, even the lava on Akainu's body began to cool, turning his entire figure pitch black.
"Damn you, Dragon..."
Akainu's expression darkened. He had been this close to killing Marco, cutting off both the pirates' and the Revolutionary Army's escape routes.
But just like every other time he had nearly finished off an opponent, another meddler had jumped in at the last second—this time, Dragon had disrupted everything without even showing up in person.
The worst part? Akainu couldn't even go after him right away. If he wanted a fight, he'd have to make his way back to the plaza first.
"This storm's getting serious. You still wanna keep fighting? I don't mind sticking around!"
Marco flapped his wings, chuckling. The undying blue flames covering his body rapidly healed the wounds Akainu had inflicted.
Unlike Akainu's magma, which was being cooled by the rain, Marco's flames remained unaffected by the downpour—though they weren't particularly lethal either.
Without the sheer destructive power of his Magma-Magma Fruit, even Akainu would need a considerable amount of time to take Marco down. Zoan-type Devil Fruit users were naturally tough, and Marco, as a Mythical Zoan with the strongest regenerative ability, was even harder to put down.
"For now, I'll let you all keep clinging to life. Next time, you won't be so lucky!"
Akainu clenched his fists, quickly making a decision. In this storm, his attacks would be heavily limited. But more importantly, he was already starting to feel that draining weakness spread throughout his body.
The storm clouds, having absorbed moisture from the evaporating sea, carried special properties—meaning the rain falling from them was almost no different from actual seawater for Devil Fruit users.
For now, Akainu could still use his magma to evaporate the rain on his body, but over time, even a top-tier powerhouse like him wouldn't be able to outlast an unrelenting storm.
Gritting his teeth, he spat out one last threat before turning and dashing toward Marineford's plaza.
If he couldn't cut off the pirates' and Revolutionary Army's retreat, he would at least wipe out the remnants of the Red-Haired Pirates!
"Heh, we're not going anywhere!"
Marco chuckled, completely unconcerned by Akainu's threats. Whether the Marines came after them or not, the Whitebeard Pirates were bound to seek revenge for their old man sooner or later.
"We won! Haha! Long live Captain Marco!"
"As expected of Marco!"
"Well done!"
…
Seeing Akainu voluntarily retreat, the pirates aboard their ships couldn't hold back their cheers. They didn't care why Akainu had chosen to withdraw—all that mattered was that Marco had won in the end.
Meanwhile, on Marineford's plaza, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who had been overpowering Rayleigh earlier, was now struggling as the storm took its toll. If Garp hadn't stepped in at a critical moment, Sengoku might have actually been cut down by the Dark King.
"That bastard Dragon!"
Sengoku looked up toward the floating figure of Monkey D. Dragon, finally releasing his Golden Buddha form, which immediately made him feel somewhat better.
Had he stayed in his massive Buddha form, the sheer amount of rainwater he would have absorbed would've been unbearable. Even now, just standing there drenched left him feeling drained.
While it wasn't quite the same as being fully submerged in seawater, the storm's effect on Devil Fruit users was undeniable.
On the other hand, fighters like Rayleigh, Shanks, and Garp—who had no Devil Fruit abilities—were completely unaffected. Their combat strength remained intact while their opponents were growing weaker.
"This war ends here. Continuing would be meaningless," Dragon declared, hovering in the air as he addressed Aokiji.
All he had done was provide the initial force needed to trigger the storm. The rest had been orchestrated by the weather scientists of Visalia, a small sky island. There was no need for him to keep using his powers to sustain the storm—it would continue on its own.
Compared to the drenched and exhausted Sengoku, Dragon, who could simply command the winds to blow the rain away from his body, looked far more composed.
The Marineford War had taken many unexpected turns, but in the end, the outcome was more than acceptable for the Revolutionary Army.
Not only had they demonstrated their strength and ideals to the entire world, but they had also formed ties with both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Red-Haired Pirates.
And if they could severely weaken the Marines without suffering major losses themselves, Dragon couldn't think of a better way to conclude this war.
Of course, not everything had gone perfectly—after all, the priceless Pure Gold had fallen into Borsalino's hands.
But for the Revolutionary Army, the Pure Gold's ability to grant eternal youth was meaningless. Keeping it would've been nothing more than an unnecessary luxury.
"So this was your trump card?"
Aokiji, shielding himself with a transparent ice barrier, had managed to keep most of the rain off himself. As proud as he was, even he had to admit that he had lost—not just in terms of strength, but also in strategy and foresight.
"Yes, this was my last move. If this hadn't ended the war…"
Dragon's expression remained calm. He had done everything within his power, pushing his plans to their absolute limits. In fact, this storm hadn't even been part of his original strategy.
Before this, he hadn't been entirely certain that Haredas, the scientist from Birkan, would come to their aid. After all, this involved the fate of an entire sky island.
"You win."
Aokiji admitted defeat without hesitation. He lowered his ice barrier and landed on the ground, shifting his focus to protecting the Marine soldiers from the raging storm.
He wasn't willing to gamble on whether Dragon had even more cards to play. At this point, continuing to fight would only lead to mutual destruction. It was better to minimize Marine casualties while he still could.
°°°
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