"Hahaha~!"
Uchiha Madara's maniacal laughter echoed through the skies.
Smack—
Senju Tobirama slapped his forehead with a sigh.
"I knew this would happen."
"I thought Madara made a pretty cool entrance," Hashirama replied.
"Then look at him now."
Sure enough, several of the spectators looked down, releasing their sensory perception.
Madara's full-body Susanoo had disappeared.
The battle had taken a toll. His chakra was nearly depleted, and he was now quietly recovering.
"Pirates?"
"I'm not sure… but what was that just now?"
"Uh… no idea."
"Forget it. Let's deal with the Whitebeard Pirates first!"
"..."
"What's wrong? You thinking about going up there?" Doflamingo asked with a grin.
"Just a little test," came the low reply.
"The man standing before me—"
"—How large is the gap between us?"
As Mihawk—Hawkeye—spoke, a marine below muttered, eyes wide with fear:
"No matter how strong you are… when you meet his gaze, your body just freezes."
"You can't even move."
"As expected of the man called Hawkeye!"
"Every swordsman sees him as the pinnacle."
"I want to challenge him too. That's the instinct of a true swordsman."
At that moment, Mihawk slowly drew the black sword from his back.
"Is that… the legendary black blade?"
Smoker spoke in a low voice, biting down on his cigar.
Next to him, a short-haired woman with red glasses and a sharp katana turned her head.
"Black Blade Yoru," said Tashigi solemnly.
"One of the twelve Supreme Grade swords in the world."
"That pitch-black blade is the Chaos Sword—Heavy Flower Dingzi."
"A sword truly worthy of the world's strongest swordsman."
"Tch, don't get in my way," Smoker muttered.
Then, he turned into a thick cloud of smoke and charged toward Uchiha Madara.
Madara, arms crossed, watched calmly with his three-tomoe Sharingan.
"Well then… I'll entertain you for a bit—until my chakra returns and the others arrive."
Buzz—
In a flash, Smoker appeared beside Madara.
"White Fist!"
With a snarl, his limbs turned to smoke, and he punched.
Madara didn't even glance his way.
Bang—!!!
The blow struck Madara squarely.
BOOM—!
Madara was sent flying, gouging a trench through the ground.
Smoke billowed in every direction.
"Hah~! Thought he'd be tougher," Smoker exhaled as he took another drag.
The attention of nearby marines and pirates shifted toward the smoke-filled battlefield.
But when the dust cleared, Madara stood tall and unscathed in his crimson armor.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
He patted his chest as if brushing off dirt, face expressionless.
"A Devil Fruit user, huh?"
Whoosh—!!!
In the next instant, gasps erupted across the battlefield.
"What… what kind of power is that?!"
Even Smoker's eyes widened in disbelief.
Before he could react—
A flash of blinding white light.
A massive blade of chakra pierced straight through his chest.
But a moment later, his body turned to smoke—the intangibility of the Moku Moku no Mi.
Buzz—
The white mist coalesced. Smoker reformed in front of Madara, unharmed.
"White Snake!!"
BOOM—!!!
Without hesitation, Smoker's arm surged forward, transforming into a thick snake-like plume of smoke that lashed out at Madara.
"So this is elementalization…"
Madara raised a hand.
As the smoke-fist lunged, he caught it effortlessly.
Snap—
Gripping it mid-air.
Slowly, he turned to face Smoker.
"You want to dance too?"
Smoker's pupils shrank.
In the blink of an eye, Madara was in front of him.
One hand seized Smoker by the neck, lifting him high off the ground.
"Oh?"
"So this is 'Haki,' is it?"
"With this… you can touch Logia types even when they turn intangible."
And then—
Bang—!!!
Madara delivered a brutal kick to Smoker's gut, sending him flying.
Tashigi froze in shock.
Once she regained her senses, she rushed over to check on Smoker.
Meanwhile, Madara spread his arms.
"Come. Let me feel the strength of this world."
Hawkeye, who had just turned to face Whitebeard, paused.
He turned his gaze toward Uchiha Madara.
Madara looked back.
"A swordsman?"
"…Good eyes."
Madara never held back on genuine praise.
Without a word, Mihawk raised his black blade high overhead—
—and slashed it down with terrifying force.
Whoosh—!!!
A massive gust of wind howled.
A green arc of sword energy, dozens of meters tall, surged toward Madara.
It tore through the battlefield, carving a massive trench in the earth.
Everyone present turned to watch, awestruck.
But the man facing it—Uchiha Madara—only smiled and shook his head.
"It looks impressive… but it's not even as fast as a Tailed Beast Bomb."
"Too slow."
Uchiha Madara's voice was calm, almost disappointed.
The moment he finished speaking, the towering Susanoo behind him swung its blade down.
Snap—
But then—
Clang!
Something unexpected happened.
Madara's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Oh?"
The Susanoo's chakra blade had been cut clean off.
A flicker of surprise danced across Madara's face—then vanished.
In the next second, his Sharingan spun into the purple ripple-pattern of the Rinnegan.
Clang—!!!
Hawkeye Mihawk's green-tinged sword aura crashed into an invisible wall of repelling force—Shinra Tensei.
The trajectory shifted.
Whoosh—!
The redirected slash tore across the battlefield, colliding into the towering ice wall created by Aokiji's tsunami freeze.
CRACK—BOOM—!!!
The sword aura sliced through it effortlessly.
The massive ice wall shattered instantly, falling in thunderous sheets.
"The world's greatest sword slash… Who is that man?!" a rear admiral muttered in disbelief.
Buzz—!
At that moment, a golden flash streaked across the sky.
It came without warning—accompanied by a sharp hum of energy.
A closer look revealed a three-pronged kunai racing ahead of the golden beam.
Its target: Whitebeard.
Clang—!!!
Whitebeard narrowed his eyes.
That technique… it felt familiar.
Then, right in front of him, a figure appeared—radiant, clad in gleaming armor, his body like a diamond.
He crossed his arms to shield against the incoming blast.
BOOM—BOOM—!!!
A deafening explosion tore through the air.
Whoosh—!
But before the smoke cleared, another golden flash flickered to life.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!
A sphere of glowing blue chakra spun into existence.
"Flying Thunder God Second Stage: Rasengan."
BOOM—!
The Rasengan slammed into the back of Diamond Jozu, the Third Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
But the attack only made him grunt.
Minato frowned slightly.
"Diamond… his defense really is incredible."
Without missing a beat, he launched a spinning whip kick.
The moment he lifted his leg, his body flickered—elementalized—becoming golden light thanks to the Pika Pika no Mi.
BOOM—!!!
The kick struck Jozu squarely in the waist.
A fracture formed across the diamond-coated surface of his body—but he remained largely unharmed.
The impact sent his massive form flying, crashing back with a blinding flash.
"That's probably this world's power… Haki Infusion, right?"
Whoosh—
As Minato spoke, he vanished again.
Appearing beside Madara with a gentle smile.
"Still rushing in, Madara-senpai? Naruto and the others haven't arrived yet. Better conserve some chakra."
Madara cast him a glance.
"I was the first to arrive."
Thud—
A kunai embedded itself into the ground at their feet.
Flash—!
Two figures appeared—Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju.
"You're wrong, Madara."
"Tobirama and I were here first. We've been observing from above this whole time," Hashirama said with a grin.
Gasps spread throughout the battlefield.
"Where… where did they come from?"
"And what's with those outfits? They don't look like anyone from the Marine ranks!"
"Damn it! Even the Whitebeard Commanders—did they even notice that blond guy's attack?!"
"Wait—no way… has Admiral Kizaru already—?!"
"..."
The battlefield dissolved into confusion and tension.
Madara turned expressionlessly.
"Well… let's wait a little longer."
"But…"
His gaze locked with Hawkeye's.
Their eyes narrowed simultaneously.
"…It's my turn."
Madara formed hand seals with both hands.
Chakra surged around him.
Susanoo reappeared—this time in a more terrifying form: three heads and six arms, each hand forming different seals simultaneously.
"Let's clean up the battlefield first."
And just like that, Madara began withdrawing his chakra.
Minato and Tobirama moved instantly, placing a hand on Madara and Hashirama's shoulders.
Flying Thunder God.
Flash—!
The four of them vanished in an instant.
Hawkeye stared silently at the spot they left behind.
"…A formidable man."
Doflamingo and Gecko Moria were confused.
Until they looked up—following Hawkeye's line of sight.
BOOM—!!!
The once-clear sky had darkened without warning.
Everyone looked up.
Whitebeard's pupils narrowed slightly.
"…The power those people possess… isn't bad at all~"
On the execution platform—
Straw Hat Luffy shouted, "That again! That kind of power!"
Ace, confused, glanced skyward.
"What kind of Devil Fruit ability is that?"
Sengoku and Garp exchanged a glance, their expressions heavy.
"Sengoku," Garp muttered, "this power… it's just like the one described in that intel."
"…Yeah. This battle's going to be more difficult than we thought, Garp."
Aokiji tilted his head toward Akainu, raising an eyebrow.
Akainu was no longer seated.
"They've come."
"These people… they're from the same place as that Uzumaki Naruto."
"I figured this war would involve more than just the Whitebeard Pirates."
Whoosh—
A small puff of white mist escaped from Aokiji's lips as he calmly responded, voice traveling on chilled air.
"If this is the extent of their power… there's no problem."
"This meteorite… it's not the same as the ones we saw on the Sabaody Archipelago."
"Are you going to deal with it, or should I?"
Akainu didn't reply—his body already radiating heat, glowing red-hot as lava surged up from his fists.
But before either of them could act—
Whoosh—
A figure shot into the air.
It was none other than the Warlord of the Sea, the world's strongest swordsman—Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk.
This meteorite was unlike the ones Fujitora hurled using gravity—it was bigger, heavier, and deadlier.
Its sheer presence seemed to blot out the sun.
Below, chaos erupted.
Marines and pirates alike froze in stunned disbelief, gazing up at the sky-consuming mass of rock.
Smoker, still groggy from earlier, jolted awake—eyes wide.
Tashigi reacted instantly.
"Get out of the way! Move!!!"
"This thing's huge!!!"
"…!"
The panic spread fast.
But then—they all saw him.
Floating calmly mid-air.
One black blade gripped in both hands: Yoru, the famed Black Sword in the shape of a crucifix.
A low hum echoed.
Buzz—
Black and red lightning danced around the blade—Haki-infused.
Mihawk narrowed his eyes and swung.
CLANG—!!!
A sword cry sharp enough to cut through the world erupted.
He spoke quietly, yet his words echoed louder than the coming crash.
"After this strike… the situation will move beyond the scope of the agreement."
"I will not participate… in what follows."
...
TN:
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