The Navy's execution blade hadn't yet fallen.
But following Sengoku's declaration, the Spider of the Great Whirlpool's blade certainly did.
Saint Charlos awoke from the Sharingan-induced nightmare, realizing with a jolt what he had done. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the blade struck clean and merciless.
Click. Click.
A storm of camera flashes lit the air.
The pirates' cheers exploded across the battlefield like a tsunami. The tension shattered. This was no longer a war it had turned into a frenzy.
"That's how it's done!"
"Now that's a real man!"
What stunned the world even more was the eruption of applause from within the Navy's own ranks. A young marine snapped his saber in half, fell to his knees on the ice, and burst into tears.
"What the hell are we even protecting?!"
A voice of raw desperation cried out:
"Stop! Please, stop fighting! You're wasting lives!"
"Every soldier out there has someone waiting for them at home!"
More and more low-ranking marines threw down their weapons and ran. Even the officers' swordplay grew erratic the word "justice" on their backs weighed heavier than ever. In a world where conviction defines strength, losing it is the first step to defeat.
Inside the World News Agency, Morgans kicked a World Government spy straight through a window. Trying to stop him from running the headline? Dream on.
Pulling up the cleanest shot of the execution, he snatched the article from a reporter's hands and shouted like a madman:
"Move it! This one goes front page! Wait who the hell is this guy?"
"Looks like some guy named Squard, the 'Great Whirlpool Spider.' Used to have a 200 million bounty."
"Not anymore!" Morgans roared. "Give him the gilded special-edition headline! Run it! Then we vanish."
The live broadcasts around the world erupted. He actually did it. A Celestial Dragon dead.
Generations of myth and fear wrapped around these "gods" were torn to shreds in a single stroke.
Squard raised the decapitated head for all to see.
"Saint Charlos of the Celestial Dragons executed by me, Squard!"
Transponder Snails blinked wildly as they broadcasted the scene across the globe.
From this day forward, Squard would be known as the bravest man alive.
And the bravest man alive turned toward the three Navy Admirals and roared:
"Akainu! I'm coming for your head!"
Then he turned to Itachi beside him.
"I owe you one! If I make it out of this alive, I'll pay it back!"
It was clear now thanks to intel from temporary strategist Uchiha Itachi, Squard had seen through Akainu's deceit.
With a guilty heart and a god-slaying blade in hand, Squard leapt from the execution platform and plunged into battle. His swordsmanship tore through enemy lines. None could match him.
Itachi watched with quiet admiration. The spirit of this battlefield was fierce, to say the least.
"Itachi, fight with us! Just like last time!" Marco shouted.
Itachi hesitated.
"My mission is..."
"To hell with your mission!" Marco laughed, cutting him off. "Forget Ace that job came from him. But I'm the one paying you!"
"...Alright." Itachi nodded.
"Wait. A ninja's combat method is different from yours. I'll only get one real shot to cripple their top fighters. I need to choose the right time and the right target."
Marco's brow lifted. "You mean you haven't used that thing on Kizaru yet?"
"...No."
Boom.
From the distant platform, Kizaru turned into golden light and lunged at Whitebeard. Yesterday, he'd said he wanted to fight Whitebeard one-on-one and apparently, he meant it.
And rightly so. Without an Admiral to stop him, Whitebeard alone could tear through to the platform.
Close behind was Aokiji, shouting, "I'll back you up!" as he joined the fray.
Aokiji had already tangled with Whitebeard earlier, just as Ace was breaking free of his chains. A perfectly timed move.
Still, with Akainu present, no one could say much.
"I'm going to back up Pops. I'll swing by for you!" Marco transformed into the blue-flamed phoenix and dove toward Kizaru.
Itachi's Sharingan scanned the battlefield, looking for the perfect opening.
…
If you asked who was the strongest Water Release user in the ninja world, the debate would be long.
But in the world of pirates? It was Whitebeard.
The thousand-meter-high tsunami frozen mid-surge was proof of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's terrifying power.
Without the Admiral of Ice on their side, the Marines might've lost the war to a single tidal wave.
This was why Sengoku feared Whitebeard so deeply. On a sea-bound battlefield, his fruit was more dangerous than the man himself.
Aokiji's ambiguous stance, as intel had hinted, was also becoming clear. While he froze the doomsday tsunami, he also created a land bridge that made it easier for Whitebeard's fleet to press forward.
Marineford was now divided into three main zones.
The outer ring was where allied pirate crews clashed with the Marine periphery. Morale among the Marines was so low that if they could maintain half their original combat power, it would be a miracle. The pirates were making fast progress.
The middle zone held Whitebeard's core fleet the division commanders and their elite. They faced off against Navy Vice Admirals and the Warlords of the Sea.
Thanks to the Marines' low morale, the Shichibukai, previously seen as background props, now carried nearly half the burden. Of them, Mihawk radiated the greatest pressure, but the valiant Vista held his ground with his signature rose-blade style.
And at the heart of it all: the execution platform.
Above stood Sengoku. Below, Akainu one of the three Navy Admirals.
At that moment, Aokiji and Kizaru tangled with Whitebeard and Marco. The intensity was moderate, neither side gaining ground yet.
Nearby, the Marine hero Garp had moved to stand beside Sengoku.
Ace, his arms now free of Seastone shackles, erupted with Conqueror's Haki, knocking out the axe-wielding guards nearby.
Sengoku's forehead pulsed with veins. He was just about to transform into his golden Buddha form when
"Garp!" he shouted.
But Garp had already sat down cross-legged, iron fists resting on his knees.
"Keep an eye on me… don't let me do something stupid," he said, then closed his eyes in silence.
Garp! You bastard!
Sengoku felt like the whole world was against him today. Garp, Ace, Whitebeard, Itachi, the Celestial Dragons… and those five senile old fools.
Why couldn't those damned Celestials keep their secrets? They'd singlehandedly ruined his perfectly crafted summit plan.
And those two Admirals out there were they playing some kind of turn-based game with Whitebeard?! Were they even trying?
Trying? Yes. Maybe. Sengoku wasn't sure anymore.
Grinding his teeth, Sengoku finally slumped down beside Garp.
At this point, smashing the Navy's name himself wasn't an option.
In a last, bitter act, Sengoku barked into the Transponder Snail:
"Akainu! Execute the prisoner!"
Nearby, a senior marine kept his eyes not on the distant battlefield, but fixed on the platform. As Sengoku sat, he breathed a sigh of relief only to tense again as the execution order was given.
Vice Admiral Tsuru turned and scoffed.
"You're here too, huh, Rayleigh?"
Caught, Silvers Rayleigh ripped off his disguise and laughed heartily.
"Well, once Whitebeard went out of his way to send word, I couldn't just ignore it."
"Don't do anything reckless, Rayleigh," she warned.
Kizaru, now in his role as the roving top-laner, appeared just in time. The Blade of Light, Ame-no-Murakumo, slid free from its hilt.
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