"Kill them!!!"
"Rescue Captain Marco!!!"
"Someone! Quickly, move him to a safe place! He won't make it otherwise!!!"
"Cannon fire incoming! Dodge!!"
BOOM!!!
Marine Headquarters—Marineford.
This day was destined to be legendary, a day that would be carved into history!
One hundred thousand Marine officers had gathered, all to defend against a single pirate crew!
A crew divided into sixteen divisions, each with over a thousand members, commanding forty-three sub-crews considered elite even in the New World!
The Whitebeard Pirates alone had over 1,600 elite members—each boasting bounties in the tens of millions of berries.
Each of them, if placed in the ordinary seas, could command entire factions.
Yet here, under Whitebeard's command, they were merely cannon fodder… fodder among cannon fodder!
All because the stars here shone too brightly!
Each of the sixteen division captains was a terrifying force capable of shaking the New World.
All forty-three captains were extraordinary figures whose reputations alone instilled fear across the seas.
Even pirates with billion-berry bounties were little more than fodder before them.
…
On the battlefield, Marines and pirates fought like ants, blood flowing like rivers, limbs piled like mountains—a scene of absolute carnage.
This… this was war.
Relentless, merciless war.
At the rear, the Seven Warlords of the Sea and several Marine Admirals held a section of the battlefield.
Yet truly active in combat were mostly the Admirals themselves.
Most of the Warlords were merely spectators, watching the human hell unfold.
"So many corpses!!! This is my payday!!! Hehehehe…"
"Moria, these zombies better give me a good deal this time!"
"Cut it out, Doflamingo! First pay up for the last batch of Beast Zombies!"
"You're heartless, Moria!"
"Well, that's because of your Luffy-sama. War business in the New World isn't as easy anymore!"
"Hehehehe…"
"Speaking of which, with a battlefield this huge, the Starry Sky Pirates shouldn't miss this…"
"…I heard that Whitebeard's 1st Division Commander is sworn brothers with Monkey D. Luffy!"
"I just don't know if he'll come help his brother finish this fight."
"I can't read Monkey D. Luffy's thoughts at all…"
On the cannon platform, war profiteers Moria and Doflamingo chatted like old friends, showing no interest in helping the Marines.
Due to Jinbe's resistance and Blackbeard's disappearance, only five Warlords actually participated in the battle.
Nearby, Hawk-Eye listened to their conversation, his body trembling slightly.
His usually relaxed eyes sharpened, scanning the distant sea. A smile curved his lips as he murmured:
"Monkey D. Luffy…"
"So you will come, huh?"
"Roronoa Zoro!!!"
SWISH!
A surge of unmatched battle intent erupted from Hawk-Eye!
A shadow flickered as he leapt uncontrollably from the cannon platform into the pirate horde below.
He needed blood… to steady his mind.
Another Warlord simultaneously moved, instantly appearing elsewhere on the battlefield.
"Coup de Pied!"
Among a group of female Marines about to be surrounded, a graceful figure suddenly appeared.
In seconds, Hancock turned every pirate around the female Marines into stone statues with hearts in their eyes.
THUD!
Hancock planted one foot in front of the women, her majestic presence instantly scaring away numerous New World pirates.
"Hancock-sama!!!"
The rescued female Marines shouted respectfully upon seeing her.
Hancock's expression softened slightly as she glanced back at her Amazonian subordinates. She spoke gently but firmly:
"Fall back to the rear! This war is not your place to fight!"
"But Hancock-sama!"
One Marine spoke up immediately.
"Your duty is to uphold justice!"
"Shut up!!!"
BOOM!
A terrifying aura erupted from Hancock, pressing down on her own subordinates.
"Remember your place!"
"Whether you serve the Amazons or the World Government is up to you!!!"
For the first time, her subordinates had spoken back, and Hancock roared with fury.
The female Marines fell silent, eventually bowing their heads and retreating to safety.
Hancock's eyes burned as she glared at Fleet Admiral Sengoku on the high platform, gnashing her teeth:
"Sengoku… you really are cunning…"
…
A purple-black layer of Armament Haki enveloped Ace's massive fists.
Already in Gear Fourth, Ace tore through the battlefield like a force of nature, crushing everything in his path!
BOOM!!!
His gigantic punch smashed the marble floor of Marine Headquarters, spiderweb cracks radiating outward.
The force sent nearby Marines flying meters away.
Around Ace, a vacuum formed—no one could approach even an inch.
Haki patterns adorned Ace's cheeks, his eyes blazing with dominance.
Marines who weren't affected by the shock trembled under his gaze, paralyzed with fear.
"Ace!"
As hesitation spread among the Marines, a powerful voice echoed across Marineford, filling the square even in dusk:
After clearing a path for his allies, Ace leapt backward across the battlefield.
"Papa!"
Ace arrived before Whitebeard, face serious, and asked:
"Any orders?"
His gaze still fixed on Marco, the 2nd Division Commander of Whitebeard, standing tall atop the platform.
Whitebeard glanced at Ace, then surveyed the destruction his strike had caused.
Even as a Yonko, he couldn't help but marvel…
Ace's growth was astonishing!
Soon, he might even take his place.
Roger's bloodline… truly formidable!
But now…
He was my son!
Rumble…
Whitebeard grinned, his massive body trembling like a small mountain.
"Ace, well done!!!"
His boisterous, slightly arrogant voice carried across the battlefield.
Whitebeard raised his giant sword, the sound like rolling thunder:
"Leave the rest to your old man!!!"
A crescent of cyan light flashed around Whitebeard as he swung his sword.
A transparent energy sphere covered the blade—his Devil Fruit power, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!
The strike cut forward, following Ace's path, aiming straight for the Admirals.
Fruit power scattered wildly wherever the blade passed.
CRACK!…
Countless fissures ripped across Marineford.
"Run!!!"
"Damn it! Whitebeard!!!"
"Can't dodge this!!!"
The ground split into countless chasms.
Elite Marines who failed to evade fell screaming into the abyss.
The massive tremor slash cut across half of Marineford from the harbor.
It was about to cleave the entire island.
At the Admirals' position, Akainu rose, glaring at the exhausted Kizaru and injured Aokiji. His legs transformed into molten magma as he shot skyward, raising clouds of dust.
With a commanding glare, he roared at the slash that had claimed nearly a hundred Marine lives:
"Whitebeard! You won't run rampant here!"
Black smoke erupted from Akainu as he thrust a massive magma fist toward Whitebeard's quake-infused slash!
BOOM!
The magma collided with the slash, sending waves of scorching heat outward.
Countless Marines and pirates writhed in pain as the heat seared their bodies.