As soon as Noir and his crew landed on the frozen battlefield, the sea below rippled. Moments later, Luffy and the others who had fallen into the water before Noir's devastating attack resurfaced. Jimbei and the other non–Devil Fruit users dragged them ashore, their chests heaving from the effort. Instead of anger at being nearly drowned, every one of them stared wide-eyed at Noir. The raw display of destructive power they had just witnessed was unlike anything they had ever seen.
Luffy's jaw clenched as water dripped from his hair. His wide eyes locked onto Noir's grinning face. This is the strength I need… the strength of the Pirate King, he thought with conviction burning in his chest.
Ivankov and Inazuma exchanged stunned looks as well. As revolutionaries, they had encountered countless powerful warriors across the seas, but the figure standing before them was still just a boy in their eyes—not even twenty years old—and yet his might rivaled monsters of legend.
"Tch, can't you be more careful, dumbass?" Crocodile snapped, brushing seawater from his cloak. His tone carried the same arrogance as always, though whether it came from confidence or sheer recklessness, even Noir couldn't tell.
Before the warlord could continue, Noir leapt from his spot, vanishing in a blur. He reappeared beside Whitebeard so suddenly that even the veteran commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates were caught off guard. To them, it looked as though he had simply teleported.
"You realize you're going to die here, don't you?" Noir said bluntly. His words were casual, but his tone carried a chilling certainty.
Whitebeard didn't turn his head, but his eyes slid toward Noir. The old man could feel the aura radiating off the boy. If Noir chose to oppose them, even Whitebeard's fleet would struggle to contain him.
"I'm old," Whitebeard rumbled. "No one can be the strongest forever."
Noir's grin widened. "Hahahaha! True enough. But dying here, in a war against the Marines who've thrown everything at you, isn't shameful. If anything, it'll make your name immortal—etched into history for all time."
Whitebeard fell silent, his massive frame unmoving.
That silence was broken by the sudden swirl of sand. Crocodile materialized behind Whitebeard, his hand transforming into sharp blades of grit aimed for the sickly emperor's back. But before his strike could land, a soaked figure stepped in his way.
"Oy! Ace likes this old man. I won't let you harm him!" Luffy shouted, both fists clenched and dripping seawater. His glare cut straight through Crocodile, who clicked his tongue in frustration but pulled back.
The tension broke as battle cries erupted across the battlefield. Noir's crew had already thrown themselves into combat—Bullet charging recklessly toward Aokiji, Tanya hacking through marines with savage glee, and Shiryu carving a bloody path through the chaos.
Noir scanned the field, searching for a worthy opponent. His eyes landed on Admiral Kizaru, who was casually firing lasers from a distance, his laid-back demeanor making him look as though he were simply playing with the battlefield rather than fighting for real.
"Perfect," Noir muttered.
He leapt from Whitebeard's ship, crossing the distance in an instant.
Kizaru's eyes narrowed, his Observation Haki warning him of incoming danger. His body blurred into photons, materializing a dozen meters away just as Noir's fist obliterated the spot where he had been standing. The ground cracked and splintered violently under the force.
"Scary…" Kizaru drawled, his lips curling into a faint smile. His golden gaze studied Noir's face.
"Long time no see, Kizaru," Noir greeted with a wide grin.
The admiral tilted his head. For a moment, confusion flickered across his features—then recognition dawned.
"Ahhh… you're that child. The one who caused so much havoc we had to lock you away in Impel Down. And now here you are, not only escaped, but conscious and… stronger. That's supposed to be impossible."
"Thanks for noticing," Noir replied lightly.
Kizaru raised a brow. "Why target me? I was only doing my duty back then."
"I came to show you my gratitude."
The admiral blinked. "I don't need your gratitude."
"Alright then," Noir said, his grin sharpening into something dangerous. "I'll kill you instead."
"You're not supposed to kill someone you're grateful to," Kizaru muttered, bemused.
"I'll kill you with gratitude," Noir replied, and without warning, lunged forward.
His haki-coated fist met the glowing blade of light Kizaru conjured from his Devil Fruit. The clash echoed with explosive force, shockwaves splitting the air. Kizaru's movements blurred as he shifted into photons, counterattacking with beams of light that Noir dodged by hairsbreadth.
Noir pressed forward with relentless strikes, each punch and kick infused with raw Armament Haki. He wasn't using his advanced techniques yet—he was testing himself, using the flow of combat to awaken his Observation Haki to the next level.
Kizaru's fighting style mirrored the one he would later use against Luffy: intangible speed, instantaneous attacks, and overwhelming barrages of light bullets. He rained them down like a storm, forcing Noir to weave through the onslaught.
But slowly, Kizaru noticed something unsettling. Noir's movements became… sharper. He wasn't simply reacting to attacks—he was anticipating them. Dodging in ways that suggested he could see the next strike before it happened.
'He's beginning to glimpse the future,' Kizaru realized, his usual lazy tone hardening as he took Noir seriously.
The duel dragged on for nearly ten minutes, both men pushing faster and harder. Then Noir's grin stretched wider—he was seeing not one, but five seconds ahead. When Kizaru launched a devastating kick, Noir was already there, countering.
With a sudden roar, Noir's haki flared. He unleashed Emission Haki, his punch exploding outward like a bomb. The strike slammed into Kizaru's head, sending the admiral hurtling across the battlefield.
But Noir wasn't finished. Anticipating the admiral's trajectory, he leapt high, intercepting him midair. With brutal precision, he stomped Kizaru down, driving him into the heart of the battlefield.
The ground shattered. Both pirates and marines halted mid-battle, their gazes drawn to the shocking scene: Admiral Kizaru, bloodied and pinned beneath Noir's haki-coated boot.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Noir's laughter thundered across Marineford as he raised his arm, his fist crackling with both Advanced Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki. His eyes locked onto Sengoku, still stationed at the execution platform.
"FLEET ADMIRAL! LOOK AT THIS!" Noir roared, slamming his fist into Kizaru with catastrophic force. The impact carved a massive ravine through the ice, hurling the admiral's broken body into the seawater below.
Akainu, who had remained still up until now, finally moved when he witnessed Kizaru's defeat. His body ignited with searing magma as he lunged toward Noir, his face twisted with fury. Noir raised his arm, coating it in advanced Armament Haki, and blocked the molten strike head-on. The clash sent sparks and embers scattering across the battlefield, but the lava failed to melt through Noir's defense.
Akainu's glare burned hotter than the magma around his fists. Noir, however, only smiled back at him, the same unsettling grin as before.
"DAI FUNKA!" Akainu roared, his massive fist swelling into a colossal eruption of magma.
Noir evaded the assault at the last moment, flames searing the air where he had just stood. In the same breath, he countered with his own haki-infused punch, slamming it into the admiral's chest. For a split second, it looked as though Noir's attack had landed cleanly—until Akainu's body burst apart into a torrent of magma, reforming as he launched another attack. The follow-up strike forced Noir back a step, the ground cracking under his heel.
All around them, pirates froze in disbelief. They had already been shaken when Noir overpowered Kizaru. Now, to see him clash against yet another admiral—Akainu, the most ruthless of them all—was beyond comprehension. Whispers rippled through the battlefield: He beat one admiral, and he's holding off another…
On the Marine side, unease began to spread. With Kizaru taken out of commission, their frontline strength was reduced to Aokiji, the Seven Warlords, and the vice admirals who still held the line. Even those powerful figures found their eyes drifting toward Noir, watching closely as the young pirate's strength continued to shake the very balance of the war.