It was time for the Whitebeard Pirates to make their entrance. After that declaration, Ashveil sent a signal to the Whitebeard Pirates down beneath the waves, then strode toward the Marines.
Conqueror's Haki surged around Ashveil, forming a no-man's-land of unspoken dread a hundred meters wide. Any Marine who stepped into that zone was met with invisible pressure, stumbling as if their center of gravity was stolen, tumbling forward into the dust.
Even the Rear Admirals and Vice Admirals felt it. Under Ashveil's Conqueror's Haki they dropped to their knees, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, their weapons already slipping from their hands.
Without breaking stride, Ashveil pressed onward toward Marineford Headquarters, unchallenged, under the awed gazes of all around.
The Impel Down escapees behind him froze, staring wide, shock on every face.
"Bah, Ashveil that kid—so arrogant; hasn't even struck a blow, yet he walks right up to Marine Headquarters with just his Conqueror's Haki! To be honest, I, Douglas Bullet, admit—even I don't have that boldness!" Bullet chuckled wildly, admiration in his voice.
World, poised beside him with a massive cannon, added, "I thought the strongest people had all aged out like me. But here comes this youngster. The new waves pushing the old, truly something to see!" He heaved the cannon, letting laughter ring over the sea.
Meanwhile, intelligence officers at sea level widened their eyes, faces drained of color as they shouted out warnings.
"They've come! They've appeared!"
"The Whitebeard Pirates are here!"
Great pirate fleets surfaced, lines cutting through water in perfect formation.
"Knight Doma!"
"Decalvan Brothers!"
"Great Whirlpool Spider Squad!"
Names echoing terror and fame—Captains who ruled pieces of the New World—now gathering under Whitebeard's call at Marineford.
Still, the flagship, the Moby Dick, was nowhere in sight.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku lifted his binoculars, jaw tight, his expression dark beneath his aged brow.
"Where is Whitebeard? Has he not come yet? He'd better not show!" Sengoku muttered, though his voice betrayed dread rather than hope.
What Sengoku had once longed for—the arrival of Whitebeard—now turned into a wish that he might stay away. Marine Headquarters could no longer endure such assaults from so many overwhelming powers.
Then the calm of the sea shattered. From Marineford's inner bay the water surged, bubbles bristling across the surface.
A massive shape rose from the depths, sea roiling in wake.
The flagship:
The Moby Dick burst through waves, emerging in grand menace.
"The Moby Dick has appeared!" someone yelled, dread coloring their voice.
Marines shivered. The Impel Down incident had already shaken them; this arrival crushed what remained of their composure.
Thump, thump, thump … each step from Whitebeard atop the deck echoed like a promise of destruction. He grasped Murakumogiri in one hand and climbed the ship's stairs, facing Marineford in full view.
Ashes of solemnity, structure, order—they all seemed faraway now, drowned by war and cries.
Whitebeard shut his eyes briefly, breathing in the ruined grandeur. The battlefield spread before him.
"Gurarararara! Is this what you planned, Ashveil?"
"You've surpassed yourself, Ashveil!"
"How dare we lag behind! To arms, my sons! Tear Marineford apart!"
"Let the world know what happens when you defy the Whitebeard Pirates!"
"No matter you are Marines, we will show no mercy!" Whitebeard roared, pride resonating in every syllable.
The Whitebeard Pirates surged forward, flooding toward Headquarters like an unstoppable tide, hearts alight with the call to battle.
Whitebeard's presence radiated strength, corners of his mouth lifting in feral resolve, battle intent blazing in his stance.
On the deck of the Moby Dick Edward Newgate locked eyes with Sengoku, perched high atop the execution platform. Then he plunged Murakumogiri into the deck.
Muscles knotted in his arms. A white light gathered between his palms, glowing brighter and brighter until its brilliance threatened all who gazed.
With that power, Whitebeard clenched his fists. Instantly, the air over Marineford quivered. The ground rattled. It shook with an earthquake born of will and power.
The entire Marineford trembled, buildings trembling, battlements cracking.
Marines in combat froze, wide-eyed in terror.
"What kind of power is this?"
"An ability to shake the ground itself? My word, Marineford is quaking!"
Sengoku's face twisted. The shine from his glasses glinted harshly, his lips parting in silent horror.
"It's not over yet. Seaquake! The Seaquake has come!"
Whitebeard's arrival had brought more than confrontation—he'd brought a cataclysm. The sea itself roiled, boiling with energy.
Gigantic waves rose, water clawing skyward, threatening to swallow the bay and all who stood on shore.
Marines battling looked upward at walls of water looming above them, terror painted deep in every expression.
"How do we even fight this... under the attack from Impel Down escapees, now this...?"
"This war … have we doomed ourselves?"
Whispers of dread spread across the ranks. These foes were unlike past pirates—each one a legend.
In the skies, the reporters from the World Economic Journal stared down in shock, cameras shaking in hands.
"My goodness, a clash of titans—this is beyond anything I've ever seen."
"To casually summon waves like a natural disaster—terrifying!" one gasped. Another, Morgans, swallowed hard.
"Raise us ten more thousand feet above, this war… it surpasses every headline I've ever chased!"
Even Garp drew in a ragged breath, eyes fixed on monstrous waves threatening to engulf Marineford.
"By the heavens! Whitebeard's Seaquake just triggered a tsunami!" Garp spoke through clenched teeth, fists tight at his sides.
"Sengoku, you've gone too far this time." Vice Admiral Tsuru stood beside him, pale, staring at the white-capped terror rolling in.
Sengoku's fists clenched. He couldn't speak, regret biting his bones. He knew he'd provoked something far beyond expectations.
____
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