The lookout's scream was the only trumpet that heralded the beginning of war.
"Enemy attack! They've made it into the bay!!"
That blood-curdling cry pierced through the tense silence of Marineford like a dagger slicing through taut nerves.
On the Execution Platform, Fleet Admiral Sengoku was visibly shaken. For the first time, the eyes of the ever-composed strategist showed signs of miscalculation.
The bay.
It was supposed to be an impregnable fortress—the safest inner sanctum.
FWOOSH—!!!
With a deafening crash of water, an enormous whale-shaped ship erupted from the sea, bringing with it a deluge of seawater.
Moby Dick!
Then came a second… a third… a fourth!
Four fully coated pirate ships emerged in perfect formation like beasts awakened from the depths—appearing right under the Marines' noses.
They tore through the prepared artillery net like it was paper.
"Identify the targets!" a Marine Vice Admiral roared, voice cracking.
At the observation post, a Marine officer gripped his high-powered binoculars with trembling hands.
His lenses swept across the deck of the lead ship, Moby Dick.
There stood a blond-haired man, hands in his pockets, wearing a lazy expression—1st Division Commander, the "Phoenix," Marco.
The view shifted.
A gleaming figure with crossed arms like a living diamond—3rd Division Commander, "Diamond" Jozu.
A man with dual swords and a peculiar mustache—5th Division Commander, "Flower Sword" Vista.
Izo. Blamenco. Rakuyo.
One legendary name after another, pirates with bounties sky-high, called out in a shaky voice by the officer.
"R-Report to the Fleet Admiral!"
"The Whitebeard Pirates… all Division Commanders… they're all here!!"
At that moment, the plaza—packed with 100,000 elite Marines—fell deathly silent.
A creeping fear spread rapidly in their hearts.
"Whitebeard…"
On the platform, Sengoku stared grimly at the Moby Dick, sweat finally beading on his forehead.
His teeth clenched audibly.
"That bastard… they broke through all the way here?!"
On the Admiral Thrones, Aokiji still wore his usual lazy look. Kizaru's lecherous smile remained fixed in place.
Only Akainu grinned cruelly, his bloodlust beginning to stir.
"So you've finally come… Whitebeard."
Down below, in the Warlord ranks, Doflamingo's twisted smile grew even wider.
"Fufufufu… What a grand entrance, Emperor of the Sea!"
Dracule "Hawk Eyes" Mihawk slowly opened his razor-sharp eyes, resting a hand on the hilt of the black blade Yoru behind his back.
Through the live broadcast Den Den Mushi, the eyes of the world were focused on that suddenly risen ship.
Before the watching world, the hatch of the Moby Dick slowly opened.
A towering figure—like a mountain—stepped forward.
His upper body was bare save for a cape, muscles scarred yet brimming with explosive power.
The white crescent-shaped mustache was his unmistakable signature.
The Strongest Man in the World—
Edward Newgate.
Whitebeard.
He had arrived!
And then… every eye narrowed.
Someone followed behind him.
A black-haired, black-eyed young man with calm eyes and steady steps walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Whitebeard to the bow.
This scene stunned countless people.
Who is he?
How can he walk beside Whitebeard?
Most of the officers among the Marines wore looks of confusion.
"It's him!!"
Vice Admiral Doberman's face turned purple with rage.
He clenched his fists, recalling the humiliation of being one-shotted by this very youth in the Calm Belt.
That sense of helplessness and fear had been seared into his soul.
'This time… I'll kill him.'
'I was careless last time, but not today!'
Doberman swore silently to himself.
But he wasn't alone.
Viewers all over the world were now staring at their screens, stunned—
Who was this man… who stood at Whitebeard's side?
In Shakky's Bar, Rayleigh paused with his glass mid-air, a knowing smile flashing in his clouded eyes.
"Well, well… that brat's made it all the way to that spot, huh."
On the platform, Ace looked at that towering figure he knew so well. His eyes instantly turned red.
"Pops…"
Whitebeard walked to the bow, step by thunderous step.
His massive naginata, Murakumo Giri, stood plunged into the deck beside him.
Lucian Thorn stood just half a step behind and to his left.
Together, they looked down upon the 100,000 Marines below, upon the three Admirals seated beneath the Execution Platform—
They gazed down upon all of Marineford.
"Gurararara…"
Whitebeard let out his iconic laugh, shaking the heavens.
He didn't waste a single word.
He stared directly at the Marines before him.
And then, under the watchful eyes of the entire world, the Emperor of the Seas slowly raised his titanic fists.
He planted his legs wide, lowering his stance.
And struck his signature pose.
Then—
His fists slammed to either side, then pulled sharply toward the center.
CRACK—!!!
A sound like shattering glass rang across the world.
Everyone watched in horror as the space before Whitebeard's fists splintered like a broken mirror, covered in web-like cracks.
He had… shattered the air itself.
He had punched the void—twice.
There were no massive explosions.
No blinding beams of light.
And yet, in the next instant, all of Marineford—and the sea surrounding it—began to shake violently.
"Wh-What's happening?!"
"An earthquake! It's an earthquake!"
"No! The entire island's shaking!!"
The Marine formation descended into chaos. Soldiers stumbled, weapons clattered, and some fell outright.
Even the Execution Platform swayed like it might collapse at any moment.
Sengoku's face went pale. He gripped the railing tightly and roared:
"Hold your ground! Stay steady!"
But before his voice had even finished echoing—
RUMBLE—!!!
Two enormous shadows rose slowly from the far ends of the sea, flanking Marineford.
They grew taller… and taller…
Until they blocked out the sky and swallowed the sun.
"W-What is that…?"
A Marine soldier looked up, trembling, face drained of all color.
Two massive walls of seawater—towering tsunamis, hundreds of meters high—loomed over Marineford.
Blue death, closing in.
They moved slowly, like two collapsing blue fortresses, carrying the crushing weight of the world's strongest greeting.
A tsunami.
From the Strongest Man in the World—his opening statement to the war.
"We're doomed…"
"How… how are we supposed to stop something like that?!"
Despair swept through the ranks of 100,000 Marines.
But then—
At the bow of the Moby Dick, Lucian's eyes flashed with a dazzling gold.
He had infused a wisp of his Sun God power into Whitebeard's seismic force—
That golden energy, like glowing threads, silently merged with the violent tremors.
Buzz—!
The waves, once formed only of seawater, instantly grew heavier—more solid, more massive.
The pressure—multiplied tenfold.
"Gurararara!"
Whitebeard felt the change in his power, glanced at Lucian, and laughed even more heartily.
Even the Three Admirals and Sengoku could no longer sit still.
For the first time, a serious expression appeared on Aokiji's face.
Kizaru stood up as well.
"Oya oya… This is seriously terrifying."
Sengoku glared at the monstrous tsunamis, far more devastating than even he had anticipated.
Whitebeard… you madman!
He spun and screamed toward the man below.
"Kuzan!!"
"Stop it—NOW!!"