Sabaody Islands – Live Plaza
Under the command of the flamboyant live-stream host, Golden Lion Shiki, the video transponder snail fixed its lens on the World Government's massive airship. The live feed was instantly projected onto the enormous screens dominating the plaza.
"Look! Someone's coming out again!"
"Hey, hey—who is that guy?"
"No way… Look at Commander-in-Chief Kong!"
"Former Marine Fleet Admiral—now the Commander-in-Chief of the entire World Government—Kong is actually saluting that man!"
"Not just him! Even the elite God's Knights beside him are bowing!"
"To make Kong, the man who commands the three great military forces, lower his head… that person must be…"
The crowd of reporters and spectators stared wide-eyed, realization dawning on them as a murmur of shock rippled through the plaza.
"Th-the Five Elders…! That's one of the Five Elders!"
"Yes! There's no mistaking him! I've seen that face before!"
"At the World Summit two years ago—he was introduced as the Agricultural Valkyrie of the World Government!"
"Sheppard Ten Peter Saint—the highest of the Five Elders, the ruling hand of the world itself—has stepped down from the Holy Land, Mariejois!"
"Hey, hey… if even the Five Elders are entering the battlefield in person…"
"Just how terrifying is this war going to get?"
"No one can predict how this ends…"
"The only thing certain is that this battle will go down in history—it'll be remembered for generations to come!"
Naval Headquarters – Atop the Battlefield
"The Five Elders!"
"What?! The Five Elders?!"
"No mistake—it's really them!"
"The world's highest authority—the Five Elders themselves!"
"They've come in person! Even the rulers of the world are joining the fight!"
Across the Marine ranks, shock quickly turned to renewed hope.
"Excellent!"
"The Five Elders are here!"
"Now we can take back the Seraphim!"
"With the Five Elders' authority, even Vegapunk won't be able to override it!"
The Vice Admirals, fully aware of how the Seraphim's command hierarchy worked, were unable to hide their excitement.
But on the opposite side, the Whitebeard Pirates stood firm, unimpressed.
"So it's just the Five Elders."
"How strong could some bureaucrats from Mariejois really be?"
"Yeah! They're pampered politicians, not warriors!"
"The world's highest power? That's a title for intimidation, not combat!"
Their mocking words helped rekindle morale among the pirate ranks.
"Father, what should we do?"
Marco, Jozu, Vista, and the other division captains turned to Whitebeard anxiously.
Whitebeard exhaled deeply, his expression grave yet composed.
"At this point, all we can do is move forward—one step at a time."
The old pirate's eyes hardened. The true nature of the war had shifted.
This was no longer a clash between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines.
Now, it had become a confrontation between Fairy Tail and the World Government.
"Even the Five Elders have descended from their thrones," murmured Callas, commander of the Revolutionary Army's Northern Division, his face pale with disbelief.
"Then this must be… the beginning of the final battle."
"Even if it isn't the final battle," said Sabo, his tone grim, "it's definitely the prelude to one."
"Something's coming…"
The voice belonged to Silvers Rayleigh, his gaze locked on the horizon.
At that moment, every powerhouse on the battlefield—
Marshal Sengoku, Hero Garp, the Three Marine Admirals, Golden Lion Shiki, even the newly arrived Five Elders—
all turned their attention skyward.
A massive storm cloud was rolling toward Marineford at astonishing speed.
Bolts of lightning tore through the heavens, each flash illuminating an ominous, otherworldly aura spreading across the sea.
Then—
Crack!
The sky itself seemed to halt.
And in the next instant—
a deafening tear split the heavens apart.
The entire sky ruptured like fragile glass, shattered by an overwhelming force.
As the clouds broke apart, the figures concealed within were revealed to all.
"Th-that's… the Sea Emperors!!!"
Gasps of horror and awe echoed across the battlefield as the next phase of this world-shaking war began.