Naval Headquarters — atop the shattered battlefield.
The former Four Emperors—Kaido of the Beasts, Big Mom Charlotte Linlin—and now, the sudden appearance of the Gildarts squad.
One after another, the arrival of these titans left every soldier, pirate, and onlooker paralyzed with disbelief. It wasn't just shock—it was as though their minds themselves were trembling.
Of course… not everyone felt that same dread.
For the members of Fairy Tail, especially the girls, their reactions were entirely different.
Compared to Kaido and Big Mom's alliance of destruction… they were far more interested in the arrival of Gildarts' group.
Because this could only mean one thing—
Fairy Tail was finally coming together in full force!
"It's Gildarts and Cana!"
"Ah— they're here too!"
"It looks like the Guild Master planned all of this from the start!"
"Kanaaa~~~!"
Robin, Nami, Juvia, Wendy, and the other Fairy Tail girls widened their eyes in delight, their faces glowing with excitement.
As their expressions lit up, the reactions across the battlefield changed in an instant.
Every Marine, pirate, and Revolutionary fighter nearby turned toward them, watching in stunned silence.
Then—
A collective realization hit everyone at once, sending chills down their spines.
"Hey, hey… don't tell me something unbelievably terrible is about to happen!" Rayleigh exclaimed, his weathered face full of alarm.
"That rumor… don't tell me it's true!?" gasped Sabo, his jaw practically hitting the ground.
"Koala," whispered Lindbergh, glancing sideways. "You knew something about this, didn't you?"
"Koala-san~?" Callas pressed curiously.
Koala only smiled faintly, refusing to speak—but the look on her face said everything.
"Ku la la la la… this really is an unexpected twist," boomed Whitebeard, his massive frame shaking with laughter. "Fairy Tail… you lot never fail to surprise me!"
"Damn it! Damn it all!" Marshal Sengoku roared, fists trembling with fury. "Don't tell me that absurd rumor was real!?"
Vice Admiral Tsuru—known as the Great Staff Officer—folded her hands calmly, her sharp gaze sweeping over the sky.
"It would seem so," she murmured. "No strong force ever emerges in these seas without reason. And if one does… you can be certain it's connected to Fairy Tail."
"Those Gildarts people… they can't really be…"
Even Commander-in-Chief Kong aboard the World Government's warship found himself stammering, too shocked to finish his sentence.
"Hmph!"
The Five Elder Shepard Ten Pieter—the so-called God of Agriculture—snorted coldly, his tone filled with disdain.
"No matter what connection they have to Fairy Tail, since they've appeared on this battlefield…" he growled, "…then none of them will be leaving."
His words carried a weight of killing intent that rippled across the field.
But before anyone could respond—
"BASTAAAAARDS!!!"
A furious roar shattered the tension.
The source: Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin herself.
"You filthy pests! How long do you plan to keep standing in our way?!" she screamed, her monstrous aura bursting forth like a storm.
"Heh," the blind swordsman said softly, smiling faintly beneath his hat. "My apologies—but let's settle this first."
His hand moved, unsheathing his staff-blade just half an inch.
BOOM!!!
A wave of crushing supergravity erupted from him, slamming down upon Big Mom's flagship.
The ship groaned under the weight, its hull bending and cracking. The force overpowered even the fiery cloud Kaido's Azure Dragon had conjured to support it.
Under the unrelenting pull of gravity—
The entire Big Mom Pirates' fleet plummeted from the sky and crashed violently onto Marineford's battlefield below.
"The task's done," Gildarts said with a clap of his hands, a wry smile on his face. "Let's go report to the Guild Master."
"Mm."
The blind swordsman—Issho—nodded in agreement, a calm smile playing at his lips.
Using his gravity power, he guided their small skyship gently down to the battlefield.
Under the light of the spotlights and the countless eyes watching—
The modest vessel came to a stop, perfectly aligned beside the colossal Fairy Tail airship.
"Alright then," Cana said cheerfully, tapping her heel on the deck.
With a swift motion, she leapt down first, landing gracefully on Fairy Tail's ship.
Gildarts followed next, then Issho, and finally Jura.
As the group landed before everyone's eyes, silence spread like wildfire across the battlefield—and even all the way to the broadcast plaza on Sabaody Island.
Nearly two hundred thousand spectators—Marines, pirates, revolutionaries, and civilians alike—stood utterly frozen, dumbfounded beyond words.
"It's fine," someone muttered nervously. "Just because they know each other doesn't mean they're all part of the same group, right?"
They clung to that fragile hope.
But the next moment—
Gildarts, Jura, and Issho walked forward in unison, stopping right before Sugisawa Yuuto.
And then, with voices loud enough to echo across the world—
"Guild Master!!!"
The cry reverberated through the air.
The entire world fell silent.