The revelation still hung in the air like thunder after a storm.
Portgas D. Ace—the son of Gol D. Roger.
Even after Sengoku's declaration, the truth refused to settle.
It lingered over Marineford, heavy and suffocating, pressing down on every Marine, every pirate watching from afar, every person staring at the screens across the world.
For a few moments—
No one spoke.
Even the usual crashing of waves against the fortress walls seemed quieter.
As if the sea itself was waiting.
Below the execution platform, the one hundred thousand Marines stood in rigid silence.
Weapons in hand.
Eyes fixed on the horizon.
No cheers now. No shouting.
Only tension. Only anticipation.
Because everyone knew—
Now he would come.
The strongest man alive.
The man who stood closest to the throne Roger left behind.
The Emperor of the Sea.
Edward Newgate.
Among the Warlords, even the usual arrogance had dimmed.
Boa Hancock crossed her arms, her eyes scanning the sea beyond the walls.
The silence irritated her.
"…It's too quiet."
Her voice was low, but it carried.
"This kind of silence… before war… is unsettling."
Beside her, Donquixote Doflamingo let out a slow laugh.
"Fufufufu…"
His grin widened as he leaned forward slightly.
"But that's what makes it beautiful."
He spread his arms like a performer welcoming applause.
"It's almost… unnatural."
His sunglasses reflected the ocean.
"Like the whole world is holding its breath."
Dracule Mihawk remained silent.
Watching. Waiting.
Then—
From one of the lookout towers high above the bay—
A shout exploded.
"THERE THEY ARE!!"
A Marine with a telescope nearly dropped it as he pointed frantically toward the horizon.
"Enemy fleet spotted!"
His voice cracked from panic.
"BATTLE STATIONS! ALL UNITS PREPARE FOR ENGAGEMENT!"
The plaza instantly erupted.
Marines shouted orders.
Cannons were turned.
Rifles were raised.
Vice Admirals barked commands.
The entire fortress moved like a single beast awakening.
Sengoku stepped forward sharply.
"They appeared so suddenly?!"
His eyes narrowed.
"Where did they get in from?!"
The announcer, staring through the massive observation scope, continued shouting.
"It's a vast fleet of pirate ships!"
His voice trembled.
"Dozens of them!"
"Where's Whitebeard?! Find Whitebeard!"
He scanned desperately.
Recognition struck him one by one.
"Bohemian Knight Doma!"
"Thunder Lord McGuy!"
"The Decalvan Brothers!"
"Whirl Spider Squard!"
His voice rose with every name.
"They're all major captains from the New World!"
"These are Whitebeard's allied crews!"
Gasps spread across the Marine ranks.
The announcer continued.
"Forty-three ships in total!"
His breathing grew heavier.
"But—we can't find Whitebeard!"
"No sign of Whitebeard himself—or any of his division commanders!"
A Marine officer shouted,
"But they're all his allies!"
Down below, Vice Admiral Tsuru stood beside Garp, her expression as sharp as ever.
She clicked her tongue.
"Don't panic."
Her voice cut through the fear.
"How pathetic."
She glared upward.
"Whitebeard doesn't send forty-three allied crews without a reason."
Beside her, Garp remained quiet.
Watching the sea.
Watching the horizon.
Like a man waiting for an old ghost.
High above them—
Ace stared at the approaching fleet.
His eyes widened.
"…I didn't expect them to come…"
His voice was barely above a whisper.
Almost disbelieving.
Almost guilty.
One nervous Marine shouted from below,
"Shall we attack?!"
Another officer immediately answered,
"Not yet!"
He clenched his fists.
"Whitebeard should be nearby too!"
His eyes darted across the waters.
"He must be planning something!"
"Keep your eyes on the sea!"
Doflamingo laughed louder now.
"Fufufufufu!"
He tilted his head back, openly delighted.
"This is fun!"
His grin stretched wider.
"I'm getting excited!"
He looked toward the ocean like a child waiting for fireworks.
"Come on, Whitebeard!"
Then—
Something changed.
At the very center of the bay—
The sea began to bubble.
Small at first.
Then violent.
Like the ocean itself was boiling.
Marines turned.
Confused. Afraid.
Sengoku's expression changed instantly.
His eyes widened.
"…Don't tell me…"
A Marine shouted,
"What is that sound?!"
Another pointed.
"The water—!"
"Why is the sea bubbling?!"
Garp, standing beside Tsuru, let out a quiet breath.
Without taking his eyes off the bay, he said—
"I think he'll appear…"
A faint pause.
"…from where we least expect."
Tsuru narrowed her eyes.
"…Maybe we got the wrong idea of where he will come up."
Then—
The announcer screamed.
"I SEE A SHADOW IN THE BAY!"
The Marines froze.
"No way…"
"Impossible!"
"Inside the bay?!"
Sengoku clenched his jaw.
Then realization struck.
"…I get it now."
His voice dropped.
"They coated all their ships…"
His eyes darkened.
"And approached from underwater."
The ocean exploded.
A gigantic ship erupted from beneath the sea like a beast rising from the abyss.
Water crashed everywhere.
The fortress trembled.
The Marines stumbled.
A soldier screamed—
"IT'S THE MOBY DICK!"
Then—
Three more massive ships burst from the ocean beside it.
Another.
And another.
And another.
"There's three more Whitebeard ships!"
"They're inside the bay!"
"How did they get this close?!"
The announcer shouted desperately,
"They've infiltrated the main bay!"
His voice shook.
"They're right in front of us!"
Then he froze.
His voice dropped into disbelief.
"That's…"
He swallowed hard.
"The First Division Commander—Marco!"
"And the fourteen division commanders…"
His voice rose again.
"They're all here!"
Every Marine felt it.
The true war had arrived.
And then—
Silence.
Again.
But different.
Heavier.
Like the arrival of a king.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The sound echoed across the bay.
Slow.
Heavy.
Measured.
Every eye turned.
Walking up the steps of the Moby Dick—
His massive frame towering over everyone—
His white crescent mustache unmistakable.
His naginata striking the wood with every step.
Was the strongest man in the world.
Edward Newgate.
Even the air felt smaller around him.
Even the sea seemed to bow.
He stopped.
Looked forward.
And smiled.
"Gurararara…"
His laugh alone shook the nerves of lesser men.
"It's been a while…"
His eyes locked onto Sengoku.
"…Sengoku."
Sengoku's face hardened.
"Whitebeard…"
Whitebeard looked past him.
Up.
Toward the execution platform.
Toward Ace.
His son.
His voice lowered.
But somehow became even heavier.
"You better tell me…"
A brief pause.
"That my beloved son…"
His grip tightened on his naginata.
"…is all right."
Sengoku clenched his fists.
"It's unbelievable…"
His voice was low.
"That we let them get this close…"
Whitebeard ignored him.
His eyes never left Ace.
He smiled faintly.
"Give me a second, Ace."
Ace's entire body shook.
His voice broke free—
"POPS!!"
And then—
Whitebeard spread his arms wide.
Like a god preparing judgment.
And slammed them into the air itself.
CRACK.
The sound was wrong.
Impossible.
As if the world itself had shattered.
The very air split.
Cracks spread across the sky like broken glass.
The Marines screamed.
"What was that?!"
"He cracked the air?!"
"That's impossible!"
Then—
The sea rose.
Both sides of Marineford—
The ocean lifted into monstrous walls of water.
Towering.
Endless.
Two massive tsunamis, ready to crush the fortress and everything inside it.
Sengoku's eyes widened.
"A seaquake!"
His voice thundered.
"He's distorting the sea itself!"
Panic exploded.
"This is Whitebeard's power?!"
"He can destroy the world!"
"We're going to be crushed!"
Even hardened veterans stepped backward.
Because this—
This was not power.
This was disaster made human.
Above it all—
Ace stared down, tears threatening to rise.
"Pops…"
His voice trembled.
"Everyone…"
His fists clenched against the chains.
"I ignored your orders…"
"I disobeyed you and went after Teach…"
His head lowered.
"This is all my fault…"
His voice cracked.
"Why didn't you just abandon me?!"
His tears finally fell.
"I'm the one who caused all of this!"
Whitebeard looked up at him.
Not angry. Not disappointed.
Only proud. Only fatherly.
He answered simply.
"No."
A single word.
Heavy with love.
Then Whitebeard smiled.
The smile of a father.
The smile of a captain.
The smile of a man who had already made his choice long ago.
"I'm the one…"
He pointed his naginata upward.
"…who told you to go, son."
Then the two massive tsunamis loomed over Marineford like the hands of an angry god.
They swallowed the sky itself.
Walls of water so enormous that even veteran Marines—men who had fought in countless battles—felt their legs weaken.
The sunlight disappeared beneath their shadow.
All that remained was fear.
The Marines below stared upward in horror.
"It's too big…!"
"We're going to be crushed!"
"No… no way…"
"That monster… he can really destroy the world…"
Some younger Marines stumbled backward, dropping their weapons entirely.
One fell to his knees.
"This is impossible… how are we supposed to fight that?!"
Vice Admirals shouted desperately.
"Hold formation!"
"Don't run!"
"Stand your ground!"
But even their voices carried tension.
Because this wasn't an enemy fleet.
This was nature itself trying to erase them.
On the execution platform, Ace's eyes widened.
"Pops…"
Even he knew—
If those waves hit Marineford directly, everything would be swallowed.
Friend and enemy alike.
Sengoku's expression remained grim.
His eyes locked onto the incoming destruction.
"Damn you, Whitebeard…"
Whitebeard stood proudly aboard the Moby Dick, his coat flowing behind him like the banner of a king.
His expression didn't change.
Because to him—
This was merely the opening move.
Then—
A chair scraped.
One of the three Admirals rose.
Slowly. Casually.
As though freezing the sea itself was little more than routine.
Aokiji stood up, adjusting his coat with lazy indifference.
He looked at the incoming tsunamis.
Then sighed.
"Ahhh…"
His voice was calm.
Almost bored.
"That would be troublesome."
Without another word—
He leaped.
The Marines looked up.
"Admiral Aokiji?!"
"He moved!"
Aokiji shot high into the sky, rising directly between the two monstrous waves.
For a moment—
He looked tiny compared to the walls of water.
Like a single man standing before the wrath of the ocean.
Then he stretched out one hand.
And spoke.
Quietly.
Confidently.
"Ice Age."
The world froze.
A wave of absolute cold exploded outward from his hand.
Faster than sight. Faster than fear.
The freezing air spread across the ocean like death itself.
It climbed the tsunamis.
Covered them. Captured them.
And in an instant—
The impossible happened.
Both giant tsunamis froze solid.
Towering walls of ice stood on both sides of Marineford like frozen mountains.
The entire battlefield glittered under the sunlight.
Silent. Still. Safe.
For a second—
No one could even breathe.
Then the Marines erupted.
"He stopped it!!"
"He froze the tsunami!"
"He saved us!"
"Admiral Aokiji!!"
Cheers spread like wildfire.
Relief crashed through the Marine ranks.
Some Marines nearly cried.
Others raised their weapons high.
"That's one of our Admirals!"
"We're saved!"
"Justice will prevail!"
Even Sengoku gave a small nod.
Exactly as expected.
Whitebeard looked up at the sky where Aokiji floated.
His expression remained calm.
But his eyes sharpened.
"Gurarara…"
He let out a low laugh.
"Aokiji…"
His voice carried across the battlefield.
"You young fool."
Before anyone could react—
Aokiji moved again.
His arm extended.
Cold gathered.
Sharp. Deadly.
Ice formed instantly—
Long spears of frozen death surrounding him like a storm of blades.
The temperature dropped again.
Even nearby Marines shivered.
Aokiji's eyes locked onto Whitebeard.
"Partisan!"
With a sharp motion—
He hurled them.
Dozens of ice spears shot downward like divine judgment, tearing through the air straight for Whitebeard.
Fast. Precise. Lethal.
Marines shouted—
"He's attacking!"
"Finish him, Admiral!"
Ace tensed.
"Pops!"
But Whitebeard didn't move.
Didn't dodge. Didn't step back.
Instead—
He simply raised his fist.
Calmly.
Like a man swatting away rain.
His hand trembled with power.
The air around it distorted.
Cracked. Shattered.
And then—
He punched.
BOOM.
The quake collided with the ice spears.
The sky itself seemed to scream.
Every spear shattered instantly—
Broken into glittering fragments before they could even touch him.
The shockwave spread outward violently.
Even the Moby Dick shook.
Aokiji's eyes narrowed.
The force of the quake reached him—
And for the first time—
He lost balance.
The Admiral was thrown backward.
Falling.
Straight into the bay below.
"Admiral Aokiji!"
He crashed into the water—
But before anyone could react—
The sea beneath him froze.
Instantly.
Completely.
The entire bay transformed into a frozen battlefield.
Water became solid ice.
Ships groaned against the sudden frost.
Whitebeard's fleet found itself standing atop frozen ocean.
Marineford itself trembled as war shifted once again.
The announcer shouted in disbelief.
"He froze the entire bay!"
"The whole battlefield is frozen solid!"
Doflamingo laughed from below.
"Fufufufu! Excellent!"
His grin widened.
"Now this is entertainment!"
Mihawk watched silently.
Hancock narrowed her eyes.
Even the Vice Admirals remained tense.
Because everyone understood—
This war had only just begun.
And already—
The world itself was breaking.