Dong Dong Dong
Three heavy bell tolls echoed from the command tower, rolling across Marineford like thunder.
Every Marine straightened their backs in unison. Hands tightened on rifles, and all eyes turned toward the distant horizon.
They were here.
The coating broke.
A massive shadow burst out from beneath the sea, emerging directly within Marineford's bay.
The Moby Dick!
At the ship's bow, the pure white whale figurehead shone with dignity even under the gloomy sky. The skull-and-crossbones flag of Whitebeard snapped sharply in the wind, and even across several kilometers, one could feel the awe-inspiring power that banner represented.
Behind the Moby Dick, more than forty pirate ships followed closely, like a colossal black serpent stretching for miles, blotting out half the sea.
The waves began to churn violently, not because of wind, but because of the raw force of the Moby Dick cutting through the water.
Each surge of the hull split the ocean apart, sending waves several meters high crashing outward. Even Marineford's thick walls trembled faintly.
"T-that's… the Whitebeard Pirates?"
A young Marine murmured under his breath, terror written in his trembling voice.
He had never seen such a massive fleet before, the sheer ferocity of their presence pressed down on his chest, threatening to crush his will.
Akainu leaned forward slightly, the heat around him intensifying. "Finally," he said, his voice low and steady, no fear, only the thrill of imminent battle.
Kizaru snapped his folding fan shut, a flicker of gold passing across his fingertips. "How spectacular~" he drawled lazily. "But with this many people coming to die, I suppose it saves us the trouble of hunting them down"
His tone was as languid as ever, but the usual laziness in his eyes had faded, replaced with a rare sharpness.
Aokiji's lips twitched around the cigarette between them. Frost spread faster beneath his boots, crawling outward like veins.
"Don't underestimate him," he muttered. "Otherwise that oldman would not be called the strongest."
At that moment, a towering figure appeared at the Moby Dick's bow.
Edward Newgate, Whitebeard.
He wore a flowing white cloak, his bare chest crisscrossed with countless scars, trophies of a lifetime of war. In his hand rested his signature naginata, the blade gleaming with lethal intent.
Even standing motionless, without releasing any Haki, it felt as though the entire sea obeyed his will.
No, the trembling beneath his feet wasn't just the waves. It was the unconscious release of the Gura Gura no Mi's power, spreading outward. Even the ocean itself seemed to reverence the strongest man in the world.
His hair and mustache were long turned white, yet they still rippled like a lion's mane in the sea wind.
He slowly raised his head, gaze cutting past the Marine defenses toward the execution platform. Those cloudy yet razor-sharp eyes held no trace of hesitation, only the majesty and resolve of a king.
"Sengoku!"
Whitebeard's voice thundered across the sea, shaking the very air. Even Marineford's walls hummed from the vibration.
It wasn't amplified by any Devil Fruit, just raw, pure willpower and spirit. The sound smashed straight through the distance, slamming into the ears of every soul present.
"Give me back my son!"
No flowery speech. No threats. Just a single, earth-shaking declaration.
That voice carried a force that brooked no defiance, Marines all across the plaza turned pale, rifles trembling in their hands.
Atop the command tower, Sengoku gripped the railing until his knuckles whitened.
He looked at that mountainous figure, drew in a deep breath, and roared through the loudspeaker Den-Den Mushi:
"Edward Newgate! You think you can challenge the justice of the Marines with this rabble of pirates? The execution will proceed, nothing will change that!"
"Justice?"
Whitebeard snorted, his tone dripping with scorn.
"Your justice… is tying a boy to an execution stand?"
He lifted his naginata slowly, its blade glinting toward the sky.
"Then today, I'll show the whole world, what happens to anyone who dares lay a hand on my family!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the sea beneath him erupted.
Not the faint tremor from before, but a quake so violent it felt like the earth itself was splitting.
Waves dozens of meters high surged toward Marineford, the sea itself twisting and writhing as if it were alive, about to overturn under his will.
"Not good! The Gura Gura no Mi!" cried an officer from the command tower.
"Aokiji!" Sengoku's command rang out instantly.
Without hesitation, Aokiji raised his hand toward the raging sea.
Cold burst outward in a blinding flash. The freezing mist spread faster than ever before, and the moment the violent waves met it, they froze solid.
An enormous ice wall rose from the ocean, a hundred meters tall, clear as crystal yet hard as steel. It sealed Marineford away from the roaring sea beyond.
"Tch. What a pain."
Aokiji clicked his tongue, finally lighting his cigarette. A thin plume of smoke drifted from his lips, cold as winter breath.
Akainu stepped forward, his heat scattering the frost nearby. "Don't give him a chance!"
His voice was pure command, eyes locked on Whitebeard. "Today, his era ends here!"
Kizaru opened his fan again, waving it lazily. "Looks like we won't be getting any sleep tonight~"
As he spoke, his body flickered with golden light. A ray shot upward from his feet, ready to become a flash kick at any second, straight toward the Moby Dick.
At that instant, the full power of the Three Admirals burst forth, searing magma, glacial cold, blinding light. The three forces soared into the sky, clashing head-on with Whitebeard's quake that could shake the seas themselves.
The air seemed to freeze. Even the wind stopped. Only two titanic wills and powers collided above Marineford, enough to shake the very world.
And amid this earth-shattering tension, on the roof of the watchtower… Renzo was curled up on a sheet of canvas, holding half a rice ball, his brows knit in irritation.
"So noisy," he muttered drowsily, stuffing the rest of the rice ball into his mouth and burrowing deeper into his coat. "It's just a fight. Why all the yelling? Some of us are trying to sleep."
Far below, Sanji stood at the entrance of the makeshift infirmary, a chef's knife clutched in his hand. He had come to move medical supplies, but the sight before him froze him in place.
He stared at the colossal figure of Whitebeard, then at the three Admirals facing him, and muttered under his breath, "These maniacs…"
In the plaza, the Marines erupted in unison, chants of "MARINE VICTORY!" and "JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL!" thundered so loud the rooftops trembled.
From Moby Dick, the pirates roared back, "For Pops!" "Save Ace!" Their battle cries merged into one deafening symphony, the prelude to one of the most brutal wars in history.
The sails of the Moby Dick snapped tight in the storm wind. Whitebeard's grip on his naginata tightened, the blade now shrouded in black and violet, Armament Haki, pulsing like living lightning.
Before the execution platform, Akainu clenched his fist, molten magma flickering beneath his skin.
The war was about to ignite.
And Renzo… simply turned his back to it all, curling up tighter, trying to steal a few minutes of sleep amid the thunderous cries.
To him, the battle that would rewrite pirate history was nothing more than a noisy nuisance; as long as nobody blew up the mess hall, he couldn't care less who won.
Still, the crushing aura of the titans clashing in the distance made him frown faintly.
"…Troublesome," he murmured. "Just hurry up and finish already."
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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