A few minutes earlier, on the battlefield—
Boom boom boom!
Amid deafening crashes, the ground shook violently as if the heavens and earth were collapsing. The earth trembled, rocks cracked and shattered, debris flew everywhere, and seawater gushed up through the deep rifts.
Only then did people realize—Marineford Island was sinking. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before the entire Navy headquarters was submerged by the surging sea.
Fujitora gripped the hilt of his sheathed blade. With a light clang, the gleaming blade slid out. Holding the hilt firmly, he swung the sword down and stabbed it into the ground.
"Gravity Control."
Boom!
With a thunderous rumble, the crumbling earth began to stabilize. The deep cracks slowed their expansion, and massive chunks of rock seemed to be held aloft by an invisible force.
Only then did everyone realize—the sinking island had stopped. It was now suspended in the air.
This was Fujitora's power.
"We're saved! It's Vice Admiral Fujitora!"
"I thought I was going to die!"
"We're saved—thank goodness!"
"Long live Vice Admiral Fujitora!"
The Navy soldiers cheered loudly, their post-crisis relief overflowing with emotion.
But unfortunately, Fujitora alone—despite being an admiral-level powerhouse—could not hold up an entire island indefinitely. The cost of doing so was immense physical strain, as shown by the sweat now beading on his forehead.
Fujitora's face flushed unnaturally, veins bulging in his neck, and his hand gripping the sword began to tremble—a clear sign of exhaustion.
He had already expended considerable energy battling Whitebeard earlier. Now, lifting the entire island was gradually becoming too much.
Garp was the first to notice. He roared, "You idiots! Get to the ships now! Or do you want me to toss you into the sea myself?!"
Hearing Garp's fury, the Marines panicked and rushed toward the warships—but soon realized there were fewer than ten ships docked. With over a hundred thousand Marines stationed at Marineford, there was simply no way those ships could carry everyone.
"Now this is a problem..."
Garp's face turned grim. The reinforcements from nearby Navy branches wouldn't arrive for days. If they didn't evacuate fast, the entire force could be lost to the sea once the island finally sank.
"If only the instructor were here..." a nearby vice admiral murmured.
"You fools!" Garp snapped, turning abruptly. "She's a wanted criminal now! Are you planning to side with her?!"
The Marines fell silent, exchanging uncertain glances. Still, many thought the same thing—if the instructor helped, they'd surely be saved. Though her training had been harsh, she always looked out for them.
If they just pleaded with her, maybe—just maybe—her soft heart would consider helping. But seeing Garp's darkened face, they swallowed their words.
Just then, the ground trembled violently and began to sink again.
"This is bad."
Garp's heart sank. Fujitora was clearly reaching his limit. Holding up an entire island alone for so long had already been an incredible feat.
Amid cries of alarm, people on the island began to fall as the ground gave way. The surface had sunk below sea level—what lay beneath was no longer solid earth, but turbulent ocean.
Now it was truly dangerous.
Falling into the sea would be deadly. Even the Navy's best swimmers wouldn't last long, and for Devil Fruit users, the ocean meant instant sinking—faster than a stone.
Just as terror gripped everyone, a clear and melodious voice suddenly rang out.
"Earth Release: Seismic Core!"
As soon as her words fell, the sea began to quake violently, sending towering waves crashing forward with unstoppable force.
But just as everyone was about to fall into the ocean, the ground suddenly rose up from the water, pushing back the raging tide. In a matter of moments, the land had risen hundreds of meters.
Looking around, the area that had once been ocean had transformed into dry land—vast and expansive, several times larger than Marineford itself.
"Ahhhhh!"
Everyone dropped from the sky like dumplings, crashing onto the new ground, screams echoing across the plain. But compared to falling into the ocean, this was a much better outcome—at least they weren't fish food for Sea Kings.
Sengoku spun around, stunned. "What is this..."
"Don't get the wrong idea. I didn't do it to save you," Kaguya glanced at him and added, "No need to thank me."
"That's not what I meant," Sengoku said, barely containing his fury as he pointed into the distance. "Look what you've done—you capsized all the warships!"
Apparently, the intensity of Kaguya's land-raising had triggered a massive tsunami, and the unfortunate warships that had only just left the port were flipped like toys by the incoming waves.
Kaguya coughed lightly and turned her head, pretending not to notice.
Meanwhile, on the other side—
As people scrambled to their feet, they stared, dumbfounded, at the scene before them. Their eyes widened in disbelief.
Where there had once been sea, there was now solid ground—vastly larger than before, stretching out so far it seemed endless. Could a human even do something like this?
Even the most modern land reclamation projects were nowhere near as fast as what Kaguya had just done.
Then a Navy officer suddenly cried out, "I knew it—it was the instructor! She saved us!"
"The instructor? No way..."
"It has to be Instructor Kaguya. No one else could pull this off."
"She couldn't bring herself to let us die. Our instructor's not honest with herself."
"So the instructor's actually a tsundere, huh?"
"Sure, she's got a bad temper, rough personality, and loves to boss people around, but she's still our teacher. No way she'd watch us die."
They hadn't even finished speaking when they suddenly froze. Overhead, the once-clear sky turned pitch-black with clouds. Thunder rumbled, lightning danced across the heavens like wild silver serpents.
A Navy soldier looked up curiously. "Huh? Is it about to rain?"
The officer who'd just been speaking brightly suddenly paled, as if remembering something terrifying. He turned and bolted.
But before he could get far, a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky—
Boom!
"Aaaaaaagh!"
A blood-curdling scream tore through the air.
Everyone rushed over in shock. The officer lay charred black, smoke rising from his mouth, his body twitching now and then.
"Daring to talk behind my back? You've gotten bold after all these years."
A beautiful, ethereal voice rang out, but to them, it sounded like it came from the depths of hell. They all froze, cold as ice, slowly turning their heads to force a smile uglier than crying.
Standing behind them—was Kaguya.
Perhaps it had been too long since they'd seen her, and they had started to forget her terrifying nature. But now it all came rushing back—this instructor was not someone to be messed with.
Kaguya stood above them, looking down with a cold gaze. "Do you... want to die?"
Thanks to Kaguya's Earth Release ninjutsu, the crumbling Marineford narrowly avoided sinking. The marines were spared from becoming fish food, though destruction was unavoidable. The former Marine headquarters was no more—replaced by heaps of rubble and broken walls. The entire Marineford had become unrecognizable.
Survivors of the disaster still shuddered with fear, cold sweat trickling down their backs whenever they recalled the terrifying scene. Strangely, many found themselves feeling grateful to their former instructor.
"Stop right there, Kaguya!" Sengoku shouted as he caught up, his voice filled with anger. "Why did you side with the pirates? Have you really fallen like they say?!"
"Oh, that," Kaguya paused, tapping her chin with a pale finger, thinking for a moment. "Actually, I had a very deep reason."
"A deep reason?" Sengoku was momentarily stunned.
"That's right," Kaguya turned with crescent-shaped eyes and a mischievous smile. "Because it's fun."
Sengoku was left speechless, face darkening with fury.
"Old man, justice isn't as simple as you think. The World Government and the Navy aren't the only ones who represent justice," Kaguya said, her gaze steady. "Forcing your version of justice onto others is irresponsible."
"What nonsense are you spouting?!" Sengoku barked.
"As Fleet Admiral, you must know the filth hidden beneath the World Government's façade," Kaguya said coldly. "You can't tolerate pirates' crimes but conveniently ignore the World Government's corruption?"
Sengoku's expression faltered—he clearly knew the truth of her words.
Suddenly, loud laughter echoed from the distance, drawing everyone's attention.
"Ahahaha! I finally got it! It's finally mine! Hahaha!"
Sengoku's heart sank. He turned and narrowed his eyes.
There stood a burly, powerfully built man in a black coat, chest bare, belly protruding, and a thick beard. His uneven teeth were especially eye-catching—it was Blackbeard.
Kaguya raised an eyebrow. As expected, it was that wretched man.
She had sensed someone spying on them for a while—and now it was clear. Surrounding him were members of the Blackbeard Pirates, not only his early followers, but also several high-security prisoners she had previously encountered in Impel Down.
The war at Marineford had largely been orchestrated by Blackbeard from behind the scenes. He was the true mastermind.
He captured Ace and handed him over to the Navy, knowing full well Whitebeard would never let that go. Thus, the Whitebeard Pirates clashed with the Navy in a great war—just as Blackbeard had planned.
His real goal was simple: the Gura Gura no Mi.
Coveted as one of the strongest Devil Fruits in the world, Blackbeard had long set his sights on it. Ever since acquiring the Yami Yami no Mi, he had been plotting to steal Whitebeard's power.
"Navy," Blackbeard sneered, pointing toward the distant marines. "Let me show you my new power."
With a swing of his arm, black mist erupted from his body. He extended his hand and slammed it into the ground.
"Dark Hole Path!"
As soon as he spoke, darkness burst forth from the ground around his palm, surging like a tide toward the nearby marines.
"Aaaaaah!"
Caught off guard, the marines were instantly engulfed by the black aura. Amid anguished screams, they were swallowed into the darkness.
"This is the power of my Yami Yami no Mi," Blackbeard sneered, his hand cloaked in swirling shadows. "And next—" he suddenly raised his arm, mimicking Whitebeard's iconic stance, and slammed his fist forward.
Crack!
A sound like shattering glass rang out as the air was torn apart and space warped violently. An invisible shockwave burst forth.
Crack!
The ground trembled violently. With thunderous roars, stone cracked and shattered. Massive chunks of rock were sent flying, buildings were torn apart, debris scattered everywhere, and deep ravines split the earth as far as the eye could see.
Marco and the remaining members of the Whitebeard Pirates stared in shock, their pupils trembling. They could hardly believe what they were seeing.
"That stance..."
"That—that's the power of the Gura Gura no Mi..."
"Whitebeard's power, even after death?"
"How is that possible?! How can that guy use it?!"
Everyone stared at the laughing Blackbeard in disbelief.
"Hahahahaha!"
Blackbeard laughed maniacally, joined by his crewmates.
"That's Pops' power..."
"What the hell is going on, that bastard Teach..."
The Whitebeard Pirates clenched their fists in rage.
"The gravity that pulls everything into nothingness, and—" Blackbeard raised his shadow-cloaked right hand, then his left, now crackling with shockwaves, "—the quake force that destroys everything. With both powers in my grasp..."
Blackbeard bellowed with laughter, "Now I'm invincible! I am the strongest! Hahahahaha!"
"Are you getting ahead of yourself?"
A clear, melodic voice drifted in from afar. Blackbeard paused and turned. As he spotted the figure in the distance, his eyes narrowed.
"You're..."
"All these years, and you still haven't changed a bit," Kaguya approached gracefully, a cold smile playing on her lips. "Still as shallow as ever."
"You!" Blackbeard grinned wickedly. "The so-called strongest in the world, Kaguya—you came at the perfect time. Let me test my new powers on you!"
With a stomp, he launched himself like a cannonball toward her.
"What exactly makes you so confident you can defeat me? Still, since you're so eager to die..." Kaguya's lips curled into a mocking smile. "I'll grant your wish."
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