A vast army was deployed, an inescapable net laid out.
Yet, the main force of the Whitebeard Pirates appeared where no one had expected.
"They got this close already..."
Sengoku watched in shock as the Moby Dick and its accompanying ships emerged from beneath the sea, bypassing the naval firepower blockade at the harbor's entrance, and surfaced within the bay—separated from the execution platform by only a single plaza.
Despite all calculations, one crucial factor had been overlooked.
Even the wisest strategists make mistakes—such was the case for Sengoku and Tsuru at this moment.
However—
Their eyes instinctively turned to Maude, standing at the forefront of the naval forces.
They hadn't accounted for this possibility.
But Maude had.
A flicker of surprise crossed their minds, but with the situation already unfolding, there was no time for reflection.
Sengoku's gaze sharpened as he locked onto the man standing on the bow of the Moby Dick.
"Gurararara—!"
Whitebeard's bold and hearty laughter echoed across all of Marineford.
Maude withdrew his blade, Shusui, and held it horizontally at his side, calmly watching as Whitebeard prepared for what was to come.
Doflamingo, observing the overwhelming presence of the legendary pirate, grinned wildly and sneered, "How exhilarating! The world's strongest man—how will he choose to attack?"
Hawkeye and Hancock remained impassive, indifferent to the surrounding chaos. Yet, the moment Whitebeard appeared, all eyes were inevitably drawn to him.
Aboard the Moby Dick.
The division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates gathered behind their captain.
They were his most steadfast shield.
Among them, a man dressed in a pink kimono furrowed his brows at the sight of Maude standing in the bay.
More precisely, his eyes were fixed on the legendary black blade, Shusui, held in Maude's hand.
"The national treasure of Wano... why is it in his possession?"
This man, clad in foreign attire, was Izo, the commander of the 16th division of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Hailing from Wano, he recognized the legendary sword at a glance.
"Izo, something wrong?"
Marco, the 1st division commander, noticed Izo's unease.
"It's nothing," Izo replied, shaking his head.
Now was not the time to reclaim Wano's treasure—rescuing Ace was the priority.
Marco found his reaction odd but chose not to dwell on it, instead turning his attention back to their captain's imposing figure.
"Gurarara... just hold on a little longer, Ace."
Whitebeard suddenly plunged his supreme-grade blade, Murakumogiri, into the wooden deck. Then, leaning forward slightly, he crossed his arms.
"It's coming!!!"
"The attack of the world's strongest man!"
"Stay on high alert!"
Seeing Whitebeard's stance, the Marines' expressions grew solemn.
Under the watchful eyes of all present, Whitebeard's crossed arms suddenly moved—his fists striking the air to either side.
Crack! Creak!
Where his punches landed, jagged cracks spread through the atmosphere.
"The air... it's shattering!!!"
The Marines were filled with shock.
Just as he had repelled Maude's Hakoku attack earlier, Whitebeard's quake powers now fractured the very air itself.
But this time, the tremor didn't focus on a single point—it spread outward across the sea!
BOOM—!
A deafening explosion-like rumble erupted from both sides of Crescent Bay.
All eyes turned toward the source of the sound.
"Huh?"
"Waaah!!!"
Under the force of the tremors, massive waves—towering like mountains—suddenly surged skyward at the harbor's edges.
On both flanks, the sea itself seemed to rise up in defiance of nature.
Two enormous tidal waves soared toward the heavens, casting an apocalyptic shadow over the battlefield.
The Marines nearest to the waves were struck with sheer terror.
Some even screamed in panic, convinced that the titanic waves would come crashing down upon them.
Yet, instead of falling, the waves surged outward toward the open sea, vanishing beyond the horizon in moments.
"What... just happened...?"
The bewildered Marines turned back toward Whitebeard, who remained poised on the Moby Dick's bow, fists still clenched from his strike.
At the execution platform.
"A seaquake..."
Sengoku's face was grave.
The massive waves, sent retreating by Whitebeard's tremor, were followed by a rapid drop in the bay's water level.
The Marines quickly noticed the anomaly.
Then came the quake.
All of Marineford trembled violently.
"What's this tremor!?"
The intense shaking made it difficult for the Marines to keep their footing.
"Don't think that sheer numbers guarantee victory!"
At that moment, Sengoku's voice, laden with warning, echoed across the battlefield through a Den Den Mushi.
"For all we know, it is us who stand at the brink of annihilation... because that man possesses the power to destroy the world!"
The moment Sengoku's words fell, the aftershocks of Whitebeard's seaquake took shape—
Tsunamis, hundreds of meters high, surged toward Marineford from both flanks.
Waves of catastrophic proportions loomed over the island, blocking out the sky itself.
"What kind of power is this...?!"
"We're doomed!"
The monstrous waves cast vast shadows over the Marines, their faces frozen in terror.
Some Devil Fruit users even succumbed to despair.
For those who couldn't swim, being swept into the ocean meant certain death.
In the bay.
Doflamingo cackled with exhilaration. "As expected of the legendary monster! Fufufu!"
Maude and Hancock, both Devil Fruit users, gazed up at the overwhelming force of the incoming tsunamis.
Such an assault was a nightmare for any Devil Fruit user.
But—
For some, the situation differed.
Below the execution platform.
"Alaala, what a temper tantrum."
Aokiji's figure flickered—leaving behind only a trail of ice shards where he had been seated.
Akainu and Kizaru, as if predicting his move, both looked up toward the sky.
Following their gaze, Aokiji soared across hundreds of meters, positioning himself at the heart of the twin tsunamis.
"Ice Age—!"
His voice rang out over the battlefield.
Aokiji extended both arms outward, releasing twin ice beams from his palms that struck the advancing waves.
Crack! Crack!
The relentless sound of ice spreading filled the air.
The towering waves, powerful enough to engulf all of Marineford, froze solid before they could crash down.
What appeared to be nothing more than thin ice beams contained the power to freeze the very ocean itself.
In mere moments, Whitebeard's devastating tsunamis were transformed into towering walls of ice.
"This... is the true power of a top-tier Logia user."
Maude looked up at Aokiji, who was standing in midair, and recalled the scene three years ago when Aokiji used his abilities in Mad Hat Town.
Compared to what he was witnessing now, that moment seemed insignificant.
"And the power of a top-tier Paramecia user."
Shifting his gaze, Maude looked toward Whitebeard, who stood at the bow of the Moby Dick, capable of summoning tsunamis with a mere gesture.
A ripple of emotion surged within him, stirring a growing excitement.
Sniping from the sidelines? No. Only by throwing himself into battle—discarding any thoughts of life or death—could he hope to stand among the elite.
Only by stepping into this rare crucible of combat could he quickly grasp the power he had gained from his notes.
As the thought took hold, Maude's aura flared outward.
In this unprecedented war, he would be a participant, not a spectator!
At the bow of the Moby Dick.
"Aokiji, you brat..."
Whitebeard's sharp gaze locked onto Aokiji, who had frozen the oncoming tsunami with a single use of Ice Age.
Hovering in the air, Aokiji met Whitebeard's gaze with a calm, indifferent expression.
His attack wasn't over yet.
"Ice Spear!"
Four massive ice spears formed in the air around Aokiji. With a flick of his wrist, they shot toward Whitebeard like arrows loosed from a bowstring.
Whitebeard raised an eyebrow and, in response, threw a simple yet devastating punch in Aokiji's direction.
CRACK!
The power of the Gura Gura no Mi rippled through the air.
The incoming ice spears shattered instantly under the force of the quake.
But the shockwave did not stop there—it surged forward and crashed into Aokiji.
Creak!
Cracks spread across Aokiji's face and body.
"Ara ara..."
Despite his face being split apart, Aokiji remained expressionless as he looked down at Whitebeard.
In the next moment, his frost-covered body fragmented into chunks of ice that fell straight into the bay, forming an unrecognizable ice sculpture upon impact.
Though the tremor from the Gura Gura no Mi had immense range and destructive power, it still could not deal fatal damage to a Logia user.
Standing atop the frozen surface of the sea, the ice sculpture slowly regained Aokiji's shape. A wave of chilling air spread outward from his feet.
Within mere seconds, the entire bay, including the undersides of Whitebeard's four ships, was completely frozen.
"The ships are frozen!"
"Hmm, well... at least we have a foothold now."
Despite their ships being immobilized, the Whitebeard Pirates showed no concern.
"Charge! Let's show the Marines our might!"
"Ooooh!!!"
As soon as the brief clash between Whitebeard and Aokiji ended, the Whitebeard Pirates leaped from their frozen ships onto the ice-covered bay, charging toward the Marines like a pack of hungry wolves.
"Gurararara! Freezing the bay, huh? Pretty considerate of you."
Watching his men charge across the ice, Whitebeard chuckled, his tone carrying a hint of mockery as he praised Aokiji's move.
Unfazed by the subtle taunt, Aokiji stood silently on the frozen bay near the harbor.
At the harbor.
Maude glanced at Aokiji's back before suddenly raising his gun and firing a shot into the sky.
A pitch-black shadow bullet spiraled upward.
SWOOSH!
In an instant, Maude swapped positions with the bullet, appearing high above the battlefield.
"That guy again...!"
"Damn it, him again?!"
The Whitebeard Pirates, charging across the ice, immediately noticed Maude reappearing above the bay.
Even Aokiji looked up in silence, watching Maude, who was already pushing himself to the limit at the very start of the battle.
High above the battlefield.
Maude gripped White Weasel, which had already switched into its dual-pistol form.
Daylight Fireworks!
He aimed downward and pulled the trigger at blinding speed.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Flashes of muzzle fire erupted as a torrent of bullets rained down upon the Whitebeard Pirates below, each shot leaving a glowing trail like a downpour of light.
Infinite Ammunition Mode!
The overwhelming barrage stunned the charging Whitebeard Pirates.
"Oi, oi, isn't this a bit much?!"
Seeing the relentless storm of bullets descending upon them, many Whitebeard Pirates showed expressions of shock and disbelief.
Meanwhile, at the harbor, the Marine officer overseeing the battle watched in near delight as Maude unleashed his powerful suppressive fire from above.
"Amazing! Absolutely incredible...!"
The unrelenting barrage was disrupting the enemy's charge—an immense advantage for the harbor's artillery formations.
"FIRE THE CANNONS!"
The harbor commander roared the order at the top of his lungs.
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