Whitebeard and Sengoku — two legendary figures — each wielded legendary powers.
At that moment, the clash of their abilities collided in full force.
Golden shockwaves met pure white tremors, and space itself cracked violently. In a flash, the ground shattered beneath them.
One wielded the power to cause earthquakes that could destroy islands. The other, the force of overwhelming shockwaves capable of crushing anything in their path.
The result of their collision was unimaginable.
But there was one key difference: Whitebeard was already wounded and ill, while Sengoku was fighting at full strength.
Though both were in their seventies, their strength still stood at the top of the world — truly a battle between legends.
The destructive force of their clash forced everyone around them to retreat.
Marineford's plaza was vast, but against power of this caliber, it suddenly seemed far too small.
They attacked simultaneously — Sengoku with his palm, Whitebeard with his fist — and a massive shockwave radiated from the epicenter, covering most of Marineford in blinding light.
BOOM —
The shockwave ravaged everything. Even the Marineford Headquarters — the supposed symbol of peace and justice during the era of pirates — was left fractured. The plaza itself was ripped apart even further.
"This is terrifying! Sengoku and Whitebeard's strength is unreal!"
"This is the power of those who stand at the top!"
"Just being near that storm made me feel like giving up on living!"
"It's my first time seeing Sengoku fight. He's incredible!"
Elsewhere, the battle between Aokiji and Elior raged on with brutal intensity.
"That man... even after all these battles, he's still undefeated!"
"I... I can't take my eyes off him..."
From afar, Hancock stared dreamily in Elior's direction, lost in a trance.
Facing off against Aokiji, Elior summoned a barrage of sharp ice arrows behind him, which he launched at the admiral, who had just stood up from the ground.
Thousands of arrows pierced through the air toward Aokiji's body. But with his Logia powers, he easily reformed from ice even after being struck.
"Damn that elemental body…"
Elior took a step—and instantly appeared in front of Aokiji, who reflexively jumped back.
"You're strong, but not invincible."
Aokiji noticed that Elior's form wasn't as solid as before. Still, Aokiji himself was in far worse shape, with slashes across his stomach, chest, and back — all from Elior earlier — still bleeding. While not fatal, they stung terribly with every movement.
"Your strength is on par with that paper guy from CP0. Just another one I could've killed."
Elior scoffed. Unlike Akainu, Elior had no respect for Aokiji's indecisiveness.
In the original timeline, after losing the Fleet Admiral position to Akainu, Aokiji appeared to leave the Marines — but in truth, he joined a covert operations unit under Sengoku, working as an undercover agent in Blackbeard's crew.
Elior could already predict that if Sengoku retired after this war, the new Fleet Admiral appointment would go the same way it had originally.
Would Aokiji stay undercover? Maybe he'd even come join Elior's crew? Either way, it was time to teach the Marine a harsh lesson:
Better to sever one finger than injure ten.
With that thought, Elior's fist — charged with electricity and armament haki — smashed down on Aokiji, who crossed his arms to block.
But Elior's raw power was overwhelming.
Even without monstrous strength, Elior's physique already rivaled Aokiji's. With it, he was at least ten times stronger.
BOOM!
Aokiji was sent flying again. But before he could land, Elior moved even faster, appearing above him and hammering another electrified punch straight into his chest.
CRACK!
Just like the CP0 agent earlier, Aokiji coughed up blood, feeling his insides shatter.
"Ice Time Capsule!"
Aokiji gasped through gritted teeth, sending a powerful wave of freezing energy from his right hand toward Elior, instantly freezing half of his body.
CRASH!
Elior grabbed Aokiji and slammed him into the ground, forming a crater.
"That level of freezing? Useless against me."
A surge of lightning flickered from Elior's body, shattering the ice.
Back on his feet, Elior swept his right leg in a wide arc — Aokiji barely dodged — and then slammed his palm into the ground. Massive ice spikes burst upward in every direction toward Aokiji.
"Too fast!"
"This guy's ice is way too complicated…"
Having fought Elior for over thirty minutes, Aokiji had to admit — Elior's ice powers surpassed even his own. Maybe he hadn't fully mastered the Ice-Ice Fruit yet.
The ice spears chased Aokiji like they had minds of their own, striking as fast as Kizaru's lasers.
BOOM!
The spears exploded mid-air—but Aokiji managed to dodge.
However, as if predicting Aokiji's movement, Elior dropped from above with a brutal axe kick.
CRACK—THUD!
The dull thud of impact was followed by the sickening crunch of bones. Aokiji was knocked out of the air again, only to be caught mid-fall by Onigumo.
"Admiral Kuzan!"
"I'm fine…"
Aokiji's face was pale. He clearly wasn't fine.
As Elior charged again, Onigumo stepped in to block him. Arms extended like spider legs, each one held a blade.
"Don't get cocky, pirate!"
Onigumo stared down Elior without fear, blades at the ready.
"In the whole Marine, I can count the people worth fighting on one hand."
Elior summoned an ice blade and slashed.
CLANG—
In a flash, all of Onigumo's swords were broken by the sheer power of Elior's slash.
Then, the ice blade disappeared.
"Onigumo!"
Aokiji's cry of alarm came too late. Onigumo's arms went limp.
"No… no way…"
Onigumo looked down, shocked—and then his body was split clean in two.
Yes, literally in two.
"Vice Admiral Onigumo!"
"He cut a Vice Admiral in half!"
"He was one of the Marine's strongest Vice Admirals!"
"This… this can't be real!"
The Marines were stunned. Their bodies trembled with fear and disbelief.
Onigumo's severed body hit the ground, spilling blood and organs as his lifeless eyes stared upward, unblinking.
"That monster…"
"Unforgivable!"
Sengoku, still battling Whitebeard, saw Onigumo fall.
He was dead.
Onigumo was really dead.
"Sengoku, losing focus at a time like this?"
With Ace rescued, Whitebeard was in high spirits — and when he was in a good mood, his condition improved dramatically.
BOOM!
A thunderous blow from Whitebeard knocked Sengoku away.
Onigumo was no longer his concern.
"Why is that guy even here…?"
Whitebeard glanced at Elior, confused by his purpose.
Across the battlefield, the remaining Shichibukai watched in stunned silence. Elior's cold execution of a Vice Admiral had shaken them all — except for Boa Hancock, who was still lovestruck.
The other three Shichibukai looked at Elior with growing interest.
Back on the battlefield, Elior once again charged toward Aokiji.
"You killed Onigumo… I won't let that slide!"
Aokiji's fury ignited, his energy surging. But again, Elior's punch smashed into him, sending him skidding back.
Elior's right hand sparked, forming a massive lightning pillar.
"Let's try that move I used on Akainu…"
With a violent sweep, the bolt of lightning carved through the battlefield, crackling with energy. The debris it struck turned to ash, vaporized by the sheer heat.
"Ice Domain!"
Aokiji thrust both hands forward, unleashing a freezing storm that dropped the temperature in an instant. Snow and ice blanketed the area, rushing toward Elior like an avalanche.
"Ice Domain, huh?"
"Interesting…"
Elior swung the massive lightning pillar in his hand, clashing directly with Aokiji's ice.
Centered around Elior, thunder roared violently as bolts of lightning erupted in every direction. The raging storm of electricity engulfed the entire area, surrounding both him and Aokiji.
At the same time, Aokiji's ice surged toward Elior's feet, rapidly freezing his legs. For the first time, Elior felt the bone-chilling cold of Aokiji's frost — a sensation he had never experienced before. The freezing continued, creeping up Elior's body, threatening to entomb him completely.
But in his right hand, Elior's lightning pillar came crashing down on Aokiji, crackling with immense voltage. Aokiji endured the hit in full Logia form, attempting to absorb the attack.
Then, in the next instant — Elior unleashed the lightning at 700 million volts.
BOOM!
Thunder exploded across the battlefield, a deafening blast that seemed to split Marineford itself. White shockwaves rippled out in all directions, spreading across the entire island and even into the surrounding sea.
The massive shockwave engulfed the battlefield, knocking Marines and pirates alike off their feet.
Aokiji, just like Akainu before him, was sent flying by the force of the explosion.
The intensity of the lightning far exceeded what his body could handle. Not only was it overwhelming in power, but the extreme heat of the lightning burned through even Aokiji's freezing defenses, melting his ice on contact.
Five seconds later, Aokiji crashed into the ground with a heavy thud. His face had gone completely pale.
Though still conscious, his condition was worse than anyone could imagine—though perhaps not quite as bad as Akainu, who had passed out entirely. Aokiji was on the brink of death, barely clinging to awareness.
"So… powerful…"
Aokiji was stunned to the core, his body failing him, and even speaking had become a struggle.
His injuries were catastrophic.
"Do you want to feel what real freezing is like?"
"Something far beyond the limits of your Ice-Ice Fruit?"
Elior's body still crackled with electricity, and the energy surging from him only continued to rise. But it was clear — his condition was worsening too.
Standing over Aokiji, Elior looked down coldly.
In Aokiji's panicked gaze, Elior raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.
"Before you die, let me show you the ultimate freezing technique."
"Have you ever felt time and space themselves freeze?"
Then, under Aokiji's horrified stare, a frozen-blue field began to spread from Elior, warping the space around them.
The moment it touched Aokiji—his thoughts ceased.
His consciousness stopped. He didn't even realize what had happened.
When Aokiji's mind finally returned, when his thoughts were able to process again—he looked down and saw it.
An ice spear, enhanced with Armament Haki, had pierced straight through his heart.
"So this is… your frozen time-space technique…""Just like… Sakazuki said…""Didn't even… see it coming…"
As life drained from his body, a flood of memories—both joyful and painful—rushed through his mind. Amid the haze, he thought he could hear someone calling out his name in desperation…
…It sounded like his idol… Garp.
Ten seconds later — Aokiji's life came to an abrupt end.