"Meteorites! Those are meteorites!"
"Is this the power of Admiral Fujitora?!"
"Terrifying!"
"Ten meteorites… He truly deserves to be called a monster!"
Countless marines were stunned by Fujitora's attack. Yet, despite their panic, this spectacle unknowingly calmed many of them down.
Everyone knew Fujitora was a monster among men, but very few had actually seen him fight. Even the upper brass of the Marine had never watched this blind old man unleash his power.
After all, it had only been a few months since the World Military Draft.
People only knew that Fujitora was a fearsome monster with enough strength to be promoted directly by the World Government.
The same was true for Ryokugyu, and even Black Viper was another monstrous figure.
In the Marine, anyone labeled a "monster" was someone to fear.
At this moment, Akainu and the others also looked toward the sky. They weren't as shocked as ordinary marines, but they were clearly surprised.
Above them, ten enormous meteorites—each tens or even hundreds of meters in diameter—fell from the sky, wrapped in blazing flames, and finally collided with the massive tsunami that was about to crush the fleet.
A moment later, a terrifying explosion erupted, followed by violent shocks that rippled across the sea.
Most of the Homies formed from the tsunami were shattered apart, screaming in pain as they were destroyed.
Water surged hundreds of meters into the air as the entire sea quaked.
Fortunately, Big Mom's Homies-tsunami had been about a kilometer away from the fleet before being broken apart.
Had it been a few hundred meters closer, the warships would undoubtedly have suffered heavy damage.
Even now, the ships were rocking violently on the turbulent sea.
For the moment, however… they were safe.
The remnants of the tsunami split around both sides of the navy fleet and ultimately didn't strike any warships.
Such was Fujitora's strength—enough to casually disintegrate one of Big Mom's terrifying attacks.
Still, Fujitora knew this was just the beginning. Big Mom wouldn't rely on a single tsunami.
Obviously, that would be impossible.
As for Big Mom herself, when she saw her tsunami shattered, she didn't say a word. After all, the Marine was overflowing with top-tier fighters right now. There were plenty of sailors capable of stopping her earlier attack — not just Fujitora but even several powerful marines working together could have neutralized it.
Meanwhile, Elior showed no reaction. Under everyone's gaze, he stepped forward, holding Shanks head in his hand. He pulled his right arm back, clearly preparing to throw something.
Everyone stared at the severed head.
They understood exactly what Elior was about to do.
Even the pirates behind him felt a chill run down their spines.
The Yonko Elior's current actions weren't just insane—they were terrifying.
"Is this a greeting gift? Looks like it's much better than my tsunami," Big Mom laughed wickedly as she looked at the head in Elior's hand.
Elior remained silent.
Then, under everyone's horrified eyes, he hurled Shanks head.
He didn't use much force, but the head shot forward like a cannonball — traveling in a straight line rather than an arc — aimed directly at the warship carrying Akainu and the other high-ranking officers.
A greeting gift.
A horrifying greeting gift.
Shanks's head.
On the other side, Akainu and the others naturally noticed Elior throwing something.
But for a moment, none of them could tell what it was.
Akainu's right arm was already erupting with boiling steam. If whatever it was reached the warship, he would destroy it instantly.
"Is it a bomb?"
Akainu narrowed his eyes, still uncertain—and so was everyone else.
But with the distance closing rapidly, someone using a telescope finally shouted:
"It's a human head!"
"That's right! It's a human head!"
"And… that… that's the head of Shanks!"
Hearing this, even Akainu froze for a moment. The other high-ranking marines were equally stunned.
A head… with unmistakable red hair.
As it drew nearer, the severed head arrived. Akainu and the others were horrified to realize that it truly was a human head.
Red hair, clearly visible.
Akainu's expression twisted. He resisted the urge to vaporize the head and instead caught it.
It was unmistakably Red-Hair.
His severed head.
Holding it by the hair, Akainu turned to face the others, his expression tense and grim.
Sengoku and the others hadn't expected that the head Akainu now held would actually be Red-Hair's.
And he had not died peacefully.
This wasn't a clean cut—judging by the torn flesh around the neck, the head had clearly been ripped off with sheer brute force.
Many marines felt suffocated or began trembling uncontrollably.
They had suspected Red-Hair might have died in battle, but no one imagined such a gruesome death.
"Everyone… I didn't expect Red-Hair to die," Akainu said solemnly. He stared at the head one last time before tossing it onto the deck.
"Inform the Gorosei!"
"If even Red-Hair was killed this brutally, imagine how powerful our enemies are!"
"It seems the Red-Hair Pirates have been completely annihilated."
After saying this, Akainu turned his back and ignored the severed head on the deck.
"I guess that bastard Elior gave us Red-Hair's head as a greeting gift! Otherwise, why show us this humiliation now?" Akainu's heart burned with anger. Sengoku and the others felt the same.
Everyone became even more grim.
On the deck, Red-Hair's lifeless face stared at the sky.
Few could remain calm.
BOOM!
At that moment, Elior stepped onto the sea. Instantly, the power of the Ice Teigu erupted. A massive wave of freezing cold surged outward, swallowing up the surrounding waters.
Moments later, a radius of more than ten kilometers of ocean froze solid.
"You received my greeting gift? Then here—have another."
A crimson magic circle appeared again. Elior's left hand spun, and a massive surge of magical energy burst forth — splitting the air as it shot toward Akainu and the warships.
This was the prelude to the imminent war.