Without a single Marine warship blocking their way, as if they were being ceremoniously welcomed, the Whitebeard Pirates' grand fleet steadily approached the coastline of Aquino Island and came to a halt.
From his elevated position, Ortoren looked down. With his eyesight, the scene aboard the Moby Dick was perfectly clear.
As his gaze swept across the deck, a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.
"Oh? Buckingham Stussy? When did she start mixing with the Whitebeard Pirates?"
Hina, standing beside him, shook her head in confusion.
"I haven't heard anything like that. We've been hunting her for a long time, but she and that man called Edward Weevil are extremely cunning, and their strength is formidable. They've relied on being small targets and highly mobile to evade capture all this time. The last confirmed sighting was three months ago, and back then, they hadn't joined the Whitebeard Pirates."
Ortoren chuckled.
"Never mind. How it happened doesn't really matter. I already promised Queen Stussy that I'd deal with her. I was planning to take care of her after finishing off Whitebeard anyway. Since she delivered herself to us, that works just fine. We'll handle her along with the rest."
At that moment, Newgate stood at the bow of the Moby Dick, surrounded by the captains of his crew.
Despite the Marines' overwhelming presence, these elite pirates showed no fear. Clustered around Whitebeard, their expressions were filled with confidence.
This kind of confidence was necessary. Even if there was uncertainty in their hearts, they had to show none of it. If they lost their nerve before the battle even began, how could they hope to win?
Besides, the Whitebeard Pirates had dominated the New World for so many years. They had earned their pride.
Though the atmosphere was tense enough to snap, neither side had received the signal to begin. For now, the entire battlefield was unnaturally quiet.
Newgate slowly scanned the battlefield of Aquino Island, his gaze finally settling on Ortoren.
But before he could speak, Kozuki Oden suddenly shouted, sounding completely reckless.
"Momonosuke! Are you alright?!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the imposing aura Newgate had built up seemed to crack.
On the execution platform, Momonosuke heard his father's voice. Fear still gripped him, but a trace of hope surfaced. Struggling desperately, he cried out through tears.
"Father! Save me! Please save me! I don't want to die yet!"
This display of weakness caused the Whitebeard Pirates' momentum to drop yet again.
Watching the scene, Ortoren burst into laughter.
"See? I told you there was no need to gag that useless brat. Look at him, causing trouble for the Whitebeard Pirates all by himself."
Though they were a band of notorious pirates, even Ortoren had to admit that most of the Whitebeard Pirates were warriors willing to risk their lives. They carried a fierce, ruthless edge that made them truly dangerous.
Because of that, they despised weakness above all else. Momonosuke's cries of not wanting to die and begging for help instinctively stirred disgust among those who had come prepared to fight to the death.
On top of that, they barely knew Momonosuke and his group at all. Aside from knowing they were the family and retainers of Second Division Captain Kozuki Oden, there was no real connection.
They had come to this battle risking their lives mainly for their Oyaji's honor.
And now, before the battle had even begun, Momonosuke's cowardice had already dragged their morale down significantly.
A flash of helplessness crossed Newgate's brow. Seeing Kozuki Oden about to speak again, he reached out and pressed a hand down on his shoulder, stopping him.
Then Newgate took two steps forward, standing at the very edge of the bow. He didn't spare Momonosuke even a glance. His eyes locked firmly onto Ortoren, and a confident grin spread across his face as he laughed loudly.
"Gurararara! Ortoren, I answered your invitation, and this is the formation you greet me with?"
Ortoren leaned back against his seat, wearing the same bold smile as he laughed in reply.
"Ahahahaha! Newgate, look at the hundred thousand warriors under my command. What do you think of this army?"
"All show and no substance," Newgate replied arrogantly, lifting his chin. "I could shatter it with a single swing."
The smile slowly faded from Ortoren's face, a sharp glint appearing in his eyes.
"Then come and break it. I've placed the prisoners on the execution platform. If you want to save them, ask my hundred thousand men whether they'll allow it."
Newgate stared at Ortoren in silence. The two of them stood there for a long time, neither saying another word.
Across the vast battlefield, tens of thousands of people remained utterly still. It was so quiet it felt unreal.
The pressure radiating from both Ortoren and Newgate continued to rise. Standing beside Ortoren, Hina seemed unable to withstand the weight of it and instinctively stepped back two paces.
In the next moment, Issho naturally moved forward, placing himself in front of her and blocking the suffocating force of Ortoren's aura.
That overwhelming presence spread outward from Ortoren, surging above the Marine formation and pressing down toward the Moby Dick where Newgate stood.
At the same moment, the boundless, overwhelming aura erupting from Newgate burst forth as well, surging straight toward Ortoren.
Neither of them moved. Yet in the next instant, several streaks of black lightning crackled and exploded through the air between them, spanning more than a thousand meters. The two auras slammed into each other, and even the surrounding space seemed to fracture under the impact.
"So strong… From this far away, just the clash of their presence alone is producing this much pressure," Strawberry said from within the Marine ranks, swallowing unconsciously as he felt the force pressing down from above.
Nearby, Doflamingo also looked up at the sky and spoke softly.
"Pressure? That's putting it lightly… The confrontation between the strongest of the old era and the new hasn't even begun yet, and it's already about to tear the sky apart."
Indeed, high above Aquino Island, the thick cloud cover began to tremble violently, rolling and surging like ocean waves. As the two monstrous auras continued to rise, the clouds were gradually torn apart from the center. At a glance, it looked as though the sky itself had split open.
The clash of presence lasted for two or three minutes. Newgate's expression slowly grew solemn as he spoke in a low voice.
"So you really have reached the summit…"
The last time they met, Ortoren had been powerful, but he was still one step behind. This time, through aura alone, Newgate could already tell. That final step had been taken.
Before Ortoren could respond, Newgate suddenly hurled the massive blade in his hand, Murakumogiri, straight into the sky.
The great sword spun like a windmill above his head, signaling that Newgate's hands were now free.
In the next instant, terrifying vibrational power erupted from within his body, flowing along his arms and condensing onto his fists. Invisible tremors clung to his massive knuckles.
Newgate stepped his legs outward and lowered his stance. His fists, packed with dense vibrational force, crossed briefly in front of his chest. That pause lasted only a moment. In the very next second, his arms swung violently outward, and the vibration exploded into the air without form.
Ripples immediately spread through the air. Space itself shattered, and the overwhelming tremor force surged outward in all directions.
The sea quaked. The island shook.
The power said to be capable of destroying the world revealed its ferocious edge.
Within just a few breaths, the ocean churned violently, swelling into a colossal tsunami that roared toward Aquino Island!!!
"What a terrifying ability… Truly worthy of being the strongest enemy I must face," Ortoren said softly as he watched the massive wave, one that looked ready to drown the entire island in a single surge.
As his words fell, Issho beside him stepped forward with steady footing. The moment his foot touched down, a brilliant purple glow blossomed beneath him and spread outward from the platform, rapidly enveloping the entire island.
"Admiral, there's no need to worry," Issho said with a faint smile.