After Isshō finished speaking, Ortoren's brows tightened slightly.
"If you go—"
"Admiral, at this point, the Marines and the pirates have already collided and become completely intermingled," Isshō said in a low, steady voice. "The battlefield can no longer clearly distinguish friend from foe. Under these conditions, Whitebeard is unlikely to use powers like a tsunami."
Hearing this, Ortoren found himself agreeing.
This was no longer the opening phase of the war. The Whitebeard Pirates had already pushed deep onto the island. If Newgate unleashed a tsunami now, it would engulf both his own people and the Marines alike.
Given Newgate's personality, he truly wouldn't do something like that.
After weighing Isshō's reasoning and considering the situation himself, Ortoren spoke again after a brief pause.
"Very well. You'll move out. But Isshō, I want you to establish an overwhelming advantage as quickly as possible. Make that old man Newgate see it clearly. If he doesn't step onto the battlefield himself, every pirate under his command will be wiped out by us."
Which side's supreme commander entered the battlefield first carried real significance. It wasn't just about pride.
Of course, pride did play a role. Whoever's commander moved first would be admitting that their subordinates couldn't hold the line and had already lost ground.
That was precisely why Ortoren and Newgate had both remained still up to this point.
Ortoren trusted the Marine officers under his command. And Newgate trusted his pirate family just as deeply.
In truth, if Ortoren hadn't cared about Yamakaji's life, there would have been no need to send Isshō out now. That would have made him appear far more composed. But he wasn't willing to watch Yamakaji die here simply for the sake of maintaining appearances.
Because of that, this decision inevitably made him seem a bit pressed.
The moment Ortoren gave the order, Isshō responded without hesitation, his voice firm and resolute.
"Yes. I will not disappoint you, Admiral."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Isshō no longer remained on the high platform. He stomped down hard, leapt into the air, and combined Geppo with his ability, vaulting directly over the chaotic battlefield below as he rushed toward Momonga's position.
The situation on the battlefield shifted in an instant.
By now, Momonga and Slekemind were already engaged with Whitey Bay, Teach, and Weevil.
What truly surprised Momonga was this. He had originally thought Whitey Bay was the strongest among the three. But once the fighting began, it became clear that Whitey Bay was actually the weakest of them.
The strongest was the pirate he had never seen before, the one called Teach.
It was completely unexpected.
At the same time, a brief sense of unease crossed Momonga's mind. How many hidden monsters like Teach were there in the Whitebeard Pirates?
But the worry lasted only a moment.
The next instant, Momonga realized there couldn't be many. Perhaps there was only Teach. After all, not every strong fighter could be like him, willing to suppress their ambition and hide in the shadows for so long.
Besides, if the Whitebeard Pirates were truly that absurdly powerful, they would have swept through the New World long ago. Kaidou, Slekemind, and the others wouldn't still be provoking them time and again.
At that moment, Isshō descended from the sky and raised his blade.
"Gravity Blade: Tiger's Roar!"
His terrifying gravity did not disappoint. With a single strike, Whitey Bay was the first to give way, blasted back by the crushing force.
In the next instant, the shockwave power in Weevil's hands erupted as he struck upward toward Isshō in midair.
Isshō didn't dare to be careless and met the attack with gravity of his own.
The moment the two collided, the resulting commotion was terrifying. Shockwaves and gravity slammed into each other, tearing the ground apart in violent bursts. Chaotic energy ripples and raging air currents surged outward, rapidly expanding the battlefield once again.
Marines and pirates who thought they had already escaped this section of the fight were swept up by the energy and air currents, flung into the sky amid panicked screams.
Coupled with the brutal power of Slekemind's Devil Fruit, the scene became nothing short of hell.
Those who lacked sufficient strength, whether Marine or pirate, only needed to be caught in the edge of their battle.
One moment they were pulled in.
The next, they were reduced to a cloud of blood mist, leaving nothing behind.
What Ortoren hadn't expected was this.
Isshō had only just entered the fight and hadn't yet displayed clear dominance or advantage—
And Newgate had already stopped waiting.
Yes. The moment Newgate saw Isshō step onto the battlefield, he immediately dropped his composure and pretense. He had already realized that the family he had placed his hopes in could not break through the Marines' defensive line. If things continued like this, they would collapse before long.
He might not recognize Yamakaji, but there was no way he wouldn't recognize the current figurehead of G-5, Fujitora Isshō. Earlier, when Isshō first made his move and Marco had to explain what was happening, it may have looked like Newgate only understood afterward, but that was nothing more than an affectation of arrogance.
In truth, Isshō had followed Ortoren across the New World for many years. Back when Ortoren served as the base commander of G-5, Isshō had been one of the core forces responsible for wiping out pirate factions within G-5's jurisdiction. There was no way Newgate wouldn't know who he was.
Not only did he know Isshō's identity, he also knew how terrifyingly strong he was. Perhaps at first, that knowledge came from rumors. But just now, because of the tsunami, the two of them had already crossed blows from afar, if only barely.
That level of strength was something Newgate acknowledged.
And because of that, once Isshō entered the battlefield, Newgate was no longer willing to stand by and watch.
Rather than wait for Isshō to carve out a clear advantage for the Marines, it was better to strike now, while the situation was still uncertain.
So even if it meant losing face to Ortoren, he could no longer continue spectating.
He would take the field himself.
Newgate took two heavy steps forward, stopping at the very edge of the Moby Dick's bow. Gripping Murakumogiri with both hands, he raised it high above his head and let out a thunderous roar.
"Come and fight, Ortoren!"
A terrifying tremor burst out from his body at once, surging upward and gathering at the tip of Murakumogiri.
That roar also served as a warning to the pirates across the battlefield.
Some of them glanced back and immediately shouted.
"Pops is making his move!"
"Get out of the way!"
"Watch the quake! Don't fall into the cracks!"
"Everyone, dodge!"
In the next instant, Newgate's presence and power climbed to their absolute peak. Without any hesitation, he brought Murakumogiri crashing down.
Where the blade passed, space itself was pulled into ripples and folds. Those distortions spread outward in waves, carrying dense tremor force that shattered, crushed, and split the surrounding space apart.
That was only the aftershock.
The true path of destruction lay directly ahead of the descending blade.
As Murakumogiri fell, the island's surface instantly caved in and shattered, as if an invisible force had rolled straight across the ground. Nothing could withstand it. No one could stop it.
That overwhelming surge of pure vibrational power had only one target.
The Marine Admiral standing atop the high platform.
Benn Ortoren.
The thousand-meter distance between them was eaten away in an instant as the force tore forward, flinging everything in its path aside, pirates and Marines alike.
The moment Newgate roared "Come and fight," a brilliant flash of lightning ignited in Ortoren's eyes. Rolling thunder exploded across the sky, sweeping over the entire island and deafening all who heard it.
At the same time, dazzling pillars of lightning erupted from Ortoren's body and shot straight into the heavens, as if trying to dye the world itself in the color of thunder.
The clouds that had been torn apart moments earlier were struck by lightning and, within the span of a breath, forced back together. But their former pure white had vanished, replaced by dark, oppressive storm clouds, lightning surging within as thunder rumbled endlessly.
This was the sheer might of a Logia.
As the user of the Goro Goro no Mi, Ortoren altered the weather of the entire sea in an instant.
At that very moment, Newgate's slash, carrying incomparably violent tremor force, reached the center of the battlefield.
That area was completely empty. Countless figures were fleeing from it in desperation.
Then Ortoren's roar rang out, echoing across the entire battlefield.
"Heavenly Bull!"
A colossal thunder bull, massive enough to rival several Marine warships combined, descended from the storm clouds and slammed head-on into Newgate's slash, which carried unmatched vibrational power.
At that instant, sound vanished.
All the fighting, all the chaos, all the noise on the battlefield was erased.
Two or three seconds later, the collision of those two supreme forces erupted into a violent explosion. The resulting shockwave swept across the entire island, hurling countless Marines and pirates into the air, even those who had fled to the farthest edges.
Those with greater strength managed to cling to the ground, pressing themselves low to resist the raging gale and avoid being carried away.
Those stronger still, commanders and officers alike, endured the storm while remaining on guard against enemies around them.
In short, a single exchange between the supreme commanders of the Marines and the pirates brought the battlefield to a temporary standstill.
This was the collision of two peak monsters standing at the very top of the world.
...
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