An endless tide of golden radiance washed over Marineford, blinding in its brilliance, shaking the world to its core.
They said of the Buddha that rivers run red with blood when the divine is angered.
On the battlefield, Jiang Lin stood wreathed in sacred light, towering like a deity descended to the mortal plane. Every eye—marine and pirate alike—was drawn to him, as if no other force on earth could rival this presence.
"Brat…"
Akainu's voice trembled, his arm quivering—not from rage, but from something he could not admit. Fear. Fear of the very power once wielded by Sengoku himself.
"Damn you… No matter what shape you take, you'll die here today. Marineford will be your grave."
"Yata no Kagami!"
Kizaru crossed his arms before his chest, muscles twitching with strain. Against the glow of the Buddha, his body burst forth in a storm of dazzling light—an assault of holy defiance. Countless golden beams rained down upon Jiang Lin, a challenge to divinity itself.
Jiang Lin's massive eyes turned toward the admiral. With a sweep of his right hand, his palm blazed with overwhelming light.
BOOM!
Each of Kizaru's projectiles shattered upon contact, exploding like fireworks before the advance of the colossal palm. In the admiral's widened gaze, the hand of Buddha crashed down upon him.
The plaza shook as though the heavens themselves had fallen. A crater swallowed Kizaru whole, only for fragments of light to scatter outward, his body reforming just beyond the pit. He spat a spray of blood across his chest, his face pale, his eyes burning with hatred.
"Damn you…"
"Great Eruption!"
Akainu's roar split the air as he thrust his magma fist forward. A mountain of molten fire surged like a tsunami, threatening to drown Jiang Lin whole.
But the golden giant did not falter. His open palm clenched into a fist, striking forward with unstoppable force.
BOOOOOOM!
The two collided. Lava shattered into fragments, raining down across Marineford like flaming meteors. A sky of fire and stone threatened to bury everything below.
"Not on my watch!"
From the border of the plaza, a green arc of energy shot upward, cleaving through the descending magma. Dracule Mihawk's hawk-like eyes narrowed, his blade quivering with anticipation.
"To think such a player has entered the board… Jiang Lin. The New World may yet become more interesting. I look forward to crossing blades with you again."
His fighting spirit surged, freezing marines nearby in dread.
"Slave Arrow!"
From the pirates' side, Boa Hancock raised her hands, firing a storm of pink arrows. Shattered magma solidified midair, broken apart by her power. She glanced upward at Jiang Lin, her lips parting, her gaze filled with an emotion she could not name.
Meanwhile, Whitebeard's eyes never left the golden giant. For the first time, something stirred in the depths of his weary heart.
"Perhaps… there is still a path forward after all."
But Akainu's wrath only burned hotter. His cloak whipped in the storm winds, the word "Justice" blazing like a banner refusing to fall.
"Inugami Guren!"
Twin arms of magma surged forward like roaring locomotives.
Every eye turned. Jiang Lin stood mere steps from the execution platform. If Akainu faltered here, Ace's salvation would be assured.
"Brat…"
On his golden throne, Garp's eyes fixed on Jiang Lin. He saw the truth: power unrestrained, potential that could overturn the world order. If Jiang Lin escaped the New World, neither the Navy nor the pirates would stay the same.
"Luffy…"
But his eyes softened when his gaze passed beyond Jiang Lin, to the boy fighting desperately in his shadow.
"Don't make me face you… My grandson," he whispered.
Above him, Sengoku's glare was sharp as a blade. "Garp!"
Their eyes met, and decades of brotherhood and duty spoke in silence. No words were needed. The outcome was already set.
BOOOOM!
Jiang Lin's radiant palm pressed down, magma retreating before it in waves. Akainu roared, veins bulging as his arms cracked beneath the divine weight.
"Pheasant Beak!"
Ice surged forward. A massive bird of frost burst from Aokiji's hand, wings spread wide as it dived toward Jiang Lin.
"Light-Speed Kick!"
A golden beam shot forth as Kizaru reappeared, his leg gleaming like the edge of the sun.
Three admirals. Three forces of nature. One target.
No rookie in history had ever faced such pressure. Yet Jiang Lin stood firm, his golden figure unbroken.
This battle alone would ensure his name thundered across the seas. His strength—terrifying, undeniable—would become legend.
Whitebeard bared his teeth. "Brats… you think I'll just sit back and watch?"
He swung his naginata, the quake of his power splitting the air. The shockwave tore through Aokiji's form, shattering the admiral into shards of ice. But his ice-bird did not vanish—its wings slammed into Jiang Lin, colliding with a blast of golden light.
"Chop-Chop Fruit equipped. Duration: ten minutes. Cooldown: thirty seconds."
At once, Jiang Lin's towering golden form shattered into countless fragments. The great palm pressed Akainu further into the ground, while his true body reformed within a cloud of mist and debris.
Kizaru's light and Aokiji's ice clashed against nothing, detonating into a storm of white fog. Within that haze, the colossal Buddha loomed, more terrifying than before.
From the crater, Kizaru reappeared, bloodied but still burning with fury. From afar, voices rose.
"It's Captain Buggy's power!"
"Yes! Someday, you'll be this strong too, Captain Buggy!"
"Captain Buggy! Banzai!"
The prisoners of Impel Down screamed in rapture, convinced Jiang Lin's display belonged to their clownish leader. Buggy sweated bullets, but when their fevered worship grew louder, he threw back his head and laughed as if it were true.
On the execution platform, Ace's head bowed. Tears streamed down his face. "Jiang Lin… if not for you, it would be Father standing against them. You've given me life. Thank you."
"Akainu!"
Jiang Lin roared. His sundered body reformed almost instantly, one massive arm reconnecting to the palm that still pinned Akainu. Golden light surged, the hand slamming into the ground with crushing force.
BOOOOOOM!
The plaza cracked. The admiral's body caved into the earth, magma spilling like blood between the fingers of the Buddha.
Breathing hard, Jiang Lin swiped the molten residue from his hand, hurling it toward the execution stand.
But a figure leapt from the dais, intercepting the burning flow.
Garp.
He stood before the platform, the legendary "Fist of the Navy," his eyes deep and unreadable.
"Vice Admiral Garp!" Marines cried. "Is he finally moving?"
But Garp merely swept the magma aside and sat once more upon the golden seat. "Tch. Sakazuki, you look pathetic."
Sengoku's face darkened. The time for choices had ended. One side would be buried here in Marineford.
"Paw-Paw Fruit equipped. Duration: ten minutes. Cooldown: thirty seconds."
The golden Buddha shrank, dispersing into light. Jiang Lin staggered forward, his breath ragged. Even with his body strengthened, the strain of wielding Sengoku's fruit had nearly broken him.
"Brat," Whitebeard said, his hand heavy upon Jiang Lin's shoulder, "you've done enough. Leave the rest to us old men."
But from the execution platform, molten liquid gathered again, reforming into Akainu's body. His glare burned hotter than his flames.
"Jiang Lin! Only your death can erase this shame!"
Jiang Lin smirked. "What's wrong? Planning to become a shemale like Ivankov?"
As the words left his lips, a slender, golden-haired beauty materialized at his side, her form radiating light. Gasps erupted across the plaza—marines stared in shock and lust alike.
"Brat… you've gone too far."
Aokiji stepped forward, his body sheathed in frost, his voice colder than ever.
"You'll have to pass through me first," Hancock declared, heels clicking against stone as she strode to Jiang Lin's side, her eyes blazing with defiance.
"Hancock… have you truly betrayed the Navy?" a vice admiral demanded, fury etched across his face.
Behind Whitebeard, Marco and Jozu smirked, their eyes fixed on the coming storm.
For a moment, silence fell. Cannons ceased, shouts died, and the chaos of war stilled. The two armies stood locked in an uneasy tableau, eyes brimming with hostility.
It might almost have seemed the war had ended.
Until a voice, sharp and merciless, cut through the air.
"Attack!" Sengoku's order thundered from the den-den mushi.
In an instant, the battlefield ignited again.
"Ursus Shock!"
Jiang Lin thrust his hands forward, a shimmering bubble of compressed air surging toward Kizaru and Aokiji.
"Laser!"
Light burst from Kizaru's fingertip, piercing the bubble. The detonation created a gale so fierce it rattled both armies where they stood.
ZAP!
In the next instant, Kizaru appeared before Jiang Lin, his leg gleaming with destructive light.
"Light-Speed Kick!"
Jiang Lin countered, deflecting the beam with a swipe of his hand. The blast erupted behind him, leveling stone.
But Kizaru was gone again—reappearing at Jiang Lin's flank, his fingers aglow.
"Laser!"
Five beams shot at point-blank range. Jiang Lin's body cracked, shattering apart.
"Wax-Wax Fruit equipped. Fire- and poison-enhanced. Duration: ten minutes. Cooldown: thirty seconds."
Dozens of Jiang Lins reformed across the plaza.
"Candle Wall!"
Flames and venom spread across the battlefield, twisting wax into an inferno of purple mist. Screams erupted from within the haze as marines and pirates alike stumbled back in horror.
"Brat!"
A golden beam tore through the fog, Kizaru charging once more.
"Dark-Dark Fruit equipped. Duration: ten minutes. Cooldown: thirty seconds."
Black mist swirled in Jiang Lin's hand, dragging the admiral helplessly toward him.
"Quake-Quake Fruit equipped. Enhanced by Phoenix Zoan. Duration: ten minutes. Cooldown: thirty seconds."
His palm gleamed white as he slammed it into Kizaru's chest.
BOOOOOM!
Blood spewed from the admiral's mouth as his body convulsed, limbs splaying uncontrollably.
"Inugami Guren!"
But before Jiang Lin could press his advantage, Akainu's molten fist crashed into him, launching him across the plaza. He slammed into the encircling wall, blood exploding from his lips.
Blue flames ignited across his body, Phoenix fire knitting his wounds shut.
He spat a wad of blood to the ground, grinning through the pain. "So… you stoop to sneak attacks too, Akainu?"
The admiral's silhouette emerged from the smoke, magma dripping, each step cracking stone beneath him.
Their eyes met.
Two voices rang out together—cold, defiant, unyielding.
"Let's end this."