Even Souta Kiryuu hadn't expected that the Holy Council would dare to send yet another of the Five Elders to the G18 Fortress battlefield. His own fleet—the Dragon Fang Armada—was already massed near the G1 Headquarters, ready to invade at any moment. If they struck there, the entire Red Continent and even the Holy Land itself would tremble.
"Don't tell me the Holy Council plans to abandon G1 altogether," Souta muttered, eyes narrowing, his tone as cold as forged steel. Without hesitation, he issued the order: the entire armada was to advance on G1 Fortress at full speed. He even considered bypassing the fortress entirely and unleashing a storm of meteors and dragonfire directly onto the Holy Land itself. Even if he couldn't destroy it outright, he'd force that newly arrived Elder to retreat from G18.
He immediately contacted the Revolutionary Army. When the encrypted transceiver connected, he spoke only one sentence to their leader, Dragos. The veteran revolutionary needed no further explanation. The Holy Land now had only Imu, one remaining Elder, and a half-crippled Divine Knight Corps guarding it. If the revolutionaries and the Dragon Fang Armada struck together, they might not destroy the sanctuary—but they could shake the entire world.
Moments later, the Revolutionary commanders rose from their war tables, abandoning the global broadcast that showed the ongoing battles, and began their march toward the Red Continent. Before they could get far, however, they found their way blocked by Admiral Borusalino, Vice Admiral Tsuru, and the strategist Tenmasei leading the Marine fleets. Tsuru tried to negotiate, but the raven-like commander of the North Army ignored her, attempting to use his murder of crows to bypass the blockade entirely. Borusalino had no choice but to move, and battle erupted instantly across the skies.
Dragos himself engaged Borusalino, while Tenmasei clashed violently with the raven commander. Meanwhile, the East and Grand Line generals, Ivankov and Bero, led waves of Revolutionary elites in a full-scale assault against Tsuru's fleet. Their goal was simple—break through the blockade, join forces with Souta's fleet, and strike the Holy Land before dawn.
At the same time, the Dragon Fang's airborne fleet tried to soar over G1 Headquarters, only to be intercepted by Isaac and Commander Steelbone Kong, who leapt into the sky using Moon Step techniques. Souta hadn't expected Isaac—the mysterious warden rumored to wield forbidden power—to be stationed there. Abandoning his earlier plan to bombard the Holy Land, Souta switched tactics and roared new orders to his commanders.
"Rokudō Squad—hunt down Steelbone Kong! Hancock, Kuma, Moria, Law—take G1 Fortress! Crush them before they regroup!"
With a roar that split the clouds, Souta transformed into his draconic form and launched himself toward Isaac, his eyes blazing with feral excitement. This was the opponent he'd been waiting for—the key to mastering that forbidden energy.
"Yes, sir!" The Warlord-class fighters answered in unison, unleashing their own attacks on the fortress below. Inside G1, elite Vice Admirals—Onigumo, Doberman, and the others—stood grim and resolute. They faced down the incoming monsters without hesitation. "For justice!" Onigumo roared, leading the charge against the massive form of Bartholomew Kuma. The other officers surged forward beside him, colliding with Souta's warriors in a thunderous explosion of will and steel. The war at G1 ignited in full, no less fierce than the apocalyptic struggle at G18.
—
At the G18 battlefield, the magic circle's light flared and burst apart, releasing a surge of suffocating energy. A massive six-legged demon bull appeared amid the flames, its twin crimson eyes burning with an eerie, murderous glow.
"Hell Gaze!"
The Elder Saturn, now transformed into the beastly bull demon, unleashed his power instantly. Anyone below Rear Admiral level—pirate or marine alike—who met its glowing eyes dropped dead on the spot, skulls bursting open like shattered shells. The casualties aboard the Whitebeard Pirates' flagship, the Moby Dick, were catastrophic. Over seventy percent of their forces—main crew and allied captains alike—were obliterated. Even some minor captains disintegrated before they could scream.
Across the world, civilians watching the live broadcast recoiled in terror, some fainting outright, others covering their eyes in panic. Fortunately, the demon's gaze couldn't affect viewers through the transmission—or the death toll would have reached into the millions.
Before the surviving captains could even react, the bull demon charged. Its six legs thundered forward, each tipped with poisoned, haki-cloaked talons aimed directly at Ace. The air itself screamed under the pressure. Nearby, the Elder Nasu, wielding the cursed blade Ketsuchi, moved to intercept Marco, the phoenix who refused to die.
"No! Ace—move!" Marco's desperate shout tore through the battlefield. The son of the Pirate King had been hunted again and again, and each time, Marco had failed to protect him.
Weevil, Whitey Bay, and the other surviving lieutenants surged forward to help. But they were too slow.
The bull demon's spear-like leg pierced straight through Ace's chest. Armament and Conqueror's Haki entwined with venom—an attack that not even a logia could escape. It was a perfectly timed, premeditated assassination. Ace had been fighting nonstop through the night; his strength was gone. And the coordination between Saturn and Nasu, linking thoughts across worlds, ensured that this strike would land true.
"You... flame of hope... will never see another sunrise," Saturn growled, his voice a guttural mockery of human speech. He raised Ace's impaled body high on his claw, crimson rain dripping from the wound.
The battlefield froze. Even the live viewers went silent, disbelief curdling into horror. The son of the Pirate King—dead before their eyes.
On the horizon, the first sliver of dawn appeared. A single beam of sunlight touched Ace's limp body, and that image—his lifeless form silhouetted against the sunrise—was burned into every watching soul.
In the Sabaody Archipelago, the legendary Rayleigh trembled, staring at the broadcast in shock. "Roger's boy... he's gone..." he whispered. Beside him, Shakky clasped his hands, unable to speak.
On the battlefield, Whitebeard himself faltered. Across the chaos, he saw his son's body hanging limp, framed by that cruel light. Pain tore through his chest, sharper than any blade.
"Whitebeard! You'll be joining him soon!" bellowed the Elder Volkris, now transformed into a monstrous wild boar. Taking advantage of Whitebeard's distraction and failing strength, Volkris charged, his tusks gleaming with killing intent, aiming to finish the dying titan once and for all.
—
The war had reached its breaking point.