The storm raged as the battlefield descended into chaos. After losing his opponent Bogart, Rain Reaper Shiryu no longer dared to provoke the furious Iron Fist Garp or his loyal aide. Assessing the situation, he instead set his sights on Tea Dolphin Kajiki, who was locked in a deadly struggle with Enel. The two shared a loose alliance under the Araryu banner, so Shiryu's move was quick and decisive—an attempt to eliminate a rival admiral candidate.
Attacking Peach Rabbit Gion would have been unwise; the Sweet Commander Cracker and Snag would've surely reacted defensively. No, striking Kajiki was the smarter play. Yet even with his ability to glimpse the future through Observation Haki, Tea Dolphin could barely fend off Shiryu's blades and Enel's thundering wrath. Lightning lanced through the air in violent bursts. Sparks erupted as Shiryu's blade found its mark again and again. Kajiki's composure fractured, his movements growing sluggish as the pressure built. Predictive instinct could not save him forever.
Blood ran from deep cuts and lightning burns. Death loomed close. If not for Whitebeard's sudden resurgence—the sea itself roaring in rebellion—Tea Dolphin would've been finished. The monstrous tsunami that followed forced Shiryu and Enel skyward to escape the crushing waves, giving Kajiki a fleeting chance to dive into the ocean and vanish beneath the foam.
The sea raged. The Big Mom Pirates and Marines alike scattered in panic. Peach Rabbit, battered but alive, broke free from her pursuers and led what remained of her forces to retreat. Big Mom, sent flying earlier by Garp's brutal blow, returned in fury—but even she could not stand against the towering wall of water. She withdrew to protect her wounded lieutenants.
Fleet after fleet—Big Mom's, Kaido's, and the Marines'—were dragged apart by the violent ocean. Only Aokiji's frozen domain offered temporary salvation. There, vessels clung to the ice for survival, desperate and shivering.
Ten agonizing minutes passed before the ocean calmed. When the waves receded, the devastation was staggering. Whitebeard's forces and their allies survived only through his desperate protection. But the Big Mom Pirates, Beast Pirates, and Marine fleets had been shredded. Ships gone. Lives erased.
"Damn that Garp! Damn that Whitebeard!" roared Big Mom, her voice echoing across the ice shelf. Six-tenths of her armada was gone—twenty ships swallowed whole. Her treasured Homies and countless followers lay dead beneath the sea.
Kaido hovered above the waves, his dragon form coiling in the air. His army, too, was half-destroyed. Yet instead of rage, he laughed—a booming, deranged cry that shook the heavens. "Pathetic weaklings! They deserved it!" he sneered, tears streaming mockingly from his eyes.
On the red dragon ship, Red-Haired Shanks stood motionless, watching what remained of his once-mighty fleet vanish beneath the waves. Guilt and fury twisted across his face. The Marines had fared no better—eighty warships reduced to a third, and the G18 Fortress obliterated along with most of its fleet.
Now, what was left of every power—pirates, revolutionaries, and marines—converged along the glacier's edge, forming a tense new standoff. The battle between Aokiji and Barrett finally ceased, both men retreating to recover their strength. Peach Rabbit and Bogart worked to calm Garp, whose grief was spilling dangerously into rage.
They couldn't afford internal strife now. The Navy stood on the brink of ruin. Big Mom's forces, Kaido's beasts, and Araryu's devils were rallying together. Red-Haired Shanks' loyalties were unclear. The Marines could be annihilated at any moment.
Garp looked at the gathering storm—Big Mom's fleet, the Araryu armada, the burning eyes of every enemy—and forced his fists to still. Vengeance for Ace would have to wait.
Across the sundered sea, the clash between Whitebeard and the Four Elders was moments away. The World Government demanded his death. Whitebeard demanded vengeance.
"Kaido! Big Mom! Barrett!" Shanks called out, his voice cutting through the wind. "If the Five Elders slay Whitebeard, we're next. Join forces. Drive them back. Then, we'll settle things among ourselves."
He had no choice. Balance was everything. If the World Government grew too powerful, Roger's dream—the age of freedom—would vanish forever. Luffy and the new generation would never have their chance.
"Ma-ma-ma-ma! Forget that! Let the Five Elders kill Whitebeard. We'll seize Garp and wipe out what's left of the Marines!" Big Mom's grin was vile, her voice gleeful. "I want that old man's fists. I'll add him to my collection... maybe even breed him!"
Aokiji and Peach Rabbit's faces hardened. "Shanks! You made a deal with the Navy! You can't betray it now!"
Kaido's laughter rumbled again, shaking the air. "Wurororo! Red-haired brat, you talk too much. I'll follow no one's orders—least of all yours!"
The war was far from over. High above, Barrett's floating fortress loomed once more, its engines churning. The Demon's Heir retreated inside to recover, gulping down food and blood crystals to replenish his strength. Even he couldn't defeat Aokiji outright. Below, Shiryu and Enel returned, their bodies trembling with fatigue but their eyes blazing. They, too, would rejoin the fray.
Somewhere on a shattered sea plate, the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates regrouped. Their numbers were pitiful now. Only Marco the Phoenix could cross the raging chasms that separated them from their captain. The rest stood helpless, clutching the bodies of Ace and the fallen.
"Marco," Whitebeard said, his voice deep and final, "from this day on, you are the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates. Take them and leave this sea. I'll stay here—to avenge our sons and settle the score with these old monsters."
He raised his head to the sky, his body shaking with fury and exhaustion. Steam hissed from his skin, blood vapor burning red. Veins bulged across his arms as his heart thundered like war drums. Power surged, unstoppable.
This was the final stand of the world's strongest man.
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