— — Crack!
The violent collision of earthquake and magma turned the surrounding ten thousand meters into a no-man's-land.
"Is this... this is 'the world's strongest man' Whitebeard?"
"Good thing we have Admiral Akainu, otherwise...!"
The Marines were dumbfounded, their faces filled with lingering fear.
However, war would not give them a chance to rest. A large group of pirates, their morale high, launched a charge!
With allies and their Pops leading the charge, the pirates were fighting with all their might.
— — Clang!
Amidst the black and blue, the sound of clashing metal rang out.
Vista, holding two rapiers covered in black Armament Haki, sent several sword slashes towards Aokiji.
Aokiji retreated a few steps, his ice sword lightly flicked, and the biting cold seemed to freeze the air.
Just then, a gigantic figure like a truck slammed into Aokiji. His entire right half transformed into incredibly hard diamond, and a thin sheen covered his formidable Armament Haki.
[Shining Impact]
"Oh, la la!"
Aokiji crossed his arms, covered in top-tier Armament Haki.
"Bang!"
Aokiji was sent flying over ten meters, turning into shattered ice the moment he landed.
"Not good!"
Jozu activated his Observation Haki to its maximum, and a sense of crisis welled up within him!
"Oh, la la,"
Aokiji's cold, biting hand lightly touched Jozu's left shoulder, and the cold air instantly erupted.
[Ice Time]
Jozu instantly turned into an ice sculpture!
Just as Aokiji was about to make a move, a figure wielding two swords sped over, his sharp rapiers dancing, and streaks of sword light instantly merged into a single continuous blur.
— — Crack!
Aokiji was cut into shattered ice.
But the next second, several ice-condensed capsules flew towards Vista, [Ice Time Capsule]
Vista dodged repeatedly, suffering greatly!
— — Crack!
Jozu violently broke free from the ice, his powerful Armament Haki dispelling the cold within his body.
"Oh, la la, this is really troublesome!"
Aokiji looked at the two standing side-by-side, rubbing his forehead, a hint of helplessness in his expression.
On the other side, Kizaru and Marco's figures constantly intersected in the high sky, like lightning and flint. Lasers and flames continuously collided and splattered, and the aftershocks of their attacks unknowingly affected countless unlucky individuals.
However, compared to Marco's all-out effort, Kizaru appeared quite relaxed.
He occasionally raised a finger to shoot a few lasers, sometimes pretended to wield the ama no murakumo sword, and at other times shot light bullets randomly into the air.
Adding to that his "commentary" that would make one spit blood, he was in a "I'm just playing with you" state of slacking off.
In an instant, the battlefield was divided!
Strong individuals fought one-on-one, while the weaker ones fought in groups!
The sounds of slaughter echoed through the sky.
Koby trembled uncontrollably, watching his comrades fall one by one. He couldn't stop feeling fear.
"This is a pirate?... This is a real battlefield!... No, my legs are shaking, I can't move!"
"Impossible!"
Behind him, Helmeppo knelt on the ice, crestfallen.
"It's impossible to beat these guys, you think so too, right, Koby!... Everyone here is a monster... We rookies can't possibly participate!... Let's run away!"
"But..." Koby hesitated.
"Are you an idiot? If we start fighting now, we won't last a second, you know that, right!... You still want to become an Admiral, right?"
Koby's expression became conflicted. Becoming a Marine Admiral was his dream, but... Helmeppo placed his hands on Koby's shoulders, saying urgently, "Precisely because of this, neither you nor I can die here!... This isn't where we're supposed to die!"
Koby wavered... "Bang... Bang!"
A gigantic figure walked from the sea.
He was mountain-sized, with pale green skin, two horns on his head, Red Hair reaching his shoulders, fangs showing, dressed in samurai armor, and carrying a straw hat on his back.
Every step he took made the ground shake, and a casual swing of his blade could shatter a warship!
"Well done, Little Oars, go!"
"Little Oars, take them down and get Ace back!"
The pirates became excited; they weren't at any disadvantage at all!
"Descendant of Oars the Continent Puller?"
Smoker backhanded a few pirates, chewing on his cigar, frowning.
"Thank you, Vice Admiral Smoker!"
The injured soldier thanked him while being bandaged.
Smoker looked at him and said in a serious tone, "Don't keep fighting with such serious injuries. You have family; don't let them suffer the pain of a parent burying their child!"
"Vice Admiral Smoker, you don't know, my parents both live in Marineford... Thanks to the care of the Headquarters, although our family isn't rich, we live comfortably!"
The soldier looked at Smoker with determination, "The Headquarters has given me so much grace. On such an important battlefield, how can I be a deserter?"
"If... if I really unfortunately die in this war...!" The soldier's eyes turned red, "I believe my parents will also be proud of me!"
Smoker was silent for a long time. Yes, in this messed-up world... it always needs some kind people to give their lives to fight.
However, without power, any thoughts or words would be worthless.
He looked at Kizaru toying with Marco, Aokiji entangled with Jozu and Vista, and Akainu who completely disregarded Marine casualties... He realized that the Marine needed change, and he needed power!
In a trance, he recalled the teachings of Teacher Zephyr!
[I didn't expect you to be a late bloomer!]
[Smoker, remember!]
[Normal training can make you a genius, but true monsters grow from slaughter!]
[Cultivating the body is important, but tempering the mind can make you stand at the pinnacle of the world!]
[— — As vast as your heart, so vast is the world!]
"My Justice!"
Smoker gritted his teeth and walked towards the port, where... the Vice Admirals were gathered!
..."Little Oars? Is Oars's descendant under Whitebeard? I really want him, Gihahahahaha!"
Moriah let out a sickly laugh, watching Little Oars approach the port step by step.
"Ace, I'll be right there!" Little Oars lifted a warship and flung it towards the execution platform.
"Damn it!"
Sengoku unleashed his full Golden Buddha form, surging Buddha's light condensed in his hand, and dark red Haoshoku lightning gathered in the void before he swung his palm!
"Come on!"
In mid-air, Luffy charged forward instead of retreating, fiercely throwing a punch!
"Boom!"
Luffy was sent flying backward again, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
— — Almost, he was almost getting the hang of it!
Sengoku looked at the warship flying high, his mouth twitched, and he slammed his palm... The warship instantly shattered into pieces!
"Buggy, Sabo, Ivankov, Crocodile, Jinbe, cover Little Oars's attack."
Luffy roared, but charged at Sengoku again!
Sabo and Ivankov, without a word, guarded Little Oars!
Sabo, like a ghost, instantly leaped high into the air, using a [Dragon Claw Fist] to smash the heads of one Giant Vice Admiral after another; Ivankov, on the other hand, continuously used [Hell Wink], easily dealing with a large number of people!
Buggy, from a distance, scoffed, "What a joke? Why should I go die!"
However, his subordinates were discussing amongst themselves,
"Straw Hat Luffy, who is one of the Five Emperors, actually asked Captain Buggy for help, and even put Buggy's name first... What does this mean?"
— — "It means that even Straw Hat Luffy has to give our Captain face!"
Then, the prisoners' eyes were full of stars, "That's right, isn't it, Captain Buggy!"
"Huh?!"
Buggy was stunned, then scratched his head, "Yes, that's right!... I, Buggy, am the man who will become the Pirate King!"
Buggy stuck out his long tongue, starting to get carried away again... Crocodile stood on the warship, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on Whitebeard.
When he heard Luffy's words, he was first startled, then looked at the watchful Shichibukai!