Marineford, Marine Headquarters.
Only one day remained until the public execution of Fire Fist Ace.
Ivan, along with Nami, Robin, and others, was moving through the streets of Marineford, evacuating the remaining civilians on the island.
Most of these civilians were family members of Marine soldiers, local residents, and merchants who relied on the Marines for their livelihoods.
They were unarmed and defenseless, utterly incapable of surviving the impending Summit War.
Ivan understood clearly that clashes between true powerhouses were far more terrifying than ordinary people could imagine.
Even the slightest ripple from such battles could easily crush ordinary individuals.
If these civilians remained in Marineford when the war broke out, fewer than one in ten would likely survive.
More importantly, the families of Marine soldiers were among these residents.
If a large number of Marine family members died on the battlefield, the soldiers' morale would collapse outright, triggering internal turmoil within the Marines.
At that point, forget about resisting the Whitebeard Pirates' assault—the Marines themselves could descend into chaos.
Therefore, from every perspective, it was essential to completely evacuate all unrelated civilians from Marineford before the decisive battle began and relocate them to a safe area.
"Everyone, please stay calm and line up in an orderly manner to board the warships heading to the safe zone," Nami gently reassured the civilians. "We will protect everyone's safety and ensure you all leave here smoothly."
While Nami and the others comforted the civilians, Ivan moved among the crowd, silently reviewing his recent gains in his mind.
[As a powerhouse, you punished evil, slaughtered the most heinous criminals of Impel Down Level 6, and safeguarded peace in the region. [Misaka Mikoto] Template Approval +39%]
[Template: Misaka Mikoto (Approval: 40%)]
[Congratulations! You have successfully unlocked the skill: True Thunderbolt!]
[True Thunderbolt: Consumes a large amount of stamina to gather high-altitude thunderclouds, summoning massive lightning between the clouds and the ground to unleash a wide-range, devastating attack. Extremely powerful, this is one of Misaka Mikoto's ultimate moves!]
A faint smile curled at the corner of Ivan's lips.
The power of True Thunderbolt was dozens of times stronger than the Thunder God technique used by Enel.
Even top-tier powerhouses at the level of the Four Emperors would inevitably suffer severe injuries, if not outright death, if struck head-on by this move without any defense.
This skill would undoubtedly become one of his most powerful trump cards in the Summit War.
At the same time, a strong intuition arose within him.
As long as the approval rating for the Misaka Mikoto Template increased further, he would be able to touch upon the realm of the Level 6 Esper.
Once he stepped into that realm, his long-stagnant strength would experience another explosive surge.
…
Time passed bit by bit, and before he knew it, it was already afternoon.
Thanks to the concerted efforts of Ivan and the others, all the civilians in Marineford had been successfully evacuated, boarding warships bound for safe areas far from the battlefield.
Watching the last warship slowly depart from the harbor, Ivan and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Finally, the evacuation is complete," Nami rubbed her sore shoulders. "I hope all these civilians can stay safe."
"Don't worry," Ivan said calmly. "The warships will take them to a safe place, away from the war."
After saying this, Ivan bid farewell to his colleagues and headed with Nami and the others toward his villa in Marineford.
Along the way, he slowed his pace, carefully observing the war preparations at this navy headquarters.
Marineford was already on high alert.
On both sides of the streets, Marine soldiers stood in neat rows, their faces showing a determination to face death, ready at any moment to meet the impending battle.
From Ivan's observations, Marineford had now gathered 100,000 elite Marines.
These Marines were all top talents selected by the Navy from around the world, having undergone rigorous training with extremely high combat proficiency—truly first-rate.
If these Marines were placed in any of the four seas, they would be considered strong enough to guard a region and suppress local pirate forces.
But in the upcoming top-tier battlefield, their strength would only be enough to ensure they wouldn't be directly knocked unconscious by Conqueror's Haki or instantly killed by the shockwaves of clashes between powerful fighters.
Ivan knew very well that the Navy actually had far more troops at its disposal than these 100,000.
The number of ordinary Marines could even reach hundreds of thousands.
But in battles between top-tier fighters, numerical advantage was almost negligible.
Under Conqueror's Haki, ordinary Marines would simply collapse in droves, unconscious—not only failing to contribute to the fight but even becoming a burden.
This was the fundamental reason why the Navy had deployed only 100,000 elite Marines on the front lines.
Those who remained were all elites who could barely hold their ground on the battlefield and wouldn't be a hindrance.
Apart from these lower-ranking Marines, officers of all levels in the Navy had also gathered here.
From lower-ranking officers at the captain level to mid-level rear admirals and vice admirals, all the way up to top-tier admiral candidates—almost the entire backbone of the Navy's combat strength had assembled at Marineford.
Vice Admiral Tsuru, Momousagi, Chaton...
Familiar faces moved through the military camps.
For the upcoming war, the Navy had mobilized almost all its combat power, solely to welcome the arrival of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Standing in the middle of the street, Ivan gazed at the distant, towering execution platform, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
A world-shaking, monumental battle was about to begin.
And he, the master of Shadow Garden, Ivan, would write his own legend in this great war.
...
Early the next morning, as dawn barely broke over Marineford.
Ivan was still deep in sleep when a series of urgent knocks on the door completely woke him from his dreams.
"Ivan, open up, get up!"
Before the words finished, the door was pushed open, and Hina barged straight into the bedroom.
Her brow furrowed, her face clearly anxious, she walked to the bedside and gently shook Ivan's shoulder, saying urgently:
"Ivan, do you remember what day it is today? How dare you laze around sleeping here?"
Ivan rubbed his sleepy eyes, slowly opened them, and glanced at the clock, the screen clearly showing 5:00 in the morning.
He yawned, turned over, and said in a lazy tone:
"What's the rush? It's just Ace's public execution, right?
I remember the execution is scheduled for eleven in the morning. It's only five now—there are still six hours left. No need to hurry at all."
Hearing Ivan's indifferent tone, Hina felt a few dark lines appear on her forehead.
She placed her hands on her hips and spoke with a more serious tone:
"Do you think this is just an ordinary mission?
Ivan, you're different from the other participants!
Although you haven't been formally granted the title of Navy Admiral, the higher-ups have already decided that you will participate in the battle with the authority and responsibilities of an Admiral.
So you must head to the execution platform as soon as possible and be on standby—absolutely no delays!"