Akainu's eyes narrowed as Ace's shackles shattered, the flames of freedom igniting around the young pirate. His jaw clenched, as he muttered, "Damn it… if Ace escapes, everything we've built collapses." His gaze flicked toward Lucas, who stood fused in the blazing form of Rath and Heatblast, tearing through Marines and holding back the Admirals with reckless ferocity. "That one… he's the real danger," Akainu admitted under his breath.
But before he could act, a thunderous cannon blast echoed across the battlefield, silencing the chaos for a heartbeat. Sengoku's voice roared, filled with fury: "You… why are you here!?" From the smoke emerged Blackbeard and his crew, flanked by the prisoners he had freed. In that instant, Whitebeard staggered, his massive frame struck by Blackbeard's attack just now. Lucas, locked in combat, glanced toward the scene, muttering "Huh," with a grin—his enjoyment of the battle undiminished even as the tide of war shifted. Akainu seized the moment, magma surging as he lunged toward Ace, determined to end the boy before hope could fully bloom.
Lucas intercepted, shifting into Jetray mid-flight, his wings slicing through the air as he fired twin energy beams to deflect Akainu's strike. But even so, Lucas only slowed down Sakazuki as Sengoku descended like a golden titan, his Buddha form radiating like divine power, striking Lucas with a crushing blow that forced him back. Aokiji and Kizaru joined in, their coordination seamless—ice projectiles erupted from Aokiji's hands, beams of light rained down Kizaru, and Lucas was pressed from every angle. Snarling, Lucas shifted again, his body morphing into a fusion of Diamondhead and Fourarms, crystalline fists smashing through Aokiji's frozen walls. The battlefield shook as Lucas roared, his strikes echoing like thunderclaps across Marineford.
Kizaru's lazy drawl cut through the chaos. "You're fast… but can you keep up with the speed of light?" He vanished in a flash, reappearing behind Lucas with a blinding kick. Lucas twisted, fusing Diamondhead and Cannonbolt, rolling into a crystalline ball that reflected all of Kizaru's beams. The clash sent Kizaru's beams across the battlefield, forcing Marines and pirates alike to stumble back. Sengoku's golden fists hammered down, but Lucas phased into Ghostfreak and Gravattack, warping gravity to hurl Kizaru's beams off course while slipping through Sengoku's strikes. Each transformation was a spectacle, forcing the three legends to adapt constantly, their combined might barely holding the line.
Lucas's relentless barrage pushed the Admirals and Sengoku back, his fusions chaining together in rapid succession. Humungousaur and Rath combined into a savage juggernaut, claws tearing through ice constructs. Big Chill and Chromastone fused into a spectral prism, absorbing beams of light and refracting them back with explosive force. Aokiji's ice shattered under relentless strikes, and Kizaru's light was bent and refracted by gravity waves. Marineford itself groaned under the weight of their battle—ice ridges collapsing, and buildings collapsing, towers crumbling into rubble.
Meanwhile, Whitebeard fought his final battle against Blackbeard, but the injuries Whitebeard had sustained were just too much, as he finally succumbed to his wounds. With his last breath, Whitebeard roared, his voice carrying across the world: "The One Piece… is real!" His body remained standing, helberd in hand, even as life left him—a monument to his unyielding will.
Akainu, amidst all that managed to land a devastating blow on Ace, stricking him down with a magma fist right infront of Luffy. Luffy's scream tore through the battlefield, his body nearly consumed by Akainu's wrath aswell as Sakazuki target Luffy next, but Jinbei and Marco shielded him, carrying him away. Law's submarine emerged, pulling them to safety as the war's chaos began to die down.
As the pirates retreated, Blackbeard made his move. Draping a black cloth over Whitebeard's body, he and his crew performed their dark ritual. When the cloth was lifted, Blackbeard stood transformed, his body radiating with the stolen power of the Gura Gura no Mi.
The battlefield trembled as he laughed, declaring himself the new era's ruler. Yet amidst this, Lucas was still fighting, as he carried a large grin. Sengoku, Aokiji, and Kizaru struggled to contain him as he turned into stronger and stronger fusions, their combined might barely holding the line. Each clash reduced Marineford further into rubble.