Maude had anticipated the arrival of the Straw Hat crew based on intelligence reports, knowing they would show up sooner or later.
Meanwhile, Fujitora had foreseen their movements with his "mind's eye," constructed through Observation Haki. Through this ability, he had detected the Straw Hats in their transparent state, moving swiftly from the rear district toward the execution platform.
With Golden Lion currently being suppressed, Fujitora no longer needed to concentrate on restraining the four floating islands above Marineford.
Previously, he had been extremely cautious, as the sheer threat posed by those floating islands was immense. After all, if he let his guard down and allowed Golden Lion to drop the islands, Marineford would be swallowed by the sea in an instant.
The consequences were far too dire.
Naturally, Fujitora had to remain vigilant.
But now, thanks to Kizaru and several hundred elite Marines performing exceptionally well, Golden Lion had no spare energy to execute his plan of dropping the islands onto Marineford.
Freed from that burden, Fujitora immediately used his gravity field to suppress the Straw Hats' movements.
"This overwhelming pressure..."
"Ugh, my body feels so heavy..."
"It's gravity!"
Nami's knees buckled as she struggled against the force pressing down on her. She looked at Fujitora as if he were a monster.
In an instant, the Straw Hats gathered below the execution platform found themselves immobilized by the crushing downward force of the gravity field.
BOOM—
The ground beneath them cracked under the pressure, forming a shallow crater—a clear sign that the gravity was increasing.
"Damn it! At this rate, we won't even be able to fight!"
Sanji gritted his teeth, his body sinking further under the relentless force.
The growing pressure seemed intent on grinding them into the earth.
Fujitora unsheathed his cane sword slightly, his eyes opening just a fraction, revealing his white irises.
Had the Straw Hats not made their sudden appearance, Fujitora would have turned his attention to assisting Garp and attempting to neutralize Marco as quickly as possible.
Inadvertently, the Straw Hats' arrival had lessened the pressure on Marco, allowing him to avoid immediate elimination.
On the execution platform, Maude watched the Straw Hats struggle under Fujitora's gravity, his face expressionless.
Moments ago, he had warned them: "You might die here."
That was no exaggeration.
In the midst of a battle destined to reshape the era, even a man like Fujitora—who did not advocate for slaughter—would change his stance when necessary.
In other words, the moment the Straw Hats launched their attack on Sengoku and attempted to rescue Ace, Fujitora would not hesitate to eliminate the threat at its root.
Annihilating the Straw Hat Pirates was well within consideration.
After all, this was war.
And putting Fujitora aside, even Sengoku alone was not an opponent the Straw Hats could easily handle.
However…
The execution platform wasn't only surrounded by the Straw Hats.
They weren't the only unexpected force in play.
There was also the Revolutionary Army, led by Sabo—the one who had brought the Straw Hats here.
"He's developed the Clear-Clear Fruit's abilities to such an extent in such a short time, huh, Sabo..."
Maude's eyes flickered red as he scanned the surroundings, but he found no trace of Sabo.
Clearly, Sabo had already refined his mastery of the Clear-Clear Fruit to a level far beyond its previous user.
Most likely, Sabo wasn't just turning his body invisible—he had likely erased his scent, presence, movements, and even sound, eliminating all non-physical traces of himself.
That was the only explanation for how the Straw Hats had managed to sneak right under Sengoku's nose and reach the execution platform unnoticed.
If not for Luffy's loud declaration upon arrival, they might have avoided attention altogether.
"I can't sense his presence..."
Maude swept his Observation Haki over the area two or three times, yet he still couldn't pinpoint Sabo's location.
Theoretically, Sabo and an unknown number of Revolutionary Army forces might not be nearby.
But Maude was certain they were.
They were simply still concealed by the Clear-Clear Fruit's power.
"How many Revolutionary Army forces are in play...?"
Maude stopped wasting energy searching for Sabo and instead shifted his gaze to Fujitora.
Even though he couldn't locate Sabo, he could guess his approach.
The execution platform was guarded by himself and Sengoku, while Fujitora had trapped the Straw Hats below with his gravity field, pushing them to the brink of defeat.
Under such circumstances, if Sabo was still in an invisible state, he would most likely target Fujitora directly.
Just as Maude had predicted—
Barely three seconds after he turned his attention to Fujitora—
A figure suddenly materialized behind Fujitora, donning a top hat and gripping a steel pipe.
It was none other than Sabo, the man Maude had been searching for with Observation Haki to no avail.
"Can't have you keeping them pinned down forever, now, can we?"
Sabo reappeared mid-thought, raising his steel pipe high, its surface coated with advanced Armament Haki. He swung it down mercilessly toward the back of Fujitora's head.
With the assistance of the Clear-Clear Fruit, this surprise attack had an exceptionally high chance of landing.
Unfortunately for Sabo…
His target was Fujitora.
Almost the moment Sabo emerged and swung his weapon, Fujitora reacted instantly.
With blinding speed, he turned and drew his cane sword in one fluid motion, blocking the descending steel pipe with perfect precision.
CLANG!!!
Sparks erupted as the steel pipe clashed against Fujitora's sword.
The clash of Armament Haki caused dark energy arcs to crackle along the point of impact.
Despite successfully parrying the strike, Fujitora never lifted the gravity field suppressing the Straw Hats.
His slightly opened eyes, revealing a faint glimpse of white, fixed directly on Sabo.
With a calm tone, he mused, "The power of the Clear-Clear Fruit... It reminds this old man of some rather interesting memories."
Sabo smirked.
"Heh, you can definitely 'see' me, can't you, you fake blind man!"
Sabo's gaze was intense as he locked onto Fujitora, channeling an endless surge of strength into his steel pipe. Yet, no matter how much power he poured in, he couldn't push forward even an inch.
A single exchange was all it took for Sabo to realize—this man before him was, without a doubt, an absolute monster.
Fujitora remained silent, reinforcing his cane-sword with gravity and effortlessly pressing Sabo's steel pipe downward.
"Hmm?"
Sabo's heart clenched in surprise. The force coming from Fujitora's sword had grown even heavier, and in this contest of strength, he was swiftly losing ground.
Under these circumstances, the logical move would be to withdraw and relieve the pressure, avoiding an opening that could be exploited.
Yet, Sabo gritted his teeth and resisted.
This seemingly unwise choice did not escape Fujitora's keen senses.
At that very moment, the stone pavement beneath Fujitora's feet surged violently like a tidal wave—without any warning.
"Underground…?"
Fujitora's expression shifted slightly in surprise.
The upheaving ground launched him into the air.
Sabo smirked.
Seizing the brief instant when Fujitora lost his balance, he retracted his steel pipe while his right hand, coated in Armament Haki, formed a dragon-claw gesture—index and middle fingers curved inward.
Dragon Claw!
Sabo lunged directly at Fujitora's face.
Fujitora, calm and composed, raised his sword horizontally to block the strike.
Clang—!
Though Fujitora successfully defended against the Dragon Claw, the impact sent him flying midair.
At the same time, the gravitational force that had been weighing down the Straw Hat Pirates vanished.
"Morley, nice work."
After forcing Fujitora back, Sabo glanced at the now still ground before shifting his gaze toward the execution platform—where Ace was.
At that moment—
Ace's eyes widened in shock. He stared at Sabo, a strange yet undeniable sense of familiarity washing over him.
"Yo, Ace."
Meeting Ace's gaze, Sabo smiled. "What's wrong? Don't recognize me?"
"Sabo…!!!"
Ace's expression trembled, his eyes reflecting sheer disbelief.
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