Like the Whitebeard Pirates, the Revolutionary Army hadn't committed their entire force to this single operation. While nearly forty ships flew the revolutionary flag in the waters around Marineford, most remained on the periphery, engaging the Marine fleet in carefully coordinated strikes.
Eastern Army Commander Belo Betty and Southern Army Commander Lindbergh led the outer assault, with Betty's Encourage-Encourage Fruit proving invaluable in boosting their forces' morale and combat effectiveness. Their strategy was deliberate and measured—engage the fifty-plus Marine warships outside the bay while avoiding the concentrated firepower within Marineford's harbor.
The Revolutionary Army understood Marine capabilities better than most. They knew that sending weaker fighters into the bay's killing zone would only result in unnecessary casualties. Better to maintain tactical flexibility on the outer perimeter, where they could retreat if necessary while keeping the Marine fleet occupied.
Even Whitebeard's unexpected arrival hadn't changed their core strategy. The Revolutionary Army advanced and retreated with calculated precision, never committing to a full assault that might leave them overextended.
After receiving Whitebeard's approval, Marco and the other division commanders had adopted a similar approach, leaving reserve forces in the open sea rather than throwing everything into the initial charge.
Vice Admiral Tsuru, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, and other senior Marine officers took note of this tactical restraint. They recognized the fundamental difference between Revolutionary Army discipline and typical pirate recklessness—without the revolutionaries' guiding influence, the pirates likely would have launched a suicidal full-scale assault.
In the Harbor
Aokiji's ice-enhanced punch sent Ace skidding backward across the frozen surface, steam rising from where his flames met the Admiral's cold. Ace quickly regained his footing, but his breathing was labored. Even with his improved abilities, matching an Admiral in single combat remained beyond his current limits.
Glancing at the Revolutionary Army forces gathering around their commandeered ship, Ace made a tactical decision. Time was running out, and Luffy's execution drew closer with every passing moment.
"Hey, Uncle!" Ace called out to Dragon, his voice cutting through the din of battle. "You're Luffy's father, right? I'm his sworn brother, Ace!"
Dragon turned his attention from the battlefield to the young fire-user, nodding slightly in acknowledgment.
"There's no time for formal introductions!" Ace continued urgently. "Please help me deal with Aokiji—I have to reach Luffy!"
The request was tactically sound. Ace recognized his limitations against Admiral-level opponents, especially in the middle of a chaotic battlefield with the execution platform still far across the plaza. Every second spent fighting Aokiji was a second Luffy moved closer to death.
Dragon considered the request for barely a heartbeat before nodding. "Go. We'll handle the Admiral."
As someone who had monitored the seas for years, Dragon was well aware of Fire Fist Ace's reputation and his relationship with Luffy. The young man's dedication to his sworn brother was exactly the kind of loyalty Dragon respected.
Under Deuce's bewildered gaze—the poor navigator still couldn't understand how he'd ended up surrounded by revolutionaries—Dragon exchanged a meaningful look with Ivankov and Karasu before vanishing from sight.
The next instant, he materialized directly in front of Aokiji, launching a devastating straight punch that forced the ice Admiral to abandon his pursuit of Ace.
Among the Warlords
"Yeah! Go Dragon! Beat him up!" Jerry cheered enthusiastically, pumping his fist in the air. "Show that lazy ice cube what real power looks like!"
The nearby Marines turned to stare at him with expressions of shock and outrage. Jerry suddenly realized his mistake and quickly tried to cover.
"I mean... uh... go Aokiji! Beat up that terrible revolutionary!" He coughed awkwardly. "Damn rebels, am I right?"
His weak attempt at course correction fooled no one, but before the Marines could react, another development drew everyone's attention.
"The strongest man in the world," Dracule Mihawk said quietly, his golden eyes fixed on Whitebeard's towering form. "I want to measure the distance between us."
The world's greatest swordsman stepped forward from the Warlords' position, slowly drawing his massive black blade Yoru. The ornate cross-guard caught the sunlight as he raised the supreme-grade weapon, his intention clear to everyone watching.
Since the Seven Warlords were positioned at the front of the Marine formation—in the most charitable interpretation, they held the place of honor for leading charges; more cynically, they were positioned as expendable shock troops—Mihawk's movements were visible to practically everyone on the battlefield.
"Fufufufufu! Even you can't resist getting involved?" Doflamingo laughed, his perpetual grin widening with anticipation.
"I merely wish to test something," Mihawk replied in his typically calm tone.
Under the watchful eyes of Sengoku, Akainu, and the other senior officers, Mihawk drew back his sword and unleashed one of his signature attacks. The blade cut through the air with impossible speed, generating a massive flying slash that roared across the frozen harbor toward Whitebeard.
The attack was enormous—easily capable of cleaving a warship in half—and it flew with the precision that had made Mihawk legendary among swordsmen.
But before the slash could reach its target, Jerry's voice rang out again: "Nah, that won't work! I choose you, Jozu!"
"Pops!" Ace shouted, momentarily distracted by the threat to his father.
"My my, feeling neglected, are we?" Kizaru's distinctive drawl preceded a devastating light-speed kick aimed at the momentarily distracted Ace. The Admiral's leg glowed with concentrated photons, promising devastating damage if it connected.
At the critical moment, Marco burst from the crowd of pirates, his phoenix flames trailing behind him as he intercepted the attack with a powerful wing strike.
"Ace! Keep moving forward!" Diamond Jozu's voice boomed across the battlefield as he charged toward Mihawk's incoming slash. "I've got Pops covered!"
The third division commander's entire body transformed into brilliant diamond, creating an armor of crystalline perfection that gleamed like a prism in the sunlight. He positioned himself directly in the slash's path, raising both hands to meet the attack head-on.
For a moment, the massive flying slash pressed against Jozu's diamond-enhanced grip, the two forces locked in a contest of raw power. Then, with a deafening roar, Jozu redirected the attack skyward, hurling Mihawk's slash harmlessly into the clouds above.
The display of strength left many Marines gaping in amazement. To deflect an attack from the world's greatest swordsman with such ease spoke volumes about the Whitebeard Pirates' individual capabilities.
But Kizaru wasn't finished. Having escaped Marco's immediate attention, the light Admiral launched his own devastating technique.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
Countless points of brilliant light erupted from Kizaru's position, raining down on the battlefield like deadly stars. The attack wasn't focused solely on Whitebeard—light projectiles scattered across the frozen harbor, targeting pirates and revolutionaries alike.
"Immortal Thistle!"
Marco immediately responded, his blue phoenix flames forming a protective barrier above Whitebeard. The mystical fire absorbed the light attacks aimed at their captain, but Marco couldn't shield everyone simultaneously.
Explosions erupted across the battlefield as Kizaru's light bullets found their marks, screams mixing with the roar of detonations as fighters from both sides fell to the Admiral's indiscriminate assault.
Then, without warning, lightning split the clear sky.
CRACK!
The electrical bolt struck Kizaru directly, causing part of his light-form body to disperse and interrupting his devastating barrage. Before the Admiral could recover, a figure wreathed in crackling electricity descended from above.
"A thunderous boom splits the heavens, and this young master makes his magnificent entrance!"
Cavendish appeared in a flash of lightning and steel, his blade wreathed in electrical energy as he brought it down toward the still-reforming Kizaru. The Admiral hastily coated his arm with Armament Haki to block, but the force of the surprise attack still drove him down into the plaza, cracking the stone beneath his feet like a spider's web.
"Hmm? The Rumble-Rumble Fruit?" Fleet Admiral Sengoku's eyes narrowed as he studied the new combatant. "A young pirate?"
But Sengoku's sharp gaze didn't linger on Cavendish for long. Instead, like nearly every other high-ranking Marine officer present, his attention shifted to Jerry, who was stretching lazily as if he'd just woken up from a nap.
Even Hawkeye, realizing that the chaotic battlefield wasn't the appropriate venue for his planned test against Whitebeard, turned to observe Jerry with calculating eyes. Hancock, Doflamingo, and the other Warlords similarly focused their attention on the suspiciously prescient fisherman.
Seeing all these powerful figures staring at Jerry instead of acknowledging his dramatic entrance, Cavendish nearly lost his composure entirely.
"Hey! Is there any justice in this world?" the prince shouted, gesturing wildly with his lightning-wreathed sword. "Why are you looking at him! I'm the one who just took down an Admiral!"
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