Atop the battlefield, Naval Headquarters trembled under the presence of a legend.
"Ku-la-la-la-la! Sengoku, it's been decades! And yet… my beloved son has truly been taken care of!"
Whitebeard laughed, a deep, resonant sound that carried across the sea. His captain's cloak billowed in the wind, radiating a majestic, overwhelming aura. Even standing alone, his presence seemed enough to rival thousands of troops.
"Whitebeard!"
Marshal Sengoku's eyebrows knitted like blades, his expression deadly serious. Even on Marine territory, even fully prepared, facing this man left no room for carelessness.
Whitebeard possessed the power to destroy worlds. One misstep could cost everything.
"Father… everyone…"
Ace clenched his fist, the seastone chains rattling behind him as he watched his father and the rest of the crew arrive. Conflicting emotions surged in his heart.
"I ignored my father's advice… I acted recklessly… Why didn't you abandon me? It's all my fault!" Ace shouted, remorse and self-reproach in every syllable.
"No, you're wrong, Ace! I told you to go!"
From the bow of the whale ship, Whitebeard shook his massive head.
"I'm sorry, my son, for putting you in such danger," he said, his voice brimming with infinite gentleness and love.
"No… that's not it. You clearly stopped—" Ace tried to protest.
"No, I sent you. Didn't I, Marco?" Whitebeard interjected firmly.
"Indeed," Phoenix Marco, captain of the First Division, nodded, smiling. "I heard too, Ace. You suffered greatly, but it was necessary."
"In these seas," grinned Fifth Division captain Vista, "everyone knows what happens to those who dare harm our comrades!"
Third Division captain Diamond Joz crossed his arms, radiating confidence. "We'll never let anyone hurt you, Ace!"
"Ace, wait!" shouted another crew member. "Captain Ace, I'm here to save you!"
"Wake up, Naval Headquarters!"
The morale of the Whitebeard Pirates surged. Their war cries echoed across the battlefield, unnerving even the most seasoned observers.
"Ah la la… truly provoking a group of incredible people," Admiral Aokiji murmured lazily.
"It's frightening, isn't it?" Admiral Kizaru added, his face calm yet betraying a hint of apprehension.
"Wasn't this expected?" Admiral Akainu said, voice steady.
"Hehehe… Whitebeard, how do you intend to strike?!" shouted Shichibukai Gekko Moria, excited.
Finally, with the eyes of the world fixed upon him, Four Emperors Whitebeard grinned and moved into action.
"Wait for me, Ace!"
He casually drove his supreme sharp weapon, Cong Yunqie, into the bow of the whale ship. Then, his colossal fists clenched in front of him, his massive body leaning forward slightly.
Boom!
Whitebeard's fists slammed outward with earth-shattering force. The sound was like rolling thunder.
Cracks appeared in the air itself, radiating from his fists like a spiderweb.
"Ah… ahhh! What's happening?"
"The atmosphere… it's splitting! How is this possible?"
"Whitebeard! What kind of monster is this?!"
Marines and the melon-eating crowd in Sabaody Plaza stared in horror. But as the dust settled, the sea returned to calm.
"What? Nothing happened?"
"Surely it was all a bluff," someone muttered.
"It's useless… even Whitebeard is old!"
Just as doubt began to settle, the world shifted violently.
The sea rumbled. Waves grew, then surged into a raging tsunami. Ten meters… twenty… thirty… a hundred meters…
"It's coming! His quake has turned into a tsunami!"
On the execution platform, Marshal Sengoku shouted, eyes wide.
A shadow fell as the massive wave approached. The 100-meter tsunami loomed, threatening to engulf Naval Headquarters. Even the elite Marines felt despair. Half of their forces could be lost if it hit.
In the nick of time—
Swish!
A figure shot up from the execution platform and soared above the bay. Admiral Aokiji Kuzan had arrived.
"Ice Age!" he said softly.
Harnessing the full power of his Logia Frozen Fruit ability, icicles spread from his body, freezing the air and water.
In the blink of an eye, the tsunami, massive enough to engulf Naval Headquarters, the bay, and the open sea, was frozen solid. Sunlight glinted across the ice, transforming the bay into a crystalline battlefield.
The stage was set. The all-out war between the Whitebeard Pirates and Naval Headquarters was about to begin.
And yet…
A voice rang out, cutting across the battlefield: singing.
From the summit of the war stage, the red-haired diva Uta sang, her voice soaring over the frozen bay, bringing a strange calm and stirring the hearts of all who heard it.
...
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