The Five Elders' Five Lines of Defense

On the white jade steps of Mary Geoise, five figures stood silently. Saint Saturn occupied the central front row, with Saint Mars, Nusjuro, Saint Shepherd Ju Peter, and Saint Warcury positioned on either side. Five powerful and heavy auras overlapped, forming an invisible giant wall that heavily pressed down on the heads of all the front-row allies, even the howling sea breeze seemed to stand still.

On the landing platform, Kaido slammed his Spiked Club heavily onto the bluestone ground, causing the hard stone slab to crack open. He narrowed his eyes, staring at the five people at the top of the steps, and said in a gruff voice, "These are the Five Elders who reside at the pinnacle of the world? Are you planning to surround us all at once?"

"Gurara!"

Whitebeard leaped and landed steadily on the beach platform from the bow of the Moby Dick, his Murakumogiri- Naginata slamming heavily on the ground, causing it to tremble slightly. He calmly gazed at the enemy atop the stone steps and said in a deep voice, "If we fight separately, the outcome will be decided quickly. If the five of us join forces to hold our ground, the battle will be dragged on indefinitely. But no matter how it turns out, someone has to step up in this tough fight."

Roger brought the Oro Jackson to a safe stop, stepped off the deck, and placed his hand firmly on the hilt of his sword, a dark red, Conqueror's Haki subtly swirling around the blade. A hearty laugh echoed on the sea breeze, "Haha! You're right! So how do we categorize our opponents?"

At the bow of the Pluton, Lin Yuan surveyed the auras of power emanating from the Five Elders and quickly finalized the battle roster.

"One-on-one duels, their abilities countering each other. Saint Saturn is the strongest, so he's assigned to Whitebeard. Saint Mars controls Gravity, which is perfect for facing Kaido's Azure Dragon Form. One presses down on the earth, while the other soars into the air, a fierce battle of wits."

"Nusjuro is proficient in fire techniques, so you'll handle him, Roger." He paused, then continued, "Saint Shepherd Ju Peter has mastered Space Cutting; that'll be given to Big Mom. The Soul-Soul Fruit can manipulate life force; its dense soul power can compress and disrupt spatial structures. More important than a simple fruit-based battle is the clash of primal forces. Finally, Saint Warcury will activate his beast transformation; the direct melee combat will be handled by Bullet."

"Call out--"

Ash folded his black wings and slowly descended from the sky, his crimson eyes fixed on Saint Saturn: "Huijin and I will assist Newgate Lunarian's twin flames from the sidelines, constantly burning the weak points in his Armament Haki and restraining his attacks."

"Gurgle, that's perfect!"

Whitebeard laughed loudly, his figure suddenly leaping into the air, taking a few steps onto the stone steps of Mary Geoise, and standing steadily ten meters away from Saint Saturn, holding the Murakumogiri horizontally with both hands, the blade gleaming coldly.

Saint Saturn remained motionless, slowly raising his right arm. A layer of dark golden Armament Haki, as thick as Seastone, spread from his fist down his forearm. His cold tone was devoid of any emotion. "Whitebeard, you led your pirate army to Mary Geoise, never intending to sit down and negotiate from the very beginning."

"I've come a long way not to negotiate with the Celestial Dragons," Whitebeard said, holding his Naginata horizontally across his chest, his body brimming with the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. "Today, I will bring this corrupt old era to a complete end."

Before the words were even finished, the two powerful figures launched their attacks simultaneously!

Whitebeard swung his sword down fiercely, white shockwaves condensing on the blade, the air being compressed and distorted, and a visible shockwave heading straight for Saint Saturn's face. Saint Saturn neither dodged nor evaded, his fist, imbued with dark gold Haki, fiercely meeting the blade's edge.

Bang!

The deafening clang of metal against metal was so loud it hurt the eardrums. A violent shockwave exploded outwards from the two of them, causing the white jade slabs beneath their feet to crack inch by inch. Fragments of stone and debris flew all around and slammed heavily against the snow-white palace walls on both sides.

Before the aftershocks of the attack could dissipate, Whitebeard twisted his wrist, his Naginata tearing through the air. Saint Saturn hurriedly took a half-step back to dodge the slash, his right fist gathering power as he launched a powerful upward strike at Whitebeard's chest and abdomen. Whitebeard withstood the blow, his massive body staggering half a step backward, three stone slabs beneath his feet shattering. He regained his footing, once again holding his Naginata horizontally in front of him, his offense and defense as solid as a mountain.

Just then, two flames roared in from both sides. The embers ignited with crimson flames, while the Huijin rose with dark, karmic fire. The two flames intertwined to form a fire net, continuously scorching the two blind spots on Saint Saturn's wings.

Saint Saturn crossed his arms to block, his dark golden Haki firmly protecting his body. The flames exploded on the surface of the Haki, failing to break through the defense, but forcing him to take another half step back.

It's that fleeting gap!

"Gurara!"

Whitebeard seized the opportunity, his Naginata slashing down again with a shockwave. This time, Saint Saturn dared not take the blow head-on with his bare hands and hurriedly dodged to the side. The blade slammed heavily into the ground, blasting a deep crater into the hard stone steps, sending dust flying everywhere.

The battlefield on the other side was already engulfed in flames of war.

Kaido charged towards Saint Mars with heavy footsteps. The instant he stepped into the range of his ability, an invisible Gravity suddenly descended from the sky. The entire ground suddenly caved in, and rubble rolled down the edge of the pit. Kaido's limbs instantly became incredibly heavy, and every step forward required tremendous effort.

"Hmph, you think mere Gravity can trap me?"

Kaido roared and immediately activated his half-dragon form. His massive dragon wings unfurled with a thunderous roar, and his thick dragon tail swept across, snapping the two white jade pillars blocking his path. His Spiked Club, wreathed in intense Conqueror's Haki, cleaved down with immense force towards Saint Mars's head.

Saint Mars calmly reacted, abruptly shifting the downward pressure of Gravity into a lateral pull. The powerful gravity abruptly deflected the trajectory of the iron Iron Club, and the heavy weapon slammed into the side wall, causing the entire palace wall to collapse with a deafening roar.

Kaido's attacks continued relentlessly, his thick dragon tail suddenly lashing out horizontally, aiming straight for Saint Mars's waist and abdomen. Saint Mars was forced to retreat repeatedly, taking a full three steps before barely managing to regain his footing.

On the main battlefield, Roger and Nusjuro were already facing off.

Nusjuro waved his hands, and raging flames condensed into two arcs of fire on his sides, closing in from both sides, trying to block Roger's every move. Roger did not rush to draw his sword, but waited quietly until the two flames were about to merge and were only three steps away from him, before he suddenly drew his sword.

Crackling Conqueror's Haki lightning clung to the sword's edge, tearing a narrow gap between the walls of fire. Roger flashed forward, darting through the opening, and slashed horizontally with his sword, the sharp sword energy brushing against the flames as it hurtled towards Nusjuro's body.

Nusjuro immediately raised his hand to create a thick wall of fire to defend himself. The sword energy cleaved through the surface flames, but its power was greatly reduced, and it ultimately failed to hit a vital spot, only grazing his opponent's shoulder.

At the forefront of the landing platform, Bullet kept a close eye on Saint Warcury.

The body of the Saint Warcury expanded rapidly, his muscles bulged high, his skin was covered with dark, beast-like patterns, and his body temperature rose sharply, scorching the surrounding air until it was slightly distorted.

Bullet sprinted at full speed without saying a word, his fists covered in ultimate Armament Haki, and smashed straight at Saint Warcury's chest.

Bang!

The heavy punch slammed into the opponent's heavily armored left arm, like striking steel armor, producing a dull thud. Saint Warcury only took one step back, his armor completely undamaged.

Bullet gritted his teeth, without pausing, and threw a second punch, Conqueror's Haki Coating his fist tip, striking the same spot precisely. With a faint cracking sound, a gap finally appeared in the Saint Warcury's tough animal hide armor.

Charlotte Linlin's Totto Land fleet successfully landed on the northern highlands.

Saint Shepherd Ju Peter raised his hand and activated his ability, unleashing a series of sharp spatial rifts that swept out in a fan shape. Charlotte Family's Homies had no time to dodge and was instantly cleaved in two by the Spatial Blades, crashing heavily to the ground. After struggling for a moment, he fell into complete silence.

The Big Mom stepped over the shattered Homies remains, a ferocious grin spreading across her face. "Well, well! You destroyed my companions right off the bat, then I'll tear your spatial domain apart with my own hands!"

She slowly raised her palm, and the soul fluctuations of the Soul-Soul Fruit spread outwards. The rich life force continuously compressed the surrounding space, and the originally smooth Space Cutting of Saint Shepherd Ju Peter instantly became disordered. Segments of spatial cracks became misaligned, their trajectories intermittent, and they could no longer form a tight blockade for the attack.

Five battlefields were engaged in simultaneous fierce fighting, and the situation had reached an extreme stalemate.

Whitebeard's slashes repeatedly struck Saint Saturn's Haki barrier, cracks constantly appearing only to be quickly repaired and healed by the opponent; Kaido continuously flapped his wings and soared into the air within the heavy Gravity Field, forcefully compressing Saint Mars's gravity into a narrow half-meter area; Roger broke through three walls of fire in succession, and finally his last sword slashed Nusjuro's arm, leaving a shallow bloodstain.

Bullet's fists were covered in blood, and his arm muscles trembled, but the cracks on his Saint Warcury continued to widen; Big Mom's soul pressure firmly locked down the entire area, Saint Shepherd Ju Peter could no longer unleash a series of spatial slashes.

Before the battle was even decided, another wave of powerful enemies attacked from the flank.

The entire Holy Knights were mobilized. The captain, wearing a golden mask and with his cloak billowing, charged straight at Whitebeard, who was locked in combat, hoping to take the opportunity to ambush the main force.

"Your opponent is me."

Dark King Rayleigh, blocked the way with his sword drawn, the blade's sharp aura locking onto the knight commander.

Marco transformed into a blue Phoenix and soared into the air, blocking the Knights members charging from the right flank; Katakuri activated his Future Sight, unleashing a torrent of mochi to block the left flank's retreat, holding off the remaining pursuers.

On the sea, the Pluton's guns slowly turned. Caesar, watching the battlefield, pushed up his goggles and shouted impatiently, "Whoosh! The Five Elders and our officers are already locked in combat. If we open fire, we could easily hit our own people!"

Lin Yuan stood at the bow, his calm gaze sweeping across the entire beach. "No need to bombard the center of the battle. Use artillery fire to block the enemy's retreat and reinforcement routes. Open fire!"

Boom!

Heavy shells rained down on both sides of the battlefield, blasting open two lines of fire. The Holy Knights's movement routes were completely blocked by the artillery fire, and their originally dispersed formation was forced to shrink inward, making it impossible for them to send troops to launch surprise attacks on the main fighting force at the front.

The balance of power on the battlefield is gradually tilting in favor of the allied Pirate Alliance.

Whitebeard planted his feet firmly on the stone steps, his Murakumogiri steadily slashing forward, constantly compressing Saint Saturn's defensive space; Kaido spread his dragon wings, breaking through the Gravity suppression time and time again, forcing Saint Mars to retreat step by step; Roger completely tore open the encirclement of flames, forcing Nusjuro to take the initiative to keep his distance and dare not engage in close combat anymore.

Even with blood streaming from his fists, Bullet's punches remained undiminished in speed and power, forcefully pinning Saint Warcury to the spot; Big Mom's soul domain expanded ever wider, completely paralyzing Saint Shepherd Ju Peter's spatial abilities, leaving him only able to passively defend.

As Saint Saturn watched Whitebeard relentlessly close in, large, fine cracks appeared on his dark golden Armament Haki. Under the constant harassment of the flames from Ash and Huijin, his defenses were opening more and more gaps, and Whitebeard's blade advanced another full meter.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Lin Yuan raised his arm and loudly commanded the entire army, "Everyone, advance! Break through this last third line of defense and enter Mary Geoise!"

The horns blared along the coast, and thousands of pirates roared in unison as they launched a full-scale attack on the main gate of the Holy Land.

(End of Chapter 110)