Paramount War (1) / Paramount War (2)

The silence was almost frighteningly oppressive.

"It's quiet," Doflamingo remarked suddenly.

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"Too quiet. It's a little unnatural," Moria agreed. Both men were fond of speaking with their distinctive laughs, but neither laughed as they usually did when they spoke.

They both seemed to have noticed that something was wrong.

"They're here—"

Just then, a Marine holding a spyglass on the shore shouted, sweat pouring down his face.

"Everyone, prepare for battle!"

"Doma the Knight, the Decalvan Brothers, Squard the Maelstrom Spider... Every one of them is a first-rate fighter, and every one is a captain renowned throughout the New World! Forty-three ships in all! They're all pirate crews under the Whitebeard Pirates!"

"Find Whitebeard's position immediately."

"Report! The Whitebeard Pirates' flagship is nowhere in sight."

"You've got to be kidding—"

The broadcast rang out as the Marines' reports came in one after another.

The reports set countless hearts racing, and as everyone wondered where Whitebeard was...

"Could it be..."

Many quick-thinking people widened their eyes.

Sengoku and the others stared at the water inside Crescent Bay, an ominous premonition rising in their hearts.

"Glug, glug... glug, glug..."

As if answering their premonition, bubbles suddenly rose on the surface of Crescent Bay, and the water began to churn like a boiling pot.

Boom—

Chapter 87: Paramount War (1)

(I wrote this at six in the morning. I'm a little tired after staying up all night catching up on anime, so the next update will have to wait until I wake up. It'll probably be in the afternoon. These two chapters are both an introduction, so they might feel a little padded, but things will be different starting with the next chapter.)

Bubbles churned ceaselessly on the surface of the sea, spreading over an ever-wider area and growing more violent.

Before long, an enormous shadow appeared beneath the surface, as though a colossal object were about to emerge.

"Did we deploy our forces wrong?" Sengoku said through gritted teeth.

Boom—

Almost as soon as Sengoku's resentful words fell, a tremendous boom erupted from the sea. A giant ship burst from the water, sending waves cascading down like a torrential rain. The bubble surrounding the ship showed the world how the Whitebeard Pirates had slipped in.

"Seven four seven." "It's the Moby Dick—"

A Marine cried out in alarm as he stared at the enormous ship with a whale for a figurehead.

Boom!

Boom!!

Even after the Moby Dick, the "mother ship" representing the great family of the Whitebeard Pirates, appeared, the sea continued to churn.

Immediately afterward, two "daughter ships," smaller than the Moby Dick, burst from the sea to its left and right as if escorting it, forming a three-sided formation facing the enemy.

"They've appeared! The Moby Dick and all fourteen division commanders have entered the bay!"

"Damn it, they're this close?!" Sengoku said in a low voice, staring at the all-too-familiar ship.

"Hahaha~~ Whitebeard really did pop up somewhere we didn't expect," Garp said below, laughing until tears streamed down his face.

First Division Commander Marco the Phoenix, Third Division Commander Jozu the Diamond, Fifth Division Commander Vista the Flower Sword...

Standing atop the high wall with his hands in his pockets, Arthur swept his emerald-green eyes over the three division commanders aboard the Moby Dick.

Aside from the late Fourth Division Commander Thatch and Second Division Commander Ace, who was about to be executed, these three were the strongest members of the Whitebeard Pirates apart from Whitebeard himself.

Every one of them ranked among the New World's strongest fighters. Not only were they powerful, but their reputations were known throughout the world.

Defeating any one of them would grant an immense boost, enough to greatly increase Arthur's four attributes.

At the thought, a flicker of anticipation involuntarily crossed Arthur's eyes.

He wondered how much his four attributes would improve by the end of the Paramount War.

Thud!

Thud! Thud!

As Arthur anticipated it, everyone heard the sound of something heavy striking the deck. Countless people's breathing faltered for an instant.

An immensely tall figure appeared, carrying an extraordinarily long naginata and wearing a white cape like the Marines' justice coats. His bare chest was covered in awe-inspiring scars, a record of the World's Strongest Man's battles, and a man's romance.

One of the Four Emperors, Whitebeard—a man whose real name had almost been forgotten by the world, who had sat on the throne of the World's Strongest for decades: Edward Newgate.

"Gurarara... It's been decades since we last met, hasn't it?" His commanding laughter made the legs of the Marines closest to the Moby Dick go weak. Whitebeard's trademark crescent mustache lifted slightly as he looked at Sengoku and laughed. "Sengoku, is my beloved son all right?!"

"Damn you, Whitebeard!" To Sengoku, Whitebeard's greeting was a taunt. Letting Whitebeard slip in so close with such ease meant he had already lost the first exchange before the battle had even begun.

"Pops!"

Kneeling on the Execution Platform, Ace suddenly let out a remorseful roar. "Why? I ignored everyone's advice and went off on my own! Why didn't you leave me to fend for myself? Why did you come to save me?!!"

"No! I'm the one who told you to go, my son."

Whitebeard spoke calmly. "Isn't that right, Marco?"

"Yeah... I heard it too. You've been through a lot, Ace!" Marco stood beside Whitebeard with his arms crossed and said calmly, "Everyone on these seas knows what happens to anyone who dares cross the Whitebeard Pirates."

"Ace, not one of the people who hurt you is getting away. Wait for us!"

"Ace, we're here to get you!!"

"Little Ace, wait for us. We'll take you home soon..."

Shouts rang out from the crews aboard the daughter ships on either side of the Moby Dick...

"Ace, wait a little longer!" Whitebeard said with a toothy grin, suddenly driving his naginata into the deck.

Clang—crack!!

Whitebeard crossed his arms in front of him. A transparent white spherical glow appeared around each of his clenched fists, and he flung his arms outward, smashing them into the air.

A sound rang out as though he had struck something solid, and the air shattered like a mirror dropped on the ground.

Splash...

The sea shook violently. Wave after wave of water from Crescent Bay battered the harbor walls, while the waters on either side rose like mountain peaks and tilted sharply.

Strangely, the tremor did not last long. The cracks in the air vanished as quickly as they had appeared, and the moment the air sealed itself, the sea, which had been raging just moments before, suddenly grew calm.

It was as though Whitebeard had played a prank.

Countless people watched the scene in confusion.

Only those who had lived through Whitebeard's era and knew him understood that this was the sign of an impending volcanic eruption.

"Rumble...!!!"

A dozen seconds later, all of Marineford shook again, several times more violently than before.

The water level rose rapidly, and the sea churned with waves that grew higher and higher.

"What's that?"

"A... a tsunami!"

"Hey, hey... that's ridiculous!!"

Before long, countless Marines and people around the world watching the live broadcast saw towering tsunamis hundreds of meters high rise on both sides. Like the closing hands of a mighty giant, they came crashing toward Marine Headquarters and the island of Marineford.

There was no doubt that if those two tsunamis could not be stopped, the war would be decided in an instant.

Unfortunately, however...

The current Three Admirals represented an unprecedented golden age, and one of them had an ability particularly suited to countering Whitebeard's Seaquake.

Chapter 88: Paramount War (2)

(Sorry the update is late! I stayed up all night last night and didn't wake up until five this afternoon. I'll go to bed at twelve today and wake up early tomorrow to keep trying for a burst of updates!)

"Now, now... what a pain!"

Whoosh—

Aokiji, seated on the far left among the Three Admirals, suddenly stood. His body turned into a shower of ice particles, and he vanished from his seat.

"Ice Age—"

Two icicles sprang from his palms, stretching out like rubber. Like thrown spears, they pierced the tsunamis.

In an instant, a silvery-white layer spread from the points where the icicles struck the enormous tsunamis hundreds of meters high on either side, expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In just over ten seconds, the two enormous tsunamis had become mountain-like walls of ice.

"Ice Partisan!"

Having successfully frozen the tsunamis, Aokiji hovered high in the air and casually formed two ice spears. He hurled them at Whitebeard, who stood ahead and below him.

"Gurarara~~~ Aokiji, you brat!"

Unconcerned that his Seaquake had been stopped, Whitebeard laughed heartily. Watching Aokiji attack him, he merely turned slightly and punched the air in front of him.

Crack—

Cracks appeared in the air once more. The ice spears flying through the air and Aokiji himself instantly shattered like a mirror hitting the ground, turning into a heap of ice blocks that radiated cold as they fell.

The ice blocks landed on the sea, but instead of sinking and melting into water, they gathered into a figure radiating an intense chill.

Completely unharmed, Aokiji crouched down and dipped his hand into the seawater.

In an instant, the water around him began to freeze.

The sea, whose waves had been churning moments before, became a land of ice and snow in the blink of an eye.

The ice field covered an unimaginably vast area.

The route ahead of the Whitebeard Pirates' grand fleet, coming to support them from the rear, had frozen over as well.

The frozen sea, however, gave the Whitebeard Pirates an excellent place to stand.

"Wh-what kind of power is this?!"

"So this is Whitebeard?!"

"That's terrifying! Can a human really possess the power to change the face of the earth in an instant?"

"..."

Before the Paramount War had even begun, Whitebeard's opening gift and the Marine Admiral's ability showed people around the world who did not yet know what power was just how strong the World's Strongest Man and the Marines' greatest fighting force were.

"Everyone, prepare for battle—" Once the ice had given them a place to stand, Sengoku raised the broadcasting Den Den Mushi on the Execution Platform and shouted, "Don't think our greater numbers guarantee us victory! Don't let your guard down. We could be the ones who meet our destruction, for that man has the power to destroy the world!!"

"Boom, boom, boom...!!"

Almost the instant Sengoku finished speaking, the sound of cannon fire rang across the battlefield, opening the greatest battle since the beginning of the Great Pirate Era.

Cannonballs struck the warships, erupting in orange-red flames and thick black smoke.

The Marines reacted just as quickly, aiming the harbor's fortress cannons at the Whitebeard Pirates and opening fire.

A barrage of cannonballs flew toward the Moby Dick and the other two daughter ships.