Not long ago.
Hundreds of cannons atop Impel Down's fortress roared at the same time, launching an indiscriminate attack on every warship docked in the harbor.
Shells came raining down, and within moments, several warships had completely sunk beneath the waves.
Surging shockwaves, orange-red flames, splintering wood chips.
The sight was as terrifying as the end of the world itself, making Buggy, whose courage had already been shattered by Whitebeard, turn pale.
Yet Whitebeard remained calm and composed. He merely sighed in admiration at Magellan, whom he had never met before:
"Burning the boats and fighting with one's back to the river."
"These Marines are certainly decisive!"
As he spoke and laughed, the overwhelming barrage of shells tore through the sea breeze and bombarded the warship Whitebeard was guarding once more.
Whitebeard calmly stepped forward and extended one hand toward the densely packed shells in the sky.
"Air Quake!"
As his hand clenched at empty air, a crisp sound like shattering glass rang out from nowhere.
At first, the cracking sound was faint, but in an instant, it swelled into a tidal roar.
As the sound waves spread, a crack born in the void rapidly expanded, blanketing the sky above the warship.
Then the sky trembled, and the atmosphere churned.
Within the boiling sea of air, the shells falling like rain exploded one after another in midair, bursting into a dazzling yet harmless display of fireworks.
The artillery barrage that could tear an entire warship to pieces vanished with a mere wave of his hand.
When the smoke cleared, the warship remained completely unharmed.
The gunners on the batteries noticed this. Amid their shock, they hurriedly turned more cannon barrels toward the warship and launched a second, fiercer barrage.
"Still not enough?"
Whitebeard frowned slightly, a sharp glint flashing through