Faced with this epic, grand spectacle, Austin admitted that he was so excited his whole body was heating up.
After Garp and Sengoku were held back by Golden Lion,
the opponents Austin would face next would be the entire Marine force below the rank of Admiral.
There might not be any Admirals among them, but the remaining lineup was still utterly outrageous.
The Three Great Logia Users among the Marine lieutenant and vice admirals, Gion, Dalmatian, Yamakaji, a host of elite rear admirals, and countless Marine soldiers.
Rain drizzled endlessly as fierce winds howled through the air, making Austin's trench coat and Shiki's great cloak flap loudly. The two pirates, both with ten-digit bounties, had temporarily formed an alliance.
What they faced was nearly the full strength of Marine Headquarters' highest combat power!
"Brat, if you dare hold me back later, I'll kill you!"
Golden Lion Shiki held a cigar between his lips, flashing an incomparably arrogant grin as he threatened Austin beside him.
"As long as you can hold off Sengoku and Garp, we definitely won't lose for now."
Austin gave a faint smile as well.
So long as his opponent was not vastly stronger than him, Austin was confident that even if he could not win, he could at least fight them evenly.
Clearly, the Marine rookies who were still young at present were not enough to crush him decisively.
Faced with immense pressure and experts of their own level who vastly outnumbered them, neither of the two showed much strain. Instead, they chatted casually.
Seeing this, the enormous number of Marines on the ground certainly did not see it that way.
They only felt that these two were insane!
Moreover, facing two Great Pirates with ten-digit bounties at once made many recruits' legs go weak.
For figures like them, even the aftermath of a casual strike could kill swaths of them.
If Marine Admirals had not been present, they might have retreated long ago. Now, they could only ease the fear in their hearts by talking among themselves.
"A Roger Pirates crewman, Black Gun Dotol Austin. I've seen his bounty."
"And the legendary Great Pirate, the Flying Admiral Golden Lion Shiki..."
"Have two overlord-class pirate forces actually joined hands?"
"Great Pirates like them... will definitely die, right..."
"..."
As for the Marine officers of vice admiral rank and above, they were visibly much calmer. No matter how one looked at it, the Marines held the advantage.
But the Roger Pirates and Golden Lion Pirates were infamous, and even they did not dare relax in the slightest.
Against enemies of this level, one moment of carelessness could truly get them killed!!!
With their massive numbers and the confidence brought by their officers, the Marine soldiers' morale remained extremely high. At the very least, not a single deserter could be seen.
They shouted with all their might, creating an imposing display that somewhat resembled the Summit War.
"They really are noisy. Who knows what they're getting so fired up over? They're just a bunch of grunts..."
Austin looked at the impassioned soldiers. They could not hit him in a fight, their shots could not land, and they posed no threat whatsoever to the two men who controlled the skies. He had no idea what they were so fired up about.
Perhaps the One Piece World simply had a lower threshold for getting fired up.
Then he would clear the field first.
Austin stood in the sky, looking down upon the boundless Marine forces. There was neither sorrow nor joy in his eyes, only disdain for ants.
In an instant, an aura that dominated heaven and earth spread outward from Austin at its center.
Nearly half of Marineford was now shrouded in that black-red aura.
Clusters of black-red lightning emerged from Austin's body, raging and dancing wildly as though the world were ending.
That oppressive force swept across everything without distinction.
Thud, thud, thud...
It was as though their minds had been struck by heavy hammers. Before this Conqueror's Haki that reached from heaven to earth, countless Marines could not hold on for even a second before rolling their eyes back and collapsing to the ground.
Even the field-grade officers could only barely remain conscious beneath that crushing pressure, kneeling on one knee and gasping for breath.
In the sky, the figure wreathed in black-red lightning looked down upon the entire battlefield like a demon god, unfathomable and terrifying!!!
"Jiehahahaha! No wonder Roger praised you so highly. To possess such bearing at such a young age!
But our era has not ended yet. The sea isn't a stage for brats like you!!!"
The next second, golden-red Conqueror's Haki, even more powerful than Austin's black-red Haki, surged forth from his body in an instant.
Under the double pressure, almost no one below vice admiral rank could remain conscious on the field.
Only now would the real experts begin their clash.
"Bastards!!!"
"Marineford is absolutely not a place where you can run wild as you please!!!"
Amid furious roars, a figure suddenly leaped up before Austin and Golden Lion, his entire body carrying dazzling, sacred golden light.
Sengoku, the Admiral and Buddha-Buddha Fruit user, struck in anger, unleashing a terrifying shockwave.
"Buddha Shockwave!!!"
The blinding golden light closed in, yet neither man in the sky panicked.
One simply was not afraid, while the other had expected it all along.
Within that dazzling golden light, a flash of crimson flickered past.
Naturally, this could not escape Austin's Observation Haki. He merely smiled faintly as he watched the shockwave approach within arm's reach.
"Lion's Shred Valley!!!"
The exaggerated ultimate attacks collided, and terrifying residual force exploded through the sky. A palm and a sword continuously wrestled against each other in midair.
Clearly, Sengoku alone could not suppress Golden Lion at this moment. Since Shiki had dared come today, he had never feared death!
Soon, Garp also swung his fists and joined this battle among the strongest.
A battle of this level would never end unless one side's stamina was completely exhausted.
Terrifying shockwaves, centered on the three of them, continuously destroyed the earth and sky.
At the center of the plaza, the remaining Marines led by the Three Great Logia Users watched the battle that they could not intervene in.
They were still young men in their twenties. The red, blue, and yellow trio had only graduated from the Marine academy less than two years ago and were far from reaching the peaks of their power.
Just as they all gazed up at the decisive battle in the sky,
a tall figure with his hands in his pockets slowly walked over from the far end of the plaza.
"Biu--"
Without any warning, a laser beam shot out from among the Marines. With lightning speed, it targeted the man's head.
"Ambushing people isn't a good habit, Borsalino."
Austin smiled. He neither dodged nor evaded, allowing the laser to shoot toward his forehead.
Then, a scene that left every Marine bewildered appeared. Austin seemed to have no physical body at all.
The instant it struck his head,
the beam passed straight through his body.
He was completely unharmed...
Before you continue